Sunday, October 19, 2014

Review: Fleetwood Mac play like they have something to prove ★★★ stars out of 4

With the return of Christine McVie, band restores its "classic" lineup and plays their greatest hits to a sold-out Air Canada Centre.

Fleetwood Mac Live in Toront - October 18, 2014
By: Ben Rayner
The Star


If Fleetwood Mac wants to take a victory lap, Fleetwood Mac can take a victory lap.

Another victory lap, I guess. They’re all kinda victory laps if you’ve got a reputation and platinum-plated catalogue of the sort Fleetwood Mac has.

Still, the last time the band passed through Toronto for an Air Canada Centre date in April of 2013, it looked surprisingly vital and revved-up for a pack of greying boomers that one might have been tempted to write off as a nostalgia act. For a band with nothing really left to prove, the Mac behaved like it still had something to prove.

For its current On with the Show tour, Fleetwood Mac has managed to restore itself to the “classic” lineup responsible for such landmark albums as Rumours, Tusk and Tango in the Night with the unexpected return of long-absent member Christine McVie to the fold for the first time since she quit the group — in large part due to a deathly fear of all the flying involved with touring the world in a rock ’n’ roll band — in 1998. This, of course, is a perfect excuse to stuff the set list with all the McVie songs that have been absent from Fleetwood Mac performances during the past 16 years, which made Saturday night’s sold-out performance at the Air Canada Centre a rather more straightforward, greatest-hits-oriented affair than the quintet’s last appearance in this town.

Not that that’s a bad thing. If Fleetwood Mac still wants to go out every night and play Rumours top to bottom, more power to it. A few other albums might have surpassed that megalithic 1977 pop smash in sales over the years since Michael Jackson’s Thriller usurped it as the biggest record of all time 30 years ago, but none of them — not Dark Side of the Moon, not Back in Black, not even Thriller itself — is as relentlessly pillaged, track for track (with the exception of maybe “Oh Daddy,” which I kinda feel sorry for), every single day, by classic-rock radio. Nowadays, though, the band no longer has to bound through “Don’t Stop” while politely ignoring the fact that the woman who wrote it isn’t there, and “You Make Loving Fun” and “Songbird” can resume their rightful, triumphant places in the set list.

McVie’s surprise return is, unfortunately, the sole real surprise the On with the Show production has to offer, at least as it was presented on Saturday night. Her presence onstage might herald a “beautiful, profound and poetic new chapter in the Fleetwood Mac story,” as guitarist/vocalist Lindsey Buckingham put it at one point — indeed, rumour has it he and McVie are already at work on new material — but at the moment it basically appears to be an excuse to take a fond stroll down memory lane.

Which is fine. It’s a nice stroll. McVie ditties like “Say You Love Me,” “Everywhere” and “Little Lies” are now back in circulation alongside such crowd-pleasing Stevie Nicks-sung staples as “Gold Dust Woman,” “Rhiannon,” “Gypsy” and the agelessly lovely “Landslide,” so Saturday’s two-and-a-half-hour show was a more relentless Fleetwood Mac hit parade than we’ve witnessed in years. There wasn’t a lot of room left to stretch out or get weird while dutifully covering all those bases, however. Oddball favourite Tusk got a passing glance in the form of the title track and Buckingham’s fiery “I Know I’m Not Wrong,” while the ace guitarist presided over a nimble-fingered acoustic deconstruction of “Big Love” and a slightly less successful, kinda-draggy remodelling of “Never Going Back Again” to shake off the usual a little bit. A few more drawn-out jams in the form of the late-set sprawler “I’m So Afraid” would have been welcome nonetheless, since it was those moments — the moments when Fleetwood Mac dug into its material enthusiastically and tore it up like a band doing more than just going through the expected motions — that made the group’s last ACC appearance so memorable. This time around, you tended to get exactly what you thought you were gonna get.

It kept the room in good spirits, anyway. And the band, still early into a 68-date tour that will extend well into 2015, seemed genuinely thrilled to be back in action with McVie at the keyboards. Drummer Mick Fleetwood looked positively gleeful, in fact, when he emerged onstage after the encore in a glittery red top hat to proclaim “The Mac is back!” If Fleetwood Mac is happy, we’re happy. These old dogs might have a few new tricks left in ‘em yet.

