Friday, September 13, 2019

Fleetwood Mac feels like a band re-energized and refreshed

Gig review: Fleetwood Mac at Spark Arena Sept 12, 2019
By: Karl Puschmann
New Zealand Herald
Photos: Ken Buist

In the moment between walking on stage and kicking the night off with the blues stomp of The Chain, Neil Finn took a moment to shake off his nerves. As the newest member of Fleetwood Mac he'd been playing a run of successful away games but last night was the first in front of the home crowd. A quick waggle of his hands and he was off.

In a band of vocalists Finn's is the first voice you hear and the song's roaring chorus could almost be a challenge to fans still harbouring ill will about the recent departure of long-term - some would say critical - member Lindsey Buckingham.


"And if, you don't love me now," he sang as the chorus crashed around him, "You will never love me again," and there was a lot of truth in those two simple lines. Buckingham's departure may have required two world-class musicians to cover, Finn and guitarist Mike Campbell from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but this is a new era for a band that have had more "new eras" than most.

Fleetwood Mac made their New Zealand debut last night - Review

Fleetwood Mac – Spark Arena September 12, 2019
By Marty Duda
13thFloor
Photo: Veronica McLaughlin
Check out the photo gallery, link above



The Finn-infused version of Fleetwood Mac made their New Zealand debut last night with the first of four shows at Auckland’s Spark Arena.

I have a confession…when I heard about the ouster of Lindsey Buckingham and the fact that he was being replaced by Neil Finn and former Heartbreaker Mike Campbell, I found myself more interested in hearing the band live. After all, we all know what those five musicians are going to sound like, and they did their thing just a few years ago at Mt Smart Stadium. My only complaint was that it was Buckingham who left and not Nicks, but I do understand that Stevie carries more of a fanbase than Lindsey and I’m sure economics played a part in that decision.

So, here we are with a line-up consisting of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Neil Finn and Mike Campbell, along with five other musicians on stage to fill and musical holes…two backing vocalists, a guitarist, a keyboard player and a percussionist. To the band’s credit, these ringers weren’t tucked away and hidden, they were introduced and given appropriate amount of respect.


Review Fleetwood Mac -- what they do together now isn’t always perfect but it’s always magic.

Fleetwood Mac live at Spark Arena September 12, 2019
by Samuel Scott
Photo: Garry Brandon
RNZ.co.nz



Fleetwood Mac performed a magic show at Spark Arena last night with new member Neil Finn.

I was pretty pumped to be heading along to Fleetwood Mac last night. How could I not be? Their songs are built into our DNA.

When aliens dig up our remains in a bajillion years they’ll find 40 million copies of Rumours amongst the many layers of chicken bones.  They'll assume that our world was populated by small, flightless birds with a penchant for chill pop songs with a cosmic hippy edge.

So much has been written in the last 18 months about Neil Finn joining Fleetwood Mac. People wondered if the shows would be the same, if they’d be as good without lead guitarist Lindsay Buckingham.

Of course they wouldn’t be the same ... and of course they’d be just as good.

Fleetwood Mac Live in Auckland, NZ September 12, 2019

Fleetwood Mac Delights Auckland With New Musical Chemistry
By David Boyle
Radio13
Photos:  Reuben / SomeBizarreMonkey



Legendary blues-rock band Fleetwood Mac swooped into the Spark Arena in Auckland, NZ like an albatross and delivered one of the best shows of the year.

Spoiler alert: if you are one of the many punters going to the next Fleetwood Mac concert stop reading now. If you were one of the ecstatic crowd that went last night read on with a grin because it is very likely you’ve been wearing that smile all night.

Rumours will forever be etched in my adolescent years, probably more than most because my mate Boy (really Michael) had a cassette of the album, his only one actually, jammed in his car stereo. Hopeless! So every time we went out with the boys in his car it was all we heard. Even then I didn’t get sick of it. Great days!

