(REVIEW) Fleetwood Mac Live in Oakland, CA May 20, 2009

Fleetwood Mac at the Oracle Arena

Photo by Christopher Victorio

Delving into the convoluted history of Fleetwood Mac is tantamount to stepping in a cow pile for the casual fan (and here I shall raise my hand), so let's sidestep cries of "heresy!" and stick to what went down at the Oracle last night.

When you've got a catalogue of hits like Fleetwood Mac, the quality of the show leans heavily on whether or not the band is in top form. And on this night, for most of the 20-song set, the band was tight and the vocals crisp. Father Time may have stiffened the bones of John McVie and Stevie Nicks (who headed backstage for a break and shawl swap after almost every song), but Mick Fleetwood and Lindsey Buckingham had obviously been eating their spinach - these two gentlemen of Pop had far more fun than anyone in the audience. Which is no easy feat considering the crowd was on its feet for more than half of the show, tears of nostalgia wetting many an eye.

Buckingham danced around the stage like a teen guitarist at his first show, beating his chest and blowing kisses to the crowd in heartfelt thanks - all but leaping into the pit of fans below in enthusiasm. (At one point, he had at least 6 pairs of fan hands playing his guitar.) Nicks, for her part, was her gypsy self, snaking hands in the air and gently swirling beneath the spotlights as best she could -- to be honest, from where we sat, she looked as though she were almost in pain, but when she sang it was smooth and seemed effortless.

The addition of three back-up singers, a guitarist and keyboardist (who also sang harmonies) contributed to the lush sound that is the hallmark of many a Fleetwood Mac recording.

Both Nicks and Buckingham commented on how thrilled they were to be back in the Bay, where their former band Fritz opened for acts like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. San Francisco is the "velvet underground" mentioned in "Gypsy," added Nicks before launching into the song.

Fan favorites "Go Your Own Way," "Landslide," "Dreams," "Say You Love Me" and "Rhiannon" made appearances, as did "Storms," which Nicks said had never been performed onstage outside the current tour.

Add dueling guitar leads between veteran guitarist Neale Heywood and Buckingham and an over-the-top drum solo from Fleetwood and you've got a show that will be bragged about having been at for quite some time.

Critic's Notebook:

Personal Bias: Ever the sap, I was moved to tears by "Landslide."

Random Detail: Mick Fleetwood's flashy fire engine-red shoes were too cute.

By the way: Tickets are still available for tonight's Fleetwood Mac show in San Jose. Go go go.

SFWeekly.com

PHOTOS: Fleetwood Mac Live in Oakland May 20, 2009

Photos by Christopher Victorio

MICK FLEETWOOD ADDS HIS VOICE

Mick Fleetwood adds his voice to the non-profit effort to preserve the legendary "Plant" studios in Sausalito, where Fleetwood Mac recorded Rumours in 1976.

VIDEO: Fleetwood Mac Live in Oakland, CA May 20, 2009

Rhiannon, Gypsy & The Chain

FLEETWOOD MAC RESUMES TOUR IN OAKLAND, CA 5/20

Fleetwood Mac is expected return to the stage tonight (5/20) in Oakland, CA, after postponing a handful of shows over the past week due to illness.

FULL OAKLAND REVIEW

As previously reported, the classic rockers canceled two shows in Canada last week--Tuesday night (5/12) in Calgary and Wednesday (5/13) in Edmonton--due to a band member falling ill.

The Stevie Nicks-led group managed to perform last Friday night (5/15) in Vancouver, though Monday night's (5/18) show at Sacramento's Arco Arena was also postponed due to illness. According to the venue's website, a rescheduled date will be announced soon, and tickets for the original performance will be honored on the new date.

Fleetwood Mac's greatest-hits trek, dubbed the "Unleashed Tour," is set to run through early summer, finishing up June 17 in Uncasville, CT. 

Livedaily.com

The burning question I'm sure....

Will Fleetwood Mac be playing in Oakland tomorrow evening??

In this case, no news is very good news I suppose. I'm sure that if they weren't going to make it there would have been some sort of announcement by now. In a similar situation with the Calgary and Edmonton postponed shows, Calgary was postponed and Edmonton quickly followed suite later that evening... The only difference was that Edmonton was to take place the day after Calgary.  So this is positive right??

FLEETWOOD MAC'S SACRAMENTO CONCERT CANCELLED

Fleetwood Mac Concert Cancelled

SACRAMENTO, CA - The Fleetwood Mac concert scheduled for 8 p.m. Monday (tonight) at Arco Arena has been cancelled.

Arena officials said they are still confirming whether or not the concert has been postponed to a later date or cancelled for good.

Sacramento was one of the last stops on the popular blues rock band's "Unleashed" tour that started in March.

News10/KXTV

Live Nation Statement:

This show has been postponed. New date is still to be determined, but tickets for today's show will be honored at it. 

However, refunds can be offered for postponed or cancelled performances. Refunds for postponed or cancelled performances must be obtained at the original point of purchase. Customers who purchased tickets at one of our retail outlets must bring their tickets to the outlet they purchased from to request a refund. Customers will be refunded by the retail outlet using the same method of payment they used for the purchase.

MY MICK TV - EPISODE 7

Episode 7 of myMICKTV.com

Mick Fleetwood leaves Chicago heading for Detroit in a torrential downpour in both cities - and he's running late for the next Fleetwood Mac show... The plane was struck by lightning on the way to Detroit...  

This video is from the early part of the Unleashed Tour.  The two Chicago shows were on March 5th and 6th, Detroit March 8th.

myMICKTV.com

JOHN MCVIE.... PLEASE MEET JOHN MCVIE

Shared name ticket to Fleetwood Mac concert
BY JUDITH LAVOIE, TIMES COLONIST

Victoria real estate agent John McVie knows exactly what's in a name.

Five free tickets to the sold-out Fleetwood Mac concert at GM Place in Vancouver Friday, backstage passes for the entire family, $700 raised for charity from auctioning signed Fleetwood Mac CDs and a series of phone calls and e-mails from the famous John McVie -- the bassist with Fleetwood Mac.

The Victoria McVie was still over the moon yesterday after meeting the musician.

"He's a really nice guy -- genuine and real," said McVie, who is considering wearing his Fleetwood Mac T-shirt to work next week.

The connection started about eight years ago when McVie wanted the JohnMcVie.com web address for marketing, but found it had been reserved by the musician.

Since it was not being used, McVie fired off an e-mail asking if he could have it, without any expectation of receiving a reply.

About three weeks later, he answered the phone with his name, as usual, only to hear someone with a British accent saying, "I am not used to someone using my name."

"I said I am John McVie and he said, 'I am John McVie.' Then we chatted for about 15 minutes and compared notes on where our grandparents had come from," said McVie, who settled for the web address JohnMcVie.ca, but wangled the signed CDs for a charity auction he was doing.

Strangely, the two men had something else in common -- both were tax inspectors when they were younger.

The Victoria McVie asked for the musician's forgiveness for the many times he had impersonated him.

"And he said, 'Milk it for all it's worth,'" McVie said.

Over the years, there were intermittent exchanges and a commitment to meet if Fleetwood Mac was in the area.

The opportunity came with the band's North American tour and, true to his word, Fleetwood Mac McVie came through with the tickets.

"Afterwards, we had a good chat and he had his picture taken with all of us," McVie said. "It was a lot of fun."

PHOTOS: Fleetwood Mac Live in Tacoma

Photos by: BackyardBirderWA

These are interesting shots... Massive amounts of people.... I'm not familiar with the Tacoma Dome, is it a football field?

Photo by BecauseUAreHere


Photo by readytoride