Soon the Europe tour starts and...

[fleetwoodtrick]

Scripted or not, just seeing Fleetwood Mac was amazing enough. It might be hard, but I think we need to just get over the fact that a lot of the things have been the same on this tour. FM can do whatever they want. They're their own band. And I myself will love them no matter what. Not to offend anyone, but I sometimes think that some people on this board need to just get past talking about how 'redundant' FM has been on this tour. (You yourselves are begining to sound redundant!) Many people who attend their concerts aren't nearly as obsessed as we are and have no idea what to expect out of the Mac. Everyone I know in real life that I've talked to who went to the Milwaukee concert was blown away. Perhaps the only reason this tour seems scripted to us is that we watch too many Youtube videos and compare too many performances to each other? That's great and all, as I do it too, but sometimes it might just get taken too far.

Just saying.

[Lori40]

Originally Posted by fleetwoodtrick

Scripted or not, just seeing Fleetwood Mac was amazing enough. It might be hard, but I think we need to just get over the fact that a lot of the things have been the same on this tour. FM can do whatever they want. They're their own band. And I myself will love them no matter what. Not to offend anyone, but I sometimes think that some people on this board need to just get past talking about how 'redundant' FM has been on this tour. (You yourselves are begining to sound redundant!) Many people who attend their concerts aren't nearly as obsessed as we are and have no idea what to expect out of the Mac. Everyone I know in real life that I've talked to who went to the Milwaukee concert was blown away. Perhaps the only reason this tour seems scripted to us is that we watch too many Youtube videos and compare too many performances to each other? That's great and all, as I do it too, but sometimes it might just get taken too far.

Just saying.

I totally agree with you, fleetwoodtrick. I really think that most people who attend an FM concert only go to one concert on any given tour, and most likely don't check out their performances on youtube. They go expecting to hear the more popular FM songs and have no idea what the setlist will be nor what Stevie and Lindsey have to say about their songs. I was fortunate enough to be right in front of Lindsey for the Milwaukee concert and I don't know what more people expect from him. The guy pours everything he has into his performance, as does Mick. If some "obsessed" fans have memorized their show and are afraid of being bored, then stay home. As for me, I'm going to see them every chance I get.

[michelej1]

I will say that I feel sad when people who haven't gone assess the show via youtube. I don't care how good the clip is, what you see on youtube and what you hear there does not compare to what you get live. I mean, sometimes even something as basic as tempo sounds different in person than it did on youtube, not to mention visual perspective and context. I just don't think it's a good way to make a decision or comparison.

My friend went to see a Letterman taping last week and then when he watched at home he said it was funnier on tv than it was when he was in the studio. Well, for music I think it invariably works the other way around.

For me, once I know the script, then I start to evaluate even the slightest deviations and wonder why they're there. So, the sameness actually provides more meaning to every detour. I know with the Say You Will tour, the way Lindsey introduced Say Goodbye every night, when he switched up at the end and started talking to Stevie, teasing her about whether she liked his intro or not and then said, "it's been too many years, maybe it hasn't been enough," I just felt swept away and it was precisely because I knew what he'd been saying every night that I was struck so hard when he did not say it.

Michele

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by michelej1

I will say that I feel sad when people who haven't gone assess the show via youtube.

Amen to that!

To all the doomsday gloomers who say that FM is dead, well... that is your opinion. Sure, they are not prone to histrionics and big time drama anymore, but then again, they aren't snorting lines of blow and drinking bottles of cognac either. Ever heard of the term "liquid courage?" I suspect that if FM never touched booze or drugs in the 70's, they would have developed a reputation for rote, solid, sturdy performances that are still powerful, but not quite transcendent. What we have today are a bunch of perfectionists who are no longer able to hide behind the veil of chemicals in order to take bold risks on stage. Sure, I would love to see more variety and spontaneity in their sets, but look at it from their (platform) shoes- if I was a sixty-something veteran musician, would I want to put on a musically sloppy/under-rehearsed yet spontaneous performance, or would I want to showcase my musicianship and gravitas? It's a no-brainer as far as I am concerned.

Yes, there are artists like Neil Young and Bob Dylan who are as sloppy, spontaneous and as raw as ever. But that's their schtick- sloppy and spontaneous. Fleetwood Mac just doesn't do sloppy. If Bob Dylan hits a bum note- that's just Bob being Bob. If Neil Young's guitar is out of tune- that just adds oomph to his "ragged glory." But if Stevie hits a bum note or Lindsey flubs a chord, then everyone will start to question whether they have lost "it," or if they are too old to rock n roll. The day Stevie, Lindsey and FM start doing sloppy is the day Stevie walks out in jeans and a t-shirt with her hair in a ponytail.

