MacNuggets

[vivfox]

Sunday, December 13, 2009
October 1, 1972 Springfield Civic Center, Springfield, MA Roberta Flack

It may be unexpected to see a Roberta Flack concert listed in "Lost Live Dead," but you have to bear with me on this one.

Stuart "Dinky" Dawson, born in Worksop, Nottanghamshire in 1947, was an English dj who almost accidentally became Fleetwood Mac's road manager and soundman in 1968. Although the Mac had made their first American tour without him in 1968, Dinky returned with them at the end of the year as they tried to conquer America. Alone among English bands in 1968, Fleetwood Mac toured with their own PA system, as Dawson felt with some justification he knew more about live sound than any local, and in any case he had a vested interest in his band's success, and knew proper sound would be an essential part of it.

It can hardly be a surprise that when Fleetwood Mac returned to San Francisco in early 1969 to play the Fillmore West (January 16-19, between Creedence Clearwater and Albert Collins), both Dawson and Fleetwood Mac got on famously with the Dead. From 1968 to 1970, protocol required that visiting bands jam with the Grateful Dead or the Jefferson Airplane (and later Santana) on their first time through town. This was the social equivalent of jazz musicians playing with Charlie Parker or (later) John Coltrane at Birdland or the Village Vanguard when they came through New York. Real players would show up and jam, and failure to show the flag often had peculiar ramifications. Fleetwood Mac and the Dead hit it off big time, however, and Dinky Dawson found a kindred spirit in Owsley Stanley.

The Grateful Dead were one of (if not the) first American rock bands to tour with their own sound system, provided to them with the technical and financial participation of Owsley. Naturally, the group would gravitate to a band who carried their own system, particularly one with no less than three lead guitarists and a smoking rhythm section. Fleetwood Mac toured America heavily throughout 1969 and 1970, and they had many adventures with the Dead, including the New Orleans bust and the famous jam at Fillmore East with the Allman Brothers (on February 11, 1970).

Dawson left Fleetwood Mac and became road manager and soundman for The Byrds, and after extensive touring with them, he set up a sound company (Dawson Sound) in Massachusetts in 1972. While Dawson periodically went on tour with such groups as The Kinks, Steely Dan and Mahavishnu Orchestra, his company also provided house sound systems for venues in the region throughout the early 1970s.

http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/200...ic-center.html

[vivfox]

By Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY
About two months before recording The Element of Freedom, Alicia Keys witnessed an event that would have a profound influence on her creative process: a Fleetwood Mac concert.
"It was my sister's birthday, and she wanted to see them," says Keys, 29, referring to longtime best friend Erika Rose. The R&B singer/songwriter knew of the veteran band but wasn't entirely familiar with its catalog. "So everyone was like, 'What? You don't know these songs?' "


REVIEW: Keys evolves on * * * 'Element of Freedom'

Other vintage pop acts also informed Freedom, her fourth studio album, which arrives today. Keys started "to experiment with keyboards from the late '70s and '80s. ... I listened to a lot of Genesis, The Police, Tears for Fears— people who hadn't been staples for me."

Her education influenced the album "in a very positive way. In the past, I wasn't as conscious of melody. This time, I wanted melodies that really soared, like the ones I heard at that (Mac) show."

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/n...eys15_ST_N.htm

[vivfox]

Well actually it better not be - seeing the Lady Gaga concert will be the weekend of our next Wedding anniversary!

I have dumped one concert, only to replace with another… Although, to be fair – there will be differences.

I had to make the decision recently to cancel going to the Fleetwood Mac concert this weekend at the Bowl of Brooklands, due to the difficulties of the out-door venue; standing-sitting issues; and distance from car to concert in regard to my health.

I am quite bummed that I’ll miss Fleetwood Mac and will miss time with various friends. But I can at least relax now and not be too worried about all of the issues I might end up facing. I’ll jusst have to blast the Fleetwood Mac CD at home that night (probably much to Sweeties disgust…) He was only ever going to accompany me under duress to be my caregiver and ‘cripple aid’. He is very relieved that he doesn’t now have to go! I believe his exact words at the time I asked originally, were “I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than have to listen to them… “ Ok – each to their own then!

http://devoted2distraction.wordpress...6/bad-romance/

[vivfox]

open your eyes, look at the day
Dec. 19th, 2009 at 11:58 AM

And then FLEETWOOD MAC, MOFOS, TWO NIGHTS AGO.

