Roll-CAll for Royce Hall-Los Angeles-Only A Week Away!

[elle]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Lindsey's voice was in fine form. If I screamed as much as he does, I wouldn't even be able to talk without being hoarse, much less sing so powerfully through an entire set. He's truly a marvel.

Before he begins trouble he says, "as time goes by -- and a good deal of time has gone by . . ." which I found amusing. Of course, during the band introductions when Brett says that "some things get better with age," that was another reference to the passage of time for this man, but when he continues to perform with as much energy as he had 35 years ago, the aging doesn't seem credible, let alone relevant.

yeah, his voice has been really impressive on this tour, actually starting with Saban.

i don't remember them talking so much about time at the shows i was at, but maybe i just didn't notice it.

Originally Posted by michelej1

When he introduces the band, he says that they are truly his brothers. Then, he yells, "My brother!" as he gets to each one of them.

that seems new to me too - he was introducing them really warmly, but i don't remember him using the word brothers - maybe sleeping in the same bus / being on the road together for so long would do that.

Originally Posted by michelej1

Now, for the encore, I actually like Turn It On, I think the "you can fight you can pray, you can reach for the sky. You can heal someone's soul, you don't even know why" part is swift and surging enough to maintain the passion that GYOW stirred up.

exactly how i feel about Turn it on starting the encore - keeps the energy up and i love it as a 1st encore as much as i love SUD as a perfect opener. but then he completely slows it down w/ Treason and SWS, and although i am now starting to see that SWS might be the perfect closer, i wish there was more energetic song in between. when he was doing BTLH, or DOR or some other songs by request on previous tour, did that happen in the middle of the encore, or was that the last song? b/c it seems that this time around he'd always want to finish w/ SWS, even if he would consider adding something by request in between? (RAB)

[elle]

Originally Posted by carol7lynn

Actually he does this quite a lot. He's shaken or slapped hands with me many times before including last night. Always a rush isn't it.

yes, he was doing that at Ridgefield too - it was great, and i really missed that energy when it did not happen at some other shows i saw after that.

[elle]

http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoasts...oyce_hall-.php

Lindsey Buckingham - Royce Hall - 10/13/11
By Danielle Bacher Fri., Oct. 14 2011 at 9:16 AM Comments (1)
Categories: Last Night

Danielle Bacher
Lindsey Buckingham
Royce Hall
10/13/11

Some men gain weight as they get older, and many lose their hair. Lindsey Buckingham, however, has beaten the odds. Reed-thin with a shock of gravity-defying gray hair that reminds one of Jack Nance in Eraserhead, he retains a youthful air and still-keening voice. This is fortunate, as his set included both decades-old Fleetwood Mac hits and more recent solo work. The mixture didn't always cohere, leaving an off-kilter feeling, but the highs were extremely high, and the adoring fans were going to enjoy the music no matter what.

Buckingham led off the evening alone, just himself and his acoustic guitar. He opened with "Shut Us Down" from 2006's unjustly overlooked Under the Skin. A number at once gentle and snappy, it allowed him to show off his world-class fingerstyle skills, bending and popping each string for maximum effect. He kicked things up with the second track, 1984's "Go Insane." Stripped of its dated production (and Miami Vice visuals), it kept its jangly accents and haunting edge.

​The steadfast picker followed with his biggest solo hit, "Trouble." Perhaps the quintessential Buckingham tune, it combines a lilting melody and catchy chorus with an air of coked-out dread that is, well, troubling. "I should be saying goodnight/ I really shouldn't stay anymore/ Been so long since I held you/ Forgotten what love was for," he coos to a lover who clearly has spooked him somehow. The pretty-but-****ed-up vibe continued through a breathy, languorous version of Fleetwood Mac's "Never Going Back Again" (aka, "The Song Every College Guy Tries to Learn on Acoustic Guitar"). It's not hard to hear why the Mac were a phenomenon in the late-1970s. Even if they only had Buckingham writing songs, they would have had more hits than most bands could ever dream of.

Buckingham took a break to address his multigenerational crowd. "Looking back, this song examines who I was at the time. I was defending against love, not looking for it." "Big Love" hit hard, its tangled mess of guitar lines weaving a spider's web of gnarliness giving sound to their conveyor's sweetly acid-tinged soul. After its yelping, sex-noise-spiked completion, the backing band (guitarist Neale Heywood, multi-instrumentalist Brett Tuggle and drummer Wilfredo Reyes, Jr.) finally joined their leader onstage. The foursome tossed off a competent, chiming take on the title track to Under the Skin.