[Black_Moon]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

Amen to that!

To all the doomsday gloomers who say that FM is dead, well... that is your opinion. Sure, they are not prone to histrionics and big time drama anymore, but then again, they aren't snorting lines of blow and drinking bottles of cognac either. Ever heard of the term "liquid courage?" I suspect that if FM never touched booze or drugs in the 70's, they would have developed a reputation for rote, solid, sturdy performances that are still powerful, but not quite transcendent. What we have today are a bunch of perfectionists who are no longer able to hide behind the veil of chemicals in order to take bold risks on stage. Sure, I would love to see more variety and spontaneity in their sets, but look at it from their (platform) shoes- if I was a sixty-something veteran musician, would I want to put on a musically sloppy/under-rehearsed yet spontaneous performance, or would I want to showcase my musicianship and gravitas? It's a no-brainer as far as I am concerned.

Yes, there are artists like Neil Young and Bob Dylan who are as sloppy, spontaneous and as raw as ever. But that's their schtick- sloppy and spontaneous. Fleetwood Mac just doesn't do sloppy. If Bob Dylan hits a bum note- that's just Bob being Bob. If Neil Young's guitar is out of tune- that just adds oomph to his "ragged glory." But if Stevie hits a bum note or Lindsey flubs a chord, then everyone will start to question whether they have lost "it," or if they are too old to rock n roll. The day Stevie, Lindsey and FM start doing sloppy is the day Stevie walks out in jeans and a t-shirt with her hair in a ponytail.

Best post I've seen on here in ages. I agree with every last word.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

Fleetwood Mac just doesn't do sloppy. If Bob Dylan hits a bum note- that's just Bob being Bob. If Neil Young's guitar is out of tune- that just adds oomph to his "ragged glory." But if Stevie hits a bum note or Lindsey flubs a chord, then everyone will start to question whether they have lost "it," or if they are too old to rock n roll. The day Stevie, Lindsey and FM start doing sloppy is the day Stevie walks out in jeans and a t-shirt with her hair in a ponytail.

That reminds me of the interview someone just posted where Stevie said that they thought about leaving their huge set at home because it costs so much to fly it to Europe and they looked at each other and said "no way." If the elaborate set stayed behind, then they would too. That's how they roll.

Michele

[Steviefan49]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

Amen to that!

To all the doomsday gloomers who say that FM is dead, well... that is your opinion. Sure, they are not prone to histrionics and big time drama anymore, but then again, they aren't snorting lines of blow and drinking bottles of cognac either. Ever heard of the term "liquid courage?" I suspect that if FM never touched booze or drugs in the 70's, they would have developed a reputation for rote, solid, sturdy performances that are still powerful, but not quite transcendent. What we have today are a bunch of perfectionists who are no longer able to hide behind the veil of chemicals in order to take bold risks on stage. Sure, I would love to see more variety and spontaneity in their sets, but look at it from their (platform) shoes- if I was a sixty-something veteran musician, would I want to put on a musically sloppy/under-rehearsed yet spontaneous performance, or would I want to showcase my musicianship and gravitas? It's a no-brainer as far as I am concerned.

Yes, there are artists like Neil Young and Bob Dylan who are as sloppy, spontaneous and as raw as ever. But that's their schtick- sloppy and spontaneous. Fleetwood Mac just doesn't do sloppy. If Bob Dylan hits a bum note- that's just Bob being Bob. If Neil Young's guitar is out of tune- that just adds oomph to his "ragged glory." But if Stevie hits a bum note or Lindsey flubs a chord, then everyone will start to question whether they have lost "it," or if they are too old to rock n roll. The day Stevie, Lindsey and FM start doing sloppy is the day Stevie walks out in jeans and a t-shirt with her hair in a ponytail.

Amen to all of this! How true.. I can't agree more! I also wanted to add that I'm SOOOO excited for all of our Ledgies who are going to see the concerts! You guys are going to have a BLAST!!! I hope you all have fun, and I can't wait to hear your reviews and see pictures!!
xoxo

[MrsMcVie]

I´m gonna see them in Stockholm next Saturday and I´m getting really excited now! Does anyone have a clue what hotel they´re staying at? I know a lot of big bands are staying at The Grand Hotel but I haven´t heard anything about The Mac yet.
I was also wondering if anyone has managed to meet them (when I say "them" I mean John of course!) outside the hotel or somewhere else on this tour? And if you did, did you get any pics?

