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Together again: Fleetwood Mac turns back clock in Hartford
My Record Journal, November 4, 2014
By John Pettit Special to the Record-Journal
HARTFORD — I was 7 years old again Saturday night, and the XL Center was my living room circa 1977.
It was quite apropos that it was time to turn back the clock, because Fleetwood Mac did just that in Hartford.
The band is whole once again for its “On with the Show” tour now that Christine McVie has conquered her fear of flying, rejoining the British-American rockers for the first time in almost two decades.
“With the return of the beautiful Christine, we begin a brand new, magical and profound chapter in the history of the band,” leading man Lindsey Buckingham exclaimed.
Turn back the clock. That’s what Fleetwood Mac did for me Saturday night.
My late father adored Fleetwood Mac, especially Stevie Nicks. As I recall, he loved her voice and pearly white teeth, among other things.
The smiling Irishman loved a good, loud party and that’s what Fleetwood Mac delivered in Hartford.
I grew up on Fleetwood Mac, even if I didn’t fully appreciate the band until it was too late.
My dad would crank the classic album “Rumours” — often after a couple Schaefers — at such high decibels that the our small Cape would shake like Stevie.
He would grip his beer like a microphone and sing at the top of his lungs, “You can go your own way ...”
I just wanted to play my Atari.
During my formative years, I listened to Fleetwood Mac with my fingers inserted in my ears.
I was 7 in 1977 when “Rumours,” one of the top 10 highest-selling albums of all time, was released. “Go Your Own Way,” “Dreams,” “Don’t Stop,” and “You Make Loving Fun” received continuous airplay in the Pettit household. My dad owned every album.
Three years ago the music stopped. My dad suffered a major heart attack. If you believe in signs, which I do, Fleetwood Mac is the connection to my dad. I almost always hear a Fleetwood Mac song whenever I’m feeling down and missing my father — in the car, in the supermarket, even in the airport when I was about to board a flight to see my mother in Florida.
It’s like he’s signing to me.
Going to a Fleetwood Mac show became high on my own bucket list.
Saturday’s concert was as much of a pilgrimage as it was a way to celebrate 13 wonderful years with my bride. We spent our 10th anniversary at my dad’s wake.
The band members are in their late 60s and early 70s and their followers aren’t getting any younger. These days, Viagra seems to be the drug of choice for Fleetwood Mac fans.
Despite complaints of a chilly dressing room and an early minor equipment malfunction, Fleetwood Mac busted out of the gate with “The Chain” and kept the hits coming for 2½ hours.
“It’s starting to warm up now,” Buckingham bellowed as the band began settling in.
Buckingham seems to have discovered the Fountain of Youth. He bopped around the stage like a man half his age, shredding the guitar on favorites like “Big Love” and “I’m Never Going Back Again.”
I’m happy to report, Dad, that Stevie has aged quite well. She held up her end of the bargain with stellar renditions of “Rhiannon,” Gold Dust Woman” and “Gypsy.” Nicks’ turn on “Landside,” which she dedicated to her own father, was the highlight of the show.
Nicks played to the crowd, shrugging her shoulders as if to say, oh, well, as she sang, “I’m getting older too.”
The song gets me every time.
McVie was hardly in over her head. She was on point for “Little Lies,” “You Make Loving Fun” and “Everywhere.”
She thanked her band members for welcoming her back with open arms.
“It’s the sweetest thing in the world to be back with these fantastic players,” McVie added. “I love them and I love you.”
Mick Fleetwood, who has a new book out, hammers the drums like Animal from the Muppets. Although his lengthy percussion solo on “World Turning” had plenty of fans heading for the exits in hopes of beating the traffic.
Overall, it was a terrific show. The band played almost all the hits from its extensive catalog and I was able to scratch a line item off my bucket list.
My father would have loved it, and as I sang “Yesterday’s Gone, Yesterday’s Gone,” at the top of my lungs during the “Don’t Stop” encore, I could not help but notice the empty seat next to me in the nearly sold-out arena.
Saturday’s set list: The Chain, You Make Loving Fun, Dreams, Second Hand News, Rhiannon, Everywhere, I Know I’m Wrong, Tusk, Sisters of the Moon, Say Your Love Me, Seven Wonders, Big Love, Landslide, Never Going Back Again, Over My Head, Gypsy, Little Lies, Gold Dust Woman, I’m So Afraid, Go Your Own Way. Encores: World Turning, Don’t Stop, Silver Springs, Songbird.