.png)
.png)
Amazing shots of Fleetwood Mac's 1977 - Comback To Europe Tour
Photos by: Affendaddy (Click for more)
Saturday, May 16, 2009
FLEETWOOD MAC COME BACK TO EUROPE
Fleetwood Mac April 14, 1977....
Amazing shots of Fleetwood Mac's 1977 - Comback To Europe Tour
Photos by: Affendaddy (Click for more)
Amazing shots of Fleetwood Mac's 1977 - Comback To Europe Tour
Photos by: Affendaddy (Click for more)
VANCOUVER SHOW LACKS THE LUSTRE OF YESTERYEAR
Fleetwood Mac At GM Place
Friday, May 15th
By Sarah Rowland
Straight.com
If ever there was a mutual effort in denial, it would be the classic rock, cash-grab reunion tour. Embittered bandmates pretend to put their differences aside for the “love of the music”. And in exchange, hard-core fans shell out hundreds of dollars and convince themselves their idols’ coke-ravaged voices can still deliver the goods.
This was pretty much the case at the packed Fleetwood Mac show on Friday. If it weren’t for Lindsey Buckingham’s superlative guitar playing, the concert would have been a total washout. The reason? Well let’s say that, to put things charitably, the voices of Buckingham and Stevie Nicks seemed a little fried, to say the least.
As a result, almost every song was a total tease. The intros to the classics were strong and instantly recognizable, but as soon as the ’70s survivors started singing, it became painfully obvious the sweet blow-fuelled harmonies of yesteryear are long gone.
Maybe Buckingham and Nicks just needed a big fat rail for old times’ sake to loosen up the ol’ vocal chords, or maybe they needed former bandmate and “Songbird” songstress Christine McVie to pick up the slack. But then again, maybe her sagging vocal cords are shot to hell as well.
I’m not sure if the way the four remaining Fleetwood Mac members were positioned on the stage was meant to compensate for McVie’s absence. For whatever reason, Buckingham and Nicks were so far apart, they had to use a split screen in order to fit both of them in the same JumboTron shot. And they weren’t even in the same time zone during the predictable spotlight moments.
In fact, the former lovers didn’t really connect until about halfway into the show during “Sara”, when Nicks awkwardly reached her hands out to Buckingham and he leaned his head on her heavily padded shoulder. But their hips and chests still weren’t touching, so it looked more like two grade eights slow dancing rather than a couple of old friends warmly embracing.
Performance-wise, the highlight of the show was the always-beautiful, pared-down “Landslide.” Nicks has this acoustically led ballad down to a T and the bonus is that it didn’t require much energy, which was good because it didn’t look as though the, um, full-figured singer had a lot to spare. Her eyes were at half-mast almost the entire show. Too much NeoCitran? Bad plastic surgery? Who knows. But I got sleepy just looking at her.
And it wasn’t just her lids that looked heavy. I couldn’t see what kind of shoes Nicks was wearing, but they seemed to be weighing down her feet like cement blocks. So instead of looking like an ethereal and majestical Gypsy in her black-lace finery as she attempted to twirl across the stage (her one big dance move of the night), the ultimate goddess of rock ‘n’ roll excess” looked more like a well-fed Wiccan lumbering around the Maypole in a Beltane fertility ritual.
It was kind of sad. But hey, the first 20 or so rows seemed to be enjoying it.
Other standouts included “Big Love”, in which Buckingham unleashed a wicked acoustic guitar solo. Later, Buckingham got his blues on with “Oh Well”, a Fleetwood Mac song that was written before he and Nicks joined the band.
After burning through 20-plus hits, they left us with “Don’t Stop”, an ironic choice considering it might be time for these classic-rock dinosaurs to do just that.
By Sarah Rowland
Straight.com
If ever there was a mutual effort in denial, it would be the classic rock, cash-grab reunion tour. Embittered bandmates pretend to put their differences aside for the “love of the music”. And in exchange, hard-core fans shell out hundreds of dollars and convince themselves their idols’ coke-ravaged voices can still deliver the goods.
This was pretty much the case at the packed Fleetwood Mac show on Friday. If it weren’t for Lindsey Buckingham’s superlative guitar playing, the concert would have been a total washout. The reason? Well let’s say that, to put things charitably, the voices of Buckingham and Stevie Nicks seemed a little fried, to say the least.
As a result, almost every song was a total tease. The intros to the classics were strong and instantly recognizable, but as soon as the ’70s survivors started singing, it became painfully obvious the sweet blow-fuelled harmonies of yesteryear are long gone.
Maybe Buckingham and Nicks just needed a big fat rail for old times’ sake to loosen up the ol’ vocal chords, or maybe they needed former bandmate and “Songbird” songstress Christine McVie to pick up the slack. But then again, maybe her sagging vocal cords are shot to hell as well.
I’m not sure if the way the four remaining Fleetwood Mac members were positioned on the stage was meant to compensate for McVie’s absence. For whatever reason, Buckingham and Nicks were so far apart, they had to use a split screen in order to fit both of them in the same JumboTron shot. And they weren’t even in the same time zone during the predictable spotlight moments.
In fact, the former lovers didn’t really connect until about halfway into the show during “Sara”, when Nicks awkwardly reached her hands out to Buckingham and he leaned his head on her heavily padded shoulder. But their hips and chests still weren’t touching, so it looked more like two grade eights slow dancing rather than a couple of old friends warmly embracing.