​Less winning was new track "Illumination." The "process of illumination" pun didn't work for me, and it was a surprisingly lifeless electric song, at least compared to Buckingham's usual standards. The lull didn't last long, however. The rollicking Mac classic "Secondhand News" brought the audience right back into things with a good old-fashioned singalong and patented outro solo. "It's good to be home. I consider myself to be lucky to live in two different worlds: Fleetwood Mac and my solo projects," the visibly perspiring songsmith said. Things would not stay sunny for long. The group launched into "Tusk," the title track to 1979's beautiful disaster of an album. A paranoid, horn-driven half-rocker, its snaking rhythms make you shake your hips despite the creepy jealousy that permeates the lyrics.

The newer tunes dominated the second half of the set. "Stars Are Crazy" was a highlight, riding a buoyant rhythm and Buckingham's flamenco-flecked nylon string wanderings. "I'm So Afraid" shined, as well, with the most explosive electric guitar workout of the evening. Buckingham was downright Hendrixian, physically pounding his axe and coaxing out wails and screeches like a man possessed. The enthralled crowd gave the performance a standing ovation, with more than a few members taking video on their phones for posterity. He didn't let up for the set closer. "Go Your Own Way" ranks as perhaps Fleetwood Mac's most musically intense moment, a bitter and emotionally naked rattlesnake coil of a song. It did not disappoint as a capper, but the hip crowd new better than to leave. After a very brief respite, the crew returned to the stage for what turned out to be an elongated encore. "Turn It On" was somehow both knotty and anthemic, a fine example of Buckingham's mid-career craft. "These guys are truly my brothers. Every time we get the band back together, we keep getting better," he noted with pride.

Brett Tuggle also spoke to the fans. "Thank you for making this wonderful. Some things get better with age, and this (motions at Buckingham) is living proof." The band flexed their vocal harmonies and musical telepathy on "Treason," an unexpectedly placid, tuneful highlight from previous album Gift of Screws. The band joined each other at the shoulders and took a half-serious bow and exited, leaving just Buckingham to finish the proceedings.

LB performed an acoustic version of the title and leadoff track from Seeds We Sow. Again, the spry 62-year-old dazzled with his preternatural acoustic fingerpicking, leading a young man sitting next to me to wonder just how messed up the guy's hands must be by now. Despite the mangling, they did not fail him, and the song, while somewhat pedestrian, sounded like a million bucks. The maestro bade his goodbyes and beamed, "When I am up here, I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be. Los Angeles, you guys, this is my home. You are my home."

Personal Bias: Fleetwood Mac is my favorite group of all time.

Overheard in the Crowd: "I bought it legally!" - A man behind me, after Lindsey mentioned the recent release of his new album.

Random Notebook Dump: The band changes guitars more than Conrad Murray changes stories. Seriously, these guys must travel with at least ten instruments a piece.

Set list below.


Set list.

1. Shut Us Down

2. Go Insane

3. Trouble

4. Never Going Back Again

5. Big Love

6. Under the Skin

7. All My Sorrows

8. In Are Own Time

9. Illumination

10. Second Hand News

11. Tusk

12. Stars Are Crazy

13. End of Time

14. That's the Way Love Goes

15. I'm So Afraid

16. Go Your Own Way

Encore:

17. Turn It On

18. Deep Down

19. Treason

20. Seeds We Sow

[elle]

http://marcsmuse.wordpress.com/2011/...ey-buckingham/

A Guitar Hero Goes His Own Way – The Magic of Lindsey Buckingham

If there was a new video game out there called Underrated Guitar Hero… or Unsung Guitar Hero, Lindsey Buckingham would surely be on the cover. I have always known him to be nothing short of amazing, but last night’s concert at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus proved it once again. The man is a living legend, and that is not something I say lightly or very often.

I would love to see him on stage trading licks with bass legend Stanley Clarke. Okay, yes I have always said Stanley is a living legend and he is… He is the best living musician out there. There is something very similar about their styles and approach and the way they attack their instruments. Watching their fingers fly across those strings, seeing an instrument literally transformed into something else… That would be amazing…

The lights dimmed and Lindsey took the stage in a black leather jacket, his hair looking like a smaller Art Garfunkel. Toss in a little older Peter Frampton, too. The crowd was into it from the go, before he even played a note. The first few songs were just him and a guitar, the same way he would end the night. His power was remarkable in both string and voice and you could literally see him feeding off the crowd. He was glowing, basking in the adulation… and no, it wasn’t the spotlight, it was a pure connection. It was artist and audience bonding, needing each other… yearning for each other.