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Adding Neil Finn to Fleetwood Mac has been a huge and lovely success

DON’T STOP
The New Zealand Herald
Sept 12, 2019

 From the September 12, 2019 edition of Time Out
New Zealand Herald

Mick Fleetwood talks to Karl Puschmann about the new-look band and touring with Neil Finn Downunder

Adding Neil Finn to Fleetwood Mac has been a huge and lovely success, Mick Fleetwood tells Karl Puschmann.

IF, AT times, it’s been a particular torture being in Fleetwood Mac, is it then safe to assume that joining Fleetwood Mac is also painful and fraught?

“Oh yeah,” Mick Fleetwood says. “We hung him up by his toenails.”

We’re talking, of course, about Neil Finn, the newest recruit to one of pop music’s greatest and most enduring bands, Fleetwood Mac. Finn was brought in, along with Mike Campbell, former guitarist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, to join the Mac last year as replacements for long-term member Lindsey Buckingham, who left under fairly acrimonious conditions.

Today, however, Fleetwood’s in a chipper mood. He’s full of beans and excitement for tonight’s show in Sydney.

“It’s a show day,” he says, when I ask how he’s going, “It’s a circus.”

And, just like a circus, the show must go on. That means there’s not much time for talking, so I cut to the chase. The big question everyone in New Zealand wants to know is how Neil Finn came to join Fleetwood Mac.

It turns out Fleetwood’s been a Finn fan for more than 20 years.

“I’d always been a huge fan of his, unbeknown to him,” he says.

“Not only the artiste in him, but the songwriter and the singer in him is — for me and many other people, and especially for you folks there in New Zealand — something very special. But I always followed him as an artist and loved his songs.”

The fan eventually met his hero after they both played a benefit gig for Paul McCartney’s wife Linda, who had recently died.

“I met him at an after-party and we spent the whole night chit-chatting,” he says.

“I actually said, way back then, ‘One day, it’d be great to be in a band together’.”

Prophetic, perhaps, but not immediately meant to be.

“That was that; we went off into the night and never saw each other for another 18 years until I bumped into him backstage at an awards show in Auckland,” Fleetwood says, referencing the 2015 New Zealand Music Awards that he attended as a surprise guest. “Ever since then we’ve remained very close family friends.”

Soon after, Fleetwood returned and spent about six months in the studio with Finn and his son Liam, drumming on their excellent joint album, Lightsleeper, which was released last year.

“That was really where the magic of putting together this funny puzzle of us becoming very, very close friends happened,” Fleetwood says.

“So, when this all came up with Fleetwood Mac it felt eventual. I asked him whether he would be up for doing what he’s doing and it’s been a huge success.”

“So,” he says, capping off his story, “that’s how it happened”.

The other question fans want to know is why it happened? Buckingham’s sudden departure, both shocking but, perhaps, not unexpected.

In the 52 years Fleetwood Mac has existed (the band formed in 1967), roughly a dozen musicians have cycled through the band — a tally that does not count its six current members, which include Christine McVie on vocals and keys and iconic singer Stevie Nicks.

The only constant in all this time has been Fleetwood and his old mate John McVie on bass.

Which is only fitting, seeing as the band is named after them, although Fleetwood clarifies that it was long-departed founding member Peter Green who came up with the name, “somewhat ironically”.

So, when asked what’s kept them going through all the band’s tumultuous periods — in-band romances, marriages, adultery, divorces, backstabbing, bickering and monumental cocaine use — Fleetwood simply says, “It’s probably stubbornness or the English grit in me where, no matter what, you keep going with a stiff upper lip.

“Me and John McVie just aren’t giver-upperers. We always had the nucleus of a band. We don’t sing. We are the rhythm section.

“When Peter Green left it was a huge blow to us but it was a lesson learned — that you can survive and come out when you think you can’t,” he says. “Having done that once in such a major way it became sort of a habit . . . We just keep going. And we haven’t done that badly if you look at what we’ve been able to pull off.” He laughs and says, “I’m being a little facetious,” which is true, when you consider what they’ve “been able to pull off”, is selling more than 120 million records, releasing a string of hits that are woven into people’s lives and being part of a band whose current live show, even with four members in their 70s, remains vital and unmissable. “The truth is it’s sticking at it and going, ‘Why wouldn’t we try that?’ The trying became the next step. It could have been we tried and we failed,” he says, before giving an example.