Performance-wise, the highlight of the show was the always-beautiful, pared-down “Landslide.” Nicks has this acoustically led ballad down to a T and the bonus is that it didn’t require much energy, which was good because it didn’t look as though the, um, full-figured singer had a lot to spare. Her eyes were at half-mast almost the entire show. Too much NeoCitran? Bad plastic surgery? Who knows. But I got sleepy just looking at her.
And it wasn’t just her lids that looked heavy. I couldn’t see what kind of shoes Nicks was wearing, but they seemed to be weighing down her feet like cement blocks. So instead of looking like an ethereal and majestical Gypsy in her black-lace finery as she attempted to twirl across the stage (her one big dance move of the night), the ultimate goddess of rock ‘n’ roll excess” looked more like a well-fed Wiccan lumbering around the Maypole in a Beltane fertility ritual.
It was kind of sad. But hey, the first 20 or so rows seemed to be enjoying it.
Other standouts included “Big Love”, in which Buckingham unleashed a wicked acoustic guitar solo. Later, Buckingham got his blues on with “Oh Well”, a Fleetwood Mac song that was written before he and Nicks joined the band.
After burning through 20-plus hits, they left us with “Don’t Stop”, an ironic choice considering it might be time for these classic-rock dinosaurs to do just that.
(REVIEW) FLEETWOOD MAC ROCKS VANCOUVER
It's No RumourUpdated: Sat May. 16 2009 13:14:36
Darcy Wintonyk, ctvbc.ca
They may not be able to hit all the high notes anymore, but Fleetwood Mac can still bring a crowd to their feet.
The legendary rockers performed to a sold-out crowd Friday at Vancouver's GM Place as part of their 44-stop "Unleashed" North American tour.
Though the tour provides no new musical material, it certainly is a momentous occasion for fans, many of whom have followed the group for more than 40 years.
Performing mostly hits from the mid-1970s, their most commercially successful period, the rockers delivered a solid and entertaining performance, guiding fans through favourites like Dreams, Go Your Own Way, Don't stop and Gypsy.
Singer Stevie Nicks donned her famous shawls and capes, a signature in her live performances: Black for Rhiannon, red for Landslide and gold for, of course, Gold Dust Woman.
Taking a break between songs, a noticeably tanned and trim Lindsey Buckingham described the band's six-year hiatus from touring.
"We take breaks, sometimes more breaks," he said. "When we went out this time around we just said 'lets just go out there and have fun.'"
But while there is no doubt the band is excited about performing on stage, there was little chemistry between them. Interaction between members was almost nonexistent, save for one awkward occasion when Nicks' cradled Buckingham's coiffed head in her shoulder while walking off stage after a song.
Despite this, the current inception of the band must seem like a cakewalk for English rockers Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, who founded the band and have led it through its troubled history.
Member turnover has plagued the group since its inception in 1967, but the addition of American singer-songwriters and longtime lovers Buckingham and Nicks made things difficult.
Their addition helped propel the band into superstardom, but also threw them into conflict.
The end of Nicks' and Buckingham's longstanding affair threatened to break up the band in the mid-70s, as did the divorce of singer Christine McVie and husband John.
Thankfully, the problems provided rich fodder for Rumors, the band's most commercially successful album -- with more than 25 million albums sold.
And then there's the other band members.
Founding guitarist Peter Green quit the band in 1970 to follow his ascetic religious beliefs, soon after an onset of schizophrenia said to be brought on by LSD abuse. Replacement guitarist Jeremy Spencer disappeared in Los Angeles while on tour in 1971 and turned up as a member of a religious cult, Children of God (ironically, also the title of a later Spencer solo project).
Vocalist Christine McVie retired from the band in 1998, but didn't leave music altogether. She released a solo album in 2004, to moderate success.
Friday's Vancouver show is one of only seven Canadian dates on the tour, which kicked off in Pittsburgh March 1.
Fans were eagerly awaiting news the band would indeed play in B.C. after Tuesday's Calgary show was cancelled because of an "undisclosed illness," rumoured to be Nicks.
The band will now travel to Washington State for a Saturday show, to be followed by six more dates before the tour concludes May 31 in San Diego.
Darcy Wintonyk, ctvbc.ca
They may not be able to hit all the high notes anymore, but Fleetwood Mac can still bring a crowd to their feet.The legendary rockers performed to a sold-out crowd Friday at Vancouver's GM Place as part of their 44-stop "Unleashed" North American tour.
Though the tour provides no new musical material, it certainly is a momentous occasion for fans, many of whom have followed the group for more than 40 years.
Performing mostly hits from the mid-1970s, their most commercially successful period, the rockers delivered a solid and entertaining performance, guiding fans through favourites like Dreams, Go Your Own Way, Don't stop and Gypsy.
Singer Stevie Nicks donned her famous shawls and capes, a signature in her live performances: Black for Rhiannon, red for Landslide and gold for, of course, Gold Dust Woman.
Taking a break between songs, a noticeably tanned and trim Lindsey Buckingham described the band's six-year hiatus from touring.
"We take breaks, sometimes more breaks," he said. "When we went out this time around we just said 'lets just go out there and have fun.'"
But while there is no doubt the band is excited about performing on stage, there was little chemistry between them. Interaction between members was almost nonexistent, save for one awkward occasion when Nicks' cradled Buckingham's coiffed head in her shoulder while walking off stage after a song.
