Tuesday, November 06, 2018

REVIEW Fleetwood Mac Live in Toronto Monday, Nov 5, 2018 "Rock n’ roll was very much alive and well last night"

Review: Fleetwood Mac @ Scotiabank Arena
By: Adam Harrison
Aesthetic Magazine

Photo Beckymccreath
Rock n’ roll was very much alive and well last night in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena for one of all-time’s most classic bands, Fleetwood Mac, who now date back fifty years with the release of their self-titled debut album in 1968. It was a rare experience to be apart of the sold out arena welcoming the band to its sixth decade.

The now eleven-person touring band featured four-fifths of the traditional lineup, including rock goddess Stevie Nicks, keyboard songstress Christine McVie and her husband John on bass, as well as ponytail sportin’ namesake drummer, Mick Fleetwood. Original guitarist and vocalist, Lindsey Buckingham, was fired from the band in April 2018 and was replaced with Crowded House’s Neil Finn as well as Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ Mike Campbell.

The band opened their impressively lengthy 130-minute set with “The Chain” from their 1977 hit album Rumours, and at the very first note the fans let our a roar of excitement and appreciation. While the audience spanned multiple generations, it became one of those crowds who couldn’t decide whether to sit or stand, not unlike a Catholic Church service.

As Fleetwood Mac made their way through a songbook of hits like “Little Lies,” “Dreams,” and “Landslide,” one of the most interesting elements was how each song had a different arrangement of band members. Of course at the centre of the stage was Stevie Nicks who not only grasped you with her iconic singing voice, but also her powerfully feminine charisma. She often swayed about in her black robe mesmerizing like a gypsy.

Photo Kristen Shilton
During “World Turning,” the 71-year-old, Mick Fleetwood, took on a 10-minute drum solo, proving he can still hang with the kids, as he rolled through tom-tom rhythms alongside touring percussionist Taku Hirano, who furiously smacked on the bongos. Fleetwood accompanied his drumming with jungle like screams as well as his signature wide eye stare.

One of the best highlights of the night came when most of the band cleared the stage for Finn to perform “Don’t Dream It’s Over” which he wrote for Crowded House. The arena lit up with cell phone lights as Finn dove into the first chorus. Halfway though the song he was joined by Nicks who finished the song with him as a duet – A rare and spin-tingling moment to say the least.

The main set came to a climactic conclusion with an inspiring performance of Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hit and one of the greatest rock n’ roll songs of all time, “Go Your Own Way.” For this moment, it was not hard to decide whether to sit or stand. In fact, it was nearly impossible to stay off your feet. The arena echoed with applause for several minutes after until the band returned for an encore.

Fleetwood Mac would kick off the encore with an emotional cover of “Free Fallin’” with Nicks paying tribute to Tom Petty on vocals. Slideshow images of Petty with the band members appeared above them. By the end of the song, Nicks was on the verge of tears as she expressed her thanks to be able to sing the legendary song on his behalf.

The ever-catchy greatest hit “Don’t Stop” also graced the encore for one last dance-happy sing-a-long. The night then concludedwith a beautiful duet of Nicks and McVie singing “All Over Again.” It was truly phenomenal to experience one of rock music’s all-time greats still performing at top-level, surrounded by an arena full of people, traversing multiple generations, in attendance to appreciate it.


Photos Brad Jordan


TWO NEW FLEETWOOD MAC DATES ANNOUNCED: Werchter Boutique Festival and Pink Pop

WERCHTER BOUTIQUE FESTIVAL
On Saturday 8 June the Werchter Boutique Festival celebrates the best in pop music. Fleetwood Mac, the day's headliner, has held the patent on pop for over fifty years. The legendary band is planning a handful of gigs in Europe next summer and we are honoured to welcome them to the Festivalpark in Werchter. The tour will feature the newly announced line-up of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie along with newcomers Mike Campbell and Neil Finn.



Tickets to Fleetwood Mac at Werchter Boutique go on sale on Friday 9 November at 10 am via proximusgoformusic.be and ticketmaster.be.


