27/05/15 - The 02

[MikeVielhaber]

Originally Posted by wheart

not to be a "wet blanket" but I highly doubt there will be. This is Fleetwood Mac, remember...

Yes, hard to see how one would derive excitement in anticipation of a set list change. Very little chance of that happening.

[twinmatrix]

Well, seems like Songbird and Seven Wonders really are cut permanently... Damnit. :/ Can't they remove I Know I'm Not Wrong?

[poetinmyheart]

Originally Posted by twinmatrix

Well, seems like Songbird and Seven Wonders really are cut permanently... Damnit. :/ Can't they remove I Know I'm Not Wrong?

Songbird was performed tonight

Just got home from the London show. I'd avoided all videos and reviews of the previous American shows so had no real idea what to expect with the five of them being reunited again. I was certainly not disappointed. They were incredible - absolutely brought the house down. Am on such a high right now, am already plotting how I'm going to get my hands on a ticket to a later London date.

I hope everyone else who was there tonight enjoyed it as much as I did and I'm excited for everyone who has it still to come

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by poetinmyheart

Songbird was performed tonight

Just got home from the London show. I'd avoided all videos and reviews of the previous American shows so had no real idea what to expect with the five of them being reunited again. I was certainly not disappointed. They were incredible - absolutely brought the house down. Am on such a high right now, am already plotting how I'm going to get my hands on a ticket to a later London date.

I hope everyone else who was there tonight enjoyed it as much as I did and I'm excited for everyone who has it still to come

I understand your "high." I had the same high after the Pittsburgh show. Please give us more details

[poetinmyheart]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

I understand your "high." I had the same high after the Pittsburgh show. Please give us more details

I'll post my thoughts in a little more detail tomorrow but what I will say is the vocals, harmonies were on point. And don't get me started on L's playing. Big Love was incredible. He literally made his fingers bleed tonight - he said it's the problem with having 5-6 weeks off! Everyone was buzzing when leaving the arena, full of praise for all of them. 2.5 hours of pure magic. Simply brilliant. I was overcome with emotion at the end and I'm not ashamed to admit, I may have shed a tear or two

[poetinmyheart]

The Telegraph Review is up already - 5 stars.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/m...aordinary.html

The Chain made for a suitably dramatic opening, showing off the restored Fleetwood Mac to full effect with that fantastic bass, thunderous drums, blood quickening guitar solo and gorgeous wall of harmonies insisting the chain cannot be broken. Going straight into You Make Loving Fun drove the point home, showcasing Christine McVie's smooth vocal and funky keyboards. "I think we can safely say our girl is back" trilled Stevie Nicks.

This tour marks the full reunion of the classic line-up, with the return of Christine McVie after 16 years. The band have become almost the definition of a heritage act in her absence, regularly touring sets of their greatest hits to nostalgic audiences, so you can't really say she was missed. But there is no doubt she restores some balance, both in musical and pop cultural terms.
Musically, she takes some of the weight off virtuoso guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, her smooth, lush pop songs softening his sharper arty edges. Flowing gems as potent as Everywhere, Little Lies and Songbird were restored to their rightful place in the centre of a Fleetwood set and for that alone audiences have reason to be grateful. But there is a sense too that the dysfunctional family is back together, healing old wounds with the balm of time and music, a message that, in itself, speaks volumes to lifelong fans.

Fleetwood Mac make much of their history of "ups and downs" as Buckingham puts it. Now that Christine is back playing again with ex-husband bassist John McVie there are three former couples on stage, if you take into account that drummer Mick Fleetwood romanced singer Nicks behind the back of Buckingham. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," Buckingham insisted, and seemed intent on proving it with a playful yet dramatically full blooded duet with his ex on Never Going Back Again.

The soap opera has always lent a certain depth and texture to Fleetwood Mac but, frankly, a little less chatter and a little more playing would be my only suggestion. There were speeches even after the encores. Yet it feels churlish to complain. Precious few bands have contained the range of vocal, stylistic and songwriting talent of the Mac, and even the inevitable inclusion of a new song didn't start a queue for the toilets. With that taut, explosive rhythm section, Buckingham's imaginative flair, Nicks' wildcard charisma and Christine McVie's singalong soulfulness restored to the heart of the matter, there is really no way this band could be anything less than extraordinary. A lusty mass singalong of Don't Stop spoke volumes about how their audience felt about the return of the Mac.

[tango87]

From the Telegraph review above:

"even the inevitable inclusion of a new song didn't start a queue for the toilets."

Just to clarify, there was no new song. Perhaps the reviewer had never heard I Know I'm Not Wrong before...

[elle]

Originally Posted by poetinmyheart

And don't get me started on L's playing. Big Love was incredible. He literally made his fingers bleed tonight - he said it's the problem with having 5-6 weeks off!

poor baby, he seems to always completely take his time off and not play any guitar during the break so first shows back after a month+ he's bleeding all over the place. and just powers through.

[tango87]

Hello all,

Just got home and am rather zonked so I shall keep it brief, but it was sensational, of course. Such a thrill to see Christine back on stage - my first time ever. She was amazing - beautiful, stunning voice, seemed so happy.

Again some lovely acoustic instrumentals from Lindsey before the show. I spotted Peacekeeper, Red Rover, Stephanie, Sisters of the Moon and Sugar Daddy! Also something I just couldn't identify but sounded like Destiny Rules.

