My San Jose trip

[Les]

I had great fun at the show. I can’t say it any better than many of you already have in the song-by-song reviews, so I’ll try to jump around to a few other things.

SAN JOSE. Well, it was a bit of a last minute whim for me, but I decided to scoot up to San Jose for the show. When I was a kid, we lived in San Jose for a number of years, so before the show started I drove out to the old neighborhood to see my old house and my old elementary school. San Jose is still a great little town. I took a little swing through Palo Alto too, just for fun. So pretty.

BEFORE THE SHOW. My hotel was literally a block and a half from the venue, so I walked over there around 6pm to get there when Will Call opened. I picked up my ticket. Fourteenth row on the floor, pretty much dead center. Sure, moving up 13 more rows would have been great, but I’m tall, so I could see over most heads when I needed to. I’ve never been to a show alone before, but it was fun to just take in what was happening around me. I’m a people watcher, so it was entertaining.

While waiting in line to go into the arena, those of us on the South side entrance of the HP Pavilion were treated to a Born Again “street preacher” who told us, his captive audience, several times that he cared about us so very much that he’d used his day off to come down to the arena and tell us about how the end is near and if we don’t accept Jesus soon and give up the sinful life, we’re doomed. Much to his detriment he tried to turn the talk to Fleetwood Mac. He used to worship Fleetwood Mac too, he said, back when he was a Satanist. But he’s since wised up. “I used to love them, followed their every move. Stevie Nicks. Mick...uh, can’t remember his last name....anyway...” LOL! He made one little insinuation about Stevie being a witch (and how he used to dig that back when he was a Satanist) but that comment more than any other elicited laughter and some hostility, so he skipped any further FM references and just went back to the “Repent or Burn in Hell” slogans, which were also emblazoned across the front and back of his t-shirt.

MY SECTION. MY PEOPLE. It’s amazing how the people around you can so deeply affect your enjoyment of a show. A great show can be dampened by bad section-mates. For me, the people around me were pretty great. I loved it. My section was good all around. People mostly stood, only taking seats during quiet songs and during songs that weren’t immediately danceable. Nobody was telling anyone to sit down. Very nice reception for the new songs, no massive beer runs. There were several people in my section who clearly had the new album and sang every word with the band.

The immediate cast of characters in my section right around me was:

1) Pretty, outgoing, tan gal to my right who was there for a good time and clearly was a loyal, longtime fan. She walked into the row and first thing said, “So how are all of my new best friends? I‘m so excited!!” She knew every song. Sang to and rocked with every song. Stood for every song. As the smell of pot wafted through my section, she kept turning around looking for the source and trying to take in as much of the aroma as possible. Hehe. She shouted “We love you Lindsey!” several times. After Come, which she really enjoyed, when Lindsey put his hand on his heart, cocked his head to the side, closed his eyes and smiled at the applause, she exclaimed, “God, don’t you just want to run up there and give him a hug?!”

2) Shy, quiet guy to my immediate left who told me he’d always wanted to go to an FM show but never had before. He’d just gotten his tickets the night before the show and he was pretty thrilled in his quiet sort of way. Stevie introduced “this old song from our Tusk album...” and when she finally said, “...this is called Beautiful Child” he gasped and leaned forward for a moment. He spent much of the song with his hands on his head in disbelief. When she was done, he said, shaking his head - “best song she ever wrote.“

3) To shy guy’s left, was the loud, sort of chubby older fella who LOVED the band and said he knew everything about them. After making that statement, he followed it up immediately by asking if Buckingham was still with the band, and expressed great surprise to hear not only that Christine retired from the band, but that she and John had divorced! Hehehe. He was fun though. He enjoyed everything.

MORE PEOPLE WATCHING. I saw about eight Stevies - people dressed in various attempts at Stevie attire - top hats, boots, flowy skirts, etc. There was one woman, in her 40s/50s whose companion had obviously brought her to the show because she was a fan, but hadn’t told her exactly where there seats were. The usher brought them to the two seats directly in front of Lindsey’s mike. She looked up, her mouth dropped open, she turned around and said, “Is that HIS?!” All of us who had been watching her reaction, collectively said, “Yes!” She gasped and then hugged the guy who brought her. Awww. During Go Your Own Way, she didn’t strum the guitar, but I believe she did cup his face in her hands briefly. He smiled at her.

