Stevie Nicks Nicks enchanted St. Paul crowd of about 14,000

An ageless Stevie Nicks charms Grand Casino Arena crowd

Now 77, the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was as bewitching as ever

By ROSS RAIHALA
TwinCities.com

Photo: Joe Lemke 

Stevie Nicks busted one of her white wings this summer, forcing the twirling songstress to postpone a number of shows, including an August stop at the St. Paul hockey arena then known as Xcel Energy Center.

Nicks absolutely enchanted the crowd of about 14,000 at her make-good gig Wednesday night at Grand Casino Arena. And her once-fractured shoulder wasn’t apparent in the slightest during her delightful, spirited performance.

Now 77, Nicks certainly moves more slowly than she once did, but she’s still got every bit of that larger-than-life charisma that’s kept her star burning for more than five decades now. It’s no wonder she was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.

In interviews, Nicks often speaks about focusing her energy on doing things she finds fun, which as one would imagine rarely include her former life and musical partner Lindsey Buckingham. After seeing her sixth local show of the past 20 years, it was clear performing live is one of those things that brings her joy. In between her solo hits and Fleetwood Mac classics, Nicks smiled and chatted with the audience, sharing stories about her songs and her life. And, yup, she really did seem to be having fun.

She opened with a rollicking take on Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away,” a song that was released when she was 9 years old. It must be a favorite of hers, as she recorded a version of it for a 2011 Holly tribute album. She’s never performed it live until this tour, though. Maybe she relates to its title, as she’s showing no signs of fading away herself.

From there, she explored her solo career, turning in a fantastic take on “If Anyone Falls” and performing “Wild Heart” and “Bella Donna” as a medley, another first for Nicks on her current run of dates. (After wrapping “Bella Donna,” she told the crowd the cape draped over her shoulders was the same one she wore on the back cover of her 1981 solo debut album of the same name.)

Because she’s got so many gems in her catalog, she casually dropped a goosebump-inducing version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” in as the fourth song of the show. Her voice has grown huskier with age, not a bad thing at all, and remains strong. She also knows where she needs a little help and employed a pair of backup singers to beef up some of the numbers.

Nicks’ band extended the instrumental introductions to some songs like “Edge of Seventeen” and “Stand Back” to give her time to slip backstage and change into a new shawl. One of the few weak points of the evening arrived in the latter, as someone — maybe her longtime musical director Waddy Wachtel? — made the decision to downplay the song’s distinctive synthesizer hook in favor of a muddier, guitar-heavy take. (Prince, by the way, played it on the original recording.)

Given her age, it’s not too surprising she’s drawing such strong crowds these days. Surely, some of her fans are worried this might be their last chance to catch Nicks live.

Nicks clearly realizes that speculation is out there. At the close of her main set, she told the audience with a steely resolve: “See you next time. And there will be a next time. Hope to see you here!”