Today

[Karen]

Originally posted by CZ
I would like to add that if any of you here who are performers have ever played outside when it's freezing cold (I have) it really does do some weird things to guitars, vocal chords, drum heads, basses, etc. and, just tweaks with the general sound of things. When it's warmer, soundwaves move through the air differently than cold weather - it can be a bit disorienting to settle in to.

I think the clam at the beginning of GYOW was due to Lindsey's fingers not doing what his brain was telling them to as quickly as they normally would have because of the cold.

Oh...well I don't know about everyone else, but I feel so much better after reading this. I was hoping that it was just the cold weather. I guess it took a while for Lindsey to compensate, with the chill factor and all. GYOW certainly started off on the wrong foot, and it sounded like they were totally off key up until a certain point of the song.

Thanks for clarifying this! It's good to see ya back.

[CarneVaca]

No question, the cold affected the performance. I was in near disbelief when Lindsey started playing, and then his voice sounded very strained.

Hey, that's the breaks. So they had an off day. The band got progressively better with each song. If they had played a whole show, by the sixth or seventh song, they would have hit their stride. And that's not unusual. The cold just made it worse.

My main issue: Just what was Stevie thinking when she decided to put on a fur coat to appear on national TV? Talk about a faux pas. I hope it was fake fur.

[seteca]

Originally posted by CZ
I would like to add that if any of you here who are performers have ever played outside when it's freezing cold (I have) it really does do some weird things to guitars, vocal chords, drum heads, basses, etc. and, just tweaks with the general sound of things. When it's warmer, soundwaves move through the air differently than cold weather - it can be a bit disorienting to settle in to.

I think the clam at the beginning of GYOW was due to Lindsey's fingers not doing what his brain was telling them to as quickly as they normally would have because of the cold.

Yep...been there done that! I played a suped-up version of Van Halen's Eruption to close a huge gig back in December. I was standing on the roof of my college library and it was about minus 2 degrees C. Absolutely FREEZING!!! My guitar went completely out of tune when I took it from inside (where i was waiting) to outside because of the effect of the cold and I had to quickly retune it. However with the cold it was impossible to get it into perfect tune. The other huge problem was that in order to keep my fingers moving (I only fingerpick) I had to hold them in front of the floodlights (almost blinded myself while I was doing this!) until I was about to go on. As I was playing I realised that I had to actually concentrate hard to keep my fingers moving and doing what I want them to do.

It feels as though someone's injected your hand with local anaesthetic and it's quickly kicking in. I'm sure it's tough for a guitarist who plays with a pick but for a fingerpicker it's an absolute nightmare. (Luckily I managed to pull off a pretty decent performance, if i may say so, hehee!)

Under the circumstances I thought ALL of them, not just Lindsey, did an incredibly amazing job!!! 7 AM.....freezing cold.......!! The cold had obviously affected LB's guitar playing and vocals, and yet I still thought that performance was better than many many bands who play live under perfect conditions and with a gazillion pieces of "help-software". Anyway, the crowd looked like they were loving it!! I doubt anyone who was there even noticed/cared about that tiny slip at the beginning of GYOW, and after the first verse it was all cool.

[jmn3]

Yeah, I think we have to put it in this perspective in regards to the slip-ups yesterday...it's live music folks. It's NOT going to be perfect. That's what I find great about live music and about bands like the Mac. You just never know what the hell is going to happen when they come on stage. And while GYOW was a bit rough (okay, it was just sloppy to start), by the time the last verse and solo came around, they were back in top shape. If I remember correctly, this was Fleetwood Mac's first public performance since early '98? Let's just chalk it all up to the weather, and it being the first concert in a long while...and look forward to the tour!

[Lee]

First of all, I was very happy just to see them all perform together again (of course except for Christine). They all looked good & cold, especially Stevie. I know it's been really cold here where I live & it's really hard to do anything in the cold, let alone play an instrument or sing. I saw them live, & I just watched the tape again.

GYOW - Lindsey sounded pitchy (I know, too much American Idol). I'm not an expert, but I was in the band in school, & this song just sounded out of tune to me in the beginning, but I thought it rocked at the end. Please, they have to play this song on their tour. I love it, though I don't think Stevie likes it too much. And I was wondering when Stevie was going to play her tambourine. Who were the two guys in the back playing guitars? Who is the keyboard player?

Peacekeeper - Lindsey sounded better. The whole song was excellent. He was looking into the crowd more. Who was the blonde haired women in the front? Was that Kristen? I know they will play this on tour.

Rhiannon - Though I like other songs of Stevie's better, I still like this song. A so-so performance. Stevie looked into it. She was smiling more. I think I'd still like them to do this song on tour.

They signed autographs after this. Some people got their pictures taken with them. (I am so jealous.) That's nice that they did this.

Say You Will - Ah, very nice. Lindsey & Stevie looked at each other more. They looked very into the song. Done very nicely. I'm sure they will sing this on tour.

All in all a good performance. So happy to see such a big crowd there for them. I hope they know just how much their fans appreciate them.

Lee

[strandinthewind]

They looked totally like they werwe freezing. I thought Rhiannon was not bad and in fact good - I like the seemingly quickened pace. Yes, it seems LB needs to go in for a litle vocal warm up with Stevie.

[The Tower]

RHIANNON sucked!!!!!! Ditch it!!!!!! For better new songs (Running Through The Garden/EverybodyFinds Out!!!!!!)

[Miranda]

Originally posted by jmn3
Yeah, I think we have to put it in this perspective in regards to the slip-ups yesterday...it's live music folks. It's NOT going to be perfect. That's what I find great about live music and about bands like the Mac. You just never know what the hell is going to happen when they come on stage. And while GYOW was a bit rough (okay, it was just sloppy to start), by the time the last verse and solo came around, they were back in top shape. If I remember correctly, this was Fleetwood Mac's first public performance since early '98? Let's just chalk it all up to the weather, and it being the first concert in a long while...and look forward to the tour!

The bad part is, the average music listener won't put up with excuses or cut them a break because of bad weather or anything else. I'm afraid FM is already being judged harshly by a lot of people who saw the Today show. Friends of mine who saw it said "they've lost it." We can be generous because we love the band, no matter what. The average fan won't be that kind.

[sulamith]

That's the point me and strandinthewind were trying to make in the other thread, but is was somehow missed!

Thanks, Miranda!

Believe me, I will cut them tons of braks because I love them and know how talented they are, but the average person does not!

I'n our instant gratification world, unfortunatley, as WRONG as it is, a few bad opening notes can mean a great deal, esp. on a national show like that.

I hate it, but it's true.
-Sharon