PINK POP
It was also announced today that Fleetwood Mac will close the fiftieth edition of the Pinkpop festival next year on June 10th in Landgraaf, Netherlands. Tickets on sale Saturday, March 16, 2019 


Sunday, November 04, 2018

REVIEW Fleetwood Mac Live in Ottawa, Canada November 3, 2018

Fleetwood Mac
Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa ON, November 3
By Daniel Sylvester
Photos by Kamara Morozuk
Exclaim.ca


Although much has been made about Lindsey Buckingham's dismissal from Fleetwood Mac earlier this year, the band has been a revolving door since their formation in 1968. Hitting the nation's capital for their fourth consecutive tour, the Ottawa fans seemed nonplussed about the departure of one of the band's chief songwriters, packing the 19,000 capacity Canadian Tire Centre for "An Evening with Fleetwood Mac."

Heading up the 11-piece live band, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie were joined onstage by Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie, along with newcomers Neil Finn from Crowded House and former Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell, whose lazy guitar style seemed out of step with his new band members.

Curiously opening the show with "The Chain," Finn sounded youthful and charming while replicating Buckingham's vocals, while the Christine McVie-penned "Little Lies" energized the crowd, who went on to sing along with Nicks passionately during "Dreams." Moving into Rumours album track "Second Hand News," the band flew through "Say You Love Me" and "Everywhere," which found McVie struggling to propel her reedy voice across the massive arena. The Nicks-sung "Black Magic Woman" (a Fleetwood Mac original made famous by Santana) featured a spectacular Christine McVie keyboard solo that unfortunately found much of the crowd leaving their seats to explore the arena's concourse.

Just as "Rhiannon" sent the audience back into a frenzy, the band ventured into a set of songs specifically designed for hardcore fans, playing pre-Buckingham/Nicks material that included 1970's "Tell Me All the Things You Do" and 1969's "Oh Well" with Campbell on vocals. "World Turning" stretched out to include an unremarkable and borderline-exasperating 14-minute drum solo from Mick Fleetwood that acted as a makeshift intermission for the other members.

After a solid rendition of "Gypsy," much of the band abandoned the stage again, leaving Finn alone with his acoustic guitar to belt out his Crowded House hit "Don't Dream It's Over." Then, following "Isn't It Midnight" and "Monday Morning," the band finished strong with fan favourites "You Make Loving Fun" and "Gold Dust Woman" before closing the set off with Buckingham's "Go Your Own Way."

Returning to the stage for an encore, Nicks took over the vocals for their cover of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" that found the stage's video screen maudlinly flashing photos of Petty with Stevie and/or Campbell. After another Buckingham song, "Don't Stop," the band closed off the show with Christine McVie's soft rock ballad "All Over Again" from 1995's little-remembered Time. That song, which is about moving on from a breakup and looking forward to the future, may or may not have been an analogy for the band's recent split.



Although Nicks' magnetic stage presence gave their set some much-needed energy, Fleetwood Mac's latest incarnation seemed obsessed with their former band member, finding them utterly unable to stop themselves from reminding the crowd about the gaping hole Buckingham's departure left on the evening's performance. 







LANDSLIDE
RHIANNON
DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER

Friday, November 02, 2018

REVIEWS Fleetwood Mac Live in Pittsburgh, PA November 1, 2018

Stevie Nicks still the highlight of newfangled Fleetwood Mac
SCOTT MERVIS
Post-Gazette


Photo: Mike Drazdzinski

The Chain was supposed to keep them together, wasn’t it?

But, in the buildup to the current tour, it broke over what appears to be a fairly petty argument and now we’re in the midst of the ultimate Fleetwood Mac drama.

It didn’t stop the 11-piece band that showed up at the PPG Paints Arena Thursday from starting the show with “The Chain,” one of the signature songs of frontman Lindsey Buckingham, who is currently suing his old mates.

Their “take that, Lindsey!” moment put them in the position of sounding like a Fleetwood Mac tribute band from the outset, albeit with a pair of well-respected ringers in Neil Finn (from New Zealand’s Crowded House) and guitar hero Mike Campbell (from the Heartbreakers). Finn has a pleasant voice similar in tone to Buckingham but without the angry edge.

