Am I the only one who is really excited to see the new Mac?
 

Am I the only Ledgie who is really excited to see the new line up? I bought a ticket to the Sacramento show. I will be travelling all the way from Sydney Australia and have a seat on Christine's side on the arena floor which cost $280 US or $370 AU. I think it will be worth every cent. I can't wait to hear Neil's renditions of Man of the World and Go Your Own Way. I saw Stevie and Chrissy in Sacramento and Sydney. I will also see the Mac in Sydney if they come to my home town but I didn't want to risk missing out and I love Sacramento and San Francisco.
Obviously like any true fan I would prefer Lindsey to Neil and Mike, but they had reached an impasse. It appears Lindsey did not want to tour without new music, or wanted to delay the tour indefinitely for some other reason. Would you fans honestly have preferred the only other alternative to the band continuing without Lindsey? That is, the band breaking up and never touring or recording again?
I honestly think Lindsey should not have been replaced. They should have tour as a foursome and not done any Lindsey songs that Stevie and Christine could not sing on their own. One of their back up guitarists surely could have stepped up to lead guitar quite capably.
All that said, Neil and Mike have great chops and this is a fantastic new line up I will gladly take a long haul flight to see.

Maybe? Prolly, if I were the only other Ledgie? I am personally thinking I'd rather go watch grass grow or paint dry. :nod::nod::nod:

I mean there is SUCH good music out there, hundreds of artists I'd rather go see than this ridiculousness.

That's just MOO, though of course. Discuss.

We're going to get a hear a bunch of Peter Green and Bob Welch era stuff we haven't heard in decades. That's reason enough to be excited in my book. And apart from Go Your Own Way and his Tusk and Say You Will stuff, there's not a lot of Lindsey songs that thrill me all that much.

Let's put it this way, to all the fans boycotting this tour because there is no Lindsey, did you boycott the Say You Will tour, or the Unleashed tour, or the Live 2013 tour, because there was no Christine? She's had more hits than Lindsey and was in the band longer prior to her departure.
What's the difference? Is it different because she retired not got sacked? Or is it different because she wasn't replaced?
If they didn't replace Lindsey and just toured as a foursome with a fill in guitarist and didn't sing Lindsey songs, would you be less angry?

you are not the only one, tons of people here - http://ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/showthread.php?t=57849

Because Christine made the choice not to participate. She had a CHOICE. In fact the band were begging her not to go. She wasn't stabbed in the back. Rewarding the money grubbers for their behavior wasn't an issue then. It is now.

Don't be ridiculous. Lindsey had a choice too. If he chose to tour October this year he could have done so. If Lindsey was ready and willing, no way would he have been replaced. Lindsey was always the band's first choice and still always will be. If he changes his mind, you can bet your bottom dollar he will be back on the next tour and Mike and Neil will be given the boot.

Oy.
 

Christine left. She wasn't fired. BIG difference. Same with LB in 1987. He left on his own.

I wasn't a fan of FM back in 87 so I don't know how I would have felt about the Billy/Rick additions.

Yes, that is a totally different situation. Bringing in Tug on keyboards was fine for SYW. If they had gotten someone to do guitar solos and sing LB's GYOW and World Turning, I'd be cool....if LB left ON HIS OWN.

Just so! superbly put. Case and point and there you have it.

you should go read some of the threads here. and watch that video of Lindsey refuting band's lies.

Agreed and I foresee the concert opener of that tour to be just stevie and Lindsey singing Kumbaya. Mick playing light bangos in between stevie and Lindsey

i know re your OY. lather. rinse. repeat.

you'd think fans would actually know better to check first. but no.

I repeat, Lindsey also had a choice. Those who think he was fired for no reason are living in fantasy land. If Lindsey had got on board with the band's touring schedule, and not tried to squeeze in solo shows in between the band's tour, then they would not have fired him. Do you honestly believe Christine and Stevie and Mick and John would choose Neil and Mike over Lindsey if Lindsey had been willing to tour where and when they wanted him? Give me a break!
Seeds we sow. Lindsey would know.

I have seen that video. I can barely hear or understand what he is saying. But apparently it is proof that he wanted to tour at the same time as everyone else. Apparently this was going to be possible with him doing a solo tour at the exact same time as the band tour.
Elle, do you seriously believe that Lindsey was ready, willing and available to tour when the band wanted him? If so what's the real reason he was fired? I look forward to the conspiracy theories!
I'm so glad I won't have to suffer through yet another tired rendition of I'm So Afraid this November! I'm watching the dance right now and taking a tea break for this never ending song.

yes. and now we won't get that. :distress:

you can read thousands of threads of conspiracy theories around here. we don't need yet another one.

I find it incredibly hard to believe that if Lindsey was truly available, that he would be sacked just out of spite. I mean they just had a hugely successful Rumours line up tour only three years ago. If everyone was actually on the same page about touring, why not try to emulate the success of 2015 rather than risk jeopardising it with a risky new line up? Doesn't make any sense Elle and you're smarter than that. Sorry to sledge you Elle, but you're just blinded by how much you love Lindsey and Kirsten. They can do no wrong in your eyes.