Despite this, the current inception of the band must seem like a cakewalk for English rockers Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, who founded the band and have led it through its troubled history.
Member turnover has plagued the group since its inception in 1967, but the addition of American singer-songwriters and longtime lovers Buckingham and Nicks made things difficult.
Their addition helped propel the band into superstardom, but also threw them into conflict.
The end of Nicks' and Buckingham's longstanding affair threatened to break up the band in the mid-70s, as did the divorce of singer Christine McVie and husband John.
Thankfully, the problems provided rich fodder for Rumors, the band's most commercially successful album -- with more than 25 million albums sold.
And then there's the other band members.
Founding guitarist Peter Green quit the band in 1970 to follow his ascetic religious beliefs, soon after an onset of schizophrenia said to be brought on by LSD abuse. Replacement guitarist Jeremy Spencer disappeared in Los Angeles while on tour in 1971 and turned up as a member of a religious cult, Children of God (ironically, also the title of a later Spencer solo project).
Vocalist Christine McVie retired from the band in 1998, but didn't leave music altogether. She released a solo album in 2004, to moderate success.
Friday's Vancouver show is one of only seven Canadian dates on the tour, which kicked off in Pittsburgh March 1.
Fans were eagerly awaiting news the band would indeed play in B.C. after Tuesday's Calgary show was cancelled because of an "undisclosed illness," rumoured to be Nicks.
The band will now travel to Washington State for a Saturday show, to be followed by six more dates before the tour concludes May 31 in San Diego.
70's ROCKERS FLEETWOOD MAC LIGHT UP GM PLACE
Who: Fleetwood Mac
When: May 15, Friday
Where: GM Place
Grade: B+
Fleetwood Mac is using this tour, Fleetwood Mac Unleashed, to survey its own legacy since the mid '70s.
So let's do the same.
In one of the many improbabilities of a long career, Rumours was the best LP of 1977 — or it was the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks?
Rumours arrived with a continuing soap opera and a wealth of hit singles. Bollocks, on the other hand, glued the Sex Pistols in a time. Rumours was the very thing Bollocks was against, but if over time Bollocks can be appreciated for some good rock 'n' roll, Rumours' songs have each taken on a special meaning and the album has come to symbolize survival.
Mick Fleetwood and his fellow co-founder, John McVie, knew how to roll with the punches and their new recruits, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, took note.
Now, between Nicks and Buckingham, they have made their own lore.
This tour celebrates that lore. Apart from two video screens, a few swirling scrims and six additional singers or musicians, the four have mounted a simple production in which the songs are the real stars.
There are 23 of them in all in a two-and-a-half-hour show. Of these, only one, "Oh Well," harks to the old Fleetwood Mac and only two come from the solo careers of Buckingham or Nicks.
Fleetwood is an animated eccentric, McVie the anchor, Nicks still the sensitive waif, Buckingham a stage-stalking guitar hero.
Some of the songs are bigger stars than others. "Rhiannon," for instance, got the first loud applause. But Nicks' "Sara" was watery and didn't have the same impact.
Buckingham's solo "Big Love" stood out for his urgent playing, but his "Go Insane" wasn't as well known or as well received.
"Go Your Own Way" and "I'm So Afraid" burned with intensity. Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman" was steeped in mood. Over the years, the four original members of the longest-lasting edition of Fleetwood Mac now have intuitive understanding of themselves and their songs.
She may be retired from the band now, but Christine McVie wrote "Don't Stop."
It seems too late now.
When: May 15, Friday
Where: GM Place
Grade: B+
Fleetwood Mac is using this tour, Fleetwood Mac Unleashed, to survey its own legacy since the mid '70s.
So let's do the same.
In one of the many improbabilities of a long career, Rumours was the best LP of 1977 — or it was the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks?
Rumours arrived with a continuing soap opera and a wealth of hit singles. Bollocks, on the other hand, glued the Sex Pistols in a time. Rumours was the very thing Bollocks was against, but if over time Bollocks can be appreciated for some good rock 'n' roll, Rumours' songs have each taken on a special meaning and the album has come to symbolize survival.
Mick Fleetwood and his fellow co-founder, John McVie, knew how to roll with the punches and their new recruits, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, took note.
Now, between Nicks and Buckingham, they have made their own lore.
This tour celebrates that lore. Apart from two video screens, a few swirling scrims and six additional singers or musicians, the four have mounted a simple production in which the songs are the real stars.
There are 23 of them in all in a two-and-a-half-hour show. Of these, only one, "Oh Well," harks to the old Fleetwood Mac and only two come from the solo careers of Buckingham or Nicks.
Fleetwood is an animated eccentric, McVie the anchor, Nicks still the sensitive waif, Buckingham a stage-stalking guitar hero.
Some of the songs are bigger stars than others. "Rhiannon," for instance, got the first loud applause. But Nicks' "Sara" was watery and didn't have the same impact.
Buckingham's solo "Big Love" stood out for his urgent playing, but his "Go Insane" wasn't as well known or as well received.
"Go Your Own Way" and "I'm So Afraid" burned with intensity. Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman" was steeped in mood. Over the years, the four original members of the longest-lasting edition of Fleetwood Mac now have intuitive understanding of themselves and their songs.
She may be retired from the band now, but Christine McVie wrote "Don't Stop."
It seems too late now.
