Tuesday, June 02, 2009

(THE HERALD UK) FLEETWOOD MAC REUNITE FOR TOUR

Proving the Rumours are right: 
Fleetwood Mac reunite for tour

ALISON CAMPSIE June 03 2009

Most of its members consider themselves lucky to still be alive but yesterday Fleetwood Mac, one of the biggest, most successful bands of all time, proved that old rockers never die with the announcement that they are to embark on a UK reunion tour this autumn.

Over the late 1960s and 1970s, the band came to define the chaos of the era with their terrifying commitment to hedonism and drugs and the stormy passions which existed between band members.

However, following a long collective silence, Fleetwood Mac will bring together most of their best-selling Rumours line-up of Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Lindsey Buckingham - now all in their sixties - to perform at a string of stadiums across the country. The only missing member will be Christine McVie, the English singer songwriter who helped steer the band for almost 25 years.

Ms McVie, who married John McVie shortly before joining the band, was one of the main movers behind the band's 1977 Rumours album, which has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide and documented the breakdown of their marriage.

The band will kick off their UK dates with a show at the Glasgow SECC on October 22.

The announcement makes Fleetwood Mac the latest band rooted in the sounds of the Sixties and Seventies to embark on a profitable "comeback" tour.

While The Rolling Stones may have proved that "baby boomer rock" has enduring appeal - their last world tour earned more than £558m - a string of iconic bands are now choosing to relive their glory days and cash in with a host of tour dates and merchandise to match.

The band have not released a new album since 2003's Say You Will, which charted in the UK top 10, but Buckingham said recently that the tour could be a precursor to a new recording.

"I think maybe there was even a sense that we would make a better album if we went out and hung out together first on the road ... Maybe even sowing some seeds musically that would get us more prepared to go in the studio rather than just going in cold. It takes the pressure off from having to go in and make something cold."

VIDEO: Fleetwood Mac Live in Las Vegas May 30, 2009

REALLY GREAT VIDEO FOOTAGE OF FLEETWOOD MAC IN LAS VEGAS
MAY 30, 2009

FLEETWOOD MAC IN DUBLIN OCTOBER 24TH

Haven't seen the ticketing detail on Live Nation or Ticketmaster, but this article lists a Dublin date on October 24th at 02 Arena:

Clashmusic.com

One of the best selling groups of all time Fleetwood Mac are set to re-unite for a very special UK arena tour.

Emerging from the British blues boom, Fleetwood Mac would go on to dominate the pop market with some of the most popular albums ever released. The band perhaps peaked with the spectacular success of 'Rumours', and the line up that crafted this album is set to gather for an extremely rare tour.

To gather the roots of Fleetwood Mac would take a box set. Formed by guitar hero Peter Green, the band used some of the finest musicians from the British blues scene. However Green would depart in 1970 after a period of mental decline, leaving the band to battle on.

Centred on the rhythm section pairing of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, Fleetwood Mac would later gather the twin talents of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

The group would later inter-marry, but the pressures of success took their toll on the relationships with the band divorcing just a few years later. The inter-band politics seemed to drive them on to greater artistic endeavours, crafting the massively successful album 'Rumours'.

To date the album has sold over 25 million copies, and spawned the classic hits 'Go Your Own Way', 'Dreams' and 'Don't Stop'.

In total, the band have sold a staggering 100 million albums making them one of the most popular rock acts ever. Subsequent albums such as 'Tusk' and 'Tango In The Night' would enhance Fleetwood Mac's reputation as a supreme artistic outfit, yet full scale tours are few and far between.

Fleetwood Mac have only played two full scale tours in more than twenty years. In fact, it is over a decade since the band's last appearance in public together.

Hell, even solo appearances are hard to come by. Since the release of a live album in 1998 the band members have taken time off, with Mick Fleetwood said to be the lynchpin behind getting the group to reform.

More than thirty years on from the release of 'Rumours' Fleetwood Mac remain one of the most popular groups on the planet. A rare chance to catch this band in the live arena, make sure you don't miss out!