Despite the sold-out crowd seeming perfectly excited by it, it struck me as a rough start and had me immediately missing the plaintiff.

But then, there’s Stevie Nicks, the real drawing card, the one who has fans dressing up in black, lacy clothes. Sometimes it takes a minute for her to warm up those husky pipes, so “Dreams” was a little uneven. That went with a fairly flat “Little Lies” from Christine McVie at the keyboards, Finn doing Lindsey again on “Second Hand News” and Campbell, though very solid, making us pine for Santana on “Black Magic Woman,” reclaimed on this tour by Fleetwood Mac from the Peter Green days.

Shortly after that, though, Nicks was ready to take over the show, starting with a stunning, hard-rock version of “Rhiannon” driven by her fiery vocal. That she is 70 is a miracle...of something.

Her momentum was briefly interrupted by an intermission in the form of Mick Fleetwood’s maniacal 15-minute drum and hollering solo at the end of “World Turning,” ably assisted by percussionist Taku Hirano.

Nicks returned with a lovely “Gypsy” and then handed the stage back to the “two gentlemen [introduced] into this crazy band.” Campbell did a rare vocal turn, kind of a talk-sing, on “Oh Well,” the killer blues-rock song that first put Fleetwood Mac on the radar in the late ‘60s.

Finn’s evening highlight was a beauty. “This is a song of unity and I’d like to dedicate it to the grieving families of Squirrel Hill and Pittsburgh throughout...my heart goes out,” he said, introducing a very pretty version of Crowded House’s “Don't Dream It's Over” with lighters and cellphones all aglow.

Then, Nicks did her part for the healing.

Before a screenshot of the city skyline lined with candles, she said, “My mom always told me, ‘Stevie, you’re on a mission, you’ve always been on a mission, and your mission is to go out into the world and sing your songs and try to make people better when they need somebody to come sing something that will just take them away for maybe one moment in time.’ … I have a favorite phrase that’s called being a spiritual warrior …

“What I want you to know is, we are so sad for you,” she said, choking up, “and there’s nothing to say, except that, you know, they can’t win, and you will come around and your spiritual warriorness will take over at some point and you will get better. So, I’m going to dedicate this song to you like we have so many times in times of trouble -- after 9/11 and after, we went into Boston the day after what happened in Boston, and so it always seems we end up coming in these times. It’s called ‘Landslide,’ it’s for you.”

She poured all that emotion into the melancholy ballad, cheered by her faithful along the way. A few songs later came her show-stopping moment on “Gold Dust Woman,” complete with her gypsy shawl dance and an impassioned climax channeling pain and rage while wailing lines like “you should see me now” and “you can’t shake me down.”

McVie, by contrast, brought her cool delivery to “You Make Loving Fun” and the deep cut “Isn’t It Midnight.” The main set climaxed in full-blown rocking style with “Go Your Own Way,” sparked by Campbell’s stinging guitar work.

When I saw “Free Fallin'” on set lists, I wasn’t sure who would be singing it, but I didn’t expect it to be Stevie. The song is actually perfect for her voice. She had her own wonderful history with Tom Petty, and with pictures of the late rock icon filling the screen, she thrilled us with one of her finest vocals of the night.

After bouncing through “Don't Stop,” they brought the evening to a quiet close with Nicks and McVie sharing a duet on “All Over Again.”

In the end, it was a fine, joyful show and an interesting tangent in FM’s history, but if and when they come back, and let’s hope they do, it would be nice to see Buckingham back in his spot.

FLEETWOOD MAC SET LIST

The Chain
Little Lies
Dreams
Second Hand News
Say You Love Me
Black Magic Woman
Everywhere
Rhiannon
Tell Me All the Things You Do
World Turning (with drum solo by Mick Fleetwood)
Gypsy
Oh Well
Don't Dream It's Over (Crowded House cover)
Landslide
Isn’t It Midnight
Monday Morning
You Make Loving Fun
Gold Dust Woman
Go Your Own Way
Encore:
Free Fallin' (Tom Petty cover)
Don't Stop
All Over Again


Fleetwood Mac pays tribute to synagogue victims in Pittsburgh concert
By Scott Tady
Timesonline

Classic rockers address Squirrel Hill tragedy

PITTSBURGH — They sounded good, but it felt different. And there were emotional, touching moments addressing last weekend’s Squirrel Hill synagogue shooting.