(REVIEW) FLEETWOOD MAC VANCOUVER
Fleetwood Mac concert recalls a golden age of mega-bandsTheTimesColonist
Fleetwood Mac - Photo Gallery
VANCOUVER - As has been noted countless times since Fleetwood Mac announced their intention to head back out on the road in 2009, Fleetwood Mac: Unleashed is the first tour the band have done without a record to promote. Call it a greatest hits tour, if you must, but the remaining members of the group — Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, John McVie, and the man who started it all, Mick Fleetwood — have been on record as saying they’ll play what they please.
From the opening salvo of Monday Morning as the group hit the GM Place stage Friday night, it was clear that the songs this incarnation of the group prefer are the ones that they wrote themselves. That Morning kicked off the set was likely no accident – the track opened Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled album (a.k.a. The White Album), the first marking the appearance of Buckingham and Nicks. Yes, the evening would draw on the “mega-band” era of the Mac, absent the songs of Miss Christine McVie, who for reasons known only to her still hasn’t come back to the fold.
Morning was followed up by The Chain, laying waste to any doubt that the group would stray too far from their musical explorations at the top of the charts.
In short order, Nicks announced “Let’s get this party started!” before segueing into a somewhat anti-climactically loping version of Dreams. From the rasp in her already somewhat bleating voice, it was clear that Nicks is not yet fully recovered from the illness that caused the group to postpone its Calgary and Edmonton dates earlier last week. Though Nicks was clearly doing her best to “unleash the furies” as she’s so often been quoted as saying, the back-up singers did most of the heavy lifting, and the black-clad icon stayed well clear of the high notes.
While everyone in attendance expected the best of Fleetwood Mac, it was a little more surprising that the set took some time to highlight songs written outside the group. Buckingham, clad in a leather jacket and a deep v-neck that revealed a leathery California tan, delivered a cracking version of the title track from 1984’s Go Insane, while Nicks disappeared off stage, perhaps to light more incense or have a drink of throat coat.
The tambourine-wielding witchy woman was back in short order for Rhiannon, with Nicks again backing off the high notes. There's a reason this song is impossibly difficult to sing at karaoke, and anyone who ever clammed the high-notes on the chorus while singing along must have been slightly pleased to see Nicks staying in the lower ranges.
As much as the songwriters Nicks and Buckingham were the main attraction (this was made explicit with the pair shown split-screen on the Jumbotron nearly the entire show), McVie and Fleetwood, the group’s namesakes, are still as solid as ever. McVie stood stoically in place on stage, seemingly still clad in his –Rumours-era costume, and Fleetwood shone on the unbeatably catchy Tusk, the first song of the night that seemed to ignite the crowd of boomers.
For those in the crowd who didn’t get to see late‘70s line-up of Fleetwood Mac in their original glory, and know the band only through the pilfered record collections of parents and older siblings, there where a few moments when fidelity wasn’t exactly as hoped. Never Going Back Again. Buckingham’s lilting gem from Rumours started out a slow-ed down acoustic whisper, but, by the end, as the grey-haired tenor belted into the microphone, it brought to mind, again, slightly inebriated karaoke.
What still sticks out the most, however, is absence of Christine McVie. While the balladeering pianist has been gone for over ten years, her absence still made itself known: So Afraid and the monster rock jam of Oh Well drew the male majority of the group into sharp relief, and Say You Will, in particular, seemed patchy without McVie’s posh soprano and bouncy keys. A group of professionals to be sure, the four remaining quickly followed up with Gold Dust Woman a dyed-in-the-wool Stevie Nicks original — the kind that could almost make an audience ask "Christine who?"
To that end, by the time a top-hat clad Nicks and a pogo-ing Buckingham led the crowd through a sing-along of Go Your Own Way, it mattered not that the group showed a few bumps and bruises after 30 plus years. The songs themselves — always the raison d'être of Fleetwood Mac through its many members and four decades — are still fresh and phenomenally catchy, and, if a gleefully dancing house at GM Place was anything got go by, something much greater than the band itself.
As a final note, that Mick Fleetwood took a seven-minute drum solo in the middle of encore World Turning, was a bit of magic. After starting the band in ’67 and overseeing the comings and goings of some 17 members, the 61-year-old band leader certainly deserves to bang his epic kit for as long as he pleases. That it was enjoyable to listen to was merely a bonus, that he looked happiest when introducing the talent around him – backup singers and stars both — is perhaps the magic ingredient that has kept the group a draw for so many years.
(REVIEW) FLEETWOOD MAC - VANCOUVER
Fleetwood Mac
GM Place Vancouver May 15, 2009
Nicks brightens up sombre Fleetwood Mac show
FIONA MORROW
Globe and Mail
Things started out a little flat for Fleetwood Mac at GM Place Friday night. The band had cancelled concerts earlier in the week in both Calgary and Edmonton, due to sickness, with unconfirmed media reports suggesting it was Stevie Nicks who was suffering.
Certainly the 60-year-old singer appeared a tad fragile onstage, moving rather gingerly and avoiding the high notes on "Dreams" completely. Not that the enthusiastic crowd seemed to mind — their combined voices made sure the lyrics rang out loud and clear.
If Nicks was under-the-weather, she still brightened up proceedings — a fact made abundantly obvious whenever she headed to the wings to let Lindsey Buckingham have his songs in the spotlight. Somehow we made it through a dreary rendition of "Go Insane" from his solo album, most notable for a thunderous roar of reverb that rattled the stadium's stands. He fairly screamed an acoustic version of "Big Love," beating his guitar into submission, determined to prove he's still a rock star — V-neck and medallion notwithstanding. He positively mangled "Never Going Back Again," turning it into something a drunk uncle might embarrass himself with at a family wedding. Though she was there, Nicks couldn't help him out on that one.
