Timespace Concert Reviews

[michelej1]

[I didn't know if the fan experiences would get lost, if I put the media reviews in that thread, so I made a separate one]

Chicago Tribune, August 23, 1991


CHICAGO TRIBUNE,

WITHOUT FLEETWOOD MAC, STEVIE NICKS` POSE LACKS PASSION

Bruce Britt, Los Angeles Daily News.

Pop stardom is tremendously unpredictable nowadays, and anyone requiring
proof need only examine the case of Stevie Nicks. The former Fleetwood Mac
singer has built a sizable following with her quavering voice, rambling
melodies and incomprehensibly mystic lyrics.

Nicks brought her show to the Greek Theatre the other night for her first Los Angeles performance since departing Fleetwood Mac. An emcee pretty much
summed up the tenor of the performance during an introduction. To wit:
``Tonight there is magic in the air.``

Apparently fans believed Nicks` performance was magical. The capacity
crowd sang along on many tunes and cheered the singer`s slightest movement.

Not that fans had a real choice in the matter-slight movements were all
Nicks offered. A half-baked, gypsylike twirl proved to be the extent of the
singer`s performing abilities.

Of course Nicks isn`t alone in being a one-trick pony performer. But
Nicks seemed incapable of delivering her one movement with any feeling.

Indeed, there was little palpable passion in Nicks` performance. One
didn`t get the sense that this mystical, spiritually minded woman was consumed by the music. That made her Stevie the Friendly Witch persona seem like an
ugly affectation.

The show might have been more successful had the ancillary elements been
stronger. That way it may have been possible for one to turn his or her
attention away from Nicks and concentrate on the lyrics, the music or the
band.

But the show was mediocre in virtually every aspect. Nicks` band couldn`t decide if they wanted to be Foreigner, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers or
Fleetwood Mac. So instead of forging their own unique identity, the band
offered up reheated imitations of all those bands.

The band`s indifferent performance shed light on the shortcomings of
Nicks` music. The singer-songwriter tends to take one melody and stretch it
the length of an entire song. Many of her tunes-``Edge of Seventeen,`` and
``Talk to Me,`` just to name two-didn`t even have choruses to speak of.

The show was equally lacking in lyrical profundity. Nicks` lyrics are so
personal and ethereal, they`re almost like inside jokes. The singer delivered lines like ``there is no beauty without my beast`` with a straight face.

Now that takes talent.