Probably really just shouldn't, and as a matter of fact, don't sledge anyone.

Using sorry at the start of your sentence does not validate being allowed your comment. it reeks of ad hominem enough to start with.

:eek::eek::eek:

Good lort, you can only see things from your own myopic view.

Good luck with that...

Lol yes, there's a big difference between the Christine situation and this.
Christine wanted to leave, they (particularly Lindsey) BEGGED her not to, but she insisted she couldn't do it anymore and gave them her blessing. And while Stevie wanted to bring Sheryl Crow into the band, Lindsey was heavily against it and part of why was because he didn't want her to be a sort of 'replacement' for Christine. Someone posted on here the interview where he talked about it, he wanted Christine's work with the band to be respected so he didn't want Sheryl singing them.
This is just dirty business if you ask me. You don't throw away your guitarist and producer of 40 years, the one who contributed BY FAR the most effort to the band's music over a scheduling issue. What's extra frustrating about this is hearing them talk in interviews as if Lindsey was just any other guitarist, when they and everyone knows he was a lot more than that for the band. And it's very sad considering the fact that Stevie literally DID delay a recent tour by over a year because she was 'obsessed' with her solo project (in Mick's words). There are interviews you can read of Mick crying about it, saying his band is dead because Stevie won't tour. So even if Lindsey had made some request that they delay the tour by a year (which more than once reliable source has confirmed he did not), it's not fair that he gets sacked and replaced like yesterday's laundry for it whereas Stevie is allowed to just come back whenever she wants and the band just goes from there.

He was FIRED! Yes that's why. Even if he left I would have zero interest. Not the same magic.
The fact that they are playing ZERO LB solo on the FM channel shows you just how vindictive they are.

This is hysterical! I needed this. thank you :)

No.

I'm hugely excited to see Fleetwood Mac with Mike Campbell.
I was crushed when I heard the news -- I don't know anyone else on this planet who's a bigger Buckingham fan than I am; but I'm also a huge music fan in general -- and that's why I've always been drawn to the band. I go for the music.
The manufactured drama and the drug addition stories -- it never interested me.

The songs interest me and they've been under my skin since I was a young teenager, before Tusk came out. The only other band that I thought might be better as a live act is Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. So having Mike step in is sort of a fantasy. But I would have rather had him in the band along with Lindsey.

It'll be fun. One of the best things about growing older is you stop micro-managing life. And you stop taking everything so seriously. And you stop making everything about yourself.
The majority of Fleetwood Mac fans are on board with this move. A little shell-shocked, but definitely curious. We have to remember how small a fraction of fans are represented on social media.
And then there are the Tom Petty fans, who seem to be over the moon about this new line up.

The Burnette/Vito years were very bland. Neither of them are great singers, and their playing is pretty paint-by-numbers. Mike Campbell has an amazing sound with muscle to spare. He'll blow the roof of arenas on this tour, and I can't wait.

Nope! I’m very excited. Already have tickets to one show, will likely go to at least 3, like I did for the last two FM tours.

Unfortunately, I don’t think you’re going to hear a bunch—-maybe two songs, tops. And of those two songs, one will definitely be “Oh Well,” which Lindsey covered for years.

Maybe Hypnotized, maybe Station Man, but probably not both.

Hey, I hope I’m wrong and there are loads of pre ‘74 songs in the set.

I think there MIGHT be a little more at first, but I wouldn't be surprised if all of them soon get dropped when they see how probably 80% of the people there don't get hyped or sing along because they don't know the songs and/or use those songs as their bathroom break.

I'll kiss your ass if they do Hypnotized. #wonthappen

I disagree, 100%. True FM fans know that this scenario is bullsh*t. They're going to drop ticket prices like a hot turd.

To quote my very casual FM fan brother, "Why bother? It's not Fleetwood Mac without Lindsey. I am so glad I got to take my kids to see the band with all 5".

BTW my nephew is 16 and is very into Tusk and thinks LB's guitar playing is a thing of wonder. He's even learned to travis pick. My niece (20) is a HUGE Stevie fan. Well I'm going to have to fill her in on what she's been up to.

I hope so. I hope they end their career with a huge embarrassment. They deserve it. I have to remind people that I've only been a SN hater the last couple of years. She has worn on my last nerve the way she has been acting. I used to be her biggest fan, and while I will always love lots of her music, I'm not going to worship her personally anymore. She's become insufferable.

I agree completely. This final act is the worst way they could have ever ended their legacy. Whoever IS responsible should die from shame.

On the contrary, this new line up may be our only chance at a new studio album and is definitely the only way we will hear blues era Fleetwood Mac songs live for the first time in decades.
I know Lindsey is an amazing virtuoso guitarist and an incredible, innovative songwriter who constantly pushes the envelope in his solo career and on Tusk and Say You Will.
But is he irreplaceable? Maybe, but no more so than Christine. No more so than Stevie. And if anyone in this band is truly irreplaceable, it's the rhythm section of Fleetwood and Mac.
Try to see the positives!