Neither could the pair invoke the spirit or sound of Christine McVie when they ventured into her traditional territory briefly with "Say You Love Me."
Other McVie classics were noticeably absent, but it's hard to imagine the likes of "Songbird" or "You Make Loving Fun" without her anyway. Quite what it would have been like had Sheryl Crow been part of the combo (an early possibility when the tour was being planned) plain boggles the mind.
With a couple of costume changes during a two-hour set, Nicks showed she hasn't relinquished her hippie roots. Bedecked in scarves and fringes, she played with silver chains draped around the microphone stand. For "Gold Dust Woman" she was wrapped in a gold shawl; on "Go Your Own Way" she sported a black top hat.
There was little personal interaction between the band — perhaps to be expected given their tumultuous history — save for an obviously orchestrated lean into each other by Nicks and Buckingham at the closing bars of "Sara." For their parts, Mick Fleetwood bounced around the drums gamely, while bass player John McVie spent the night at the back of the stage in the shadows. In contrast, Buckingham, was in his element, his ego unbridled as he practically climbed into the front row, encouraging them to touch him and his guitar.
But for all the Brit guitarist's pumped-up adrenaline, the show at times felt weirdly sombre. Their best work behind them, there was an air of desperation about this presumably lucrative endeavour. In the end, Fleetwood's bonkers, blissed-out extended drum solo — complete with whoops and howls — on encore track "World Turning" was the most authentic moment of the night. And with it, he more than earned his cut.
GM Place Vancouver May 15, 2009
Nicks brightens up sombre Fleetwood Mac show
FIONA MORROW
Globe and Mail
Things started out a little flat for Fleetwood Mac at GM Place Friday night. The band had cancelled concerts earlier in the week in both Calgary and Edmonton, due to sickness, with unconfirmed media reports suggesting it was Stevie Nicks who was suffering.Certainly the 60-year-old singer appeared a tad fragile onstage, moving rather gingerly and avoiding the high notes on "Dreams" completely. Not that the enthusiastic crowd seemed to mind — their combined voices made sure the lyrics rang out loud and clear.
If Nicks was under-the-weather, she still brightened up proceedings — a fact made abundantly obvious whenever she headed to the wings to let Lindsey Buckingham have his songs in the spotlight. Somehow we made it through a dreary rendition of "Go Insane" from his solo album, most notable for a thunderous roar of reverb that rattled the stadium's stands. He fairly screamed an acoustic version of "Big Love," beating his guitar into submission, determined to prove he's still a rock star — V-neck and medallion notwithstanding. He positively mangled "Never Going Back Again," turning it into something a drunk uncle might embarrass himself with at a family wedding. Though she was there, Nicks couldn't help him out on that one.Neither could the pair invoke the spirit or sound of Christine McVie when they ventured into her traditional territory briefly with "Say You Love Me."
Other McVie classics were noticeably absent, but it's hard to imagine the likes of "Songbird" or "You Make Loving Fun" without her anyway. Quite what it would have been like had Sheryl Crow been part of the combo (an early possibility when the tour was being planned) plain boggles the mind.
With a couple of costume changes during a two-hour set, Nicks showed she hasn't relinquished her hippie roots. Bedecked in scarves and fringes, she played with silver chains draped around the microphone stand. For "Gold Dust Woman" she was wrapped in a gold shawl; on "Go Your Own Way" she sported a black top hat.
There was little personal interaction between the band — perhaps to be expected given their tumultuous history — save for an obviously orchestrated lean into each other by Nicks and Buckingham at the closing bars of "Sara." For their parts, Mick Fleetwood bounced around the drums gamely, while bass player John McVie spent the night at the back of the stage in the shadows. In contrast, Buckingham, was in his element, his ego unbridled as he practically climbed into the front row, encouraging them to touch him and his guitar.
But for all the Brit guitarist's pumped-up adrenaline, the show at times felt weirdly sombre. Their best work behind them, there was an air of desperation about this presumably lucrative endeavour. In the end, Fleetwood's bonkers, blissed-out extended drum solo — complete with whoops and howls — on encore track "World Turning" was the most authentic moment of the night. And with it, he more than earned his cut.
Friday, May 15, 2009
FLEETWOOD MAC vs CHICAGO
BATTLE OF THE BANDS
Ask Billboard
May 15, 2009
Hi Gary,
I was wondering if you could help me win a bet I have with my brother. I say that Fleetwood Mac has had more hits than the band Chicago and has, thus, been more successful.
Which one of us gets to brag?
Thanks so much!
Suzanne Niceley
Florence, Kentucky
Hi Suzanne,
I notice you ask me to help you "win a bet." You don't request that I help "settle a bet." Careful, you wouldn't want your brother to be suspicious that you influenced the judge's decision ...
Since you didn't qualify "hits," or which charts to use, let's look at this from a couple of angles.
In terms of overall hit songs on the Billboard Hot 100, Chicago has collected 46, Fleetwood Mac 25. Their top 40 totals stand at 34 for Chicago and 18 for the Mac. Chicago has notched 20 top 10s, Fleetwood Mac nine. Chicago also has more No. 1s, three to one. So, as for hit singles, Chicago wins.