IT WAS PRETTY MUCH THE GREATEST THING EVERexceptforWicked.

My friend and I left the show gushing about how much we both adore and want to be Stevie Nicks. This continued until our roommate said 'The white lines are ready for you on the kitchen bench' so we said, maybe we'd like to be Stevie Nicks WITHOUT the horrific cocaine addiction. And he said 'Maybe she wouldn't be so awesome if she had never been a coke whore' and we both vociferously defended Stevie's honour and then my friend shot him with a cap gun for insubordination.

I don't know how familiar everyone is with the Mac, but basically they have a forty year history of personal ****storms, passion and love, drugs and incredible excess, and a back catalogue of extraordinary music. Not gonna lie; I only became a fan of their stuff this year after playing 'Go Your Own Way' about a million times on Guitar Hero World Tour (for which my highest score is 99% on expert, yeaaaaahh). Here are two of my favourites. There's a great difference in the band's dynamic between these two videos, one from 1982, in the midst of terrible drug and personal strife, and one from 1997, the band's first reunion tour. The way Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham look at each other while they sing, especially in the earlier video, is kind of heartbreaking.

'The Chain', Mirage tour, 1982. This song is full of anger and angst and has a killer bass riff.

'Don't Stop', The Dance tour, 1997. This song is upbeat, hopeful and inspirational, and has been stuck in my head for days on end.

http://manderinne.livejournal.com/15075.html

[vivfox]

“We never got into the whole ripping hotels apart thing. Our illicit deeds were tiptoeing down hotel corridors and visiting each other when we shouldn’t have. We were more under the covers.”

— Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood acknowledges that monogamy wasn’t his band’s strong point back in the day
--------------------------------------------------------------------

On a side note: Karen!!!!

“My assistant does all of that.”

— Folk music queen Joan Baez admits she doesn’t do her own tweeting on Twitter.


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2...y-stand-by-it/

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by vivfox

“We never got into the whole ripping hotels apart thing. Our illicit deeds were tiptoeing down hotel corridors and visiting each other when we shouldn’t have.

So, does he mean that people other than he and Stevie visited each other?

Michele

[vivfox]

Fleetwood Mac Mirage Rock Music CD Review
I can describe the latest release from Rock super group Fleetwood Mac for you with just one word… Outstanding!

Refreshingly, this was one of those CDs I was able to just pop in and comfortably listen to from beginning to end. Every track is enjoyable and was pretty easy for me to listen to from start to finish.

Mirage has a nicely varied, mix of 12 tracks that are very well written and brilliantly performed songs by these clearly talented musicians. With many of the songs displaying a lot of the kind emotion that makes for a really great listen. Seemingly drawing from what I can only imagine are their own real life experiences. At different points touching on the most real emotions of love, and the pain of failed relationships can certainly be heard.

I’m of the opinion that Mirage is certainly some of this groups best work in a few years. A totally enjoyable CD and an outstanding release. What I call must have music. I give it two thumbs up because it’s a collection that even the casual Rock fan can appreciate and enjoy.

While the entire CD is really very good some of my favorites are track 3 - That’s Alright, track 11 - Eyes Of The World, and track 12 - Wish You Were Here

My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [. . . as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 1 - Love In Store. Good stuff!

Mirage Release Notes:

Fleetwood Mac originally released Mirage on October 25, 1990 on the Warner Bros. Records label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. Love In Store 2. Can’t Go Back 3. That’s Alright 4. Book Of Love 5. Gypsy 6. Only Over You 7. Empire State 8. Straight Back 9. Hold Me 10. Oh Diane 11. Eyes Of The World 12. Wish You Were Here

Fleetwood Mac: Lindsey Buckingham (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Christine McVie (vocals, keyboards); Stevie Nicks (vocals); John McVie (bass); Mick Fleetwood (drums, percussion). Additional personnel: Ray Lindsey (guitar). Producers: Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham, Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat. Recorded at Le Chateau, Herouville, France; Larrabee Sound & The Record Plant, Los Angeles, California.

http://legitstorereview.com/archives/1512

[vivfox]

Lily Allen

Q: My favorite headline last week was: "Lily Allen vomits in Glasgow."

A: That's so not true. I don't vomit. I can drink.

Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac

Q: How much do you think your robust chest hair had to do with Fleetwood Mac selling those 100 million albums?

A: Wow. I would say none. ... I would hope very little. That's the first time I was asked that. It could have been something I missed.

Christian Mazzalai of Phoenix

Q: Did you spend a long time working on this CD?