After many of the songs he would pump his fists and arms in a kind of celebration. LA audiences tend to be a bit staid. They tend to sit on their hands a bit and not fully commit to a show or an artist. This is why we do not get many “full album” shows out here… Case in point… Bruce… My Morning Jacket have all limited their complete album shows to the East Coast. This makes me nuts.

Not tonight. He was so pleased with the response, so happy and it was so damn genuine. Before each song there was always a moment of contemplation, as if he was putting himself back at the exact point of time he wrote the song, or at the moment of conception. He would talk a little bit, shake his hands to get them warmed up, and then, boom! With no pick, just fingers and finger nails, and every ounce of energy and passion and musical prowess, he would pounce on the strings of his guitar. His voice so deep and rich, resonating with a lot of years and stories behind it, but beautifully filled with such raw emotion and connection. His vocal chords were naked, as was his soul. To quote my friend Denise, he went from “a breathy whisper in your ear to guttural snarling and howling.”

When he and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac, they were already a fully formed, songwriting duo. Their debut LP Buckingham Nicks has been discussed here and is absolutely wonderful… stunning. It ‘s those gifts that they brought to the table… or the “machine” as he called the super band last night. But his solo stuff is more personal, more raw. I guess being in a band with people who should not be in a band together (something he has said) created both magic and tension… love and pain. The hits and the heartbreak came at the same breakneck speed.

When he is alone, making solo records, all of that comes out. He is allowed to stop and contemplate and look back at what things meant then… and what they mean now. Last night’s show was just that… a contemplation on music and life, by both artist and audience. It was brilliant and moving and revelatory. It’s funny, but with time behind us, even the pain can provide a lot of joy… or at least a great song or three.

Lindsey Buckingham – Seeds we sow

Out Of The Cradle is my favorite solo project of his. I also love the Live at the Bass Performance Hall, but I have to say his performance last night should be out on CD… It was that good and even stronger than that record.

Seeds we sow was released just over a month ago. It is a fantastic album. He played five songs from it last night, declaring that the record might be the best thing he has done. The title track was his closing song and part of his three song encore. It was just him and his guitar and closed the night with that powerful whisper. This is one you really need to check out, but if you are unfamiliar with his solo records, do not miss Out Of The Cradle. It is beautiful and raw. “Street of Dreams” is a fricking heartbreaker.

He also did “In Our Own Time”, “Illumination”, “Stars Are Crazy”and “That’s the Way Love Goes” from the new one. I wish he had done “End of Time” and “Rock Away Blind”, too and of course “Don’t Look Down”, “Wrong” and the ironically, very Fleetwood Mac sounding “You Do Or You Don’t” from Out of the Cradle… but I ain’t complaining. Seriously. That is what happens when you have so much great music to choose from. Unless you are going to play for four hours, you can’t do it all. The Ben Folds show at The Wiltern disappointed me a bit… He played way too much new stuff and not enough of my favorite songs… It was good, not great. This show was stellar and this new album is a must have in your collection.

Lindsey is my true Guitar Hero. So take that Rock Band!

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Filed under Life... Plain and Not So Simple, Marc's Mixed Bag - A Little Of Everything, Marc's Playlist - Music That Moves Me

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by elle

​Less winning was new track "Illumination." The "process of illumination" pun didn't work for me, and it was a surprisingly lifeless electric song, at least compared to Buckingham's usual standards.

Now I thought that the wording of Illumination was forced at the Saban too. I didn't find the electric guitar lifeless, but it was rather jarring. I think back then it was one of my least favorite songs. But it has grown on me. Plus, it's short. The brevity makes it a whirlwind. If it had gone longer it might be wearing.

Michele

[elle]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Now I thought that the wording of Illumination was forced at the Saban too. I didn't find the electric guitar lifeless, but it was rather jarring. I think back then it was one of my least favorite songs. But it has grown on me. Plus, it's short. The brevity makes it a whirlwind. If it had gone longer it might be wearing.

- you'd get along with my husband re wording - he couldn't stand the words to Illumination either. but my kids love Illumination, especially my 8 yo (not sure what that says about it?!). and i really really liked it when i first heard it at the Saban.