The Star

SO AFRAID

Chart Update: Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks

U.S.A. - October 25
As previously reported... here are the US Album charts for the charts dated October 25th.

BILLBOARD TOP 200 ALBUMS CHART
#     7 (NEW) Stevie Nicks - 24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault
#   83 (164)    Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
# 121 (177)    Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits
# 148 (175)    Fleetwood Mac - The Very Best Of

TOP 15 VINYL ALBUMS CHART
# 5 (NEW) Stevie Nicks - 24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault

TOP 25 INTERNET ALBUMS
# 3 (NEW) Stevie Nicks - 24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault

TOP 25 ROCK ALBUMS CHART
# 3  (NEW) Stevie Nicks - 24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault

TOP 25 DIGITAL ALBUMS CHART
# 10 (New) Stevie Nicks - 24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault

TOP 50 CATALOGUE ALBUMS CHART
#   4 (30)   Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
# 12 (36)   Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits
# 22 (34)   Fleetwood Mac - The Very Best Of
# 50 (R/E) Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac

CANADA - October 25, 2014
TOP 100 ALBUMS CHART
# 29 (NEW) Stevie Nicks - 24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault

UK - October 25, 2014
As with most veteran artists, the second week drop on all the album charts is usually substantial and in Stevie's case 24 Karat Gold is not exception with the album dropping to No.56 after debuting at No.14 last week.  Scotland, Austalia and Ireland are showing pretty much the same type of results.

TOP 100 ALBUMS CHART
# 56 (14) Stevie Nicks - 24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault
# 90 (95) Fleetwood Mac - The very Best Of

SCOTLAND - October 25, 2014
TOP 40 ALBUMS CHART
# 40 (12) Stevie Nicks - 24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault

AUSTRALIA - October 20, 2014
TOP 100 ALBUMS CHART
# 51 (16)  Stevie Nicks - 24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault

TOP 50 CATALOGUE ALBUMS CHART
# 29 (25) Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits

TOP 50 DIGITAL ALBUMS CHART
#48 (R/E) Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits

IRELAND - October 16, 2014
TOP 100 ALBUMS CHART
# 59 (15) Stevie Nicks - 24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault
# 61 (57) Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

GERMANY - October 17, 2014
New on the German top 100 this week - Stevie's album debuts at No.79

TOP 100 ALBUMS CHART
# 69 (NEW)  Stevie Nicks - 24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault

BELGIUM - October 18, 2014
TOP 200 ALBUMS CHART
# 136 (144)  Stevie Nicks - 24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault


REVIEW: ★★★★ stars out of 5 Stevie Nicks 24 Karat Gold - Songs From the Vault

Stevie Nicks. 24 Karat Gold - Songs From the Vault
by Mark Orton
Otago Daily Times

For all the guys who fantasised about being with her and the girls who wanted to be her, Stevie Nicks is back to her best with an album of new tracks that could have been plucked from the '70s and '80s.

After the theft of demos from her house, Nicks put Dave Stewart in the producer's chair and with a host of rock legends reworked the previously unheard tracks.

24 Karat Gold is so laden with gems it seems absurd only to hear them now.

Stewart stays faithful to a hazy vibe synonymous with Nicks' sultry huskiness, as Stevie reels back her years of romantic misfortune.

Listen to Stevie Nicks talk about "Carousel" the one song included on the album that wasn't a previously written / archived demo. It was written by Vanessa Carlton and Stevie explains why she included it on the album.


STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"
Out Now! Order from Stevienicksofficial.com

Review | Photos | Video: Fleetwood Mac Live in Toronto October 18, 2014

FLEETWOOD MAC LIVE IN TORONTO
OCTOBER 18, 2014
AIR CANADA CENTRE

Fleetwood Mac return to Toronto on February 3, 2015... Presale tickets go on sale tomorrow Oct 23rd at Ticketmaster. Password: GREATSEATS

 

Above Photos by Steve Russell - Toronto Star Photographer

Photos by Rock Xposure - View Gallery











Fleetwood Mac heavy on nostalgia at ACC
By Jane Stevenson
Toronto Sun

TORONTO - It truly was the return of The Mac at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night.

