Originally Posted by redbird
I haven't been to the show yet so keeping that in mind ... I think it's an enjoyable setlist but I get why some fans are disappointed. I guess the main tension is juggling the desires of casual fans and more hardcore fans. Maybe if they would rehearse more, they could rotate songs in their setlist from night to night, that would give superfans incentive to see more than one show, and casual fans wouldn't know the difference. My gut reaction is that they could've worked a little harder to make the setlist be a better compromise.
Like, right now Stevie's "greatest hits" are "Dreams", "Rhiannon", "Landslide", "Gold Dust Woman", "Gypsy", "Sara". I think "Landslide" has to be done always, and GDW is Stevie at her "witchiest" which has a certain value w.r.t. what she brings. Out of the other four I think she could get away with just two per night. "Dreams" and "Rhiannon" are both moody ethereal numbers, "Gypsy" and "Sara" are both moving self-confessionals. One of each? Or whatever sounds best these days.
Then Lindsey's go-to songs that he always does are "Second Hand News", "Tusk", "Big Love", "Never Going Back Again", "I'm So Afraid", and "Go Your Own Way". GYOW is too pivotal to drop, "Big Love" is a crowd pleaser and Lindsey loves to do it (yes?), and "Tusk" is a great way to kill two birds with one stone (both a hit and part of the Tusk mini-set ... also a favorite of mine and I would cry if they didn't do it). One, two, or all of the other three could maybe be switched out at least from time to time.
Personally while I love "Not That Funny", if it's coming off too offbeat then think "I Know I'm Not Wrong" and "The Ledge" would be more tuneful. Plus "The Ledge" is super energetic, really should've been a single. "I Know I'm Not Wrong" had more vocal interplay between Lindsey and Stevie on the Tusk tour rehearsal videos and if that translated to onstage dynamics then their Fabled Chemistry(TM) could compensate for the obscurity. I would take "The Ledge" and IKINW over NTF and "Eyes of the World", and I think the former two have made less tour appearances?
"Stand Back" and "World Turning" are neither terrible nor favorite picks for me. I get the rationale for "Stand Back" laid out in this thread. I feel like if they'd spent the years building up the legends of other songs they could put other things here though. "The Chain" really needs to stay, but why not make it an encore song and kick out "Don't Stop"?
I like the sound of "Sad Angel" and "Without You" from what I hear on youtube, I think they can be proud to show those off. "Sisters of the Moon" seems like a smart pick, of all the songs out of her back catalog it seems like the best compromise of vocal capability, fan favoritism, and recognizable "Stevieness" for those who don't know it. "Silver Springs" and "Say Goodbye" make a cohesive end to the show and feature a lot of Lindsey/Stevie stuff.
So ... between Stevie's hits, Lindsey's hits, "Don't Stop", "Stand Back", "World Turning", they could maybe have squeezed in more variety. There's a lot to choose from: hits from other lineups ("Oh Well", "Hypnotized"), Buckingham Nicks history ("Frozen Love", "I Don't Wanna Know", "Crystal", "Destiny Rules", "Thrown Down"), songs ostensibly about the band ("Fireflies", "Straight Back", "Say You Will"), Tusk and Mirage gems ("Angel", WMYTYTO, "Can't Go Back", "That's Alright") , newer Lindsey songs ("Bleed to Love Her", "Miranda", his other Tango songs). I realize that every time you lose a known hit you lose some of that audience energy that comes from recognizing a song, but maybe if they spaced their remaining hits out properly and chose deep tracks that have some kind of selling point (B&N history, a great guitar solo, just a damn catchy song), and sang the hell out of them, it could still work.
But like I said, it seems to me like a good setlist in a vacuum. It's just in context where you start niggling, and of course every one of us would niggle in different ways. I'm not a million-selling rock'n'roll singer so this is hardly an art for me.
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04-12-2013, 09:00 PM
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