“Look at what we’ve done with Neil and Mike. We could have looked at what was a huge change at a very late date in this band’s history, the parting of company with Lindsey Buckingham, that could have been, ‘We’re done’. But we all looked at it and said, ‘We don’t want to be done’. The question was how do we do this with integrity?

“And it’s not been anything but a huge and lovely success. But we might have failed in the trying. We might not have been able to find those right people to put in the band, and you wouldn’t be talking to a present member of Fleetwood Mac.”

So, there you have it, the secret to Fleetwood Mac’s half-century of success; don’t stop thinking about tomorrow and go your own way. There’s probably a song or two in that . . .



Monday, September 09, 2019

NEW Christine McVie 90 Minute Documentary airs in the UK September 20th

If you are in the UK on September 20th, cancel your plans!



Fleetwood Mac's Songbird: Christine McVie
Friday 20, September 2019 21:00 BBC FOUR

Christine McVie is undoubtedly the longest-serving female band member of any of the enduring rock ‘n’ roll acts that emerged from the 1960s. While she has never fronted Fleetwood Mac, preferring to align herself with ‘the boys’ in the rhythm section whom she first joined 50 years ago, Christine is their most successful singer-songwriter. Her hits include ‘Over My Head’, ‘Don’t Stop’ and ‘Everywhere’.

After massive global success in both the late 1970s and mid-1980s, Christine left the band in the late 1990s, quitting California and living in semi-retirement in Kent, only to rejoin the band in 2014. In this 90-minute film, this most English of singers finally gets to take centre-stage and tell both her story and the saga of Fleetwood Mac from her point of view.

Interviewed Guest Christine McVie
Interviewed Guest Stevie Nicks
Interviewed Guest Mick Fleetwood
Interviewed Guest John McVie
Interviewed Guest Neil Finn
Interviewed Guest Mike Campbell
Interviewed Guest Stan Webb
Interviewed Guest Nancy Wilson
Executive Producer Mark Cooper
Director         Matt O'Casey

There are actually two channels in the UK airing shows related to Fleetwood Mac on September 20th 

(Compiled by Fleetwood Mac UK)
UK TV channels BBC Four and Sky Arts have an evening dedicated to Fleetwood Mac on Friday 20 Oct 2019

Monday, September 02, 2019

Fleetwood Mac is rock history. It’s a pity no-one new is coming even close to taking the place of talent like this.

Fleetwood Mac Bring Neil Finn Back To His Musical Home Melbourne 
by PAUL CASHMERE
Noise11
Photo: SusanMM


I guess a lot of us went along to see Fleetwood Mac tonight not really knowing what to expect. No Lindsey Buckingham meant this could go horribly wrong. Instead it went wonderfully right.

Fleetwood Mac has operated like a corporation since the inclusion of California duo Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in the mid 70s. Their addition became a nucleus of the band. A non-Buckingham Fleetwood Mac cannot bypass his legacy. Songs like ‘Second Hand News’ and ‘Go Your Own Way’ were generated from his DNA, so while the man has gone, the DNA remains. Neil Finn handled the Lindsey vocals honorably. Heartbreakers’ guitarist Mike Campbell handled Lindsey’s leads remarkably.

The songs are what makes Fleetwood Mac and this is simply one of the great bands of all-time performing some of the greatest songs of all-time.

Lindsey’s songs, his voice and that guitar style meant that no-‘one’ could replace him … so they chose two. The Heartbreakers Mike Campbell, long associated with the band through Stevie Nicks and Neil Finn, a great friend of Mike Fleetwood, faithfully reproduced Lindsey’s musical DNA. Neil is there for the voice, Mike for the guitar. Both their individual legacies are recognized with Neil’s Split Enz and Crowded House classics ‘I Got You’ and ‘’Don’t Dream Its Over’ and Petty’s ‘Free Fallin’ added to the set as a tribute to Tom in the encore.

