The Grove CA group roll call

[jkmaletic]

We are at Carls Jr across the street getting something to eat. How many in line now?

[Gypsybecca]

12 or 13...you're fine.

[jkmaletic]

About to go in! Staff came out and said no cameras of any kind per the performer.

I'm cool with that. I guess Stevies really sick of the cameras in her face. Csnt blame her- it's kinda gotten out of hand lately.

Jamie

[Eugene]

Originally Posted by jkmaletic

About to go in! Staff came out and said no cameras of any kind per the performer.

I'm cool with that. I guess Stevies really sick of the cameras in her face. Csnt blame her- it's kinda gotten out of hand lately.

Jamie

And did you all take a vow of silence also? Nobody has anything to say?

[RockAlot]

Originally Posted by Eugene

And did you all take a vow of silence also? Nobody has anything to say?

LOL, We want to hear how the show was people!!?

[jkmaletic]

Sorry. I'm at work now. I will write up full review tonight. It was an epic show tho.

Jamie

[jkmaletic]

Here's something i came across to tide you over.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop...HvM3vP_4&gl=US

[Gypsybecca]

What a day! Right when I thought I was going crazy from the heat, some of my favorite Ledgies showed up. .

This was my first time being front and center and I was pretty much in a trance the entire time. Stevie and the band all sounded great. She was funny and kept moving her mic stand closer and closer to my hands.. I could have reached out and one point and grabbed the ribbons hanging from the mic stand, but I used restraint and didn't!

I'm still in a bit of a daze from the heat and being so close to the Queen but overall it was a fantastic experience.
And tmi maybe? I got Stevie spit on my hand! There! I said it! And that spit made me stronger.

[BTFLCHLD]

[Gypsybecca]

Jamie check your pm

[kimmersxa]

so, yesterday was my first Stevie Nicks show and it was TOTALLY amazing.

i gotta say, i was totally bummed out that the box office people at the venue don't do upgrades. that was probably the one lame thing, and then sitting next to these two older ladies who actually started cussing out this woman for "cheering too much for Stevie." i was kind of floored, ya know? it's a freakin' concert and it's freakin' Stevie Nicks, not Chopin.

but aside from that? such a great show, i really love her. she rocked it!

becca, i believe you promised to sell me some of the Stevie spit if it so happened that some would land on you....

[SapphireSister]

I didn't end up going to the show, long story. Believe it or not I sold my tier 1 ticket at the last moment. I hope you all had a fabulous time though!!!

[michelej1]

Orange County Register Published: Oct. 13, 2011 Updated: 1:29 p.m.
http://www.ocregister.com/entertainm...s-returns.html

Stevie Nicks enraptures fans in AnaheimThe Hall of Famer was as beguiling and vocally powerful as ever in her most intimate O.C. performance in years.

By GEORGE A. PAUL / FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Stevie Nicks came on strong and finished like a gentle breeze in one of her most intimate Orange County solo shows in recent memory, Wednesday night at City National Grove of Anaheim.

Over the course of a two-hour performance, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Fleetwood Mac mainstay was in fine form. Entering to Missing Persons’ “Destination Unknown” (perhaps a nod to her hard-partying years), she and her nine-piece band tore through “Stand Back” as Nicks did some of those trademark twirls. Then she immediately provided a disclaimer: “This is not a greatest hits tour. I’m promoting a record that I believe in from the bottom of my soul. Let’s get this party started.”

I missed Nicks with Rod Stewart at the Hollywood Bowl (which landed right in the middle of Coachella) but never thought she’d return to play such a small venue. A large portion of the packed Grove audience had probably seen her before, either alone or with the Mac, so hearing a set half-devoted to newer material didn’t seem to be a problem. Those songs all got enthusiastic responses, especially ones prefaced by a riveting background story.

Bolstered by a solo career that crossed the 30-year mark this summer, Nicks’ popularity has rarely waned; the most successful of all Mac musicians, each of her albums has been certified gold or platinum. The 63-year-old singer has a legion of unique followers – female and male – who dress like and impersonate her. Nicks even joined Maroon 5 for a version of “Landslide” when that group played the Hollywood Bowl in July, a testament to her influence on younger bands.

