Image courtesy of Tim Yates Flickr page - Fleetwood Mac - Rumours: https://www.flickr.com/photos/timyates/5407778224/in/photolist-9eSh4A-pmEXRj-eqouUj-pmEMvu-pmENYu-6rdwEi-p5Cgm8-29aK8nN-5uawkV-29aK6YL-AcsjJL-juksCL-hewTwN-qZPAsD-qaAPPk-6Cc1r6-sqhhd6-rhbRu7-2axsQat-2f1nfZJ-Y4q7A6-25QNw1F-WJhAXf-7cUVyX-dUmmWY-dUfHor-4es7Ho-dUmkiu-eMja4P-eMj9m6-DvQPtj-eMiZYP-6YNLZ4-eMvu6s-nXTro-gF3K9w-sw2Hdg-7S73hx-jfHwgz-bqoiDx-e9VGwS-sw2H1T-mbRMda-qcxUAx-nuEVn-ffSFou-2aQ8wrC-8qqUSD-pVaa13-qarqoj
Fleetwood Mac is the latest band that I made a point of going to take my son to see while we still could see them. This was going to be their farewell tour, and this was one of the relatively few bands that I was interested in seeing, but never had as of yet. It had always seemed out of my price range, and so with each tour, it remained on the backburner. At least, until they announced that this would be their final tour, and there would be no other chances if this one did not pan out. So, I finally found some tickets that were not outrageous - and trust me, some of the prices were definitely outrageous, even for some nosebleed seats for certain shows - it finally happened.
Mikael Wood briefly sums up this band's somewhat strange, and certainly unorthodox, history in a recent article for the Los Angeles Times (see link below):
Formed as a crusty blues-revival outfit in London in the late 1960s, the group burned through a series of singers and guitarists before resettling years later in Los Angeles, where Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks helped transform Fleetwood Mac into a polished hit-making machine.
Mikael Wood briefly sums up this band's somewhat strange, and certainly unorthodox, history in a recent article for the Los Angeles Times (see link below):
Formed as a crusty blues-revival outfit in London in the late 1960s, the group burned through a series of singers and guitarists before resettling years later in Los Angeles, where Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks helped transform Fleetwood Mac into a polished hit-making machine.
There have been many off the stage dramas and obviously much publicity. This band has had their issues with substance abuse, like many other high-profile bands. There have been band members who have left, then rejoined. A lot of history. But through it all, they seemed to keep growing more popular than ever.
One thing with Fleetwood Mac is that I have enjoyed much of their music for a long time. How could you not? They obviously have some incredible stuff in their repertoire, and it would be hard not to have heard, or liked, at least some of the material in their body of work. Yet admittedly, they also never quite reached the same level of meaning for me as some other major acts from before my time (which they mostly were), like the Beatles, or Pink Floyd, or the Stones, the Doors, and so on. They always seemed admittedly like a strange band, although I cannot pinpoint exactly why this would be. But they always somehow remained kind of the periphery of music that I enjoyed, a band that I rarely ever bought any albums for, and which, at least until now, had never made such a point of purchasing tickets to finally go see.
One thing with Fleetwood Mac is that I have enjoyed much of their music for a long time. How could you not? They obviously have some incredible stuff in their repertoire, and it would be hard not to have heard, or liked, at least some of the material in their body of work. Yet admittedly, they also never quite reached the same level of meaning for me as some other major acts from before my time (which they mostly were), like the Beatles, or Pink Floyd, or the Stones, the Doors, and so on. They always seemed admittedly like a strange band, although I cannot pinpoint exactly why this would be. But they always somehow remained kind of the periphery of music that I enjoyed, a band that I rarely ever bought any albums for, and which, at least until now, had never made such a point of purchasing tickets to finally go see.