Now let's check each group's album sales since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991 (realizing, of course, that the acts released much of their highest-charting product in the '70s and '80s). Since the dawn of the SoundScan era, Chicago has totaled 11.9 million in album sales. Fleetwood Mac has sold 16.6 million. So, going by album sales according to Nielsen SoundScan, Fleetwood Mac wins.
A possible tie-breaker? Fleetwood Mac was enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Despite its immense success, Chicago, surprisingly, has yet to be elected.
When it comes to your bet, I'll diplomatically stand back and let you and your brother interpret the information as you see fit. Fleetwood Mac's most recent Hot 100 entry was, after all, entitled "Peacekeeper."
Ask Billboard
May 15, 2009
Hi Gary,
I was wondering if you could help me win a bet I have with my brother. I say that Fleetwood Mac has had more hits than the band Chicago and has, thus, been more successful.
Which one of us gets to brag?
Thanks so much!
Suzanne Niceley
Florence, Kentucky
Hi Suzanne,
I notice you ask me to help you "win a bet." You don't request that I help "settle a bet." Careful, you wouldn't want your brother to be suspicious that you influenced the judge's decision ...
Since you didn't qualify "hits," or which charts to use, let's look at this from a couple of angles.
In terms of overall hit songs on the Billboard Hot 100, Chicago has collected 46, Fleetwood Mac 25. Their top 40 totals stand at 34 for Chicago and 18 for the Mac. Chicago has notched 20 top 10s, Fleetwood Mac nine. Chicago also has more No. 1s, three to one. So, as for hit singles, Chicago wins.
Now let's check each group's album sales since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991 (realizing, of course, that the acts released much of their highest-charting product in the '70s and '80s). Since the dawn of the SoundScan era, Chicago has totaled 11.9 million in album sales. Fleetwood Mac has sold 16.6 million. So, going by album sales according to Nielsen SoundScan, Fleetwood Mac wins.
A possible tie-breaker? Fleetwood Mac was enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Despite its immense success, Chicago, surprisingly, has yet to be elected.
When it comes to your bet, I'll diplomatically stand back and let you and your brother interpret the information as you see fit. Fleetwood Mac's most recent Hot 100 entry was, after all, entitled "Peacekeeper."
Q&A WITH LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM
Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac
SFGate.com
Aidin Vaziri
Friday, May 15, 2009
The mercurial forces behind Fleetwood Mac - John McVie, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood and Lindsey Buckingham - are back on the road, once again without Christine McVie. And for the first time in a long time, the band doesn't have any new material to promote, so the Unleashed Tour is made up of two hours of fan favorites. We asked the group's 59-year-old guitarist - and a recent father of three - Buckingham how he felt about that. Fleetwood Mac plays Wednesday at Oakland's Oracle Arena and Thursday at San Jose's HP Pavilion.
Q: There was some talk last year that Sheryl Crow was going to take over Christine McVie's position in the band. Did you block that?
A: No, I didn't block it. One of the things that made this go so smoothly is that I've been really unparticular about my opinions. I did not think that was a good idea. One, she was going to come in for a period of time and it spoke to me like something that had come from the top down, like a marketing idea. The other thing is that it struck me as a bit loungey to have someone else come in and do Christine's songs. She went and shot herself in the foot anyway.
Q: How's that?
A: She somehow announced she was going to join Fleetwood Mac. We had talked about it, but it had not been decided. So that became a red flag for the band. At the end of the day, it wasn't the right thing to do. So that was it. I was actually quite happy it turned out that way. We're much better working with the four core people.
Q: Besides, the last thing you need is another ego in this band.
A: That's right. Stevie and I are still working on our dynamic, which, believe it or not, is still evolving.
Q: Does doing a greatest-hits tour make you a nostalgia act?
A: This resting-on-our-laurels tour? We have a body of work that will transcend that label, I think. Had we gone in to make a new album first, it would have felt more in line with the things I value. Oddly enough, having not done that, it put us in the position of going into rehearsals completely anxiety-free, as opposed to having the residue of making the album to deal with. The actual experience of doing the tour has been quite thrilling. I have no explanation for that. It's kind of like a point you get to as a band, and for a moment you can rest and say, "This is what's happened, and it's pretty f- good."
Q: Having three children probably puts the band dramas in perspective.
A: It's certainly put a balance on everything. It's made it easier to enjoy what I'm doing now. It probably helped that I did a couple of solo albums and got some touring out of the way. You hit a point where a lot of things that you thought would push your buttons don't really push your buttons anymore. That's why this tour is going so smoothly. Nothing has really been bothering me.
Q: How much do you think your robust chest hair had to do with Fleetwood Mac selling those 100 million albums?
A: Wow. I would say none. The whole band, or just me?
Q: Specifically you, since I don't remember Stevie or Christine having much chest hair.
A: John has got a good tuft on there. I would hope very little. That's the first time I was asked that. It could have been something I missed. {sbox}
SFGate.com
Aidin Vaziri
Friday, May 15, 2009
The mercurial forces behind Fleetwood Mac - John McVie, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood and Lindsey Buckingham - are back on the road, once again without Christine McVie. And for the first time in a long time, the band doesn't have any new material to promote, so the Unleashed Tour is made up of two hours of fan favorites. We asked the group's 59-year-old guitarist - and a recent father of three - Buckingham how he felt about that. Fleetwood Mac plays Wednesday at Oakland's Oracle Arena and Thursday at San Jose's HP Pavilion.