Back in May, In Your Dreams, Nicks’ first studio album in a decade, debuted in the Top 10, with two singles eventually reaching Top 30 at adult contemporary radio. The strong, nuanced collection found her collaborating with longtime friend and co-producer Dave Stewart, the quieter half of Eurythmics, who also has worked behind the boards for Mick Jagger and Ringo Starr. In true classic-rock form, eight of the 13 tracks clock in longer than five minutes. Former paramours Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood and Heartbreaker Mike Campbell guest on selected tracks.

“Secret Love,” penned in 1975 about a forgotten tryst, had an understated yet seductive charm in concert; paired with the always-by-her-side backing vocals of Sharon Celani and sister-in-law Lori Nicks, it was truly sublime, with Nicks impressively sustaining a note at the end. Elegant, slowly driving rocker “Moonlight (A Vampire’s Dream),” inspired by seeing the Twilight: New Moon movie during the 2009 Fleetwood Mac world tour, featured horse images on a projection screen, as Nicks spread her chiffon layered arms out for expressive effect and wailed.

A long buildup on “Gold Dust Woman” heightened anticipation and facilitated the singer’s first costume change. Nicks was totally immersed in the Mac tune, while Jimmy Paxson’s prominent beats and Waddy Wachtel’s swirling guitar work added to the mystique. (Most of the top-notch band has been with Nicks for decades. Their familiarity with the older material was evident, though Wachtel also ably handled Buckingham's guitar drone from the new title track.)

Describing how moved she was following a 2005 trip to visit wounded service members at what is now the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, where she inadvertently experienced a Medivac arrival, Nicks said she’s “never been the same since.” The stark song “Soldier’s Angel” grew out of that: more filled-out musically live, it found Nicks singing dramatically as a picture of her with an American flag and the handwritten lyrics appeared on screen.

Of all the new songs, “Annabel Lee” came the most alive onstage. Inspired by an Edgar Allen Poe poem and penned by Nicks as a teenager, it wasn't even demoed until the '90s. Orchestral keyboard swells and its breakdown section added to the pop vibe.

Opening act Michael Grimm provided acoustic guitar on the folksy “For What It’s Worth” (a new original, not the Buffalo Springfield protest anthem). Then an extended regal piano solo prefaced an epic, forceful “Rhiannon,” the initial guitar notes driving fans into a frenzy. Before “Landslide,” featuring just Nicks and Wachtel on acoustic guitar, she urged the crowd to “enjoy your parents while you still got 'em,” dedicating the song to her late father Jess and others. The song was touching as always.

Nicks brought out her male vocal coach to take Don Henley’s part on “Leather and Lace,” a track she’d rarely performed on past tours. The guy had a sweet tenor, and Nicks happily danced around the stage while he delivered the verses admirably. Another lengthy intro, this time for “Edge of Seventeen,” resulted in Nicks switching to a white dress. The powerful song proved how her burnished purr of a voice is still marvelous after all this time.

Grimm won the fifth season of America’s Got Talent last year, and it’s not hard to see why. His self-titled, Don Was-produced major-label debut came out in May on Epic Records. The singer/guitarist’s low-key, 40-minute solo acoustic set was well-received in Anaheim, garnering some hoots and hollers.

Boasting an appealingly gritty voice, his soulful, bluesy style favored such covers as Terry Reid & Graham Nash’s “Without Expression,” the Allman Brothers Band’s “Midnight Rider,” Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” (Travis Tritt sings it with Grimm on the album) and the Faces’ “Stay With Me,” for which he was joined here by Nicks' players (Wachtel provided session guitar work for Grimm).

Fleetwood Mac has always been a fave of Bill Clinton's – remember his first inauguration ball in 1993, where the band got back together to perform “Don’t Stop” (his campaign theme) after an extended absence? On Friday, Nicks headlines a 65th birthday gala for the former president at the Hollywood Palladium. Proceeds benefit Clinton’s charity (click that link for info on the very pricey ducats).

