Friday, May 31, 2013

REVIEW: For 2 1/2 hours, the Buckingham/Nicks era of Fleetwood Mac was on full display in Phoenix

Photo by Becky Hansen
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Concert review: 
Big love from Phoenix audience for Fleetwood Mac
By Ted Hansen
Examiner
Rating: ★★★★☆

For a group whose celebrated past, both in song and in real life, dealt with the pain caused when relationships cease, there sure was a lot of love in the air from Fleetwood Mac during their performance at the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix on Thursday night, May 30, 2013. There was a love of the audience professed on separate occasions by singer Stevie Nicks, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and drummer Mick Fleetwood. There was the special love for Phoenix mentioned by both hometown girl Nicks and Buckingham.

Win Tickets To See Fleetwood Mac Live in Auckland, NZ

Win Fleetwood Mac tickets before they go on sale - New Zealand


The legendary Fleetwood Mac, one of rock and roll’s most enduring bands, is bringing an extraordinary show to Auckland’s Vector Arena on December 6 and this is your chance to secure tickets even before they go on sale on June 13.

Be listening to In My Day with Bruce Russell this Saturday from 6pm to be in to win one of FIVE double tickets!  Every hour from 6pm-11pm, Bruce will take a caller to air and read a lyric from one of the many famous and well-loved Fleetwood Mac songs.  If the caller Bruce has on-air guesses the title of the track correctly, they’ll win that hour’s double ticket to Fleetwood Mac in concert in Auckland.  If they get it wrong, Bruce will keep taking more callers to air until someone gets it right.

Fleetwood Mac live is not to be missed - get in first with In My Day this Saturday, only on Newstalk ZB

Please note - prizes consist of tickets only. Any travel and accommodation costs incurred are at the winners' expense.

NEwstalk ZB

Detroit: It’s a Fleetwood Mac winning weekend on 104.3 WOMC!


All weekend long they're giving away tickets to see Fleetwood Mac at Joe Louis Arena on June 12th.

For your chance to win, listen to 104.3 WOMC and be caller ten at (313) 298-1043. 

You can also register to win online here

Approximate on air giveaway times:

Saturday-During the 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 8 p.m., and 10 p.m.  hour

Sunday-During the 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m., and 6 p.m.

REVIEW | PHOTOS | VIDEO: Fleetwood Mac Live in Phoenix at US Airways Center

FLEETWOOD MAC LIVE
PHOENIX, AZ - US AIRWAYS CENTER
MAY 30, 2013
By Ed Masley
The Republic | azcentral.com
Photo by Rob Schumacher
VIEW GALLERY
It’s been 35 years since Fleetwood Mac released the soft-rock masterpiece that even now remains their calling card, the 11-times-platinum “Rumours.” And with four-fifths of the classic “Rumours” lineup — Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and John McVie – back together again, they weren’t shy about blowing the dust off a good portion of that album Thursday night at US Airways Center, setting the tone with a spirited “Second Hand News” and then following through with “The Chain” and the chart-topping “Dreams.”

If Buckingham’s electrifying presence on guitar and vocals made it hard to believe you were watching a man who’d aged 35 years since releasing those songs, Nicks’ vocal on “Dreams” made it clear that the passage of time had not affected everyone in Fleetwood Mac the same. And it’s not that her vocal was off. It’s just that she’d rewritten the entire melody to suit the lower range her voice has settled into in her 60s, which detracted from a number of essential hooks ingrained in every Fleetwood Mac fan’s head. “Rhiannon” also found her backing down from the challenging notes, although delivered with real urgency. But Nicks, who told the crowd “It means a lot to be here; I was born here,” had redeemed herself and then some by the time the night was through, with her charisma and her vocals, really shining on an understated “Landslide,” which may have taken on an even more reflective tone with age.

Video and Fan Photos Below....

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Evening with Fleetwood Mac was all about looking back… and sometimes forward ★★★☆☆

Concert Review: Fleetwood Mac
MGM Grand Garden Arena, May 26
By Cindi Reed
Vegasseven.com
★★★☆☆
Photo by Tom Donoghue

When it comes to shawls, the line between gypsy and grandma is a thin one. Performing on her 65th birthday, former ’70s-era ethereal goddess Stevie Nicks straddled that line with heavy feet. Suffering from a knee ailment, Nicks kept her famous twirling to a minimum and moved on and off stage with a slight limp. When the audience spontaneously sang “Happy Birthday” after “Landslide,” Nicks shooed them silent, saying that you could only wish her a happy un-birthday because she wasn’t celebrating her birthday.