Q: There was some talk last year that Sheryl Crow was going to take over Christine McVie's position in the band. Did you block that?
A: No, I didn't block it. One of the things that made this go so smoothly is that I've been really unparticular about my opinions. I did not think that was a good idea. One, she was going to come in for a period of time and it spoke to me like something that had come from the top down, like a marketing idea. The other thing is that it struck me as a bit loungey to have someone else come in and do Christine's songs. She went and shot herself in the foot anyway.
Q: How's that?
A: She somehow announced she was going to join Fleetwood Mac. We had talked about it, but it had not been decided. So that became a red flag for the band. At the end of the day, it wasn't the right thing to do. So that was it. I was actually quite happy it turned out that way. We're much better working with the four core people.
Q: Besides, the last thing you need is another ego in this band.
A: That's right. Stevie and I are still working on our dynamic, which, believe it or not, is still evolving.
Q: Does doing a greatest-hits tour make you a nostalgia act?
A: This resting-on-our-laurels tour? We have a body of work that will transcend that label, I think. Had we gone in to make a new album first, it would have felt more in line with the things I value. Oddly enough, having not done that, it put us in the position of going into rehearsals completely anxiety-free, as opposed to having the residue of making the album to deal with. The actual experience of doing the tour has been quite thrilling. I have no explanation for that. It's kind of like a point you get to as a band, and for a moment you can rest and say, "This is what's happened, and it's pretty f- good."
Q: Having three children probably puts the band dramas in perspective.
A: It's certainly put a balance on everything. It's made it easier to enjoy what I'm doing now. It probably helped that I did a couple of solo albums and got some touring out of the way. You hit a point where a lot of things that you thought would push your buttons don't really push your buttons anymore. That's why this tour is going so smoothly. Nothing has really been bothering me.
Q: How much do you think your robust chest hair had to do with Fleetwood Mac selling those 100 million albums?
A: Wow. I would say none. The whole band, or just me?
Q: Specifically you, since I don't remember Stevie or Christine having much chest hair.
A: John has got a good tuft on there. I would hope very little. That's the first time I was asked that. It could have been something I missed. {sbox}
Thursday, May 14, 2009
FLEETWOOD MAC VANCOUVER SHOW IS A GO!
LiveNation: Fleetwood Mac show in Vancouver is a 'go'
Despite cancellations in Calgary and Edmonton due to illness
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - LiveNation says despite cancellations in Calgary and Edmonton, Fleetwood Mac will be taking the stage at GM Place tomorrow night for their sold-out show.
The band cancelled shows this week in Alberta after an un-named band member became sick. But LiveNation says everything is scheduled to go as planned. The sold-out concert starts at 8 p.m..
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - LiveNation says despite cancellations in Calgary and Edmonton, Fleetwood Mac will be taking the stage at GM Place tomorrow night for their sold-out show.
The band cancelled shows this week in Alberta after an un-named band member became sick. But LiveNation says everything is scheduled to go as planned. The sold-out concert starts at 8 p.m..
FIESTY STEVIE NICKS!
Stevie Nicks blasts Lindsay, Britney
The Fleetwood Mac icon has harsh words for certain younger ‘messy’ and ‘dippy’ singers
Mcleans Magazine
The Fleetwood Mac icon has harsh words for certain younger ‘messy’ and ‘dippy’ singers
Mcleans Magazine
If anyone has the right to give advice to the Britney Spearses and Lindsay Lohans of the world, it’s Stevie Nicks. In her more-than-30-year career as a solo singer and as one of the lead vocalists of the rock group Fleetwood Mac, the 61-year-old icon has paved the way for women in the music industry. And she has the war wounds to prove it. From battles with drug addiction to notorious love affairs, her life is tailor-made for a Hollywood film. Which is probably why Lindsay Lohan keeps telling reporters about her burning desire to play Nicks in a yet-to-be-made Fleetwood Mac biopic. This has Nicks a little concerned. Via phone from a presidential suite in New York City, she repeats the words “over my dead body” when the mention of a Lindsay-as-Stevie movie comes up. “That girl is the antithesis of everything that I don’t want for younger girls to be. I don’t want anyone as messy as her messing with my history.”
The legacy Nicks is so protective of is still going strong. This spring she has been busy promoting her latest two projects—a DVD called Live In Chicago and a live CD titled The Soundstage Sessions—as well as reconnecting on stage with Fleetwood Mac on its current greatest-hits North American tour. Packed with five remaining Canadian concert dates, the tour has Nicks performing more than 50 shows, many of which are sold out. Which explains why Hollywood execs have been banging on her door. “Most of them,” she says, “want to focus on when I first joined the band and the three fun, crazy years after that. Quite frankly, I don’t blame them—they were a roller-coaster ride!”
To clarify, Nicks is talking about when she and her then-lover, guitarist-vocalist Lindsey Buckingham, became members of Fleetwood Mac in 1975 (joining drummer Mick Fleetwood, vocalist Christine McVie and bassist John McVie). Shortly after the group’s first album together, Nicks experienced the side effects of being in a band with three Top 20 singles. “I was a waitress and Lindsey was a telemarketer back then,” Nicks recalls. “By the end of the summer, we were millionaires. It transformed our lives completely. Then Rumours happened and everything went berserk.”
