Lindsey at The Egg, Albany

[elle]

i was sure there is somewhere the thread on The Egg but can't find it now...

review of today's concert from timesunion.com
http://blog.timesunion.com/localarts...g-11211/19096/

Arts Talk
The place to discuss the arts in the Capital Region

Lindsey Buckingham at The Egg, 11/2/11
November 2, 2011 at 11:18 pm by Greg Haymes
By GREG HAYMES
Special to the Times Union

ALBANY – In the middle of his brilliant concert at The Egg on Wednesday evening, Lindsey Buckingham broke down his approach to his musical career in Hollywood terms, explaining that sometimes he’s in a box-office blockbuster movie (Fleetwood Mac, or as he says, “the Big Machine”) and sometimes he’s in a gritty, indie art-house film (his solo work).

On Wednesday, he brought the “small machine” to town, standing front and center surrounded by a trio of talented, versatile musicians who never once pulled the focus from their bandleader. Which is as it should be.
What was quite amazing, however, was just how well the Big Machine songs were integrated into Buckingham’s smart but eccentric solo work without over-powering the much less well known selections. In fact, the 110-minute concert was a study in balance – one-third selections from Buckingham’s new album ”Seeds We Sow,” one-third culled from his previous solo work and one-third Fleetwood Mac nuggets.

Buckingham opened the show by himself, offering up a half dozen string snapping gems that showcased his considerable and often under-rated guitar talents. After launching the performance with the shimmering “Shut Us Down,” he explored the full range of his fretboard skills, swerving from crackling finger-picking to a furious mad-man strum during “Go Insane.” By the time he hit the back-to-back Mac tunes – the dynamic “Never Going Back Again” and the finger-picking flurry of “Big Love” – that closed out his half-hour solo set, the crowd was clearly in his pocket.

Without any fanfare or even acknowledgment, the band slid in behind Buckingham with a magnificent rendition of “Under the Skin,” three acoustic guitars chiming away atop the subtle clip-clop percussion of drummer Walfredo Reyes, Jr. With the ballad-ish “All My Sorrows,” guitarist Neale Heywood and utility man Brett Tuggle chimed in with lushly woven vocal harmonies, while the new “In Our Own Time” proved that the band could rock hard, too. Tuggle, who switched off between guitar, bass and keyboards throughout the night, was the musical linchpin, adding just the right coloration and shading to the band’s spot-on arrangements.

And the arrangements were key, considering that the quartet pulled off a sparkling rendition of the paranoia-drenched Mac hit, “Tusk,” which famously included everything including a full marching band on the original recording. “Second Hand News” and “Stars Are Crazy” (the stand-out of the new material) were both taken at gallop tempo, but it was the dark “I’m So Afraid” which drew the standing ovation, as Buckingham launched into full-fledged guitar hero mode.

Chances are when next we get to see Buckingham, he’ll be surrounded by his Fleetwood Mac bandmates at SPAC or the Times Union Center, but it was genuinely thrilling to see what he can do in an intimate setting with a “small machine.”

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Lindsey Buckingham
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: The Egg, Empire State Plaza, Albany
Musical highlights: “Tusk,” “Stars Are Crazy,” “I’m So Afraid”
Length: 110 minutes – no intermission; no opening act
The crowd: A disappointingly small but very appreciative crowd of about 500.
Upcoming: Comedian Ralphie May has canceled his Friday performance at The Egg due to illness, but the Roxanne Butterfly Worldbeat Ensemble offers a dance performance of “The Tap Experience” at 8 p.m. Friday at The Egg.
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Greg Haymes is a freelance writer from the east side of the Hudson.