Still Rocking - Nicks Delivers (Scranton review)

[Livia]

http://www.timesleader.com/news/2007...tevie_ART.html

Still rocking, Nicks delivers review
ALAN K. STOUT

Stevie Nicks thrilled fans Saturday night at the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton.

Jonathan J. Juka/FOR THE TIMES LEADER
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SCRANTON – She’s got the twirl.

Just as Elvis Presley had the raised-lip sneer, Pete Townshend has the windmill and Mike Jagger has the pout, Stevie Nicks has the twirl. It is her trademark move on stage - a reflection of her earthy image - and it’s always met with a cheer from her fans.

Nicks twirled a few times on Saturday night at the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain and got plenty of cheers from the crowd of 5,200. But it was her songs, not her engaging twists in the wind, that seemed to delight them most.

Nicks, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Fleetwood Mac, opened her set with a fiery performance of “Stand Back,” which quickly revealed that her singing voice was in top form. She followed with “Enchanted” and “If Anyone Falls In Love.”

Touring on the release of a new retrospective CD, “Crystal Visions,” Nicks told the crowd that since the album looks back on her career, she might be a bit more talkative than usual and she did introduce several numbers by sharing the stories that inspired them. She was backed by a big 10-piece band that included two percussionists and three female backing singers. The sound was excellent and the harmonies were perfect.

Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon” began with a beautiful piano intro and later morphed into a much more rocked-up rendition than the original which worked very well. The moody “Dreams,” another Fleetwood Mac classic, was delivered with a genuine sentimentality.

Nicks rocked things up again with a driving performance of “Sorcerer” and later pulled on the crowd’s sentiments again with a soft performance of “Landslide.” It was a balance the navigated well throughout the night. The set ended with “Edge of Seventeen” and encores included a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll,” which was one of the few misfires of the show. Great song, but not for Nicks. The other misstep was a heavy percussion solo. Though impressive, fans likely would have rather had a few more of her own hits in the time it consumed. But those were minor infractions, especially in a set that also included a superb performance of “Gold Dust Woman.”

And especially when you’ve got the twirl.