Fleetwood Mac’s most successful mid-’70s-and-onward lineup arrived at the arena with major anticipation given singer-keyboardist Christine McVie is touring again with the British-American rock band after a 16-year absence from the road.

“Imagine what it feels like for me to be given this second chance,” said the 71-year-old McVie as she played alongside ex-husband-bassist John McVie, drummer Mick Fleetwood, singer Stevie Nicks and singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham on a slick-looking stage with an eye-popping video screen and accompanying visuals.

The nostalgia-heavy night, which stretched a marathon two-and-a-half hours and two encores, appropriately began with The Chain, the first of nine songs performed from Rumours, the band’s 1977 juggernaut album that has sold 45 million copies worldwide and counting.

It is the only song on that disc, recorded as McVie’s marriage and Nicks and Buckingham’s relationship fell apart, written by all five members.

And when McVie took over on lead vocals for the second Rumours song, You Make Loving Fun, the crowd roared its approval, warmly welcoming her back.

“So Christine, where have you been?” joked Nicks, 66, who appeared thrilled, along with the rest of the group rounded out by two backing musicians and three backup singers, to have her on stage with them.

Buckingham, 65, later referred to McVie’s return “as a new chapter in the saga of Fleetwood Mac.” Other Rumours cuts that went down well included the Nicks-sung Dreams and Gold Dust Woman (the latter complete with gold shawl and interpretive dance moves) and the Buckingham-led Second Hand News and Go Your Own Way.

Holding up well too were tunes from 1975’s self-titled Fleetwood Mac disc, also known as The White Album, most significantly Nicks’ Welsh witch ode Rhiannon, which saw her perform the first of a handful of her signature twirls, and the gorgeous Landslide, along with the McVie-sung Say You Love Me and Buckingham’s I’m So Afraid during which he practically vibrated as he played.

McVie also pointed out she wrote another tune, Over My Head from that disc, when she was still married to John.

“Do you remember that John?” she said to the 68-year-old McVie, who battled cancer in 2013 leading to the group cancelling their Australian and New Zealand dates.

On the minus side, the title track from 1979’s double album Tusk was good if not great - I would have preferred a real marching band to the one pictured on the video screen - and some of the evening’s lighter fare like Sisters Of the Moon, Seven Wonders (with a Nicks dedication to American Horror Story which she appeared on last season), and Silver Springs, could have been edited out to make for a tighter set which dragged a bit in the middle and towards the end.

I’ve also never been able to hear Don’t Stop the same way again without thinking about its use by Bill Clinton for his first presidential campaign in 1992.

Of all the Fleetwood Mac members, Buckingham was the most wonderfully intense although the 67-year-old Fleetwood came a close second with his wild drum solo during World Turning pronouncing afterwards: “My head is on fire!” Buckingham blew kisses after some virtuoso playing on I Know I’m Not Wrong, also from Tusk, shouted and grunted during Big Love from 1987’s Tango In The Night, and made a major musical meal out of the Rumours track Never Going Back Again.

Otherwise, it seemed as if no time had passed between McVie and the rest of her Fleetwood Mac mates as she also took over on lead vocals for Everywhere and Little Lies, both from Tango In The Night, and the gorgeous show ending Songbird from Rumours.

Nicks’ Gypsy, from 1982’s Mirage, was preceded by a story about how she went shopping for clothes in the Janis Joplin and Grace Slick-frequented San Francisco store, The Velvet Underground, and had a premonition, as a 22-year-old, that “something big was coming.” That “something big” was Fleetwood Mac, which Buckingham Nicks (as the duo were then called), would soon join and the rest, as they say, is history.

