My Cleveland Review (spoilers, obviously)

[Josh2003]

. Stevie was so energetic, and so into it. Lindsey was wild, very animated, and his playing was on FIRE. I couldn't believe how amazing of a guitarist he is. You really have to see him live to understand.


I got to Gund Arena at about 7:15, and walked around a little bit looking for the t-shirts. I bought a black one with a picture of their faces on it (from the inside of the CD), with the tour cities on the back and a little Earth logo that said "What's the World Coming To?" Everything was expensive ($35 for a t-shirt), but what do you expect?

I walked towards where I was supposed to meet up with Laura and Eva, and I spotted Janine and her mom, who I didn't know would be there. Janine didn't recognize me at first, but we hadn't seen each other since the TISL tour in 2001. It was at that show that her mom sold me her 15th row seat, since I would enjoy being up there more than she would. It turns out, they had FIFTH ROW seats for last night's show. My seats were in the first row of the second section back. Not bad, but not great.

Then we saw Eva and Laura, along with Laura's mom. They didn't recognize me at first, either :-) We stood around and talked for a while. That was when we saw Stevie's brother, Chris, walk past us. Janine and I were both like "CHRIS!" and he looked over at us and waved. He looks really dirty in person. I find it hard to believe that he's related to our girl. Then I walked over to get a water. When I came back, Janine's mom asked me if I wanted to sit up front with Janine. I was floored. I kept asking, "ARE YOU SURE? ARE YOU SURE?" and I thanked her profusely. I really owe that woman. That makes twice that she offered me her seat, because she didn't really care where she sat. It was unbelievable.

So we made our way to our seats just to hear Mick Fleetwood come on the loudspeaker and tell everyone to please take their seats, and that they'd be startign shortly. He also said "No FLASH photography, recording, blah blah blah". Key word being FLASH. We turned our flashes off, and Janine started to take a picture before the shoe started, but security almost made her take her camera to the camera check. She promised she wouldn't use it again, and luckily they let her come back to her seat with the camera.

Now...the show itself. I won't get into each individual song. I'll just mention what stood out to me:
-The Chain: I know people are tired of them opening with this one, but after hearing it in person, I am convinced that they cannot open with anything else. It was pure magic, hearing that bass drum beat, and then Lindsey come in with that classic hook. Magic. And Mindy and Sharon sang the "Still hear you saying..." descant that Christine does on the studio version.

-Dreams: Stevie sounded UNREAL. Even better than the TISL tour. She was doing that thing she does with her voice, almost like she's singing in a higher register. I don't know really how to describe it. But she sounded awsome.

-Never Going Back Again: I thought it was so cool to hear this one with the entire band, including Stevie singing. Sounded really cool.

-Second Hand News: Stevie sounded great. Again. I commented to Janine that Stevie sounded JUST like she did on Rumours on this song. She also sang the "bow bow bow" part with Lindsey.

-Rhiannon: Stevie nailed this one. She was so into it. I love noticing the little things that she does. She wrapped her arms around her during the "dreams unwind, love's a state of mind" part, just like she did in the late 70's. And the outfit she was wearing for this song was just like in the late 70's. She just wrapped her arms around herself, and shut her eyes, and was in this little zone. I could have sworn I've seen her do that on some old video I have around here. Maybe the Mirage video...I don't know. But it was great.

-Landslide: This song got to me. Watching them up there, listening to the lyrics, and thinking about how they fit into my life at this point (the whole "I've been afraid of changing" and "I'm getting older, too" thing) hit me. I just kinda let myself get sucked into the whole energy, and I totally felt it. Stevie was very funny during this song to. During the part when she hold out the word "snow", everyone in the audience was singing along. When she cut stopped singing the word, she made a little cut-off motion with her hands as if she were directing the audience. She laughed and looked over at Lindsey, who did the same motion too. Then she went back into singing, "covered hills, well maybe"...then at that point she looked behind her and noticed the HUGE screen that was projecting her image, and she kinda laughed and made some motions with her hands aluding to how big she was on the screen. Lindsey laughed along, too. They were really having a blast up there. After the song, he kissed her on the head :-)

-Come: This song had EVERYONE on their feet when it was over. Lindsey was WILD. At one point he started pawing at his guitar with both hands. Unreal.

-Say Goodbye: Wow. Definitely the highlight of the show. When I first heard the SYW version of this song, I thought that Lindsey might have used one of his devices to make Stevie sound higher than normal. Was I wrong. She sounded just like she does on the CD. They didn't take their eyes off each other ONCE on this song.