Review - Fleetwood Mac Live in Melbourne, AU Sept 2, 2019

Review: Fleetwood Mac at Rod Laver Arena
Cameron Adams,
Herald Sun
Photo: Brett Schewitz



Given the well-documented dramas they’ve endured over the decades, you assumed by now Fleetwood Mac were pretty much invincible.

However reuniting that classic Rumours-era line-up back for the 2014/2015 tour proved they had one more soap opera-style twist up their billowing sleeves.

So in 2019, it’s either this Lindsey Buckingham-free version of Fleetwood Mac or nothing.

But the chain’s been broken and repaired so many times over the years change is the only constant in the band’s line-up.

It speaks volumes that Buckingham’s replacements are local hero Neil Finn and former Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Fleetwood Mac lives up to expectations, new lineup, same thrill

The whole room swooned — it’s Stevie
Karl Puschmann
The New Zealand Herald
August 30, 2019
Photo: Qudos Bank Arena



Fleetwood Mac lives up to expectations, new lineup, same thrill

There’s charisma, there’s star power and then there’s Stevie Nicks. Dear gawd she’s cool. She didn’t even have to do anything other than walk onto the stage at Sydney’s Qudos Banks Arena for me to feel it in every fibre of my deeply uncool bones.

I’d been pretty excited to see Fleetwood Mac live, despite not being a purist. I don’t know the deep cuts,

heck, I don’t even really know the mid cuts, but I really love the band’s hits. And that’s what I was there for.

So I applauded with appropriate enthusiasm when new guitarist, and ex-Tom Petty’s Heartbreaker, Mike Campbell walked on stage clad in the rockstar attire of a zebra print jacket, crimson shades and wide-rimmed hat. I gave Neil Finn a hometown holla as he took up his new residence at the front of the stage, and the longstanding duo of bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood got a cheer.

But then Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks walked out and the whole room swooned and I felt something like a cosmic gut punch. It was powerful and visceral and stopped me in my claps. Feeling the collective energy of 21,000 people all simultaneously in total awe and slightly gobsmacked is a trip, man.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

FLEETWOOD MAC Brisbane "It’s a night full of hits, a subtle sidestep around Tusk"

Fleetwood Mac - Brisbane Entertainment Centre
August 20, 2019
by Lauren Baxter
Photos Bianca Holderness
The Music



Walking into Brisbane’s Entertainment Centre, what looks like netball training is just wrapping up. Teens in lycra stream out of the adjacent sports complex and we overhear one ask another, “Who’s playing tonight?” 

“Dunno, some old-school band,” they reply. 

There’s a completely different vibe in the room by the time we take our seats, a wholesome group nearby welcoming us to their “concert family”, forewarning there will be plenty of dancing. No complaints here, it’s Fleetwood Mac after all – shawls and twirling are a given. We overhear parents congratulating one another for bringing their kids and raising them right and bets are made as to what the opening track will be. “You can Go Your Own Way home because it won't be The Chain...” It's The Chain.

And what a way to start. Lindsey Buckingham’s absence doesn’t seem to phase the crowd (another overheard moment: “I can live without Lindsey but I can’t live without Christine”) and his replacements, the beloved (adopted) Australian Neil Finn and Heartbreaker Mike Campbell, slot into the mix effortlessly. 

REVIEW Fleetwood Mac Brisbane "It’s rare for such a historical band to only sound better as the years go on"

Fleetwood Mac – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Written by Jack Gobbe
Photo by Mitch Lowe
SaveTonight
CLICK THROUGH FOR PHOTO GALLERY



It’s rare for such a historical band to only sound better as the years go on. But if any band could, it would be Fleetwood Mac. Over fifty-two years, Fleetwood Mac has undergone various transformations, as members come and go. Recent years have found the most iconic lineup of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Stevie Nicks, Christina McVie and Lindsey Buckingham tour for the masses, although heightened disagreements between Nicks and Buckingham saw the latter depart the band last year.