It's just hard for me, personally, hung up on fairness and justice as I am, to stomach this hypocritical move. Impossible, even. So for me personally: they have made their beds and can lay in it. If I want to hear FM's good blues era I'll listen to the original musicians play it, and if I want to hear good blues, period, I can name 75 bands and musicians I'd go listen to before this bunch. It's the FM sound WITH LB I loved. So for me, without him, what's the use.

"Excited" is a big word since I was expecting a tour with the Fab 5, but I'm definitely curious, as someone else said a few days ago "I thought I could predict what they will do but they keep surprising me"

Unfortunately I don’t see any Welch tunes being incorporated, either. Even though Bob & Wendy have both passed, I still think Bob is a pariah to the band.

As far as this tour goes, I will say I’m very interested to see what happens. What songs are played, how the set list evolves, etc. But my curiosity is more scientific than anything. I still dread this new phase of the band, and wish it would simply go away. I’d much rather FM disband than carry on without all of the Rumours 5.

That's how I see it, too. I really think the set list is going to change quite a bit after the first 5 performances or so, so it'll be really interesting to read the reviews from critics and from concert goers.

Interesting post. Like you said, for me, it's about the music, so this latest lineup change doesn't faze me too much, beyond my initial disappointment. When Christine, Stevie, and Rick left and Bekka Bramlett and Dave Mason replaced them, I wasn't very excited, but I gave them a chance and bought Time and really didn't care for it at all. And I didn't see them in concert. But the current lineup, now that is a band I'm excited about!

Re The BTM era, while I agree neither Rick or Billy were extraordinary vocalists, I definitely thought Rick was an incredible guitarist- both on the albums and live. His guitar work on the live versions of Isn't It Midnight and Oh Well, and on the recorded version of Save Me, were blistering and blew my mind. And whoever played that guitar on No Questions Asked (I'm assuming it was Rick but it could have been Billy) did an awesome job. I mean, whether you like that song or not, the guitar work is the best thing about it!

Dare I wade in? Perhaps briefly.

Lindsey will be fine. He's super wealthy, has a solo career, a family etc. I'm still not convinced they just wanted to get rid of him arbitrarily.

Despite being mainly a Buckingham-Nicks fan myself, I know there was more to them than that. I've often wondered why they didn't do more of their work from an earlier time. They should before too late. As Mick has said, there wouldn't have been a FM without Peter Green, who regularly makes lists of greatest guitar players of all time. That's a legacy that deserves to be remembered as part of this group's history.

I just wish them all the best. I wasn't going to see FM this time but with Neil on board I might.

Agree. What I meant about Rick and Billy’s playing is that there really isn’t anything unique about their sound. They are masterful musicians but they didn’t create their own unique sound the way Lindsey and Mike have.

And as stated up-thread a little:
The true Fleetwood Mac sound has always been John and Mick.
That drum and bass combo is why the songs get under people’s skin and become irreplaceable earworms.
And that’s why I showed up for the Tango shows and the Behind The Mask shows.
Despite myself, I was hugely impressed with how they sounded.

I sat out Time because the songs felt weak and I’m not a fan of Beka’s voice.

Ironically I sat out the last two tours because I see a lot of live shows and a greatest hits setlist in a big arena wasn’t worth the cash for me. Do I regret it?
Absolutely - especially after hearing how much they had improved as a band since the SYW tour.
So here we are today with Mike Campbell stepping in and I gotta admit, I’m pretty damn excited. And I’ll be excited for Lindsey’s solo shows too.

I’m not boycotting this tour. The new lineup is something I find to be compelling. I would probably skip it if they had gotten lame replacements, but they really outdid themselves. Either way, I gave up on Fleetwood Mac being anything other than an oldies act with their album being credited to LBCM, so the whole “legacy” thing people are hung up on now kind of rings hollow.

I saw the SYW tour three times (the bookend shows and one in between) and really enjoyed it, but I skipped the 2009 and 2013 tours. As much as I love Fleetwood Mac, I just got burned out on the SN-LB story line, Lindsey’s constant stream of psychobabble, Stevie’s grandiosity, and constantly asking if it’s live or is it Memorex. There was no balance and nothing especially compelling to make me want to go.

I reached my breaking point at a 2006 Lindsey solo show when he said something along the lines of he realized a dream of his wasn’t going to come true and that he needed to give himself time to mourn the loss of that dream. I was working as a social worker at a homeless shelter at the time and mourning the recent loss of my uncle, so the comment especially rubbed me the wrong way. It was a Saturday night and I wanted to see a rock show and forget about things for a while. It didn’t happen at the Lindsey show, so I went home and put on Guided by Voices, which turned out to be life changing.

Yes, I did. I wasn't interested enough in the band without Christine (who has always been my favorite member) to pay arena prices to see a concert. But I didn't feel anger toward the band, just a relative lack of interest.

Yes, definitely. I am angry at them because they think they can just kick out an essential member of the band and replace him with two guys who have no previous connection to the band, and they think no one will notice or care!