Fleetwood Mac at the ACC
Christine McVie back after 16 years but Fleetwood Mac is still the Stevie Nicks show
By Sarah Greene

NowToronto.com

By the time Fleetwood Mac played Rhiannon, early on in their two and a half hour long revue at the Air Canada Centre, it was clear that despite the brouhaha over the return of long-time member Christine Mcvie after a 16-year hiatus, it’s still the Stevie Nicks show. Nicks oozes charisma; and can get a crowd excited by waving her arm or doing a little twirl. Every time she sang (and she was singing well) the packed house got out of their seats. No wonder so many fans arrived dressed like her.

Starting with The Chain, the Mac played through nearly every song from their bestselling hit-machine Rumours, pulling out Silver Springs in the encore with an abundance of ridiculous chime sounds (the band clearly love their synths – why, oh why, did they not bring along a live horn section?).

Not to be outdone by Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham prepared for solo turn Big Love by charging up his right hand like a robot before launching into the loudest, most ferocious classical playing imaginable (Buckingham, a ham, admirably never left the stage, though some of his other songs came across as overwrought).

He was at his best when he loaned his guitar chops in service of Nicks’s vocals on Landslide, though everyone had their moments (including Mick Fleetwood’s indulgent drum solo in the encore).

The band say this is a new chapter that will last long and bear fruit, and they’ve got a new album on the way. Time will tell how long those chains will hold. 

Stevie backstage with Marilyn Dennis



Photos by John Barrett - Fleetwood Mac The Today Show Oct 9, 2014

Fleetwood Mac The Today Show
October 9, 2014 - New York City

Photos by John Barrett
View Gallery


Saturday, October 18, 2014

Sometimes not even 80 percent of a band’s classic lineup is enough to recapture the magic

By Patrick Berkery
The Philadelphia Inquirer

That was seen in Fleetwood Mac’s sporadic tours and limited recorded output after longtime singer-songwriter and keyboardist Christine McVie retired in 1998. Now, after 16 years in the English countryside, McVie, 71, is back with the Mac for the “On With the Show” tour, which played a sold-out Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday. The tour returns to the Wells Fargo Center on Oct. 29 and plays Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall on Jan. 24.

McVie brought a feel-good balance to Stevie Nicks’ witchy ways and Lindsey Buckingham’s tightly coiled guitar heroics, in front of the masterful rhythm section of drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie. Christine McVie was in fine voice throughout the 24-song, 21/ 2- hour show.

To paraphrase another titan of 1970s rock, Fleetwood Mac ain’t had that spirit here since, oh, 1998.

There would be no show without Buckingham (clad in the tightest jeans you’re ever likely to see on a 65-year-old) and Nicks (dressed in all black and heels). But with Christine McVie’s return, all was balanced, making it feel like the Mac was truly back.

Mc back in the Mac Rockers’ blossom on star return

by Ed Power
Irish Independent Oct 18, 2014
Weekend Review Magazine
Irish Independent
Weekend Review Magazine

When Christine McVie rejoined Fleetwood Mac for the first time since the late 1990s, it was a reminder a great band is more than the sum of its parts, writes Ed Power.

In September 2013, Fleetwood Mac gathered backstage at Dublin’s O2 arena. Several hours later the multimillion-selling soft rockers were to perform the first of two sold-out shows at the 14,000 capacity venue. But Ireland wasn’t on their minds at that moment. Instead, the group were tentatively renewing acquaintances with Christine McVie, the dulcet-voiced keyboard player who had authored some of their biggest hits before leaving the band — fleeing it, really — in 1997.

Nerves were in the air. McVie had barely spoken to the rest of the lineup in the intervening decade and a half. Now, after a gruelling divorce and a spell of depression, she was contemplating a comeback. She’d flown to Dublin to rehearse, with a view to joining Fleetwood Mac on stage in London later in the tour. Deep within the concrete labyrinth that constitutes the O2’s backstage area, the tension was palpable: would the old chemistry still endure? What of old enmities? Fleetwood Mac’s history was notoriously fractious. Was the band broken, impossible to repair?

Fleetwood Mac reunites in Toronto tonight, Mick talks about his photography

TORONTO CONCERT

Toronto Sun

As legendary band Fleetwood Mac reunites in Toronto tonight, Mick talks about his photography.

This is a bunch of people trying to make it work. This is for sure a special moment for this band....