And thus formed what almost seems like a rock super-group at this point, as the addition of Crowded House frontman Neil Finn and former guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Mike Campbell allows for a breath of fresh air into the iconic lineup. Regardless of who’s playing what, Fleetwood Mac have undeniably stood the test of time, punters young and old uniting at Brisbane Entertainment Centre to catch one of the most important bands

The night was dominated by ‘Rumours’, the album that broke the band in more ways than one. As fractured relationships within the band reached their breaking point, the band’s eleventh album was a turning point in their career. As such, it was only fitting for the record to have a significant presence throughout the night, particularly as the relationship between Nicks and Buckingham has recently reached another point of conflict.

‘The Chain’ opened the night, the grand scale of the track showcasing how tight this new iteration of Fleetwood Mac is. As the track built up to its sweeping climax, you couldn’t help but sit back and prepare for a night of rock mastery. Just two songs later, ‘Dreams’sent the audience into a frenzy. The hypnotic guitar licks echoed through the venue, forcing hips to sway and hands to rise. Nicks’ everlasting vocal capacity carried the chorus to a triumphant peak, allowing the audience to revel in what is arguably one of the biggest songs to come out of the 1970s.

Despite kicking things off with many of their greatest hits, Fleetwood Mac surged through their two hour set with a repertoire of songs that never failed to amaze the crowd – a testament to their powerful discography. Deeper cuts such as ‘Black Magic Woman’ and ‘Oh Well’allowed the band to exhibit the wildly different sounds that come from a band with such longevity. While ‘Black Magic Woman’found Nicks crooning along with the bluesy cut, ‘Oh Well’saw Campbell deliver frolicking guitar-led song that wouldn’t sound out of place as the theme song for a Western.

And then there were the covers, a surprisingly vital part of the night. It’s not every night that a band’s biggest singalong is a cover, although that is exactly what happened when Finn performed his beloved Crowded House track ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’. Similarly, Tom Petty was honoured in the encore as the band covered ‘Free Fallin’, a moving tribute that sees Nicks and Finn trading perfect harmonies while Campbell honours his late frontman with dazzling guitar work.

‘Don’t Stop’seems only fitting as a closer, the title reflecting many fans’ feelings towards the night. Fleetwood Mac hasn’t stopped for fifty-two years, and by the looks of it, they won’t be stopping anytime soon.

Who would have thought that we'd still be seeing Fleetwood Mac in 2019?

Seeing Fleetwood Mac in 2019 is a strange experience — but they’ve always been a strange band

By Dan Condon
ABC.net.au
Photos Robbie Smith

 If their songs weren't so strong, endurance may be Fleetwood Mac's greatest legacy

Thirty minutes into Fleetwood Mac's set at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre this week, Stevie Nicks admitted that she didn’t realise 'Black Magic Woman' was a Fleetwood Mac song until well after she’d joined the band.

It's an astounding admission. Sure, the song had been popularised by Santana's 1970 cover, but to not know the extent of your new band's catalogue – especially the hits – before joining is almost unthinkable.

But this says more about the strange and complex entity that is Fleetwood Mac than it does Nicks' own knowledge gaps. This is a band whose history is confusing, whose music is wildly diverse, and who continue to keep us guessing.

Who would have thought that we'd still be seeing Fleetwood Mac in 2019? Moreover, who'd have thought that Neil Finn and Tom Petty collaborator Mike Campbell would join the band?

You don't get a timeline like this without a strange history.

That's why the prospect of seeing this wildly new incarnation of one of the history's most celebrated rock bands doesn't seem completely unfaithful. Consistency is not Fleetwood Mac's strong-point. When their line-up has remained staid, their very existence has been precarious, reportedly fraught with infighting and ill-feelings.

If nothing else, you have to respect the band's endurance. That they are still touring in any form feels almost miraculous.

But are they any good?