Buckingham CARRIES Fleetwood Mac
 

The Fleetwood Mac set list Thursday at the Allstate Arena was straight out of the '70's, but Lindsey Buckingham was very much in the present tense on the quartet's latest reunion tour.

The leather-jacketed guitarist played as if his graying hair were on fire most of the night, throwing himself into the songs with a gusto that frequently erupted into manic howls and fleet-fingered, shrapnel-tossing solos. Buckingham pulled the 23 creaky songs out of the long-lost "Rumours" era into the the now, with enthusiastic assistance from drummer Mick Fleetwood.

With the stalwart bassist John McVie at his side, Fleetwood looked as if he had just popped out of a Dickens novel, a towering, ponytailed Fagin in knickers. For all the mugging and preening, he pounded the drums with maniacal glee, blending bluesy firepower with orchestral flair. The inventively propulsive drum parts on songs such as "Rhiannon", "Go Your Own Way" and "World Turning" colored the arrnagements with authority and matched Buckingham's passion.

Stevie Nicks was the only member of this revived version of the band's classic '70's lineup (minus singer-songwriter Christine McVie, who retired from the business years ago) who wasn't quite up to speed as the show began. Her voice has not only deepened, it has lost much of it's flexibility,
and her performances of "Gypsy" and "Rhiannon" fell flat. She reaccesssorized continually with boots, dresses, shawls, scarves, tambourines and even a top hat as the show progressed over two-plus hours. Halfway through the set, she finally shook off the doldrums and audibly rose to the occasion on "Landslide", accompanied only by Buckingham's guitar.

"I'm getting older, too", Nicks sang with soaring, if melancholy, conviction. By the time she trotted out her solo hit "Standback", she felt frisky enough to revive one of her trademark twirls.

But it would have been little more than a quaint rehash of a bunch of golden oldies were it not for Buckingham. He started strong, pushing his voice hard on "Monday Morning", and by the end of the set was finger-picking shrieking, gale-force solos from his instrument, reanimating Peter Green's early Mac classic "Oh Well" and investing "I'm So Afraid" with scarifying intensity. Wired and still wiry, Buckingham looked as if he could have raved all night with this rhythm section at his back.

Chicago Tribune, by Greg Kot.
March 7, 2009

After seeing the GOS-tour, it was impossible for me that it would be different. The man is totally ON. If there ever was a good word for what he has shown the last couple of years I would say: "unleashed".

*waits for the arguments to break out again*

I think Stevie sounds great on Storms and Silver Springs but I think it's evident that she's finding it hard to work up the emotion to sing certain songs she's sung a million times before. She's definitely still got it but at the very least they should make her drop Gypsy and even sing something from her solo back catalogue.

Lindsey seems rejuvenated by the whole solo experience. It's great to see.

Lindsey does seem rejuvenated these last few years. His recent tours
have been amazing.

On the "arguments" part, remember I also wrote the Great Expectations
Thread. Don't kill the messenger you all!

naturally, performances are subjective. I just posted a silver springs from opening night that gave me some chills...seems to me stevie neither sux or is lax in her performance, opening night or otherwise...twirl or no twirl, I just haven't seen/heard that yet :shrug:

and IMO Lindsey is always at his KICKASS best! :]

It takes a compassionate, secure and strong person to let another take the spotlight.

We all know that Stevie could command the audience with one look or twirl or phrase. She is allowing Lindsey to shine, good for them both.

But that's exactly why people shouldn't get upset at the few criticisms posted here. It is all subjective and getting mad about it or calling Lindsey names isn't going to make that person change their mind it that's how they really feel.
Personally, despite some of the set list looking a bit stale, I think the band are sounding really great on the whole. Stevie does sound less enthusiastic on a couple of the songs, to my ears, but she also sounds great on others. I'm assuming it's because she's bored but wolfontherun makes a good point, maybe she's holding back so she doesn't hog the spotlight.

Yes, Lindsey's on fire, but I think he was like that for the SYW tour as well, not to mention his 2 solo junctures.

This suggests that Stevie is somehow holding back and I'm not sure why this excuse has to be made for her. She has been employing her twirls, looks and phrases, people still notice Lindsey. Certainly she can keep up with him and enthrall audiences any time she pleases. But the suggestion that, if she had half a mind to do it, she could completely steal the spotlight from him, so that critics and fans would forget he was there is ludicrous.

They're both magnetic performers. Good for them. I reject the notion that one is "allowing" the other to shine. That's her light right there for all to see. She's not hiding it under a barrel. Is she more animated on her solo tours? Maybe. But you could put Lindsey's solo performance smack up against one of hers and I think he would hold his own. I don't think that either of them in full glory eclipses the other.


Michele

I agree with this, Sharon. :nod:

I never believed for one second that Stevie "allowed" Lindsey to shine and deliberately decided to take a back seat to him while sharing the stage in Fleetwood Mac. If anything, Lindsey's electrifying performances reveal the weaknesses in her own performances these days and he tends to completely overshadow her. It's a sharp contrast indeed. The fact that Lindsey has kept up that same intensity since the SYW tour just makes Stevie's decline all the more revealing, in my opinion.

I think Lindsey's recent solo touring has paid off as well---its like his chops and stage antics are well-oiled and I think he is much happier than he was on the SYW tour.

He's just in a really good place on all fronts. It's very reflective in his music.
He scorched during his solo tour and he just shows no signs of stopping.

I'm happy to enjoy the ride. My b/f is such a guitar guy and he's just been knocked sideways by LB. A good thing for me!

Well, could it be that Lindsey is compensating for his lack of voice with more stagecraft? As Stevie once said, "less voice, more flair." I know I'm going to take a lot of crap by saying what a lot of people have been thinking: Lindsey's voice sounds terrible so far on this tour :sorry: . All I hear is a lot of growling and off-key barking from him. And let's face it- the songs that are now done in a lower key ("Don't Stop," "Go Your Own Way," "Say You Love Me," etc.) are probably because of Lindsey's greater limitations as a vocalist this time around. Sure, everyone gets old, and people change... and one could argue that it's better to be rough 'n' ragged as long as you are still rockin'; by contrast, Mama has gone all cabaret-style with her mannered phrasing and projection. But to my ears, Lindsey's lead vocals are a little hard to take. :shrug: Maybe there is a way he could take lessons to learn proper technique, yet maintain his edge...

I won't give ya crap.
I think his voice sounds good. He gets a rasp into it occasionally... I think it's hot. :]

I think Lindsey sounds better this tour than he did for the SYW tour. Yes, a voice coach could probably help him, but I don't think that he's interested in the discipline and he probably thinks it distracts and detracts. I do believe he subscribes to the rough, ragged and rocking philosophy that you mentioned. And I welcome that live. I regret his vocals on UTS because when I tried to turn people onto the album that alienated them. But in concert, I don't have any regrets.

Michele