There’s much to discuss about the new-look Fleetwood Mac’s concert Thursday at a full-house PPG Paints Arena.

At times, it seemed like every other concert Fleetwood Mac has played the past few decades at Pittsburgh’s current and previous hockey/concert arenas.

The classic-rockers started with the traditional “The Chain,” building the intensity to reach that deep, uncluttered and cool John McVie bass solo.

His ex-wife, Christine McVie, positioned stage right at her keyboards, let loose with her warm voice, singing songs like “Say You Love Me” and “You Make Loving Fun.” Her vocals weren’t quite as soaring and flawless as at the band’s 2014 Pittsburgh show, but still pretty special.

Stevie Nicks, as always, earned the loudest cheers with that potent rasp of hers still going strong, and that bohemian, bewitching persona equally intact to deliver crowd-pleasers “Rhiannon,” “Gypsy,” which featured a patented Stevie twirl, and “Gold Dust Woman,” where she wore a glittery gold shawl.

Also true to form, Mick Fleetwood played a drum solo that took too long to get revved up, amid shouting things like “are you out there?” to crank up the crowd noise. It was a such a lengthy solo, a roadie came out and held a plastic cup of refreshment to Fleetwood’ lips as he continued to bash away. Hey, when you’re the top-billed namesake and founder of a band, you get to solo as long as you want.

Though it was impossible to forget Lindsey Buckingham wasn’t there, booted from the band he’d brought exceptional and underrated guitar to for decades.

He’s been replaced by two stalwarts; Mike Campbell from Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, and Neil Finn from Crowded House, whom Fleetwood made a public point Thursday of welcoming into the band.

Finn capably handled Buckingham’s vocal leads on “Go Your Own Way,” “World is Turning” and “Second Hand News,” the latter of which had a faster than normal but fun pace led by Fleetwood.

Finn offered the night’s most poignant sequence, starting with him dedicating a song to “the grieving families” of the Squirrel Hill tragedy, and to Pittsburghers in general still immersed in sorrow because of it. Finn then began singing his lovely ’80s Crowded House hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” backed only by light guitar and soft hand percussion as most of the band left the stage. For the final verse and chorus, Nicks came back out and sang along. Many spectators lifted and illuminated their phones like candles. It’s a song you’ve heard countless times, to the point you may have forgotten some of lyrics that stood out vividly Thursday; lines about negative forces trying to build walls between us. Finn emotionally emphasized the modified final line sung three times: “You know they won’t win ... you know they won’t win ... you know they won’t win.”

That sentiment perfectly mirrored the “Stronger Than Hate” banner with the Pittsburgh Penguins logo against a Star of David backdrop displayed on the jumbo screen behind Fleetwood Mac after its first song and before the encore.

Once “Don’t Dream It’s Over” ended, Nicks took the mic and talked about the healing properties of music and how the band felt an extra importance to be in Pittsburgh at this time. Nicks’ voice get choked up, as she urged fans to be “spiritual warriors.” The band followed with “Landslide,” emotionally sung by Nicks.

Fleetwood Mac chugged into the encore with “Go Your Own Way,” on which I found myself missing Buckingham’s vocals and guitar.

The encore began with a cover of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’,” which gave Campbell a chance to work his magic, having played on the original. The video screen flashed back to the late-Petty, including a number of photos of him with friend and collaborator Nicks.

Christine McVie set up the night’s final selection, “All Over Again,” saying it’s an ideal song under the circumstances, because it deals with hope and looking toward the future.

Overall a good show, though I’d have liked to have heard more of Campbell, who along with Finn spearheaded the night’s most exciting song, the guitar-blazing, way-back Fleetwood Mac track “Oh Well.” (You remember the opening stanza: “Can’t help it ’bout the shape I’m in/I can’t sing, I ain’t pretty and my legs are thin/But don’t ask me what I think of you/I might not give the answer that you want me to.”)