And Mac fans should note: Buckingham, who appears tonight at UCLA's Royce Hall, also happens to be headed to the Grove, on Monday. Tickets are $35-$55.
Setlist: Stevie Nicks at City National Grove of Anaheim, Oct. 12, 2011

[michelej1]

OC Weekly, by Ellen Griley October 13, 2011 Click the link for photos

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmenta...city_natio.php


Stevie Nicks
Oct. 12, 2011
City National Grove of Anaheim

Click here for photos from the show!

Three things worth knowing about Stevie Nicks' concerts nowadays: 1) she limits herself to between two and three stage spins, and only during "Stand Back," which in my experience is always the show opener; 2) her voice continues to sound so spectacular; and 3) only the freaks dress up. Even with Halloween looming, I spotted but one witchy woman in a purple knock-off of Nicks' trademark Ren Faire/sorceress get-up; another lady wore a teensy, tiny top hat.

But there are still the costume changes (four looks tonight, including two black dresses, one white and one merlot, all in the iconic, long-sleeved, corseted fashion she has sported for the past three decades; props to Nicks for realizing that covering every inch of your body in fabric will keep you looking wrinkle-free and graceful). And it remains a great show--unlike her famed former Fleetwood Mac flame Lindsey Buckingham (who coincidentally plays the Grove on Monday), Nicks doesn't rely on rote showmanship, repeating the same anecdotes night after night, in the same order, tour after tour. Having caught a one-off performance by Nicks at a desert casino earlier this spring, it was a pleasure and a relief to hear new stories this go-round. The evening felt unscripted--or at least as unscripted as you can be at the tail end of a summer-long national tour.

"This is not a Stevie Nicks Greatest Hits Show!" Nicks announced as she greeted the audience before talking up her new album, In Your Dreams. Using her "magic sequencer," she said, she had woven new songs among old favorites. Judging by the stand-up-sit-down reaction to classics and unfamiliar tunes that ensued, this probably wasn't what this audience wanted to hear--and given the relentless crowd chatter, it seemed that most of the Dreams tracks, which included the Twilight-inspired "Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)," the war-remembrance poem-song "Soldier's Angel," and the incredible, fresh-feeling "For What It's Worth," were ignored. Too bad: Nicks is clearly proud of her new work, with the songs bringing out an energy that was visibly and audibly richer than what she reserved for standbys such as "Dreams" and "Edge of Seventeen."

The lone, crushing disappointment of the evening came toward the show's end by way of a bungled introduction to "Leather and Lace," which included a reference to a certain mega-famous duet partner from 1981 and had the crowd cheering in anticipation of an appearance by Don Henley. Only it turned out that Nicks was just filling us in on why she rarely performed the song--no male counterpart to sing with her--and instead invited her vocal coach to the stage. Dude may be responsible for Nicks' return to glorious vocal form, but his voice so severely lacked Henley's essential worn, boozed gravel that he ended up matching Nicks in his register and delivered what a friend referred to after the show as "Lace and Lace." Bummer, but at least Nicks sounded dead-on. And we have him to thank for that.

Critic's Bias: I used to read Stevie and Lindsey fanfic in high school. Yep.

The Crowd: Mostly drunk, disrespectful and, uh, pretty lost. (Setting down banquet chairs in unevenly spaced, unlit, unmarked rows does not ye a theatre make.) Also, old. Not enough top hats, too much Tommy Bahama. And, for that matter, way too much chardonnay, Bud Light and the special of the evening, some kind of Midori/fruit-juice jungle jam that left the air-show-regular-type next to me slumped in her chair and drooling on herself by the night's end.

Overheard in the Crowd: "I only paid $6 for this drink! [Slurring] It'scalledthemellonball."

Random notebook dump: I wonder if anyone told Stevie and Lindsey they're playing this joint within days of each other. Ships passing! Like always. Sigh. (Fanfic folks, here's your fodder!)

[ragrsrocalot]

Originally Posted by BTFLCHLD

Great video. So Stevie will be 102 in 30 years.