Don't Let Me Down Again- Live 2004

[Sahara]

Originally Posted by LukeA

Too bad this didn't track didn't go over better (I did my part- yelling, singing along directly in front of L&S), but the whole of Madison went "whaaaaaaa?"

Maybe not many people knew it, but I'm sure it didn't ruin the concert for them!
Two or three lesser known songs in a setlist won't put a casual fan off, but it makes an enormous difference to long time fans.

[jmn3]

This epitomizes for me the most frustrating thing about Fleetwood Mac the touring band - the inability to take risks with the set or even with song arrangements. I mean, the fact that they played this song once and dropped it is ridiculous. It's a great song, and really comes across well in a live setting. So what if everyone in attendance was a bit confused, I'm sure it didn't bring the entire setting to a halt. They had played it wayyyy back when ('75, '76 maybe?) and it was also oddly resurrected for the Shake the Cage tour in the late 80's.

I sometimes wonder if this type of song doesn't really belong in the encore? Seems mid-concert with a little introduction of the song's history would garner better audience reaction. Surely it's a better place for a short introduction than the obscure history lesson on "Second Hand News" during the Unleashed Tour last year.

[jmn3]

Originally Posted by Sahara

Maybe not many people knew it, but I'm sure it didn't ruin the concert for them!
Two or three lesser known songs in a setlist won't put a casual fan off, but it makes an enormous difference to long time fans.

I agree with you totally. Limiting it to three (but you could really do 5-7 replacements with no issues), get rid of "Never Going Back Again," "Gypsy" and the clunker that "Don't Stop" has become, replace with Walk a Thin Line, That's Alright, and Frozen Love. I can't believe someone with any business sense hasn't convinced these two to re-release Buckingham Nicks in conjunction with a Fleetwood Mac tour and then strategically place this song in the set. Forget the artistic reasons, the money alone would be a gold mine for them! Plus, I think Frozen Love would make a pretty cool final encore.

[PenguinHead]

Originally Posted by StreetAngel95

That sucks that it was dropped....FM needs to have a 'real fans' tour. Where they can play all these great gems and know that the crowd will know them and sing along, and not worry about having to drop it......hehe wishful thinking...but what i'd give to hear "That's Alright" performed live!!!!

Agreed! I realize the dynamics are somewhat different with an artist like Tom Petty. He can play whatever he wants in concert. His fans aren't hoping for or expecting or demanding that certain songs "have' to be performed. He can pull out some very obscure songs -- often little-known cover songs. His audience will go right along him, enjoying it for what it is, rather than bitching about what they wanted/excepted him to play.

Why is Fleetwood Mac so different from that?

Is it because their fan base is largely composed of casual fans who appreciate and are aware of nothing more than the hit singles?

Is it because Fleetwood Mac themselves have a self-imposed pressure to satisfy the masses and thus, sacrifice true artistry with the unexpected? Hence the juke-box set list!

Is it because today's generation (along with some older-timers), can't sit with, focus and appreciate something they aren't familiar with? Does something different have no value because it's not recognizable? Were not all of their songs new at one point in time?

Is it because concerts have become so big and so corporatized, that it's not about the show or music - it's all about the money?

[jmn3]

It's weird, like you said, Petty can play whatever, his fans are fine. Springsteen plays pretty much a different set every night and his fans are fine. I think this belief that the setlist must have this 90:10 popular to obscure ratio is self-imposed by the band. The Rolling Stones for the most part do the same thing, nearly 50 years of songs to choose from and they pick the same 15 to repeat on each tour with a few additional "surprises."

Regardless of what the band thinks, the Mac would have ZERO issues with their audience if they dropped 10 of the most repeated songs and replaced them with something more obscure. Have some faith in the fan base guys!

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by nailatixela

Only for like...a couple dates. If that. I don't remember the specifics.

Actually just that date in Madison. Mick had some issues toward the end of the song and Lindsey was clearly not amused by the end of it. I remember talking to
Livia after the show and she mentioned she thought it would be dropped. She was right.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by jmn3

This epitomizes for me the most frustrating thing about Fleetwood Mac the touring band - the inability to take risks with the set or even with song arrangements. I mean, the fact that they played this song once and dropped it is ridiculous. It's a great song, and really comes across well in a live setting. So what if everyone in attendance was a bit confused, I'm sure it didn't bring the entire setting to a halt. They had played it wayyyy back when ('75, '76 maybe?) and it was also oddly resurrected for the Shake the Cage tour in the late 80's.

It's funny that they dropped it so quickly. After all, Lindsey didn't let fan reaction stop him from doing Red Rover. I think he wasn't into DLMDA. I heard it in Madison and wasn't moved, but I think the audience would have responded better if he'd given the song a little intro, talked about BN, etc., as you mentioned. The song has been done better live than it was for that performance. Familiar or not, a rousing performance will grab them. The audience doesn't know IKINW either, but they respond to it lustily.

Michele

[holidayroad]

Originally Posted by jmn3

I agree with you totally. Limiting it to three (but you could really do 5-7 replacements with no issues), get rid of "Never Going Back Again," "Gypsy" and the clunker that "Don't Stop" has become, replace with Walk a Thin Line, That's Alright, and Frozen Love. I can't believe someone with any business sense hasn't convinced these two to re-release Buckingham Nicks in conjunction with a Fleetwood Mac tour and then strategically place this song in the set. Forget the artistic reasons, the money alone would be a gold mine for them! Plus, I think Frozen Love would make a pretty cool final encore.

I agree about 'Don't Stop'!! I wish they would also lose 'Go Your Own Way'. I've said it before, I'm absolutely a Lindsey fan, but his vocal on this gets worse and worse (and worse) every time I hear it. 'Frozen Love' would be great and maybe a duet of 'Crystal'. I also wish Stevie would sing 'Angel', and/or 'Sisters of the Moon'.

[jmn3]

Originally Posted by holidayroad

I agree about 'Don't Stop'!! I wish they would also lose 'Go Your Own Way'. I've said it before, I'm absolutely a Lindsey fan, but his vocal on this gets worse and worse (and worse) every time I hear it. 'Frozen Love' would be great and maybe a duet of 'Crystal'. I also wish Stevie would sing 'Angel', and/or 'Sisters of the Moon'.

LOL, the day we see a Mac set without "Don't Stop" and "Go Your Own Way," I'm pretty sure the world would spontaneously combust.

It pains me to agree but his vocals have gotten progressively worse on this one for years (and years). I mean, it really goes back to the Rumours Tour Since then, Lindsey has struggled to hit the notes. Sure, there have been solid performances of it since 1977, but overall I think it's an incredibly hard song to sing and it shows. Reminds me of another band member's signature song and it's decline over the decades. Yes, "Rhiannon," I'm talking about you.

I wonder how a retooled "Go Your Own Way" would go over? I wouldn't say pull a "Big Love" and go all out acoustic with it, but maybe a more subdued, minimalist approach, to the vocal sections, and then rip into a blistering guitar solo to end it? It would require the band to utilize the jaws of life to extract it from it's set closing location of course...

[holidayroad]

Originally Posted by jmn3

I wonder how a retooled "Go Your Own Way" would go over? I wouldn't say pull a "Big Love" and go all out acoustic with it, but maybe a more subdued, minimalist approach, to the vocal sections, and then rip into a blistering guitar solo to end it? It would require the band to utilize the jaws of life to extract it from it's set closing location of course...

If they intend to keep it in the setlist, I would love to hear this. I think the guitar solo is why they keep it at this point anyway.

[AnthonyMI]

Im guessing they dropped it because in that lower key it really loses something. It sounds like a whole different song.