Chicago (Vic Theater) September 18

[michelej1]

Time Out Chicago
http://timeoutchicago.com/music-nigh...oncert-preview

Pop’s greatest soap opera has been in reruns for ages: Erstwhile supergroup Fleetwood Mac last toured in 2009, reviving the backstage drama and ex-flame flameouts that made 1977’s Rumours one of the biggest phenomena in recorded music history. Guitar wizard Lindsey Buckingham gets credit as the band’s sonic mastermind, but his solo career never gets its due. And that’s plain silly. As Buckingham’s new, stellar Seeds We Sow makes evident on track after track, his genius isn’t limited to the Mac’s contrapuntal “heartbreak and revenge” dynamic.

At his best, the lifelong Californian combines the ambitious, folk-inspired chops of a Richard Thompson with the symphonic imagination of a Brian Wilson. Now on a rare tour—his last solo go-round was three years ago—Buckingham brings a satchel of masterful three- and four-minute tunes. They may begin as delicately as “That’s the Way Love Goes,” with a simple harpsichord-driven melody, but they quickly build into buoyant epiphanies of sound: Buckingham’s urgent falsetto multitracked as a guitar solo keens high above, before everything cascades down the scales to a whisper.

It will be fascinating to see how the singer pulls off his complex arrangements outside a studio. Though any trade-off will definitely favor electric spontaneity and emotional intensity, Buckingham can conjure a torrent of drama with just his voice and a guitar.

Vic Theatre; Sun 18

September 14, 2011