Without Buckingham in the band, the setlist suffered from the lack of his signature song “Tusk”. Nor did we get “Silver Springs,” Nicks’ tour-de-force as a vocalist always made more special in concert because the gut-wrenching lyrics about moving on from a busted relationship were directly inspired by her ex-lover, Buckingham, standing 10 feet from her.

This tour, with its new lineup, has stoked Fleetwood Mac members’ interest in the band’s back catalog, hence the playing of “Black Magic Woman,” a 1968 Fleetwood Mac single written by former guitarist Peter Green. Accustomed to the version they’ve heard on radio, many people mistakenly assume Santana originally wrote and recorded that song. Nicks once thought so, too.

“This was before I was in Fleetwood Mac,” she explained.

The version Fleetwood Mac played Thursday in Pittsburgh emphasized drums and didn’t try to duplicate Carlos Santana’s pyrotechnic guitar sorcery. For a cool twist, Nicks sang the song in the first person with girl power attitude, as in “I’m a black magic woman.”

The band dug even deeper to play “Tell Me All The Things You Do,” a 1970 Fleetwood Mac single written by another former guitarist, Danny Kirwan. The song had a fleet boogie beat that was rather enjoyable, but Pittsburgh fans craved the familiar, and took those several minutes to make a bathroom or beer run.

Kirwan lasted just four years in Fleetwood Mac. We’ll see if that’s a number Campbell and Finn will beat.

LOT'S OF VIDEOS AT THE LINK BELOW


Stevie Nicks GOES HER Own Way

Stevie Nicks GOES HER Own Way


CLOSER Weekly #54 November 5, 2018

"Let’s stop before it’s too late, and leave it all up to the fates,” Stevie Nicks sang in a duet on stage in Des Moines, Iowa, on Oct. 14. The performance was the sixth night of Fleetwood Mac’s new tour, but the group looked slightly different than usual: Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, 69 — Stevie’s onetime boyfriend — was fired in January. Like so much in the band’s volatile history, the parting was acrimonious — Lindsey is suing for breach of contract and has blamed Stevie for his exit. So in Des Moines, after running through their hits, the band closed with the poignant “All Over Again.” Said Stevie, “It’s a song about surviving change. It’s a song about the future.” 

GOLD DUST WOMAN
Stevie knows a lot about both, but she’s focused only on her future. Just as the new tour kicked off, Stevie, 70, got nominated as a solo artist for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and made a buzzed-about appearance on American Horror Story: Apocalypse. “She’s one empowered lady,” a friend tells Closer. As a star whose success spans five decades, “she knows she’s earned the respect, trust and adoration,” that’s giving her this moment, adds the insider. “As she often says, ‘I’m still kicking a--!’ ”

And while Lindsey feels bruised, Stevie is taking their fight in stride. “Our relationship has always been volatile,” she says. She’s ready to move on and “is relieved,” the friend says.

For now, Stevie is adopting “the band’s ability to put the music first,” the friend explains. “She’s very rock ’n’ roll hippie in her thinking. Whatever comes up in her path… she goes with the flow.” In other words, she’s leaving what comes next up to the fates.

— Lisa Chambers

Thursday, November 01, 2018

FLEETWOOD MAC ADD 6 NEW DATES TO NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

NEW SHOWS ADDED‼️


Due to overwhelming fan demand, Fleetwood Mac has added 6 dates to their North American tour:

Jan 31 - Denver, CO,
Mar 1 - Chicago, IL,
Mar 18 - New York, NY,
Mar 22 - Philadelphia, PA,
Apr 2 - Boston, MA and
Apr 4 - Toronto, ON.
.
Sale Dates and Times:
Public Onsale : Mon, 12 Nov 2018 at 10:00 AM local time
.
American Express Presale : Mon, 5 Nov 2018 at 10AM
.
Live Nation Mobile App Presale : Fri, 9 Nov 2018 at 10AM
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Live Nation / Venue Presale : Fri, 9 Nov 2018 at 10AM
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A limited number of LaneOne VIP Packages will also be available, including amazing seats with premium benefits such as transportation, preferred entrance and more. LaneOne here: http://smarturl.it/FMLaneOne

Ticket links www.fleetwoodmac.com