Two weeks ago, in a phone interview from New York, Mick Fleetwood could not hide his disappointment. The dismay was not with the Fleetwood Mac reunion show there. These have been hugely gratifying love-fests, (the first full-member tour by the band since 1997 hits Toronto Saturday night). Rather, Fleetwood-the-nature photographer was chagrined at being as yet unable to capture on film the anticipated glory of leaves changing colour. “I went running through Central Park and the leaves haven't changed at all,” the 67-year-old Fleetwood Mac drummer complained. “Maybe one or two trees. I know it happens very quickly, almost overnight. Boom. It is beautiful and I hope to get some shots up there in Canada.” Fleetwood, who lives on the island of Maui these days, is using the tour partly as a coming-out party for gallery showings of his hand-painted original photos, including one at Toronto's Liss Gallery.

“I've had these shows in Maui for years, some hotels have them in their lobbies, and people there have a fond level of appreciation. The outside world really doesn't know much about it,” said Fleetwood.

“So this is me, putting my nuts on the line. It's exciting. I suppose there'll be some reviews. And I'll know if everybody thinks it's just a bunch of s--- or not. I'm hoping that's not the case.”

In an ironic way, his photography is tied into the history of Fleetwood Mac.

“I got my first nonsnap camera in 1968 just after the band had formed. I do remember that John McVie had a very grand camera. John is quietly a very good photographer. And the urge to get a decent camera was based on if-he's-got-oneI-want-one, more than art at the time.”

Interestingly, Fleetwood doesn't exhibit behind-the-scenes pictures of the band itself.

“That is funny, and I've never thought much about that. Stevie (Nicks) has ... a Polaroid show in New York while we're here ... And that is very much her road stuff she took. Mine is very detached from anything to do with what I do.”

Over time, photography began to gratify Fleetwood in ways music didn't.

“...I've been in a band for nearly 50 years, surrounded by incredibly talented people — part of the support team, by nature of my being a percussionist.

“Photography is the nearest thing to me writing a song and taking responsibility. I don't get that in Fleetwood Mac. I was not the songwriter. I was the band gatekeeper.”

Gatekeeper/peacemaker/negotiator is a role Fleetwood takes seriously.

He was not usually directly involved in the various feuds, romantic entanglements and complications that have plagued the band over the years. And he was instrumental in luring Christine McVie back into the fold, after 17 years away. Fleetwood, who is releasing a new autobiography entitled Play On (October 28th), doesn't necessarily feel past bad blood is best forgotten. “Getting older puts things in perspective that were not in perspective. That's a better approach than shoving it all under the matt ... “Y'know what? Look at us. A bunch of crazy people, often quite dysfunctional, horribly in love, which led to things that have sometimes been hard to handle.

“It's not just business. This is a bunch of people trying to make it work. This is for sure a special moment for this band...”

Friday, October 17, 2014

Audio Interview: Lindsey Buckingham joins Andy Greenwald to discuss 40 years of Fleetwood Mac

Andy Greenwald - Lindsey Buckingham
Lindsey Buckingham joins Andy Greenwald to discuss 40 years of Fleetwood Mac, his insatiable solo career, and the band's current world tour.

Interview conducted post Madison Square Garden shows Oct 6/7th, 2014




Thursday, October 16, 2014

Mick Fleetwood hopes Stevie Nicks will find time to contribute to new Fleetwood Mac music

Mick Fleetwood says new Fleetwood Mac music 'profound,' hopes Nicks contributes
By Nick Patch - Canadian Press

TORONTO - Mick Fleetwood says he hopes Stevie Nicks will ultimately find time to contribute to the new music Fleetwood Mac is recording — which could ultimately form the band's first album in nearly 30 years with its entire principal lineup intact.

Chris Young,The Canadian Press
The newly reformed rock titans — who welcomed keyboardist Christine McVie back into the fold for a tour that hits Toronto on Saturday and other Canadian cities in the coming months — went into the studio "many months ago now" to work on new material, Fleetwood said.

Lindsey Buckingham has called the new material "profound," an adjective that Fleetwood agreed with enthusiastically.

