Originally Posted by BigBigLove
It's fascinating to read this thread and see how people step forward speculating saying they saw something that didn't happen ("a folded paper was handed to him by one of the girls... and he tried to be discreet about it").
Now we have one that doesn't even claim to be speculation: "I can say that he kissed a girl on the lips last night when she asked for one." Not true! Where do you people come up with this stuff? There's no way that your memory of the event has deteriorated to the point that you're unintentionally bastardizing the truth, because it was just last night. I stood literally no more than three feet away from LB during the entire exchange at the show (hence how I was close enough to him to hand him a piece of paper) and watched him from right in front of his monitor for the remainder of the entire show. He did kiss several girls on the hand (including one who had to have been in her 40s). I found nothing sleazy about it.
During the "Gypsy" intro, he talked to five of us, including me, three young women, and one woman who was probably in her 40s if I had to guess. A few other people (including a man who was there with his girlfriend/wife/significant other) said various things to him that he acknowledged. He signed several autographs at that time. One woman (probably around 50 or so) jokingly called out to Lindsey to sign her breasts, and he smiled at her. Perhaps him interacting with the audience is disrespectful to Stevie, but as others have mentioned, the "Without You" intro from 2013 at least involved Lindsey, while the "Gypsy" story is much more self-indulgent.
I won't deny for a moment that Lindsey flirts with girls at his side of the stage, because he absolutely does. Having said that, I believe it's part of the act, as he also interacts with me a lot (and I'm a straight male as I mentioned in my previous post). Lindsey has been nothing but nice and extraordinarily gracious to me. I think he wants to see high energy people in the front and younger women are a fairly safe bet as far as that goes (I'm trying not to sound sexist here, but it's true).
On that note, the same can be said of Ian -- for someone who gets accused of having a one track mind (find 'hot' women and push them up front), Ian has been nothing but nice to me. I've been to so many shows at this point that he immediately recognizes me, shakes my hand, and asks me how I'm doing. Last night, he talked with me about how much he loves seeing fans like myself that travel all over the country/world for this band that we love so much. He's a very 'real' guy and he truly loves and admires Fleetwood Mac.
For what it's worth, I talked with a few of the young women you're talking about that were brought up to the stage last night. One of them had been to 7 shows on the current tour (and this was her first time up front). She knew the words to every song and was definitely a dedicated fan. I find that at least half of the people with 'genuine' front row seats who are 40+ years old know the words to less than half of the songs at best and seem rather uninterested in tracks like IKINW or OMH. Don't get me wrong, they've paid for their seat and deserve to be up there, but don't blame Lindsey for wanting to add high energy people into that mix. Before you think I'm being unfair in what I've said in this paragraph, know that I've paid for five Mick M&G tickets on the current tour alone and I'm not independently wealthy.
As for the folks that are saying they're going to start a class action lawsuit, I literally laughed out loud when I read your posts. I respect the fact that you're miffed, but you need to get two things straight:
1. You didn't pay Fleetwood Mac $750 for a seat. You paid Mick Fleetwood $750 for a "VIP experience" that happens to include one of the allotment of seats Mick is given as part of his touring contract. It's supplemental income for Mick, who gets paid less than the three songwriters for the live performance itself. None of that money goes to the venue or the rest of the band. Whether you like it or not, you're paying for the opportunity for the Meet & Greet with Mick, the 'exclusive tour merchandise,' signed photo, laminate, the opportunity to attend a Q&A with him, and the ticket. The "VIP" experience ends when you get sent back in line like every other ticket holder (like I said, I've been right there alongside many of you at several of these, so I'm speaking from experience). The notion that the venue, the band, or the band's staff owes any of us anything special during the concert itself is erroneous, period.
2. No concert ticket, whether "VIP" or not, comes with an implied warranty or guarantee of any kind so long as the performance itself actually takes place. What's the legal basis for your proposed suit (i.e. what is the accused infringement/law that's been broken?). Seriously, let's be logical about this. I heard a couple people saying they were going to demand a full refund when Mick got sick on stage a few weeks ago and the show had to be cut 45 minutes short or whatever. Did that make sense even when you were saying it to yourself in your head? Of course not.
If you don't want to go to the concert, then don't go. I've heard plenty of people saying that they weren't going because the tickets are simply too pricey for this tour (in some cases nearly double to what comparable tickets on the 2013 tour cost). I get it, and it's your right to stay at home. It's crazy how many people on here are saying that FM doesn't care at all about their fans. Granted, they play an identical setlist night after night and give the same speeches between songs, but they're still an incredibly great band that performs for 2.5+ hours without a single break. They've brought immeasurable joy to millions of people around the world and have changed the lives of many of us on this forum. It's OK to gripe and complain, but seriously, don't pretend to hate a band that has inspired and touched the world in various ways for 48 incredible years.
And if you really do honestly hate the band, feel free to click the "Log Out" button at the top right corner of this page and never come back.
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02-09-2015, 06:35 PM
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