-Beautiful Child: Stevie introduced this song as one of those songs that she thought she would NEVER get to do live. It's a shame that they waited so long to do it, because it was beautiful. This is one of my favorite FM songs, so it was a thrill to hear it live. My only complaint: Sharon and/or Mindy could have done the "I fell into love" part that Chris does on the CD, but didn't. That's my favorite part.

Gold Dust Woman-Wow. Stevie BECAME this song. She was SO into the ending. Black Widow fingers and all :-) She ended the song with her back to the audience, arms bent in the air, just like on The Dance.

Silver Springs: This was the other highlight of my night. This is the song that made me a Fleetwood Mac fan. Stevie sang it TO Lindsey. Not as much fury as on The Dance, but it was still there. I loved it.

Stand Back: Wow. OK...I can never get tired of this song. She really wailed, too. She didn't do the kick at the end, though. And Lindsey just kinda remained low-key and left the lead guitar parts up to Carlos and Neale.

Tusk: Very high-energy. Lindsey was really into this one. Stevie sang back up, like on the MIrage video. Sounded great. I kinda miss Chris's accordian, though.

World Turning: LOVED this one. Really cool to hear Stevie singing Christine's part, even though she forgot to come in :-) She came in late, and made a cute face as she was singing. I love the girl. I also, surprisingly, LOVED Mick's drum/vest solo. I always skip it on the Tango video, but seeing it live was unbelievable. He did a lot of chanting and yelling (and spitting, from what I saw)...the man truly is nuts.

Goodbye Baby: Stevie was very serious for this one. It sounded beautiful, but she looked very forlorn the whole time. She wore a pink shawl for this one.

Other comments: There were a few technical problems with Lindsey's guitar/amps. But they ad libbed nicely. Stevie commented that at times like these, she wishes she had jokes to tell. Then she told Lindsey she was going to have to buy him a new guitar. Then she started to tell us that they've been in Cleveland for about 4 days, and are having a great time. She said it's the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so anyone who lives in Cleveland is, by default, a member of the HOF.

And I know that Stevie smiled at me at least once. I've read other reviews that said Stevie took a while to really get into it, but last night, she was into it the whole time. As was Lindsey. His facial expressions are very animated, and you could tell he was having a blast. At one point, between songs, he just started doing this weird dacing/scooting/skipping in place thing. And he does a funny sideways bow all the time. Like Eva said, it looks like he's trying to get water out of his ear.

Like I said...an amazing night. And even though nobody asked me about my "FIRE JONATHAN TODD" shirt, I did notice a LOT of people stopping to read it.


Ahhh...I hope I don't have to wait 6 more years to see this band again!

[glitter_fades]

Great Review. Best I've read so far. Thanks!

[Johnny Stew]

Josh! It sounds like you had an amazing time... I'm so happy for you!

I'm also very happy to hear that Stevie's energy-levels are increasing with each and every performance, and that she seems to be having so much fun up there.

I've heard some mp3s from the Columbus concert, and her voice sounded incredibly strong, and absolutely beautiful. (Her vocal on "Destiny Rules" sounded even better than the album version!)

Folks going to these shows are definitely in for a great time.

[Tango]

ROCK ON! I'm glad to see the cream managed to rise to the top! Janine's Mom is one very generous chica! And it sounds like you all had a blast, the way it's supposed to be! (Can I tell you how much I love your shirt?!)

Sounds like whatever jitters/pain/whatever that have been affecting Stevie are starting to fade and she's feeling strong! What a show that must have been! CHAKA Stevie! On FIRE!
And Stevie saw you! That connection! How special that had to be! Thank you for sharing your story Josh!

[Watchdevil22]

Thanks for the great review! It's making me all the more excited to see the show...I have to wait until July, but it will be well worth the wait It sounds like Stevie's doing a great job with the classics (ie. Rhiannon, GDW), I've seen her 3 times solo but can't wait to finally hear these with the MAC!!
Just hope they don't drop anymore songs...I would love to see RTTG back in the set...

Erin

PS...GREAT SHIRT !!

[bellablue21]

Josh that was a GREAT review!!! You really summed it up well!
I am glad you got the chance to sit with me again cause it was definitely more fun to have someone to make comments with on different observations.
Thanks also for sneaking some pictures for me.

Janine

[seteca]

Originally posted by Josh2003
Come: This song had EVERYONE on their feet when it was over. Lindsey was WILD. At one point he started pawing at his guitar with both hands. Unreal.

I just listened to the mp3 of Come from the opening show (from Burnish.net)...........goosebumps...!!!!! I think this may very well become my favourite song of all time...especially once I see it!!

Ahhh man....July 3rd feels like a life-cycle of the Universe away....!!!!!

Thanks for such a great song by song review!