"It is profound. It's great," said the 67-year-old drummer Thursday in an interview in Toronto. "The four of us went in ... and had a lot of fun — for Chris, just reconnecting, playing music, with no particular thought in mind.

"I hope it becomes part of something that will make sense. But (bassist) John (McVie), Lindsey and me and Chris, we were all participating. So it's exciting."

The band's last album of new material was 2003's "Say You Will," but the last to feature the band's most successful five-piece lineup was 1987's "Tango in the Night."

Asked whether Nicks would eventually be involved in the recording, Fleetwood replied: "We hope so."

"Right now we've got this tour to do and it's very time-consuming so we'll see," he added. "It will come out one way or another."

Mick Fleetwood Talks Fleetwood Mac Tour, His New Book And Photography Exhibit


Mick Fleetwood is in Toronto ahead of Fleetwood Mac's show on Saturday night. He spent some time today at the Liss Gallery for interviews to promote his REFLECTIONS: THE MICK FLEETWOOD COLLECTION. This is an exhibition of original photographs taken by Mick himself.  The exhibit runs until October 31st.  So if you are in the area of 140 Yorkville Avenue, Toronto... Check it out!

CANADA AM 
In Canada, Mick will be on CTV's Canada AM on Friday October 16th where the rock legend opens up about Stevie, the tour, his art and everything in between. Tune in at 8:30ET.






 Photos by: Liss Gallery, Courtney Miceli, Kevin Sweet, Genevieve Peters


Mick Fleetwood Talks Fleetwood Mac Tour, His New Book And Photography Exhibit
By Sarah Kurchak
Huffington Post Canada

"I'm what is known as a very busy bee," Mick Fleetwood says as he ponders his multidisciplinary schedule over the phone from New York City.

In the few short breaks that Fleetwood Mac's current tour – which features the newly returned and much-missed vocalist and keyboardist Christine McVie – offers, the drummer and backbone of the legendary rock group will be keeping his dance card full with a series of book store appearances to promote his recently released autobiography, "Play On."

And when he’s not doing that, he’ll be exhibiting his photography in a series of gallery shows across the continent. "Reflections: The Mick Fleetwood Collection" is currently showing at Toronto’s Liss Gallery. Fleetwood will be appearing at a private reception for collectors on October 17, the night before Fleetwood Mac’s Air Canada Centre show.

It would be a punishing schedule for a musician half his age, but the 67-year old Fleetwood isn't daunted by the prospect. Other than the current cold he's nursing, he figures he's in great shape.

"Outside of today, I think I'm blessed with being fairly fit and I take care of myself. And I don't like hanging around. I’m not good with it. I'm always twiddling my thumbs. So, in, theory I got what I asked for."

Besides, the work is keeping him happy as well as busy. Having the beloved McVie back with the group after a 15-year absence is as magical for Fleetwood and his bandmates as it is for their fans.

According to Mick, the tour is going "brilliantly. Totally Brilliantly. And with huge amounts of emotional gratitude. It's pretty amazing, the whole accumulation of all of these things that one could have never imagined a year and a half ago. It's been going just beyond anything one could have really wished for. The audience, you can tell, feel like a huge extended version of the way we're all functioning. Which is a state of just really genuine excitement as to what really is all happened here.”

Fleetwood is also thrilled to be taking his photography on the road with him. He's been taking pictures for decades. In fact, he was first turned onto the art form by fellow Fleetwood Mac member John McVie when the pair shared a house together in England. But it's only within the past few years that he's felt confident and accomplished enough to show his work.

"It took me a while to say 'I'm OK at doing this,'" he admits. But he was also like that when he started drumming. "Which is all probably to do with childhood and not being confident about presenting things. I was terrible at school, so I found things that I loved to do and started one step at a time. And that’s how I've approached this."

At one point, Fleetwood wasn't even particularly confident talking about his musical skills. "And then I realized that I was actually pretty good at drumming," he laughs.

He started showing his photography in his adopted home of Maui, and then branched out with a show in LA. Now he's jumping in with his current gallery tour, which he says will hit "about 10 or 12" different cities along the way.