Fleetwood Mac are set to play the following dates:

October
22 Glasgow SECC
24 Dublin O2 Arena
27 Manchester Evening News Arena
30 London Wembley Arena

November
2 Sheffield Arena
3 Birmingham National Indoor Arena

Tickets go on sale on Friday June 5th at 9am.

ON SALE DATES FOR UK FLEETWOOD MAC TOUR

ALL FLEETWOOD MAC UK TOUR DATES
ON SALE JUNE 5th through Live Nation UK
(Ticketmaster Presales begin June 3rd / Live Nation Presales begin June 4th)

Tickets Prices for all shows range rom £45 - £75
(All prices listed exclude fees and charges)

October 22, 2009 - SECC Glasgow

October 24, 2009 - 02 Arena Dublin
(not listed with Live Nation or Ticketmaster yet)

October 27, 2009 - M.E.N. Arena Manchester

Onsale to General Public
Start: Fri 05/06/09, 09:00

O2 Presale
Start: Wed 03/06/09, 09:00
End: Fri 05/06/09, 08:00

Live Nation / Venue Presale
Start: Thu 04/06/09, 09:00
End: Fri 05/06/09, 08:00

October 30, 2009 - Wembley Arena London

Onsale to General Public
Start: Fri 05/06/09, 09:00

O2 PRESALE
Start: Wed 03/06/09, 09:00
End: Fri 05/06/09, 08:00

Liv Nation / VENUE PRESALE
Start: Thu 04/06/09, 09:00
End: Fri 05/06/09, 08:00

November 2, 2009 - Sheffield Arena Sheffield
November 3, 2009 - NIA Birmingham Birmingham

FLEETWOOD MAC DASH FOR CASH AT STAPLES

Last Thursday night I went to Staples Center to see Fleetwood Mac.

I was truly excited. Last time through, they killed.

But this time...it was a dash for cash. Lacking the balance of the pristine Christine McVie, we were left with guitar solos and Stevie Nicks' desire to be twenty five forever.

It's a construct. We won't admit the band is over the hill if we don't have to admit that we too are aged, that our bodies are sagging, that we've achieved only a fraction of our hopes and dreams. We pay a fortune to be brought back to what once was. But it can never be again.

Last time through, Fleetwood Mac Hoovered up every last dollar. Played some markets three times. So, what was the incentive to go to the show this year? This a case of mismanagement. Give us a marketing hook, play along with us. Can't they be promoting SOMETHING? Can't there be a story? Of course, no one cares about an entire new album. But can't you give us A SINGLE? How hard would it be for this band to go into the studio and cut a track? If it's creatively bankrupt it could even do a cover. Hell, isn't the best Stevie Nicks song ever a Tom Petty tune?

And I saw TP backstage. It was a cornucopia of stars. But although Frasier Crane was very friendly, the brush with greatness that touched me most was my encounter with Perez Hilton. He was coming right towards me, I'd seen that he'd recently signed up for my Twitter feed. What the hell, I'll introduce myself.

And that's when Perez said he'd signed up for my feed. THAT'S WHY I STOPPED YOU!

But what stunned me was how NORMAL Mario Lavendeira was. I expected a bit of flamboyance, a man detached from the everyday world. But Perez had his feet firmly planted. So we had a discussion. I asked him about that ad he had on his blog last week, the one that was smack dab in the middle of the page, that was made to look like a story. Perez told me he had no idea what I was talking about. He had people who placed the ads for him! And he'd whore himself out to ANYONE!

That was insightful. So different from the older generation. And it's working for him.

Anyway, our seats were PHENOMENAL! I was so excited. But Fleetwood Mac was a bit flat. But the rhythm section was PHENOMENAL! Fleetwood and McVie were rock solid, a thundering bottom sitting under Lindsey Buckingham's exquisite leads. If only they played Bonnaroo as a blues band instead of reprising these aged hits. "Oh Well" was fantastic. Made one yearn for the days of Peter Green. Lindsey's got the chops. Why is he working out for these fans who are coming for nostalgia, not music? The younger generation still cares. Believe me, if these three, the core, Mick, McVie and Lindsey, played the blues at festivals across this great nation of ours, they'd be seen as vital again. Instead, no one under the age of twenty five was in attendance. Unless dragged there by their parents.