[BellaDonna93]

Originally Posted by MrsMcVie

I´m gonna see them in Stockholm next Saturday and I´m getting really excited now! Does anyone have a clue what hotel they´re staying at? I know a lot of big bands are staying at The Grand Hotel but I haven´t heard anything about The Mac yet.
I was also wondering if anyone has managed to meet them (when I say "them" I mean John of course!) outside the hotel or somewhere else on this tour? And if you did, did you get any pics?

Hope they stay at the same hotel as me, hahahahaha!!! Joking

[wheart]

Originally Posted by fleetwoodtrick

Scripted or not, just seeing Fleetwood Mac was amazing enough. It might be hard, but I think we need to just get over the fact that a lot of the things have been the same on this tour. FM can do whatever they want. They're their own band. And I myself will love them no matter what. Not to offend anyone, but I sometimes think that some people on this board need to just get past talking about how 'redundant' FM has been on this tour. (You yourselves are begining to sound redundant!) Many people who attend their concerts aren't nearly as obsessed as we are and have no idea what to expect out of the Mac. Everyone I know in real life that I've talked to who went to the Milwaukee concert was blown away. Perhaps the only reason this tour seems scripted to us is that we watch too many Youtube videos and compare too many performances to each other? That's great and all, as I do it too, but sometimes it might just get taken too far.

Just saying.

Good point!! I have many SYW shows on DVD and they're almost identical, one exception being the Vegas show which was the last date in North America which Stevie and Lindsey veered quite far from the "script". I guess SYW for me just seemed fresher because they were doing new material but, as people have already commented, all their tours have been scripted, even during the "cocaine and brandy" days.

Great insight from everyone! Sometimes it takes a few fellow ledgies to change perspective on things!

[TrueFaith77]

Originally Posted by wheart

Good point!! I have many SYW shows on DVD and they're almost identical, one exception being the Vegas show which was the last date in North America which Stevie and Lindsey veered quite far from the "script". I guess SYW for me just seemed fresher because they were doing new material but, as people have already commented, all their tours have been scripted, even during the "cocaine and brandy" days.

Great insight from everyone! Sometimes it takes a few fellow ledgies to change perspective on things!

What happened at the Vegas show?

And where do people get these DVDs?

[wheart]

Originally Posted by TrueFaith77

What happened at the Vegas show?

And where do people get these DVDs?

Stevie dedicated Landslide to their tour manager who was going to leave their tour and join Bette Midler's. She was acting all pretend pissed off at him and jumping up and down like a little kid (I was surprised she could jump like that but then again, she had the boks on!) She also mentioned that this was their last show in North America or something to that effect.

Lindsey dedicated one song (now I can't remember which one...pretty sure it was Peacekeeper) to two friends of his who were getting married that night in one of the Elvis chapels. So he totally ditched his standard Peackeeper intro which was a welcomed relief.

It was a really fun, high energy show. There may have been some more adlib moments towards the end but these are the ones that I remember.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by wheart

Lindsey dedicated one song (now I can't remember which one...pretty sure it was Peacekeeper) to two friends of his who were getting married that night in one of the Elvis chapels. So he totally ditched his standard Peackeeper intro which was a welcomed relief.

.

Oh, now that you described it, I was at that show. It was the guy from Fritz who was getting married. I was just looking at my review from that night. Lindsey said that there were some old friends of his in the audience. Then, he went onto explain that long before he and Stevie came to Los Angeles and met up with the people they were meant to be with -- I thought that was a very sweet touch on his part --they were in another band.

He said, tonight the drummer from that band was in the audience. He was getting married after the show at Graceland chapel. He was going to have one of those Elvis guys perform the service. Lindsey remarked that if his friend was anything like he head been he'd been a marital hold out.

Then he dedicated the song to Bob and Melinda. Michele

[wheart]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Oh, now that you described it, I was at that show. It was the guy from Fritz who was getting married. I was just looking at my review from that night. Lindsey said that there were some old friends of his in the audience. Then, he went onto explain that long before he and Stevie came to Los Angeles and met up with the people they were meant to be with -- I thought that was a very sweet touch on his part --they were in another band.

He said, tonight the drummer from that band was in the audience. He was getting married after the show at Graceland chapel. He was going to have one of those Elvis guys perform the service. Lindsey remarked that if his friend was anything like he head been he'd been a marital hold out.

Then he dedicated the song to Bob and Melinda. Michele

Yup. I forgot they were from Fritz. It just struck me because Lindsey especially was being totally spontaneous and "in the moment".

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by wheart

Yup. I forgot they were from Fritz. It just struck me because Lindsey especially was being totally spontaneous and "in the moment".

I thought it was interesting because Lindsey suggested he'd resisted marriage for a bit.

Michele