Nicks is referring to Fleetwood Mac’s hit 1977 disc, which sold more than 30 million copies. According to Nicks, the title of the disc was prophetic on many levels. “I fell in love with Mick [Fleetwood] at the end of the Rumours tour in 1978 while I was still on rocky ground with Lindsey. Fortunately Mick and I ended it for the sake of the band. Around that time, people began saying that I was performing witchcraft—which I never did—and that the band had orgies—which we never had.”
On top of the widely reported false accusations, Nicks had to deal with a growing substance abuse problem. The miracle of it all was that she was still able to write songs (chart toppers Edge of Seventeen, Stand Back and Landslide) while maintaining a sense of mystery about herself. That secrecy is something Nicks feels is missing in the pop stars of today. She points to Britney Spears as a prime example of a singer who has overexposed herself beyond repair. “For her, it’s all about TMI: too much information. She needs to stop sharing. Period. After that toxic reality series she did, I decided I will never buy another one of her CDs because now I know how dippy she is.” When Nicks hears that Spears cursed about wardrobe malfunctions while performing on stage during her recent tour, her voice begins to thunder. “You do not tell the audience about your stupid-ass problems,” she says. “You will never, ever see a sweat drop start to fly off of my face—even if my heel is broken. I’ll do the song heel-less. People paid good money for you to take away their problems and inspire them.”
Other than her beef with Britney, Nicks has a record of embracing the newer divas on the block. “The fact that Etta James got so angry about Beyoncé singing At Last at President Obama’s first dance is tragic. C’mon Etta, just let Beyoncé sing it—she’s the new thing. [James] is still selling concert tickets so she should move over for a moment.” And with that, Nicks pipes down, takes a breath and begins to reflect. “In music history, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Elvis were all called the kings of rock and managed to be quite amicable to each other. They even did shows together! There is no reason why us women can’t do the same. Besides, I don’t want to be known as a queen of rock. When you start having to tell people that you are the queen, you’re done.”
FLEETWOOD MAC SAID IT WILL MAKE UP FOR CANCELLATION
There's a silver lining for Black Cloud Polly: Fleetwood Mac says it'll make up for cancellation with 'unforgettable concert'
By ANDREW HANON
Black Cloud Polly finally found a silver lining.
Polly, a.k.a. Pauline Doucette, earned her nickname in her hometown of Summerside, P.E.I., where her rotten luck is legendary.
But that all changed yesterday when her lifelong idols, Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, sent her a personal message through Sun Media, promising her "an unforgettable concert experience."
This week's trip to Edmonton to see Fleetwood Mac perform at Rexall Place last night was supposed to give her a break from all the hardship she's endured in her life.
Instead, it seemed like the hardship followed her.
The concert she had been waiting her entire life to see was postponed due to an illness in the band.
"She was just crushed," said best friend Shannon Doyle, who moved to Edmonton three years ago and got her the tickets. "She'd worked so hard to save the money for plane fare."
Doucette, 45, said she's been a huge fan since she was seven years old, but has never had the opportunity to see Nicks perform live.
But when Sun Media contacted Fleetwood Mac's spokesmen yesterday to tell them Doucette's story, they passed the word on to the artists.
Last night the band issued a brief statement:
"Fleetwood Mac's heart goes out to Pauline Doucette and her unfortunate circumstance. We are taking steps to accommodate her needs for an unforgettable concert experience at a future date on the 'Unleashed' tour."
Spokesman Eve Samuels said the exact details have yet to be worked out, and she couldn't say anything more last night.
Doucette melted into joyous tears after hearing the news that her idols had taken an interest in her, uttering, "thank you. Oh my god. That's amazing."
Doucette, a single mom trying to get by on a disability pension, spent four months collecting nickels, dimes and quarters to pay for her airfare to Edmonton.
But after hearing news of the postponement, she lamented, "I don't know if I'm going to have enough time to save change for the plane ticket again."
Doyle, who has known Doucette for 12 years, said everyone in Summerside knows what a big Fleetwood Mac fan she is - and how plagued she is by misfortune.
"Whenever I left the island, she'd ask me to look for Fleetwood Mac stuff - T-shirts, hats, anything I could find," he said with a chuckle.
Her rabid fandom is a happy distraction from a hard life.
Eight years ago she slipped into a mysterious coma for two weeks. It turned out to be encephalitis, the same disease depicted in the Robin Williams/Robert De Niro film Awakenings.
"When I finally started to come around," she recalled, "I didn't know how to do anything, so I had to learn everything again. I was in a wheelchair for six months and had to get a speech therapist to talk again."
Then, just as she was ready to resume her life, Doucette was in a car accident that left her with a brain injury and short-term memory loss, leaving her unable to work.
Doyle said bad luck just seems to follow her.
"Summerside is a quiet, laid-back place with almost no crime," he said. "But if some car gets randomly vandalized, you can bet it'll be hers."
But Doucette doesn't want to be considered a "pity case." When times get tough, she turns to her favourite musician for comfort.
"First time I ever heard her sing, it was so inspiring to me," Doucette said. "I don't know, something about her just inspires me. That's the only way to explain it. I live for Stevie Nicks."
Her daughter Jessica bought her a black, bejewelled rosary because it looked like something Nicks would wear.
"I had it with me on the flight," Doucette said, laughing. "I know some people think that I'm silly. It's even on my Facebook profile that my lifelong dream has been to see Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks especially."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)