A: We saw two winters. Two summers. Two falls.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...DTL&type=music

[vivfox]

Saturday, December 26, 2009 Fleetwood Mac, Tusk Tour 1979 “Angel”

Much of what makes bands so fascinating is that they are traveling families, and no matter what dysfunction stems from weeks, months and years on the road, their love of making music together is often the only stabilizing force that keeps the unit from imploding. Further, the chaos and tension among members can often breed fantastic, creative honesty. Fleetwood Mac is my favorite example, and probably the most documented in rock music, of the unifying power of music among a group of people who can no longer stand the sight of one another.

During the time Fleetwood Mac was making the Tusk album, the band was past the initial pain of dissolved relationships, and had moved right on to fury, spite, and jealousy. Tusk is my favorite Fleetwood Mac album because it is so raw; in it, you feel Lindsey’s bitter resentment, Stevie’s misplaced martyrdom, and Christine’s optimistic will to push through to a better place and time. Although I think Tusk has some of the career-best songs by all three songwriters, I always felt Tusk, as a complete album, was disjointed and did not flow well – like each song was constructed in total isolation. To Lindsey’s credit, despite his longstanding anger toward Stevie, he has always been the best producer for her songs – taking the skeletal poems and melodies she crafted and adding rich, layered complexity. As a musical team, they are magic.

Angel is the greatest live clip I have ever found of Stevie and Lindsey. It is from a documentary of recording and touring for Tusk. The Tusk tour produced one of the most dysfunctional moments in Fleetwood Mac history (that is publicly known) when, during a show in New Zealand, Lindsey began mocking Stevie on stage as she sang; the incident ended in an all-out physical backstage brawl. But sorry - this is not that clip; this clip is from the same tour, filmed in 1979, but shows a lighter side of the band. This is a live performance of “Angel,” and demonstrates palpable joy in making music even through the darkest hours of a band in complete turmoil. Whatever wars were fought once Stevie and Lindsey stepped offstage, the latter half of this clip has them smiling, sharing the microphone, and dancing. It’s truly a classic!

http://audiozealot.blogspot.com/2009...tusk-tour.html

[jannieC]

^^^I never tire of watching that clip. You can almost see Stevie gaining confidence as the performance goes on- I LOVE this.

[MichaelE]

I agree. She takes on a whole new aura after the interludes with Lindsey on that 441.

I think it makes her and Lindsey both feel good.

[goldustsongbird]

One of Stevie's best. End of story.

[vivfox]

Fleetwood Mac - "Rumors"

Obviously a lot has been written about this album. Admittedly, I have been a late arrival to its praise. This year I did give myself the chance to listen to it, not out of any sort of heartbreak, but merely because the time had come. The familiarity of the songs can be jarring at first, however, as you follow the course of the entire album, each song feels right at home and you suddenly lose your identification of songs like "Go Your Own Way" as songs that were overplayed by your classic rock radio station and remember them as "yeah I love that song that comes after 'Don't Stop'. Oh yeah, I love 'Don't Stop'" The album never lets up from the first song "Secondhand News" (my favorite) on. And there aren't many songs that are more fun than "I Don't Want to Know."

http://puddlesofmyself.blogspot.com/...i-like-it.html

[vivfox]

Kaki King's childhood passions were the drums and Brit-pop, and she figured if she ever made it big it would be because of her skills behind the kit. However, her musical talents didn't stop there: she also played the guitar, and though she learned Beatles and Fleetwood Mac songbooks, she found herself drawn to the styles of Preston Reed and Michael Hedges. Moving from Atlanta to New York to attend college, King got her first taste of solo guitar performance thanks to campus open-mike nights, and upon graduation in 2001 she decided to pursue the instrument more seriously. She started playing in subways, a venue that helped her develop her percussive technique, and when passengers would ask her if she had CDs, she realized that she could possibly make a living as a musician.

http://baistophe.blogspot.com/2009/1...ng-abo321.html

[vivfox]

Fleetwood Mac did a ton of great songs that over the yrs have Bcome Classic Rock Radio faves, even if they were never hits 2 Bgin w/ -- "The Chain," "Landslide," "Songbird," etc. But where's the airplay & recognition 4 greats like "I Know I'm Not Wrong," "The Farmer's Daughter," "Wish You Were Here," "World Turning," "Silver Springs," "Isn't it Midnight?," "Tango in the Night," etc....

http://tadsbackupplan.blogspot.com/2...been-hits.html