I had a great floor seat 9 rows back right in front of Christine. I'm tall and stood up the whole show (sorry people behind me...) but then so did everyone, so I had a great view of expressions/interaction. I have to say I was slightly apprehensive after the recent articles, and I do think there was a fair bit of tension between S&L. Not much eye contact or touching of hands, all rather cursory. Both of them were all smiles with Christine of course, but at times it was a bit like watching the Mirage video. Now I might be reading something into nothing, but it seemed to me that there was a rather heavy moment in Gold Dust Woman. In the 'did it make you cry' harmonising bit, Lindsey was sending major sideways glances at Stevie, and pointing/gesturing at her, culminating in a proper open-handed gesture on 'now tell me is it over now?'... As I say, I might have been projecting, but it looked like he was asking her directly 'are you finished with the band?'. Anyway it certainly added spice to the mix. Maybe a video will emerge and we can examine the evidence. I don't take photos or video at concerts, I'm afraid - too busy yelping and jumping up and down.

A stunning night. My highlights were You Make Loving Fun, Little Lies, Say You Love Me - pretty much all Chris's songs. Landslide was quite fast, I thought, but gorgeous and dedicated to Adele, who presumably was in the audience. Lindsey said his finger was bleeding just before Big Love... I loved Never Going Back Again, even at a glacial pace. Um, what else? Songbird was in, and was beautiful. No Seven Wonders. Silver Springs sounded a bit off... World Turning! Wonderful.

A great crowd too. What a magnificent night.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by tango87

A stunning night. My highlights were You Make Loving Fun, Little Lies, Say You Love Me - pretty much all Chris's songs. Landslide was quite fast, I thought, but gorgeous and dedicated to Adele, who presumably was in the audience. Lindsey said his finger was bleeding just before Big Love... I loved Never Going Back Again, even at a glacial pace. Um, what else? Songbird was in, and was beautiful. No Seven Wonders. Silver Springs sounded a bit off... World Turning! Wonderful.

Glad you had a good time and it's wonderful that Songbird reared it's head again. I hope it stays. I like renditions of GDW when Lindsey starts kicking his boots together and she's pointing at him, "did she make you cry, make you break down ..." Sounds like you were treated to a nice take of it yourself. Michele

[Macfanforever]

I'm just checking in.

I hope you guys had a blast tonight..As its almost midnight EST DST here in Wallyworld . and almost 5 am in London as I post this message .You guys are fast asleep now and I'll wait until the morning and read the review and see the pix and vids.

Goodnight..Sweet dreams.......

[LesPaulPlayer91]

Originally Posted by tango87

Hello all,

Just got home and am rather zonked so I shall keep it brief, but it was sensational, of course. Such a thrill to see Christine back on stage - my first time ever. She was amazing - beautiful, stunning voice, seemed so happy.

Again some lovely acoustic instrumentals from Lindsey before the show. I spotted Peacekeeper, Red Rover, Stephanie, Sisters of the Moon and Sugar Daddy! Also something I just couldn't identify but sounded like Destiny Rules.

I had a great floor seat 9 rows back right in front of Christine. I'm tall and stood up the whole show (sorry people behind me...) but then so did everyone, so I had a great view of expressions/interaction. I have to say I was slightly apprehensive after the recent articles, and I do think there was a fair bit of tension between S&L. Not much eye contact or touching of hands, all rather cursory. Both of them were all smiles with Christine of course, but at times it was a bit like watching the Mirage video. Now I might be reading something into nothing, but it seemed to me that there was a rather heavy moment in Gold Dust Woman. In the 'did it make you cry' harmonising bit, Lindsey was sending major sideways glances at Stevie, and pointing/gesturing at her, culminating in a proper open-handed gesture on 'now tell me is it over now?'... As I say, I might have been projecting, but it looked like he was asking her directly 'are you finished with the band?'. Anyway it certainly added spice to the mix. Maybe a video will emerge and we can examine the evidence. I don't take photos or video at concerts, I'm afraid - too busy yelping and jumping up and down.

A stunning night. My highlights were You Make Loving Fun, Little Lies, Say You Love Me - pretty much all Chris's songs. Landslide was quite fast, I thought, but gorgeous and dedicated to Adele, who presumably was in the audience. Lindsey said his finger was bleeding just before Big Love... I loved Never Going Back Again, even at a glacial pace. Um, what else? Songbird was in, and was beautiful. No Seven Wonders. Silver Springs sounded a bit off... World Turning! Wonderful.

A great crowd too. What a magnificent night.

Going to the show tonight, does Lindsey do an instrumental solo spot before the main show? If so what time does he come on? Thanks!

[FuzzyPlum]

Originally Posted by LesPaulPlayer91

Going to the show tonight, does Lindsey do an instrumental solo spot before the main show? If so what time does he come on? Thanks!

Also, I recall an announcement a while back that they'd have an opening act for the UK shows. Did that happen last night?

[twinmatrix]

Originally Posted by poetinmyheart

Songbird was performed tonight

Just got home from the London show. I'd avoided all videos and reviews of the previous American shows so had no real idea what to expect with the five of them being reunited again. I was certainly not disappointed. They were incredible - absolutely brought the house down. Am on such a high right now, am already plotting how I'm going to get my hands on a ticket to a later London date.

I hope everyone else who was there tonight enjoyed it as much as I did and I'm excited for everyone who has it still to come

OH MY GOD WHAT THEY PERFORMED SONGBIRD WHAT WAAAA

I WILL DIE

I WILL DIE ON MONDAY

That is LITERALLY one of the most beautiful songs in the world. T_____T