REVIEW: FLEETWOOD MAC - ROTTERDAM AHOY (PODIUM INFO)

(Translated Review)

Fleetwood Mac - 15/10 - Ahoy

by: Pierre Oitmann

Podium Info (link to original review)

The revolving door mechanics of pop music there are many parts that require almost constant maintenance. Creativity and relationships are identified as the key. If there is a band who know all about it off, it is Fleetwood Mac. Peaks and valleys in the life of the band members were changing as it disproportionately associated with artistic highs and lows. The only permanent band member during the existence of over forty Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood was named. Although the band disintegrated so often that you really can not speak of forty years standing.

The best known and most popular lineup of Fleetwood Mac drummer Fleetwood contains vocalist / guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie singers and bassist John McVie. Minus Ms McVie tonight they are all present. This occupation is not fully complete the star is a shame. Second, Fleetwood Mac was already manned by lesser quantities, so in that regard certainly no reason to complain. Crazy is that McVie, Nicks and Buckingham relatively anonymous and do their own very modest stage opstiefelen. Only Fleetwood takes the applause received with visible enthusiasm.

The almost three hours going over tour de force that starts, has a difficult start. The public seems to look a oldies band that just wants to cash in and have another skin full of cursing rather than singing beautiful songs. Does the Fleetwood Mac called revolving door that age still wear? No, only the action is what rusty and needs time to get started. The confidence of the - very varied - public early in the show playing 'Dreams', which Stevie Nicks her beautiful vocals to the subjects ears pricked. Soft Velvet, but uncoated. Especially with the background vocals Sharon Celani, Jana Anderson and sister Lori Nicks sounds wonderful.

Buckingham is also in top form. After a cowardly start, gradually increasing devotion he shows through his excellent guitar playing. With some inspired guitar solos come Buckingham increasingly in the mood. Once that passion really comes back to the surface, that sounds in the voice of the singer. He allows himself to emotional depth to be heard in his vocals, just like Stevie Nicks. A beautiful moment is when both singers also embrace each other warmly. From there the show gets a turn. These are not entirely of elderly musicians are hard kinks, here is a group of people with an enormous and complicated history, their songs from that same evening and wrote history with the heart in the right place increase.

Where bassist McVie a little remains in the shadow of Nicks and Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood accelerate especially in the last hour of the concert. A long drum solo can obviously not forthcoming. During those three hours are popklassiekers of the upper order past, 'Rhiannon', 'Sara', 'Go Your Own Way', 'Gipsy', 'Do not Stop' and 'Say You Love Me ". This focuses mainly on the Fleetwood Mac hitperiode from the 70s, with the albums "Fleetwood Mac", "Rumors" and "Tusk." The early period is only 'Oh Well' and pass the hit album "Tango In The Night" from 1987 is almost entirely ignored. So no 'Everywhere' and 'Little Lies', though Lindsey Buckingham plays alone is a stunning acoustic performance of "Big Love" (similar to the version on the live album 'The Dance').

Not that Fleetwood Mac hits just playing. Also parts of the aforementioned album plates found a spot in the setlist, especially for the devoted fan. For the less dedicated the concert to fan the very long side and at times even a bit tedious. With half the time the band had after all only play the hits. It shows great character as to show such a band to put down, with the trap that much of the public will get bored.

Mick Fleetwood after the concert takes time for the public to speak and to thank. He is emotional in tone and shows the same integrity that we noted earlier this evening at Buckingham and Nicks. It seems that this revolving door can never break ...

ABSOLUTE CLASSIC ROCK - FLEETWOOD MAC GIVE-AWAY

Win Fleetwood Mac's greatest hits

This week on Absolute Classic Rock we’re giving away copies of Fleetwood Mac’s greatest hits. To be in with a chance of winning simply answer this question:

How many of Fleetwood Mac’s studio albums have reached number one in the UK charts?

Fill in your details and answer the question at AbsoluteRadio.co.uk

This competition closes on Sunday 25 October 2009 23:59.

(UNCUT) WIN! One of 10 Copies of Fleetwood Mac's Very Best Of Double CD

Win! One of ten copies of Fleetwood Mac's Very Best Of double CD!

Fleetwood Mac's anticipated remastered Very Best Of double album has finally got a UK release date of October 19 for the CD and digital versions.

The 36-track album, is being released on the eve of the Mac's UK leg of the Unleashed Tour which starts at Glasgow SECC on October 22.

In their career, Fleetwood Mac have sold over 100 million albums worldwide -- famous tracks include: "The Chain", "Go Your Own Way", "Dreams" and "Landslide".