And that's the ultimate question... Are you a musician, or a star?

I've wondered for eons why Stevie Nicks dances like Elaine on "Seinfeld". Now I know. Her goddamn heels are so high that if she moves like a normal person, instead of with that arm shrug thing, SHE'LL FALL OVER!

It's sad. So she's short. SO FUCKING WHAT! In a nation where we've got a black President, you're still hiding your perceived shortcomings? The future is about OWNING THEM!

Truly, I'd love to tell you Fleetwood Mac were great. But it ended up being creepy. Like watching a classic movie. Except for the instrumental passages, the show didn't breathe, it lacked life.

But the Refugees were FULL OF LIFE at the Getty Saturday night.

It's a supergroup of never-beens. Wendy Waldman, Cindy Bullens and Deborah Holland. All with notches in their belts, but none of them household words. But they decided to form a band. To join forces to create something NEW!

They're not trading on the old days, they've written new songs, THEY'RE STILL TRYING! That's the problem with so many of the has-beens, they've given up. They don't want to come down off their perch, they don't want to take a risk.

It was a free show. But that didn't mean the Refugees didn't fill the hall, didn't get a standing ovation. The major labels said the Internet would KILL music. Just the opposite, technology allows everyone to make music. But it's extremely hard to break through. And being musicians, I'm not sure the Refugees will. They need a business mind. Someone to get them a gig on Lifetime. Or, as they desire, the cover of the AARP magazine. Because if the boomers just experienced the Refugees, they could become the female Jimmy Buffett.

Sure, it's about the songs. But it's also about the vibe. It's about the SHOW!

A show isn't just standing up there playing calcified hits. A show is its own entity, something BEYOND the record. None of the Refugees songs will become hits. Where would anybody play them? But they service the act well. Yet the glue that seals the deal is the stories in between. About hot flashes, about post-menopausal Barbies, Ken with a combover. There's humor, but there's also truth.

That's what's lacking in Fleetwood Mac, truth. Stevie Nicks covers up her avoirdupois. The act is opaque, there's no penetration. These are stars. You get no access. In an era where Perez reveals every facet of his personality and uncovers your warts too.

How about Stevie and Lindsey speaking about their animosity? How about Christine McVie beamed in via satellite? How about the texting on the side screens featured at a Taylor Swift show?

Image is no longer everything. Because the truth outs.

The truth is Fleetwood Mac is creatively bankrupt, and won't take a chance for fear of alienating their paying fans.

The truth is musicians even less well-known than the Refugees are packing up their gear in vans, starting at the grass roots level. Will they and the Refugees break through? I DON'T KNOW! But is that really what it's about? Or is it about playing, the experience of being on the road, the band sharing one hotel room.

The apex has collapsed. No one sells ten million records anymore. The superstars are so worried, they're just protecting what they once had and will never have again. We're starting over. There are no rules. You don't need a hit, because your audience will probably never hear it on the outlets that make it so. You need to win hearts and minds. Middlemen are irrelevant.

Everybody's reunited so many times that we've got no desire to see almost anybody get on stage and play their hits. This business has been propped up by the so-called superstars for far too long. Now it's imploding. THANK GOD!

by: Bob Lefsetz 
Lefsetz Letter

Monday, June 01, 2009

Fleetwood Mac Bio and Chris Isaak w/Stevie Nicks (Bio Channel UK)

The Biography Channel UK
Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac

THE CHRIS ISAAK HOUR: Stevie Nicks
Wed 3rd June - 8:00PM

Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Stevie Nicks gives us a sneak peak of 'Gold Dust Woman' and 'Stand Back' from her new CD. In an exclusive interview, Nicks talks to host Chris Isaak about her years with Fleetwood Mac, her severe battle with cocaine and why she has never married.  Isaak also accompanies Nicks in performing songs that influenced her early career, such as 'It's Late' and 'Red River Valley'.

FLEETWOOD MAC
Wed 3rd June - 9:00PM

Classic Albums: The distinct talents of five musicians produced the fourth best selling album in music history.Their personal tradegies helped craft a timeless piece of pop.