Just got in from the show, here are some thoughts...
The setlist - well, what can you say? I was not totally surprised about anything in there and of course, share the disappointment that some of my fellow ledgies have with no "Sisters of the Moon." But, there were some great songs and the subtle changes to the order of the set were refreshing.
Monday Morning - this is great as an opener. I really loved the quick intro into such a great song to start the show. If I'm not mistaken, this was the first time it has been played since August 1980?
The Chain - excellent. Sometimes I just wish John's bass solo would be a bit longer. It seems that as soon as everyone is getting into John's groove, Lindsey and then Mick have joined right back in.
Dreams - Predictible set location. I noticed some high notes from Stevie that I hadn't heard in some time during this one (of course, I remembered that, but if you asked me exactly where they were, I couldn't tell you right now)
I Know I'm Not Wrong - some idiots in my row had to go to the bathroom and get food for themselves at the beginning when they realized they didn't know this one. This is a great song and is a lot of fun, I'm really glad it's become a staple.
Gypsy - nothing noteworthy, not bad but nothing out of the ordinary
Go Insane - seemed sped up from Lindsey's solo tour, no Stevie on this one, similar to the album version. I was surprised at the number of people who knew the words and beat.
Rhiannon - hit several high notes, nailed the ending! Same arrangement as SYW tour. Still think they could do more to toughen up this song a la the '75-'82 days.
Second Hand News - Lindsey did a little intro to this saying it was one of the first songs recorded for the Rumours album, and then talked a brief bit about the album and how well the songs have held up throughout the years.
Tusk - very different from other Mac shows and highly reminiscient of Lindsey's solo outings of late
Sara - so nice to have this one back full time
Big Love - yeah, from a setlist standpoint it's gotten old but I can't possibly tire of seeing Mr. Buckingham's fingers bluring while tearing that guitar up. The word impressive doesn't do his performance here any justice.
Landslide - nice version, the end was a little messed up and Stevie "scolded" the audience for almost allowing her and LB to miss their queue. If I'm not mistaken, she missed the "well maybe" before "the Landslide will bring it down" parts at the end. Plus, there seemed to be an extended amount of "the landslide will bring it down"....I think it repeated 5 times before the song ended.
NGBA - just Stevie and Lindsey on this one, very reminiscient of the old days, stripped down from the SYW tour. Lindsey doing a lot of the little whispering vocals on this one that remind me of the 1980 live album.
Storms - Stevie did a similar to "Beautiful Child" introduction to this one. Mick was out behind a little kit. They nailed this one. Her voice is really holding up great throughout this show.
Say You Love Me - well this was different. Very unlike The Dance, but still somewhat stripped down. Mick behind the kit still, Stevie taking the first verse (Have mercy baby, on a poor GIRL like me...), switching on and off with Lindsey. It was down a key but I thought it did Christine's song justice. It was nice to have back.
Gold Dust Woman - she really nailed the wail in this one...not Dance DVD level, but it sounded better than the '03-'04 versions.
Oh Well - I LOVED this song - it almost made the entire show for me. He nailed it. His vocals, the guitar work, Mick's drumming, John's bass....all incredible. This must remain in any Fleetwood Mac concert going forward.
I'm So Afraid - this was arranged differently, plus it seemed a bit messed up in the beginning. I think Mick started drumming the intro to Stand Back, Lindsey shot a look, and then all went silent for 5 seconds. Next thing we go into this softer quieter version of ISA. I'm fairly certain this was the same arrangement as LB's solo tour. His guitar solo was out of control. Standing ovation.
Stand Back - no drum intro, just a rollicking version. Also, the false ending where the song starts back up and then winds down (I think this has been done on Stevie's solo tours in the late 80's early 90's and then on her most recent tours)....it was great
Go Your Own Way - It too, along with ISA and Tusk, were arranged verrry similarly to Lindsey's recent solo tours. I'm not sure what I think about this yet. The solo was awesome but I am not positive what I think of the verses done this way. It is a subtle change but it's noticeable.
World Turning - Mick stayed behind the drums for his solo. Okay, who wasn't crossing their fingers to hear the opening chords of Sisters of the Moon at this point? Of course, it was not meant to be. World Turning is an odd choice for the first encore but it gets Mick his solo time and apparently it works.
Don't Stop - Okay, Stevie is still changing words. Eh...I'd rather they drop this altogether in favor of another Chris song - but I guess this song has achieved a status that it will always be played.
Silver Springs - this did surprise me. Not that it was played at all, but that it was the final encore. I saw and heard glimpses of the Dance version in tonight's performance. I would rank what I heard above the SYW arrangement/performance, but below the Dance Tour.
Other notes:
**Love the annoying man behind me who announced that about 90% of the songs were on the "'76 album...from back in 1976." After he said "Big Love" was from '76 I almost turned around and punched him. They left during the end of the solo of "Go YOur Own Way" to "beat the traffic." He also felt the need to say "Go Pens (Penguins)" about every 10 seconds until midway through Gypsy his wife told him to shut the **** up!
**I didn't see very many, if any, empty seats. The city was packed, traffic was backed up all over the place beforehand, and the Arena was rocking. Nice crowd, very energetic.
**Stevie at 60 looks amazing. I'd like to find a girl who is 28 that looks as good as she does. I'm not sure what she has done since the last Mac outing, but she looks years younger.
**Okay, I'm disappointed that no SOTM, or the continued lack of representation of the MIrage and Tango in the Night albums. I was really hoping for something else off of Tango now. Either the title track itself, or Little Lies, or Seven Wonders. Plus, I really really really thought that Hold Me would be a possibility as a "Christine song".....oh well, maybe next time!!
That's all I have for now..I'm sure I'll think of more. Really hope someone taped tonight's show!!
|