To be in with a chance of winning one of ten copies of the Very Best Of double CD, simply log in and answer the simple question below.

This competition closes on Friday November 6, 2009. First ten winners drawn at random win. Please include your name and address with your entries.

Good luck!

The Question:

In whose studio did Stevie Nicks record the first demo of Dreams?

Click here to fill in your answer

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac - Paris, France October 17, 2009

Sara, Gypsy, Rhiannon

You can’t beat a Saturday night Fleetwood Mac concert in Paris. I mean, how often does the opportunity come up?

Read the review with photos by Amy Thomas

God I Love Paris

REVIEW: FLEETWOOD MAC Live in Antwerpen "De zilveren lente van Fleetwood Mac"

FLEETWOOD MAC - ANTWERPEN, BELGIUM
October 14, 2009
De zilveren lente van Fleetwood Mac
REVIEWED BY: Shaketown

Het gezegende muzikale jaar 1977 wordt meestal herinnerd als het jaar van de doorbraak van The Sex Pistols, maar men mag niet vergeten dat het het album ‘Rumours’ van Fleetwood Mac was dat maandenlang (31 weken in Bilboard 200) de hitlijsten aanvoerde, zowel in The States als in Europa. Met 40 miljoen verkochte exemplaren behoort dit meesterwerk nog steeds tot de best verkopende platen allertijden. Na zo’n monstersucces kon het alleen maar bergaf gaan, wat ook min of meer gebeurde. Akkoord, de groep bracht gemiddeld nog om de vier jaar een nieuw album uit, waarvan er een paar de top van de charts haalden, maar de meeste andere platen flopten of werden op relatieve onverschilligheid onthaald. Live bleef de groep het echter uitstekend doen, getuige het succes van de ‘Say You Will’ wereldtour van 2003-2004, die de band wel naar Europa maar niet naar de Lage Landen bracht. Tweede vrouwenstem Christine McVie nam net als deze keer ook toen al niet meer deel aan de tournee, spijtig als men beseft dat zij toch tekende voor songs als ‘Songbird’, ‘Oh Daddy’ en ‘You Make Loving Fun’.

Continue to full review

Photo Gallery

STEVIE NICKS IS GOING HER OWN WAY (Sunday Express UK Interview)

IN A frank interview, the Fleetwood Mac star tells CHARLOTTE HEATHCOTE about sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll and how, despite being battered by all three, she's emerged stronger than ever.

Sunday Express

Fleetwood Mac are as famed for their in-fighting, feuds and messy, almost incestuous inter-band romances as for Go Your Own Way, Don’t Stop, Everywhere, The Chain and countless other adult-oriented rock songs that have seen them shift more than 100million records.

Stevie Nicks, however, makes absolutely no attempt to put a shiny PR gloss on the legendary tensions.

“We did our first tour and we were p***** off with each other then. We made another record [Rumours] and we were all angry with each other afterwards. We did Tusk and that was 13 months of anger. We did an 18-month tour and by the time that was done everyone was really not speaking...”

She’s half-weary, half-wry. “It’s really nothing new. It’s been happening since time began but if this was a bland, boring band we’d definitely not still be together.”

Stevie and her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham brought a stability of sorts to the shape-shifting line-up of Fleetwood Mac in 1975, joining Mick Fleetwood, John and Christine McVie.

Christine left 11 years ago, ground down by relentless touring, and Stevie misses her ally “every day”.

The other four remain a unit, on the whole, which is especially miraculous when you consider that Stevie and Buckingham’s six-year relationship foundered during the recording of the drug-fuelled Rumours in 1976 (the McVies were splitting at the same time) and, shortly after the Rumours tour, Stevie fell for Fleetwood. They separated for the sake of the band.

By the time of Fleetwood Mac’s last tour, 2003’s Say You Will, Stevie’s relationship with Buckingham had become so fraught that, unless he treated her better this time around, she threatened to walk away “so fast that palm tree tops will fall on his head”.

Now, she says the underlying problem was how much she hated the Say You Will album.

“It was five years ago now so I can say I didn’t like it at all; I didn’t like making it, I didn’t like the songs, so that tour was very hard for me.”

On a Greatest Hits tour, however, there is no new material to quibble over.

“Doing all the very famous material is actually more fun,” insists this born entertainer. “It’s been a breath of fresh air for us to not have to worry about trying to sell [new] songs.”

With five platinum-selling solo records to her name, Stevie is easily the most successful member of Fleetwood Mac. Wasn’t she tempted to walk away during Say You Will?

