Monday, November 21, 2016

Review Stevie Nicks with The Pretenders Philadelphia, PA November 20, 2016

Stevie Nicks and the Pretenders — odd but cozy bedfellows at WFC
by A.D. Amorosi



If we were to duck back to their post-punk '70s peak, the Pretenders and Stevie Nicks would not have been pals. Witchy, willowy pop-hitmaker Nicks — with Fleetwood Mac or through a long solo career — was the polar opposite of the blunt, smug Pretenders and smugger-still front woman, Chrissie Hynde.

Nicks was all leather and lace, a prettily warbling product of bright Californian pop-rock, but with a mystical edge. Hynde was beat-up leather and black-denim neo-punk, but with a rich burr and an adoration of melodic ’60s pop, along with a cynical lyricism that made her just as much an acolyte of Dusty Springfield as she was of Johnny Rotten.

Time and trend passed, people got older, and now Hynde, with an ever-shifting cast of Pretenders, is on a tour with Nicks that on Sunday packed the Wells Fargo Center. The two even got together — happily and heartily — on a blowsy cover of Nicks’ 1981 downturned romancer with Tom Petty, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” with Hynde and rangy guitarist Waddy Wachtel. (Longtime associate Wachtel was as much a secret weapon Sunday to Nicks’ scratchy purr as the Pretenders’ aggressive, rumbling drummer, Martin Chambers, was to Hynde’s winnowing coo.)

Aside from that aforementioned 1981 hit and F-Mac smashes such as “Gypsy,” Nicks’ set fascinatingly focused on catalog riches (“my Gothic trunk of treasures”) that had  fallen through the cracks — an idea that legacy rockers with tired set-lists should consider.

Along with an ardent take on the way-early “Crying in the Night” (a Buckingham Nicks cut), moody synth-rockers “Stand Back,” and “If Anyone Falls,” the incrementally building theatrical ballad “Moonlight (A Vampire’s Dream),” and the train-chugging-whistle-blowing “Enchanted” all allowed Nicks’ scuffed, coolly soulful murmur freest range.

Chatting up the (sometimes romantic) history of each track, Nicks became almost Judy Garlandlike — but without the tragic end.

Hynde’s Pretenders also did something bold in opening their long set with two rough, Stoogeslike ragers from the new album Alone — the explicit title track and the rumbling “Gotta Wait.” Another new track — the oddly plucky “Holy Commotion” — also was part of the live package.

Pluck and cheer are what Hynde best displayed while using her rock-salted caramel hoot of a voice, whether it was smiling/smirking through a boldly crunching “Message of Love,” growling through the reggae-punkish “Private Lives,” or slinking along in “My City Was Gone.” 

Hynde also made fun of her cutoff Elvis T-shirt during the “style” section of “Brass in Pocket,” and of her age, 65, and her crowd's. “There’s a lot of old faces here, but you guys are pushing it,” she said, laughing. “Me, too.”


Review Stevie Nicks Live in Philadelphia, PA November 20, 2016

The 5 best stories from Stevie Nicks' revealing Philly concert (PHOTOS)
by Bobby Olivier
NJ.com - Check out the photos

Photo Matt Smith - View More
PHILADELPHIA — Discretion has rarely come easy to Stevie Nicks.

Rock's venerable gypsy queen has been a subject of gossip for decades, from her role in Fleetwood Mac's romantic crossword puzzle, to her drug addictions — cocaine, then the tranquilizer Klonopin — to her publicized weight gain in the '90s, from a steroid used to fortify her patently potent, rasping voice. 

But as with any star, there are always deeper dimensions than the tabloids, from the tortured artist fans think they know, to the day-to-day, human person no one really knows at all. 

Nicks, 68, visited her most rooted level Sunday night in Philadelphia, on a tour designed not only to unearth some of her most obscure, never-before-played-live songs — swiped from her seemingly bottomless "gothic trunk," she joked — but the stories behind them. 

And through more than two hours of tales, between songs as old as her pre-Fleetwood days with the old-beau duo Buckingham Nicks and as new as those inspired by, of all things, the "Twilight" film series, the songstress was candid on her first solo tour in four years, and gracious to the Wells Fargo Center crowd for allowing her time to stray from the hits and reveal new moments from her prolific career. And with her wonderfully tight, eight-piece band — many of whom have been with her for decades — Nicks managed to shrink the arena and supply the intimacy much of her catalog has worked to provide. 

As Nicks was very chatty on this trek, deemed the 24 Karat Gold Tour, it didn't feel right to write a usual narrative review in this case, so instead, here are a few of her new stories, told (mostly) in her words.

PHOTOS Stevie Nicks Live in Bethlehem, PA

Stevie Nicks enchants Lehigh Valley crowd with songs from the vault (PHOTOS)
by Matt Smith
Lehighvalleylive.com (Check out the photos)

Singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks delighted fans with songs from deep within her catalog during a show Saturday at Sands Bethlehem Event Center in Bethlehem.

Best known for both her work with Fleetwood Mac as well as her highly-successful solo career, Nicks' 24 Karat Gold Tour included songs that either hadn't been performed in decades -- or ever. 

The Pretenders, featuring Chrissie Hynde, opened the show and thrilled the crowd with familiar songs like "Message of Love" and "I'll Stand By You."