Despite Nicks’ desire to ignore the passage of time, the evening was all about looking back … and sometimes forward. Sure, there were the classic hits, including “Second Hand News,” “Dreams,” “Rhiannon,” “Go Your Own Way” and “Don’t Stop.” But old issues were also brought up anew: Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham defended the artistic merits of 1979’s commercial flop Tusk as if he were justifying it to a studio executive; Nicks thanked drummer Mick Fleetwood for letting her join the band as if she were a new arrival; and Nicks and Buckingham harkened back to their long-dead romance by dancing together. The future came in the form of two songs (“Sad Angel” and “Without You”) from Extended Play, their new EP.

Unfortunately, Nicks’ voice hasn’t weathered the years unscathed. Her distinctive sound has become yet even more distinctive by way of an increased muted nasal quality. At some points she seemed to miss notes. The songs no longer perfectly matched those old albums, but that’s OK, because it was real.

Buckingham, on the other hand, still soared on vocals and astounded on guitar, often allowing his voice to overpower Nicks’ on harmonies. Fleetwood charmed as an impish renaissance Santa Claus with a mighty drum solo on “World Turning.”

After two encores and a two-and-a-half-hour show, these musicians already couldn’t let go of the (very near) past. When the music had stopped and while the audience was fleeing, Nicks gave a New Age-y speech about how the fans were her “dream catchers.” When she was done, Fleetwood replaced her with a speech of his own, entreating all to remember that the “Mac is back.” As if we could ever forget.

Fleetwood Mac Reunites at Hollywood Bowl
Rejuvenated and finally unencumbered by their past, Fleetwood Mac played a formidable show
Los Angeles Magazine
by Sonya Singh
Photo by Sonya Singh

Nothing ever turns out as expected for Fleetwood Mac. Whether their collapsing relationships were translating into their best albums or their tour announcements were coming on the heels of an interview saying they’d never tour again, the British-American quartet found themselves hugging it out on stage following an explosive hometown show at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday night. 

They’ve overcome plenty to look so at peace with one another, but that’s where the tranquility ended. The band came out swinging with “Secondhand News,” summoning so much gusto that it’s a wonder they didn’t run ahead of the song’s tempo. “L.A., let’s get ready to party!” cried Stevie Nicks to a blast of cheers before launching into her breakup hit “Dreams.” The fretwork of Lindsey Buckingham, particularly on “I’m So Afraid,” proved that he is still one of the most underrated guitarists in rock. A wide-eyed Mick Fleetwood breathed new life into straightforward drum parts while slick bassist John McVie calmly maintained his place as the band’s rock. It’s no great revelation, though, that Nicks — “Our lady, our poet,” as Fleetwood introduced her — stole the scene, twirling around the stage and ad libbing new lines into “Gold Dust Woman,” likely inspired by the night’s full moon.

Fleetwood Mac has always been the sum of its unique parts, and for all the band’s hits, the absence of any member is keenly felt. Keyboardist Christine McVie, whose compositions arguably rank among Fleetwood Mac’s finest, retired from touring in the ’90s. While skillful, their longtime backup singers tucked at stage left failed to compensate for her warm vocal harmonies. The reports that she may take the stage with her former bandmates when they play in London has set L.A. fans abuzz. If she’ll play one of the band’s two hometowns, why not the other? 

Even without hits like “Everywhere,” “You Make Lovin’ Fun” and former show-closer “Songbird,” the two-and-a-half-hour set did not disappoint. Greatest hits were celebrated alongside new releases like “Sad Angel” and “Without You,” a holdover from 1970s Buckingham/Nicks songwriting. They also played “Landslide,” “Go Your Own Way,” and “The Chain,” as well as a Stevie Nicks solo track and a few deeper cuts including “Not That Funny” and “Sisters of the Moon," the latter of which they haven’t played since 1982’s Mirage Tour. Both songs come from Tusk, the unusual Rumours followup album.

No one would have blamed Fleetwood Mac if their show felt like a forced TV reunion with plastered smiles and rose-tinted nostalgia. It was far more genuine. “It smells like you’re having a good time out there,” joked Buckingham, but so was the band. They told stories of their early years in L.A. — the only way Buckingham would agree to Fleetwood’s request join the band, as we also learned in Dave Grohl’s Sound City documentary, was if he could bring Nicks. Now the most famous member of the bunch, she thanked Fleetwood and John McVie “for telling Lindsey he could bring the girl along.” The warmth between Nicks and Buckingham never ebbed even as he growled “Damn your love/Damn your lies” during “The Chain.” Their closing duet of “Say Goodbye” left a few people dabbing their eyes with the corners of their sleeves. Rejuvenated and finally unencumbered by their past, Fleetwood Mac proved themselves as formidable and as together as ever.

Fleetwood Mac’s Live 2013 tour will circled back around to the Staples Center on July 3. Tickets are still available. 

Stevie Nicks hits the road with Fleetwood Mac... Again - Grazia Magazine

May 29th issue