“Well, I’m a peacemaker and I didn’t want us to break up because the music didn’t go my way. If I’ve learned nothing else in my 61 years it is that four years down the line you’re over it.” She sees the remaining foursome touring for another seven or eight years.

“I’m a performer and an entertainer, that’s what I live for. I would be dancing on tables in bars if I wasn’t in Fleetwood Mac, doing small shows all over the world, driving my van.”

Stevie’s passion for entertaining runs so deep, however, that she admits she has sacrificed all of her romantic relationships for the band but with no regrets.

“My love affair is with my work. I’ve had many wonderful relationships but I could never give up what I do for a relationship; in all of my relationships, at some point, that [prioritising] came up.

“Am I sad about the fact that I don’t have a relationship? No. I’m going to Europe to stay in the best hotels, to play huge shows, playing my music, to meet lots of interesting people. So I really don’t care.”

To Stevie’s amusement, her 81-year-old mother reckons she still hasn’t met Mr Right. She’s all too happy for her mother to be proved right but, to date, the love of her life is a member of the Eagles and not the one you’d expect.

After her split with Buckingham she spent 18 months with Don Henley but, of his bandmate Joe Walsh, she says: “He was the great love of my life. I fell in love with Joe in the same way that Lindsey fell in love with me.”

As their cocaine addiction spiralled out of control in the early Eighties, though, Walsh reluctantly left her for both of their sakes. Now she muses: “Maybe the people you can live best with aren’t the great love of your life; the men you love deeply, the calmer, more loving, more solid people but who you weren’t super passionately crazy in love with. The ones to marry aren’t the ones as crazy as you are.”

Her romance with Walsh was not the only fall-out of her drug addiction. Cocaine has left a hole in her septum, leaving her wishing her generation had not been told that cocaine was “safe, recreational and not a bigger deal than smoking pot or cigarettes”.

A bigger regret is that, after successful treatment for cocaine addiction, her friends persuaded her to see a psychiatrist, hoping this would ensure she avoided a relapse. The doctor prescribed the tranquilliser Klonopin.

“That took eight years out of my life,” she says.

“Those were my prime years, my 40s, when a lot of my heavy, creative activity was really happening. Klonopin grabbed hold of you and made you sit down on your couch and not get up.

“I just watched TV for eight years in a daze. I’m sorry I didn’t have a car crash on the way to seeing that doctor.”

So when Stevie finally got herself back on track, she needed to make up for lost time. “I made a decision a long time ago to follow my artistry. I decided that my mission here on this earth was to write songs for people and make them happy.”

● The UK leg of Fleetwood Mac’s Unleashed tour starts on Thursday and the double CD The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac is out tomorrow.

THE VERSUS - OPENING FOR FLEETWOOD MAC OFFER FREE DOWNLOAD

As confirmed earlier The Versus will be opening for Fleetwood Mac in Australia. They've recently signed with Warner in Australia, Fleetwood Mac's record company. They also have an EP coming out November 13th. The first single "Forever More" will hit radio in AU October 26th. They are offering the track as a free download from their website. I've downloaded it and it's pretty good - it has a retro 70's sound to it. They should be a nice fit for an opening act for Fleetwood Mac.

The Fleetwood Mac tour dates to catch The Versus:
1 & 2 December 2009 – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
5 December 2009 – Hope Estate Winery, Hunter Valley
7 December 2009 – Acer Arena, Sydney
11 & 12 December 2009 – Members Equity, Perth
15 & 16 December 2009 – Entertainment Centre, Brisbane

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Live in Paris

(Review) Fleetwood Mac 

Live in Paris 10.17.09

11 Weeks In Paris

"The last song they played was one of their most enduring, Don't Stop. Unfortunately, the keyboard player ran into some technical problems, causing them to restart the song twice (after a technician came on stage to fix the problem), which prompted Stevie Nicks to lightheartedly say something like: "If this was an acoustic band, this wouldn't happen. But as soon as you plug something in, you have these kinds of problems."

Last night was our 6th concert in Paris: Fleetwood Mac at Le Zenith, which included Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie.

Le Zenith is located in the 19th arrondissement, in the extreme northeast part of Paris on the grounds of La Villette park, the largest landscaped park in Paris.

The concert was scheduled to start at 8p but we (Amanda, Christina, Angela, Kent and myself) had dinner with Alex and Andrea (who had just returned from Japan) at Les Fountains near the Pantheon, not far from our apartment.

We figured if we left the restaurant at 7:30, we could get to the concert just in time.

