1997 FM Concert Reviews

[michelej1]

Boston Globe (MA) September 20, 1997

Section: Arts and Film

FLEETWOOD MAC ELECTRIFIES GREAT WOODS

Steve Morse, Globe Staff

MANSFIELD Fleetwood Mac hasns't missed a beat. The band launched its national tour on a high note in Hartford on Wednesday. And the band even jumped it higher with last night's pure, musical celebration before the first of two 19,900-capacity full houses at Great Woods.

Fleetwood Mac's immaculate pop sheen was again on display, but this was a looser, more rock-filled evening, as the band's emotional chemistry started to catch up with its technical skills. Singer Stevie Nicks picked up her energy the most, unleashing some all-out vocal fire on "Stand Back" and "Rhiannon," igniting a reverent crowd enjoying a waxing full moon -- and the last weekend of the Great Woods season.

The Mac played the same set it played on Wednesday, except for a vital change -- substituting the uptempo "Second Hand News" for "Eyes of the World" two-thirds into the show. This fine-tuning helped erase Lindsay Buckingham's concern, expressed after Wednesday's show, that the last third of the show dipped too much for comfort.

The move worked. Funny how such a simple change can pump up a show, but the band then lifted right through Nick's cleansing "Silver Spring," the vaudevillian "Tusk" (with Christine McVie switching to accordion), and a seismic "Go Your Own Way" that ended the set.

This night had "Event" written all over it. New England Patriot quarterback Drew Bledsoe was in the audience. So was a VH1 cable TV crew. And so was the president of Fleetwood Mac's record label, Russ Thyret.

The Mac went on at 8:30 and didn't end until 11. They set the looser, more groove-oriented tone right away with "The Chain," "Dreams," and McVie's "Everywhere." You could see why the band was named for the rhythm section -- Mick Fleetwood and John McVie -- who don't get the ink of Buckingham and Nicks, but are just as crucial to the chemistry.

Last night's love-in continued with Buckingham extending himself with freer guitar soloing, and with Mick Fleetwood stepping forward for a maniacal solo on computerized drum pads tucked under his vest. Above his Falstaffian beard was a big smile that perfectly told the story of this entire, high-on-music night.