Last BTM Concert Review

[michelej1]

[Since we were talking about this in another thread, I thought I'd post the Daily News review here. I think we've all seen the Los Angeles Times review online, but this one is not as common]

Daily News (Los Angeles, CA),December 10, 1990
Section: L.A. LIFE

FLEETWOOD MAC SAGA ENDS ON A FLAT NOTE


Bruce Britt Daily News Music Critic

Friday night marked yet another turning point in the never-ending Fleetwood Mac saga, as singers-songwriters Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie performed their last live stints with the celebrated pop-rock band.

Seeing as this would be the singers' final performances with the group, one nursed high hopes for an inspired, emotion-packed show. Yet drama was in short supply during the three-hour set. The concert had more peaks and valleys than all of Southern California, and was marked by an almost icy precision.

The show's lack of intensity was curious. Fleetwood Mac performed at the Forum almost three years ago, just after the recruitment of guitarists Billy Burnette and Rick Vito, and the surprising departure of resident genius Lindsey Buckingham. That 1987 show was a spirited celebration of the band's past and auspicious future.

But the Burnette/Vito tandem has yet to gel. Vito is a superb guitarist, but he and Burnette proved to be ineffective frontmen Friday. Their songwriting contributions were similarly nondescript.

But the dawdling show cannot be totally attributed to Burnette and Vito. Nicks' last performance with the band was also disappointing. The singer delivered favorites like ''Rhiannon'' and ''Gold Dust Woman'' in a drawling, nasal monotone.

But Nicks seemed to come to life when former Mac guitarist and ex-boyfriend Buckingham joined her for an intimate interpretation of ''Landslide.'' The guitarist's presence inspired the singer to give her best performance of the evening. Nicks dedicated the song to herself and Buckingham, saying ''I hope he might find it in his heart to maybe spend some time with me again.''

Nicks wasn't alone in making surprising statements. After a ground-shaking solo, drummer Mick Fleetwood petitioned applause for African percussionist Isaac Asante, commenting ''those boys can play the skins.''

A rollicking encore salvaged the generally mediocre set. After a hard-rocking interpretation of the rockabilly classic ''Tear It Up,'' Buckingham joined the band in a rousing rendition of ''Go Your Own Way.'' The performance boasted everything the rest of the show lacked - edginess, musical tension and adventurousness.

Christine McVie ended it all with a rapturous finale performance of the prayerful ''Songbird.'' The singer couldn't have ended her affiliation with the band on a warmer, or more auspicious note.