What can Stevie do to win back the many long time fans she’s lost the last few years?

[button-lip]

Originally Posted by rhiannondontgo

Well... *was* lonely/miserable. In all honesty, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the woman happier. Anyone else who has gone to see this tour notice how upbeat she is? I’ve seen her (and the rest of FM) many, many times. And for the last few years, it’s almost always been from the very front row (was one of the girls they’d bring up to LB’s mic stand for the 2013 tour & OWTS tour). I’ve seen her look pretty f’in miserable at times, she isn’t great at hiding it. I’m sure it was not always due to Lindsey. I remember once we were front row for one of those early morning talk show concert tapings and she just looked absolutely unpleasant and grumpy the whole time, clearly wasn’t his fault, she was just exhausted. Hell, there were even some 24k gold shows I thought she seemed bored/tired/unhappy. But sometimes it was clear she was annoyed with LB specifically. You look at that rolling stone article from last tour when he’s pounding on the walls and sending representatives to tell her to turn her music down, and she’s just rolling her eyes and bitching about how she never wants to be nextdoor to Lindsey’s hotel room ever again. There were also times on that tour where he would be talking to us girls at the front and not listening to her talking, which she would react to in a very visually annoyed fashion (on a couple of occasions she’d call him out verbally - once literally just saying “are you even listening to me?”). It’s probably an equal part “because of Lindsey”/“because of other sh*t” ratio when it comes to the causes of her grumpiness the last few tours.

However, this tour is something else. I remember coming home from one of her shows years ago with a good friend. We watched her set from Woodstock 98 when we got back and we just kept saying to one another “damn what happened to *this* Stevie?” (I think her joy that night was more based on some kinda intoxicant than anything else lol, but still that was just a kind of happy smiley silly Stevie we hadn’t seen in ages). Me & that same friend just returned home from the current tour and we both agreed that for the first time in a long time, it felt like we had *that* Stevie back. The Stevie with the infectious smile who actually seems to think of the show as “fun” and not “work”. Honestly, everyone seems like they were having a ton of fun. Even Chris. And especially Mick.

I don’t really know what that means. Maybe Stevie’s really vengeful and is just invigorated and overjoyed that she finally “won” the battle of FM. Maybe it’s less dark than that and she’s just really having fun bringing her good friend Mike with on tour. Maybe everybody else just seems so happy because they’re used to a miserable Stevie, and when she’s happy it makes their lives easier and more fun. I suppose it’s also entirely possible that LB really was a kind of toxic presence in the band (or just toxic when combined with Stevie) and it’s a more carefree, peaceful atmosphere now with less drama.

I don’t claim to know what they’re thinking. And i’m sad that LB got the short end of the stick and is battling all these severe health issues. That being said, it did feel kinda nice to see the band having so much fun and Stevie actually being pleasant and joyful. Was kind of refreshing. I do hope the band and LB eventually mend fences though. This kind of split is not how I envisioned the band’s final years.

Like you said, I think the rest of the band is happy because they don't have to deal with bitchy Stevie, and there's no more bitchy Stevie because Lindsey's not there. I don't think the Brits care very much how to make her happy. If the only way to accomplish that is to fire Lindsey, then fine by them. That's how I perceive all of them right now. Whatever it takes to make her happy. It's truly her band now. They're all at her mercy now.

I think Stevie and Lindsey's relationship was and will always be toxic. So she's certainly happier now that he's not there anymore. But a part of me wonders what's gonna happen once the tour is over. I mean, you did all of this just to be happier while on tour? You ruined a 50+ years family relationship just to be happier on your last tour? Really?

She's clealy not thinking straight or she was faking it all these years. I think at this point of this mess all Lindsey cares about is to understand her reasons and to end his years in a civilized way with all of them, but especially with Stevie. This is more than just a band relationship, at least to him. F*ck the band and f*ck the tour.

But unfortunately, you can't underestimate Stevie's hate for Lindsey. And he learnt it the hardest way.