Showing posts with label 09-25-13: Fleetwood Mac - London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 09-25-13: Fleetwood Mac - London. Show all posts

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Christine McVie and me at the O2

Fleetwood Mac Live in London
Photo by @patbutcherer
UPTOWN GIRL ABROAD 
by ALANA DIXON
The Southland Times

In an 11-month, 13-country (so far) adventure there have been plenty of ‘‘I’d die happy’’ moments. But, despite an ever-burgeoning passport, a self-satisfying list of European sights and South American escapades, and mastering the art of slipping through the masses to score the last empty seat on the Tube, I’ve struggled to think of another moment to top my list of moments since setting off on the Big OE.

Yes, folks, you might have tickets to Vector Arena but I defy you to trump seeing Fleetwood Mac belt out folksy rock jam after jam at London’s O2 Arena.

The evening did not start off the way I hoped.

After making the mistake of first heading to a bar in the Square Mile for some pre-show drinks (oh sure, I’ll pay £19 for a shared cocktail that arrives in a miniature bathtub filled mainly of ice cubes not booze, and, oh sure, I’d love to be surrounded by Hooray Henrys loudly discussing how many zeros are in their salaries! That doesn’t sound irritating at all) we came to our senses and decided to venture to the surely packed-to-the-brim bars around the stadium.

From there the night was on a steady, skyrocketing improve.

Thursday, October 03, 2013

Reviews: Fleetwood Mac London | Manchester "In the words of Fleetwood, ‘THE MAC IS BACK’ and they’ve certainly not lost it"

The return of Fleetwood Mac to Manchester Arena
by Oliver Kurt

PICK OF THE WEEK: FLEETWOOD MAC @ Manchester Arena

LAST week saw the return of Fleetwood Mac to the north west after nearly four years away from the UK.

As part of a stint of five dates across the country, the legendary band visited Manchester Arena and produced a stunning show.

With no support act on the bill for the night, the band kick-started the set with Second Hand News before leading into the classic that is The Chain.

The start of the set focused heavily on Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 album Rumours, which was commercially and critically the band’s most successful release.



Fleetwood Mac Manchester Arena 1 Oct 2013

Great show by Fleetwood Mac last night at Manchester Arena. Possibly the best time I’ve seen them. Fleetwood Mac are enjoying a renewed wave of success. It seems everyone wants to see them and demand for tickets for their concerts has been much greater than the last couple of occasions they visited the UK. This gig at the massive 20,000 capacity Manchester Arena sold out in a matter of hours and tickets have been changing hands for twice their (already expensive) face value. There has also been some added excitement in the form of Christine McVie rejoining her old band mates at a couple of the London concerts.

I was sitting in my seat way up in the top level at the back of the arena. This is the 5th time I’ve seen the band, the first being way back in 1972, and I was still pretty excited and really looked forward to it. I was quite a distance away from the stage, but it gave me a great view of the whole arena. This was very much a classic rock show with crowd pleasing songs, drawn largely from “Fleetwood Mac”, “Rumours” and “Tusk”, excellent visuals, and great individual performances by each member of the band. Stevie still manages to pull off her gypsy, hippy rock chick image, all swirling skirts, twirling folk dancing, and even we even saw the return of her top hat towards the end of the show. She may have reworked some of the songs to remove the higher parts, but her vocals remain stunning. It would be easy to say that Lindsey Buckingham is the star of the show.



The Night I saw Fleetwood Mac...
Lolly Does London

We’d gotten the tickets in March: Fleetwood Mac in London town. Don’t mind if I do.

I’d been hooked since watching their documentary.  And much like when Harry Styles got his first tattoo, we all remember where we were the day that it aired, don’t we?  (For me, it was the early hours of a Monday morning, drinking the remnants of the weekend before the onset of a black suit and a headset as the inevitable Brick Lane mouse twerked in the corner).

Continue to the full review/experience (entertaining read)


Live Review: Fleetwood Mac @ London O2 Arena, 24/09/2013
Fan Photos on Facebook
By Rachael Scarsbrook

In 2011, I felt like the luckiest person in the world for being able to see Brit-pop icons Pulp headline Reading festival. Earlier this year I felt even luckier when I witnessed The Rolling Stones headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.

Yet neither of these majestic live music experiences could have prepared me for the pure perfection that was seeing Fleetwood Mac. A band whose music has been in my life since early childhood courtesy of my dad and a band that tonight, made all of my wildest dreams come true.



Fleetwood Mac – O2 Arena London 24 September 2013
Another Point Of View: Fleetwood Mac (Paul Hutchings)
by MBlade

It was time for a rare to visit to the vacuous O2 arena in London for an equally rare visit from the British-American super group Fleetwood Mac as part of my year of classic rock and oh my, were they good. The Mac are a band that I’ve lived with for a long time, with Rumours possibly my favourite non-metal album of all time. However, I’ve never seen them live before and given their history it appeared likely that I would never get to witness them in the flesh. When the opportunity presented itself earlier in the year it was just a case of making sure tickets were purchased. No easy task given the speed they sold out. We spent a while before the show marveling at the age range of the audience. A few metal heads, many old hippies and I suppose the type of audience you would expect them to attract; a real cross section and many there for the event as opposed to real fans of the band. However, just for once I shall concentrate on the events on stage rather than the annoying fucks sat around me.



Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Review: Fleetwood Mac London - Sept 25th Stevie Nicks "It's an incredible sight to see her kick the air"

FLEETWOOD MAC LIVE IN LONDON
September 25, 2013 - O2 Arena
by Vet Sounds


Amongst the barrage of glowing tweets about the show, I noticed a tweet from Jeremy Clarkson, who was also there that night, complaining something along the lines of “Since when did Fleetwood Mac become a Lindsey Buckingham tribute band?”. You have to wonder what he was expecting. Christine McVie leaving the band in the late 90's has, in effect, reduced their repertoire rather considerably. It knocks out, “Songbird”, “Little Lies”, and “Everywhere”, to name a handful; a lot of their softer AOR moments actually. Stevie Nicks, although a vital component to their on-stage presentation, a crucial foil for Lindsey, and responsible for some key moments in their back catalogue, doesn't play an instrument (tambourine excepted) on-stage. This leaves Lindsey Buckingham, like it or not, as the key musical driving force for the show. In fact, he's the only member of the Mac who's on-stage for every song of their almost three hour show, and boy, is he driven. I saw another reviewer describe him as essentially battling with his guitar on-stage. This is an apt description. At one point, he appeared to be physically beating the strings, both arms flailing.

Full Review at Vet Sounds

Friday, September 27, 2013

London Review 9/25: Love is in the air for return of the Fleetwood Mac

Rock’s greatest soap opera rolled into London this week as Fleetwood Mac began their UK tour with a marathon concert dominated by the hits of the Seventies. Emotional punch was added by the presence of two ex-members who were major players in the Anglo-American group’s chequered history.

For a rollicking encore of Don’t Stop, the band were joined at the O2 Arena by keyboardist Christine McVie — onstage with them for the first time in 15 years.

Earlier, singer Stevie Nicks dedicated a poignant Landslide to original Sixties guitarist Peter Green, who was watching from the wings.

As a generation-spanning audience demonstrated, our love for Fleetwood Mac shows little sign of abating, partly because their biggest hits are still so intertwined with their love lives.


The classic 1977 album Rumours was made amid drug-fuelled excess and personal turmoil, with drummer Mick Fleetwood in the throes of a divorce, the marriage of bassist John and keyboardist Christine McVie on the rocks, and the romance between singer Stevie Nicks and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham in meltdown.

To complicate matters, Nicks and Fleetwood later had their own two-year affair.

As the return, albeit for just one song, of Christine McVie confirmed, everyone is the best of friends these days, although the sexual tensions of old lingered in songs like Don’t Stop (Christine’s kiss-off to John) and Go Your Own Way (Lindsey’s bitter adios to Stevie).

The Buckingham-Nicks relationship was also played out for theatrical effect onstage. The former couple, a formidable creative double-act, hugged each other and slow danced during Sara, and walked on holding hands before the encores. At one point, Lindsey — to loud cheers — gave Stevie a gentlemanly kiss on the hand.

Having played 47 American shows in 2013, the band were perfectly cooked. With McVie and Fleetwood providing a fluent rhythmic backbone, Buckingham drove the show musically, setting the tempo with some impressive  soloing in the Rumours-era opening salvo of Second Hand News, The Chain and Dreams.

But it is Nicks who gives the group their charisma. Teetering around in black stiletto boots, her microphone stand draped in hippy beads and scarves, she was mesmerising on  Rhiannon and Landslide, the latter an acoustic duet with Buckingham.

Alongside the enduring excellence of their songs, it is also the presence of Nicks that connects the band — now all in their 60s — with a younger crowd. Most of the junior members of this audience were female, and it is no coincidence that the new acts most obviously influenced by the group’s classic hooks and harmonies are girl bands like The Pierces and Haim.


Fleetwood Mac’s ongoing appeal also says a lot about the value of experience. From the Stones at Glastonbury to Rod Stewart and Springsteen, many of this year’s best gigs have been played by the veterans, and there was certainly an impressive level of artistry on display here.

As Mick Fleetwood bellowed from his drumkit as the 11 o’clock curfew beckoned: ‘The Mac are back!’ Indeed they are.

The Fleetwood Mac tour  continues tonight at the O2 Arena

By Adrian Thrills


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Photos | Video: Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird" Christine McVie Returns

Fleetwood Mac Live in London
September 25, 2013 - O2 Arena
Photos by Erin Brown
View Gallery
Christine McVie... Back with The Mac!
You wouldn't think anything special was going to happen... But it did and I'm glad I was there to witness it. This is historical!  The show was great... No different then any other.  You wouldn't even know something big was about to happen.  Stevie dedicated Landslide to Peter Green who was in the audience saying some really nice words about him and thanking him for Fleetwood Mac.

The show progressed as per usual, and right at the end of Mick's intros to the band members they whisked Christine's keyboard up on stage from the side... and Lindsey, Mick and Stevie made some jokes about the commotion that was going on wondering what was up. Lindsey's saying it looks like a very familiar spot. Stevie going over to the keyboard to act as if she was going to play a little something.  The audience started to stir when Mick started his intro by saying "this lady's songs echo throughout Fleetwood Mac's history", calling her "our song bird" then said "without further adieu London, give it up for Miss Christine McVie".

The place went mad as you would expect.  It was so loud!  I was in the upper section and it seemed like in unison that everyone leaped to their feet when Mick said her name. Then they launched into "Don't Stop". Christine sounded great, looked great up there on stage and played the hell out of her keyboard.  In many ways, it looked so normal to see her there playing... but in reality, its been close to 16 years that she's been gone.. After the song they took her keyboard off the stage and all 5 stood in front of Mick's kit, took a bow and Christine left the stage down John's stairs.  She did emerge from the back of the stage for the final bows of the night with the rest of the band, then the show was over.

Amazing ending tonight Fleetwood Mac!!  And THANK YOU Christine for coming back... even if for just one song, it was so cool too see the 5 of them together again.

DON'T STOP
LANDSLIDE (Dedicated to Peter Green)