The primary focus of his work, which blends more traditional photography with textural hand-painted enhancements, is nature. He’s willing to entertain the notion there’s a touch of environmental activism in his work, influenced by his life and friends in Maui.

"There’s a lot of work done on the island to keep it beautiful. And it really affected me. I do my best to go and surround myself with people who, quite frankly, were far more aware of ecology and all of those things while I was rocking and rolling my life out here."

There's also a deeply personal aspect to many of the photos, which he shot in England before his mother permanently left her home to join him in Maui.

"It was memories of something my mother was moving away from, at the grand old age of 90," he recalls. His mother is now 97, and can't see as well as she used to, but she still proudly displays some of his photos in her new home.

While the musician is touched by the response his work has received so far, from both his mom and others, he doesn't expect – or want – people to like his work just because of who he is in the musical world. He’s actually welcoming the fresh and unbiased response that comes with starting from scratch in a new medium.

"We know people love our music and we never take it for granted, but the risk factor with presenting something personal that you've done really put your nuts on the line, and I enjoy that part of it," he says. "The whole artistic creative process is about that, it’s about sharing and getting something out in the open. And the person who's presenting it, it actually gives them a new perspective on a lot of things. That you can function in a different world is exciting."

Fleetwood expects that his bandmate Stevie Nicks will get a similar level of enjoyment out of her 24 Karat Gold exhibit of Polaroid self-portraits, which will also be running during their tour.

"In the old days, me and Stevie were Polaroid freaks and she got really, really good at doing these time delay, funky, personal shots," he recalls. "And we would sometimes spend hours setting up a room with what she was going to wear or photographing a pair of ballet shoes. Back then it was weird, fun stuff we did on the road and now, to see it coming out so beautifully presented is so cool. I think she's going to have a lot of fun with it, as am I, to sort of be in another world. It’s a really nice thing."

Fleetwood says he's trying to talk Nicks into showing her paintings in the future. He'd also like to see some of McVie’s old shots from their roommate days in a gallery at some point.

And when he's not busy trying to talk his colleagues into joining him in the art world, he’ll be continuing to work on his own gallery shows. The current tour is, he's hoping, is only the beginning.

"I didn't know there would be such enthusiasm to tell you the truth. It's quite flattering. So we're just getting our feet wet, to see how it goes and apparently it’s going incredibly well.”

'Reflections: The Mick Fleetwood Collection' is at the Liss Gallery in Toronto until October 31. For more information, visit www.lissgallery.com

Review | Photos | Video: Fleetwood Mac Live in Philadephia, PA October 15, 2014

Fleetwood Mac Live in Philadephia, PA
October 15, 2014
Wells Fargo Center



 Photos by Lori M. Nichols - View Gallery

Fleetwood Mac at Wells Fargo Center: What you missed
by Lori M. Nichols - South Jersey Times

PHILADELPHIA — Fleetwood Mac returned to Philadelphia Wednesday night, touring together as a full band for the first time in 16 years.

Christine McVie re-joined band mates Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks for their On With The Show tour.

The crowd at the Wells Fargo Center was excited to hear the multi-Grammy Award®-winning band perform together once again, and while nearly everyone was standing as the band took the stage, Christine McVie received a special welcome from not only the concert-goers, but each band member throughout the night.

WHAT YOU MISSED
• Singer-songwriter and vocalist Christine McVie's return to Fleetwood Mac after retiring from the band following The Dance tour in the late '90s. The crowd gave her an overwhelming welcome when she performed the second song of the show, "You Make Loving Fun," and despite a 15-year absence from the stage, her warm vocals really shined in "Little Lies." 

• The distinctive voice of Stevie Nicks isn't what it used to be, but that's not to say it's a bad thing; it's just different. At 66 years old, she stills delivers powerful performances in "Seven Wonders," "Gold Dust Woman" and "Silver Springs." The simplicity of "Landslide," with Nicks joined onstage by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, was almost haunting with her raspy voice.

• While it was definitely Christine McVie's night, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham stole the show. His solos, "Big Love" and "Never Going Back Again," were full of energy, and it was entrancing to watch his finger-picking throughout the night. But Buckingham seemed to mesmerize the crowd with his guitar solo in the 9-minute long "I'm So Afraid" and belted out the lyrics with such a strong voice you couldn't help but stop and just take it all in. 