About half an hour before the show, I saw Ray Lindsey come out on stage. He was checking things over and then looked to the left in the crowd and waved to Fritz-er, Bob Aguirre. Ray trotted over and they talked a bit and Ray gave Bob a backstage pass. A few minutes later, I saw Lindsey’s brother Jeff take a seat in the row right in front of Bob. I glanced in his direction a number of times. Lots of talking and laughing with those around him. At one point, he was doing something with his hands that looked suspiciously like Lindsey’s dog paddle move on the guitar, and then he laughed. Now granted, he could have been talking about anything, but I wondered about the topic of conversation and had to smile.

BAND TALK. After Dreams, I think it was, Lindsey mentioned how San Jose was where he and Stevie cut their teeth as musicians and it is special because it was “home” and there were lots of family and friends in the audience for the show. Just before beginning Landslide, Stevie said she wanted to reiterate what Lindsey said about San Jose being so special to them. She said the drive to the arena that afternoon brought it all back and it really hit her hard. It reminded her, she said, of all those drives she made from San Jose State to Lindsey’s house way back when. Lots of cheers from the audience, lots of smiles from the SN and LB.

Just before starting Never Going Back Again, Lindsey said: “It’s my son William’s birthday. He’s five years old today. Happy Birthday William!” As he introduced What’s the World Coming To? he said that it was a song about the importance of valuing things like individual voice and courage and he dedicated it to his wife, Kristen. Very nice.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS. Come. As it started, he got cheers because it has an intriguing beginning, but people sat (because, after all, it really isn’t dance-y to start). However, about half way through, several people in my section rose to their feet in a spontaneous wave and just started pointing at Lindsey and rocking out. That was pretty great. Also, John really gets into this song. He does more bopping around than I’ve seen him do for a while. I also noticed that Brett, Neale and Carlos were getting a kick out of watching Lindsey during Come. Beautiful Child. Lovely. She really seems to enjoy performing this one. Never Going Back Again. I really enjoyed the three-piece arrangement of this and Lindsey’s vocals were very nice. Say You Will. Stevie seems to really enjoy this one with all of her little moves and smiles throughout. During the little guitar interlude when she and Lindsey face each other and try to crack each other up, she started to fan his face with her hands because he was so sweaty and he laughed. Eyes of the World. I do love the new beginning to this. I love the song, so I'm thrilled they're doing it. Gold Dust Woman. Stevie was sort of flirting with John during this one and having some fun swishing her shawl around and looking playfully over her shoulder at him. Say Goodbye. Great vocals and I really like the sort of spacey, airy feel of it in the show. Still, I think my favorite was So Afraid. Lindsey just hits that zone. Less manic, but still very possessed. It is very moving to watch for some reason that I can’t quite explain. I guess it’s just watching someone completely enveloped in a feeling like that.

DOWNSIDES. The sound was a little muddy from time to time - Stand Back maybe being the worst.

UPSIDES. So many smiles. Lindsey’s total unabashed exhuberance is infectious. He’ll finish a song and bow and say thanks, and then just sort of shake his guitar and jump up and down a few times with a huge grin on his face. You simply have to laugh and enjoy it with him.

ENDING. I’m not sure if he signed anything, but Lindsey was shaking lots of hands from the stage. He’d shake several and just be about to walk away when one more hand would come up, he’s smile and point and take another step away, but then come back to the edge again and shake that hand...and then the many more that would pop up too. He did that several times. Mick shook several hands. Lindsey was handed several items. Some were for him, but someone gave him a necklace to give to Stevie. He nodded and just as Stevie was about to leave the stage, he stopped her, handed it to her, and pointed to the person in the front row who gave it to her. She looked a little startled and then mouthed “Thank you” a couple of times. There were a few in the crowd who headed out after Don’t Stop, but from where I was sitting, most were still around for Goodbye Baby. Lots of boomers there, but a fair number of younger people too. In fact, it was mostly the younger people who seemed to know the new material best.

Well, what else can I say? This is already too long. But, on my walk back to my hotel, I was behind two older couples who were making the same walk. I’d noticed one of the men, with his white pork chop sideburns, during the show. He was dancing completely out of beat with every song that played, but who cares, right? The whole group of them broke into a verse of World Turning as I went into my room. It was great fun!