A highlight of the show came as Stevie Nicks was joined onstage by Hynde as the duo performed the 1981 hit "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," with Hynde singing the parts originally performed by Tom Petty.

The next stop on the tour is Sunday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Out with the old. In with the new(er). Setlist change at Stevie Nicks Bethlehem show.

In a shocking move, Stevie dropped "Dreams/Outside The Rain" from the set and added in "Gypsy". Interesting that it took almost half the tour to change things up a little - although she did warn that this may happen in pre-tour press. Also interesting that it was "Dreams"!  Usually its the lessor known songs that get the boot first before a staple. But it's cool... shakes things up a bit, keeps it interesting for everyone.

REVIEW: Stevie Nicks at Sands Bethlehem Event Center is older, but still bewitching
by John J. Moser
Mcall.com

PHOTO: Chris Shipley / The Morning Call



Stevie Nicks has always seemed to know more than the rest of us — more about affairs of the heart, more about the meaning of life, more about the future.

You could tell it in the way she told us in the 1982 Fleetwood Mac song “Gypsy” that “Lightning strikes/maybe once/maybe twice,” or in 1975’s “Landslide” that “time makes you bolder/Even children get older/And I'm getting older, too.”

Now Nicks really is getting older — she turned 68 this year — and all those things she sang about 40 years ago (!) seem to have been realized, both by her and her audience.

Full review with 35 photos in the gallery at Mcall.com

Stevie Nicks 'Bella Donna' (Deluxe Edition) Enters Billboard Top 200 Chart


Stevie Nicks, Bella Donna (Deluxe Edition) - No. 128: A new expanded version of Stevie Nicks’ 1981 solo debut album, Bella Donna, arrives on the chart with 5,000 units earned. The original album reached No. 1, and remains Nicks’ only solo chart-topper.

The revamped deluxe title -- which features 25 additional tracks -- charts separately from the original album, and its sales history is also tracked independently of the original release.

The original Bella Donna album climbed to No. 1 on the list dated Sept. 5, 1981 and also marked the icon’s first of so-far nine top 40-charting efforts. She most recently visited the top 40 with her 2014 album 24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault, which debuted and peaked at No. 7.

Bella Donna also sports the most top 40-charting singles on the Billboard Hot 100 of any Nicks album, as it launched four hits into the region. Its lead-off single, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, peaked at No. 3 (for six weeks!). It was followed by “Leather and Lace,” with Don Henley (which reached No. 6), “Edge of Seventeen” (No. 11) and “After the Glitter Fades” (No. 32).

Source

Bella Donna along with The Wild Heart chart on the Top Catalog Albums Chart coming in at #7 and #15.  On the Top 100 Album Sales Chart for the week Bella Donna enters at #59 with The Wild Heart entering at #85 with sales of 4,302 and 3,175 units.

Top Catalog Albums Chart
7 - Bella Donna (Deluxe Edition)
15 - Wild Heart (Deluxe Edition)


Top 100 Album Sales Chart
59 - Bella Donna (Deluxe Edition) - 4,302
85 - Wild Heart (Deluxe Edition) - 3,175

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Review Stevie Nicks Live in Washington with The Pretenders November 14, 2016

Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde inspire fans at Verizon Center
By Joseph Szadkowski
The Washington Times


WASHINGTON, DC — Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde, two grande dames of rock and roll, delivered their distinct musical styles to a near-capacity crowd on Monday night at the Verizon Center.

Both female forces reminded fans of their combined, nearly 90 years of expertise in crafting hit songs, with an over 3-hour-long performance.

First up, Miss Hynde, dressed in red Colonial regiment coat, Elvis T-shirt and skin-tight jeans, led her Pretenders through a 16-song, hourlong set featuring tunes from the band’s latest album “Alone,” along with a radio friendly mix of her more iconic hits.

She apparently tailored the milder set to the throngs of Stevie Nicks admirers, most of which were probably unaware of her more punkish, bad girl roots.

That meant a kindler romp through her charting years with “Message of Love,” “Back on the Chain Gang,” “I’ll Stand by You,” “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” “Stop Your Sobbing,” “My City Was Gone” and “Brass in Pocket” leading the way.

Review Stevie Nicks with The Pretenders Live in Boston November 15, 2016

This is the kind of package that never could have happened in 1981. But in 2016 this bill makes sense.
By Jim Sullivan
Capecodtimes


BOSTON – Stevie Nicks and the Pretenders, together on tour. This is the kind of package that never could have happened, say, in 1981. The Pretenders were the hard-edged, snarling voice of Anglo-American new wave, having released two A-level albums, “Pretenders” and “Pretenders II.” Nicks was the ethereal, ever-twirling enchantress from the multi-platinum Fleetwood Mac, who with the “Bella Donna” album had started her soft-rock solo career.

But in 2016 this bill makes sense. There’s nothing divisive about the camps of fans anymore (if there ever was), and the prospective demo is almost the same, the 50+ pop/rock market. (Nicks also guested on “American Horror Story” playing a version of herself, probably earning some young fans.) The Pretenders’ lead singer-guitarist-songwriter Chrissie Hynde is 65; Nicks, 68; and they both wear it well. The two hooked up and had fun during Nicks’ set for a rendition of the duet hit Nicks scored with Tom Petty, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” with Hynde taking Petty’s vocal.