• The band paid homage to McVie's return by beginning the show with "The Chain," a rousing song about unbreakable bonds that would've had the crowd quickly on their feet if they hadn't been already.

NOTES AND MUSINGS
• Stevie Nicks definitely got into character during "Gold Dust Woman," seemingly in a trance as she slowly danced across the stage. At the end of the song, she raised her arms like a bird spreading its wings, showing her silhouette through her shimmering gold shawl as the spotlight shone down on her at center-stage.

• While it would be nearly impossible to replicate the high-intensity, full-volumed "Tusk" without the benefit of the USC Marching Band playing alongside Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham led the group in a pretty energizing version of the song. The group wasn't remiss about tipping their caps to the marching band however, as videos of the tuba-carrying and trumpet-toting collegiate band played on the large screen behind them.

• Drummer Mick Fleetwood couldn't stop smiling all night long, and seemed as happy to be onstage as a kid in a candy store. He really impressed concert-goers as he performed the majority of his drum solo during "World Turning" with his eyes closed.

• The entire band put their all into "Go Your Own Way," the last song before a duo of encores. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks really worked the stage, and the crowd absolutely loved it.

Concert review: Fleetwood Mac wows boomers in marathon Philly show with Christie McVie
by Ed Condran
Mcall.com

After kicking off a two-and-half-hour tour de force of a concert aptly with "The Chain"’ a song about unbreakable bonds, Lindsey Buckingham beamed and looked to his right.

“And now the beautiful Christine is back,” the vocalist-guitarist said just before Fleetwood Mac delivered “You Make Loving Fun.”

The capacity crowd at the Wells Fargo Center Monday night roared as the band kicked into the tune’s opening notes. The classic configuration of Fleetwood Mac, which will return to the South Philly venue Oct. 29, was back performing in the area for the first time since it played what was known as the Tweeter Center in Camden in September of 1997.

Vocally McVie and her counterpart, the beguiling Stevie Nicks, have to dial it down. The former is 71 and the latter is 66. What they lack in range, they make up for in character. Fleetwood Mac still has it. It’s just different than it was in ‘97 and especially than it was during the summer of ‘77 when the band’s breakthrough album, "Rumours," was ubiquitous.

Fleetwood Mac wowed the enthusiastic crowd with cuts from the emotional "Rumours,"the second biggest selling album of all-time, and a plethora of other hits.

"Go Your Own Way," "Rhiannon" and "Landslide" sated the boomers.

Buckingham, the young buck in the band at a mere 65, stole the show. The thin as a rail fingerpicker riveted the crowd with an emotional "Big Love." His fiery solo and his electric play in general impressed.

“I think he’s been off stage for 30 seconds tonight,” drummer Mick Fleetwood declared.

That’s not much of an exaggeration as the rest of the veteran group took considerable time off during the marathon show. But Buckingham looked like an old school punk pogoing across the stage and grunting, groaning and screaming throughout the night.

McVie, who was MIA since ‘97 due to her fear of flying, was rough around the edges vocally but she’s been out of the game for nearly 20-years.

Nicks and her unique husky voice and subtle gestures made songs such as "Seven Wonders" and "Gold Dust Woman" haunting and compelling. Whenever Nicks would spin like she did a generation ago, fans shrieked.

Fleetwood made like it was 1977 with a wild drum solo.

But it was the hits and the charm of the band that made the night. Nicks, who has always been a great storyteller, often stopped to drop anecdotes. “In the beginning Lindsey and I lived in San Francisco and there was this amazing store (the Velvet Underground) which had incredible clothes and all of the rock and roll women with money shopped there like Janis Joplin and Grace Slick. I remember thinking that when I make it, I’ll shop at that store and I did. If you do believe in your dreams, they can come true.”

The wild success of Fleetwood Mac enables Nicks to shop anywhere and it also gave the band considerable creative freedom to craft some of the most enduring songs from a generation ago.

"We’ve started a new and poetic chapter with Christine,” Buckingham said. “It’ll bear much fruit.”