Miami Herald Review

[greatdarkwing]

Stevie Nicks wows fans at ODC

By HOWARD COHEN

[email protected]


The last time rocker Stevie Nicks saw the ''edge of 17,'' to quote from one of her hits she performed before about 7,000 fans Thursday night at Sunrise's Office Depot Center, was 40 summers ago.

But passing time and trends haven't dulled her appeal, completely mellowed her, or minimized her influence on scores of younger artists.

Opening act Vanessa Carlton, 24, in a charming 30-minute solo set at the piano, called Nicks ``one of her great influences.''

It was no surprise that the piped-in music used to usher Nicks on stage for her 15-song, 105-minute set, which mixed her Fleetwood Mac and solo hits, was Destiny's Child's Bootylicious, an R&B chart-topper which owes its hook to the guitar riff from Nicks' 1981 tune Edge of Seventeen.

Later, teasingly renaming Landslide ''The Cat Song'' because it keeps coming back, Nicks sang the 30-year-old acoustic ballad whose lines, ''Time makes you bolder / Even children get older / And I'm getting older, too,'' sound more poignant coming from Nicks now than they did when she first recorded them at 27. She reclaimed Landslide after covers by the Smashing Pumpkins and the Dixie Chicks caught the public's fancy. She also showed she wasn't ready to abandon Gold Dust Woman, the 1977 Rumours closer that gave this tour its name, to Courtney Love whose band Hole recorded a terrific remake.

Nicks and her exceptional band, led by longtime guitarist and musical director Waddy Wachtel, tore into the rockers with zeal, including a blistering cover of Led Zeppelin's Rock and Roll which suited Nicks surprisingly well. She didn't sing it in Robert Plant's higher register (or Ann Wilson's, either) but that made it all the more muscular. She kept her trademark twirls to a minimum but the audience erupted whenever she'd deploy a couple.

Quiet moments like the encore ballad, Beauty and the Beast, with clever lighting giving the stage the appearance of an old castle, complete with clips from the classic Jean Cocteau movie and Nicks in appropriate dress, worked equally well.

This is a tour that really has no reason for being. Nicks just spent 18 months on the road on an exhausting world tour with Fleetwood Mac. She has no CD to promote. Her planned touring partner on this venture, ex-paramour Don Henley, pulled out early to reportedly work with the Eagles, taking with him much of this show's selling power -- the chance to catch Nicks with another ex living out her soap opera existence on stage.

So even with less than a full house, Nicks, in fine voice and good spirits, still proved that as rock's original witchy woman she isn't ready to cast her final spell.

[seeker007nmss]

Originally Posted by greatdarkwing

Stevie Nicks wows fans at ODC

By HOWARD COHEN

[email protected]


This is a tour that really has no reason for being.

I didn't realize we needed a reason.

[Rickypt]

Great that Stevie is getting so many good reviews this time around.