Introducing myself

[BrokenWing]

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking here for a couple weeks and thought I'd finally get around to introducing myself.

My name is Eileen, I'm 29 years old and I live near Scranton, Pa. I've been a Mac fan since Tango, but had never seen them live until three weeks ago at the Ford Pavilion in Scranton. The show was definitely worth the 17 years I waited to see it! Even my friend who went with me, who wasn't all that familiar with the Mac beyond Landslide and a few other tunes, was blown away by how awesome the concert was. I'd have to rank it up there with probably the top three shows I've ever seen. I especially enjoyed how the band has dusted off a few Tusk songs I never expected to hear them do live--I've always LOVED Beautiful Child, and IKINW absolutely rocks! At the same time, I was quite surprised to hear nothing at all from Mirage, though after reading other people's comments and the track list from LIB, I know that Gypsy and Eyes of the World have made appearances at some point during the tour. I sorely regret never having seen the band while Christine was still with them, and there was definitely an empty place on the stage, but it was a lot less empty than I expected. As it happens, this was the first time the Mac in its Rumours incarnation has visited Scranton since at least the Mirage tour and possibly even longer, and unfortunately, I didn't have the money to travel to see them back in '97.

The band has really been a recurring presence in my life for the past 17 years, more so than a constant obsession. There have been times when I got so sick of hearing some of the songs on the radio that the CD's went onto my shelf and sat there untouched for a while. But I always come back to the Mac eventually, and of course, there are some gems that will never get played on any radio station around here, like some of the hidden classics on Tusk, or live versions like the kicking banjo rendition of SYLM on The Dance or any live version of Rhiannon.

I've been thoroughly enjoying the wealth of information on this site--major kudos to Marty and Lisa and whoever else works to make it as wonderful as it is--and also reading the thoughts of my fellow fans. Although, I don't know how y'all are finding the money to pay for front-row seats at multiple venues--I was lucky to afford my one concert with lawn seats! I may try to check out the rescheduled show in Camden in September, but money may be the deciding factor there. Oh well, in the absence of being able to afford multiple shows, I've been enjoying all the reviews posted here. I'm sorry to hear that intoxicated fans have put a damper on the shows for some people--I never could understand why people would want to spend so much on a ticket and then get so wasted that they probably don't even remember the show.

A couple of funny stories about the year I first was hit by the Mac Attack. In 1987, it was terminally uncool to be an eighth-grader listening to a band like Fleetwood Mac, at least where I come from. All the boys in my class were listening to AC/DC, Metallica and Iron Maiden, the girls were listening to the Bangles and Debbie Gibson, and everybody was listening to Bon Jovi and Def Leppard. As far as my classmates were concerned, Fleetwood Mac was one of those old bands that their parents liked--horrors! And I put up with a LOt of teasing from the boys and eye-rolling from the girls because of it. So one day, our teacher is asking us about our favorite singers and groups, and a group of fairly popular girls said, "Stevie Nicks, oh yeah, we love Stevie!" I just looked at them and started laughing. "Um, you do know she's the lead singer of Fleetwood Mac, right?" They had absolutely no idea--despite the fact that Seven Wonders had been all over the radio just a few months earlier! Thank God, for the sake of the younger fans of today, Mr. William Jefferson Clinton restored the Mac to their rightful place of coolness. (I can barely stomach much of today's pop music, and the songs I do like are usually by Stevie disciples like Sheryl Crow and Sarah McLachlan.)

And the second story: At end of eighth grade, while lamenting that Lindsey had left the band and the Shake the Cage tour wasn't coming to Scranton, I had the exciting experience of being a finalist in the 1988 National Spelling Bee. The local paper that was sponsoring my trip to Washington published a number of stories about me--first when I won the school contest, then when I won the regional finals, and then all during the week I was at the finals. Being that I was absolutely OBSESSED with the Mac that year, I managed to slip a Mac reference or two into almost every interview. My prim and proper Catholic school principal was not amused when the headline the day after I won the school contest read, "Fleetwood Mac is help at Wyoming Area Catholic." And throughout the entire adventure, the stories related how I challenged everyone in sight to spell "Rhiannon," my comment that I'd give my right arm to look like Stevie Nicks and even how I went up to my hotel room during the break between rounds and listened to Say You Love Me (my favorite Mac song that week) to help calm my jittery nerves. I still have all the clippings of course and I was tempted to see if one of the local radio stations could get copies of them to the band at the recent concert, but I never did.

Lately I've been discovering the pre-BN era, and I'm surprised at how much I enjoy a lot of it. I'd never been much of a blues fan, but Then Play On is an awesome record, and I absolutely ADORE Bare Trees. I was intrigued by all the superlatives used to describe Peter Green, and he is truly an amazing talent, but I was surprised to find that it was Danny Kirwan's songs that really leaped out at me. It's a shame that his contribution is usually overshadowed by Green and Spencer and Welch, and a terrible tragedy what has become of him since then. But I guess that discussion is for the "Pre-Rumours" forum.

On a more on-topic note, I also think it's a travesty that Lindsey isn't routinely mentioned among the greatest rock 'n' roll guitarists of all time. I mean, the guy can do AMAZING things with his guitar. Just listening to his finger work on Never Going Back Again sends me into ecstacy every time!

Well, that's probably way more than you all wanted to know about me in an introductory post, so I'll shut up now. Looking forward to reading more great Mac discussion here.

BW

P.S. If anyone wants to say hi via e-mail, feel free, and I should have my MSN and AIM names up shortly as well.

P.P.S. The username comes from a non-Mac song--I couldn't find anything suitable from the Mac that wasn't already taken.