We figured wrong.

I'm not sure it's possible to complete a meal for 7 people in 90 minutes in a decent restaurant in Paris. So, while the dinner and company were great, we didn't leave the restaurant until 8p and had a minimum 30 minute metro ride to the grounds of the concert.

Of course, as fate would have it, the metro line we chose ended prematurely, halfway to our destination. Apparently, all stops after Republique were inactive due to repair work so we had to disembark and re-route through a couple other lines which eventually got us to the park a little before 9p and it took us almost 15 minutes to find Le Zenith, where we had floor standing tickets.

I had 6 tickets but because one of Christina's friends couldn't make the trip to Paris, I had an extra which I thought I would sell at the arena but arriving late made that difficult. Fortunately, some lonely scalper offered me 10 EUR just as I arrived, which I quickly and happily scooped up. 10 EUR is better than nothing although the tickets were 45 EUR.

Le Zenith only holds 6,000 people which I thought absurdly small for a group the stature of Fleetwood Mac. Coldplay sold out 50,000 seats at Parc de Prince. Green Day sold out 20,000 at Bercy. Surely Fleetwood Mac has their status, no?

I mean I saw Fleetwood Mac in Charlotte in April at Time Warner Cable Arena, which holds almost 20,000. (By the way, do you think Amanda and I were the only two people to see Fleetwood Mac both in Charlotte and Paris?)

I guess Fleetwood Mac is just not that well-known or popular in France.

In any case, we arrived a little after 9p and the band was already playing. I didn't know if there was an opening act so I wasn't sure how long they had been on stage. However, from some of their remarks (Buckingham: "so glad to be back in Paris after 20 years", Nicks: "Last time I think we were drunk. I was coming back to Paris if I was going to stand on a street corner and sing"), it appeared they hadn't been playing long.

While we were at the back of the floor, we were still much closer than in Charlotte. Le Zenith was designed first and foremost as a concert arena so it has good sight lines and sound but it was still a little strange seeing Fleetwood Mac in such a small setting.

The stage set and lighting were minimal compared to the concert in Charlotte and the crowd was definitely older.

They played till almost 11p, including the encores, giving us almost 2 hours of music so I don't think we missed too much of the early part of the show. The last song they played was one of their most enduring, Don't Stop. Unfortunately, the keyboard player ran into some technical problems, causing them to restart the song twice (after a technician came on stage to fix the problem), which prompted Stevie Nicks to lightheartedly say something like: "If this was an acoustic band, this wouldn't happen. But as soon as you plug something in, you have these kinds of problems."

As was the case in Charlotte, Lindsey Buckingham was really the star although Nicks' voice is the signature of the band. It was their addition in 1975 that changed the band from blues to pop rock and launched their stardom when I was in high school!

All in all a good show but I was a little scattered due to the hectic schedule getting there and didn't feel too motivated to take a lot of pictures or record any audio/video as I've done with earlier shows so I mostly just enjoyed the show.

BILL HADER ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE PLAYS LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM

In a segment on tonights Saturday Night Live with Guest host Gerard Butler called "What's Up With That" Bill Hader played Lindsey Buckingham on a panel of guests... His character had on a red t-shirt with a black leather jacket and jeans...

VIDEO: Fleetwood Mac "Landslide" Live in Paris Oct 17, 2009

Fleetwood Mac - Landslide - Paris, France 10.17.09

Stevie tells the audience that they weren't sure if they were going to make it to Paris or not, and that she told Lindsey "I'm going to sing in Paris if I have to go by myself and stand and sing on a street corner"..."I'm going to sing in Paris!"

She also mentions that she doesn't really remember when the last time it was that they were in Paris, probably 20 or more years ago - they were probably really drunk that last time and can't remember... Funny stuff!

REVIEW and PHOTOS: Fleetwood Mac Live at Zenith Paris Oct 17, 2009

A fans review of tonights Fleetwood Mac show in Paris - with some amazing snapshots of the band.

ROCKERPARIS (link)

(Reviewer of Concerts in Paris)

UK CERTIFIES FLEETWOOD MAC "THE VERY BEST OF" TRIPLE PLATINUM

On Friday October 16, 2009 Fleetwood Mac's 2002 single disc release of "The Very Best Of" was certified triple platinum in the UK representing 900,000 in sales according to the BPI.

FLEETWOOD MAC - THE VERY BEST OF
3 x Platinum Certification (Album) Friday, October 16, 2009
WARNER MUSIC (WSM)
Released Monday, October 14, 2002

(Platinum = 300,000 units)