New Shows: Fillmore, San Fran, Oct 8th & 9th

[fringed n fab]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

I have just returned from my trip to SF and I am totally exhausted! I knew it was going to be an intense, tiring period, but I suppose nothing could have girded me for the reality of barely sleeping and dealing with the elements for two full days. But that being said, it was sooo worth it! Although nothing, and I mean nothing will ever top the epic Wiltern show, I would say that Stevie's best show ever could be culled, piece by piece, from the two Fillmore shows. Although the setlist was identical both nights, for some reason it felt like two decidedly different shows. Saturday night was probably the more "stock" show of the two, but featured some of the best live vocals I have heard from her in ages. Sunday night was definitely the wilder of the two. Perhaps it had something to do with the feathers in her hair (Lori had feathers too!), or maybe the way she was selling the garment during "Moonlight," but there was definitely a spirit of rejuvenation and accomplishment on Sunday night- almost as if she was thrilled to be ticking something else off of her bucket list. It could also have something to do with the fact that the heat was stifling inside of the venue and I saw something I had never seen before in my life: a bead of sweat trickling down from her forehead to the inside corner of her left eye. After Stevie quipped that the AC must have been broken, almost as if by magic, a strong gust of cool air immediately swept through the hall. It was that kind of night. I should also mention that the performance of "Soldiers Angel" was particularly intense Sunday night- so intense that Stevie actually stood hunched over at the end covering her eyes for at least 10 seconds; she was really feeling the song and was obviously moved to tears. Perhaps it was the fact that service members were in attendance in uniform (it was Fleet Week after all).

In a nutshell, this experience was so gratifying for me as a lifelong fan of Fleetwood Mac and Stevie especially. There was no grading on a curve here- this was an artist at the height of her powers as a performer. This was really Stevie unleashed in the best possible way- the crowd was rapturous to say the least, and Stevie was clearly loving every second of it.

I should also mention the great people that I hung out with on those two very long days in line- Grace, Amy, Anna, Emily, Stephanie, Sarah, Sarah's dad and many, many others. The weather could have been warmer. But otherwise I wouldn't have changed a thing about the whole experience. I would do it all over again in a second.

Sounds like they were right on top of that then? I've always felt she loves her some AC. Or could be that if you're saying it was cool outside maybe they hadn't ran it at all, until she mentioned something. All in all sounds like 2 great shows. My last memorable one where I felt she was in top form, was on the Gold Dust Tour in Cincinnati 2005. People were even commenting as we were leaving the venue.