For me, a part of Fleetwood Mac was more or less hijacked by - of all people - Bill Clinton. This was because he used their famous song, "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" to close out his Democratic Nomination Acceptance Speech in Madison Square Garden in 1992. I liked it before that, and for a little while, at a point when I was excited about seeing the first Democrat in the White House when it became clear that Clinton had a real shot of winning the election, I enjoyed the song even more as a result of all of this. Admittedly, though, as my enthusiasm for Bill Clinton waned, so did my enthusiasm for this particular song. Before long, it became a song that I quickly turned off when it came on the radio rather than turning it up. That lasted quite a while, actually, although I found myself finally turning it up just a few days ago when it came on the radio, mostly in anticipation of this upcoming show.
Still, this is a solid band. Most Fleetwood Mac songs are not ones that I shut off when they come on the radio. And although I rarely did ever get Fleetwood Mac albums or anything, that was mostly because I was able to make copies of a four-disk boxed set that a friend had purchased many years ago, back in the mid-nineties, or so, if memory serves me correctly. So, for the most part, most of their material was available to me whenever I wanted it. Also, again, I had not gone to see them, but it was not like the thought had never occurred to me. It was just that, at the times when they went touring, either circumstances, and often my own finances, made seeing them a backburner issue. That was not the case this time. Finally, I was going to see them. This was going to be the time, this year was finally it, because there would be no other chances for us to see this band in particular.
The show that we went to was right here in New Jersey, at "The Rock," in Newark's Prudential Center. The show was slated to begin at 8pm, although I did not know if that was actually when the show was set to start.
It began around 8:20 p.m.. That does not mean that all of their shows will begin at that time, as I heard that you can expect that their shows will start anywhere between 8 and 9. I had called in advance to find out, and learned that they were supposed to go at a quarter after 8, and this was five minutes after that. They began the show with a trademark opener for this band, "The Chain." Clearly, the arena was ready for them, as the excitement was audible. Here is a brief, two-minute clip of the opening moments of the concert (sorry, but space was limited on my cell, so I had to keep it relatively short):
It began around 8:20 p.m.. That does not mean that all of their shows will begin at that time, as I heard that you can expect that their shows will start anywhere between 8 and 9. I had called in advance to find out, and learned that they were supposed to go at a quarter after 8, and this was five minutes after that. They began the show with a trademark opener for this band, "The Chain." Clearly, the arena was ready for them, as the excitement was audible. Here is a brief, two-minute clip of the opening moments of the concert (sorry, but space was limited on my cell, so I had to keep it relatively short):
The band then did some of their trademark tunes for this tour, which has offered generally the same setlist, more or less, through each show. That included songs like Little Lies, Dreams, Say You Love Me, Rhiannon, Gypsy, Go Your Own Way, and Don't Stop. They also did a version of Black Magic Woman, which was obviously most famously done by Santana, but which, apparently, members of Fleetwood Mac wrote (a fact I was not aware of, truth be told). Nicks sang a beautiful version of Landslide, and the night also featured two prominent songs from the previous musical acts of two musicians who joined Fleetwood Mac for this tour. Recognizing that Mike Campbell was part of this tour, the band performed Free Fallin', both to honor Campbell's time with Tom Petty, as well as to honor the late great rocker, who Nicks also worked quite a bit with. And in recognition of another musician who joined the band for this tour, Neil Finn, the former Crowded House frontman, performed that band's iconic and beautiful hit, Don't Dream It's Over. It was a beautiful rendition, and Nicks joined in midway through, and provided Finn with some help on vocals.
One of my favorite Fleetwood Mac tunes that I was admittedly a bit surprised not to hear, or to learn that they were not playing on this tour, was "Over My Head." Perhaps it was never one of their very biggest hits, although it is an almost immediately identifiable tune, and I guess my own expectations were to hear it somewhere during the show. But it did not happen.
Notable - some might suggest inescapable - was the absence of former lead guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham/ Some cynics might suggest that it took two to fill the whole of this one man, and they may have a point. However, I would argue that the music produced was still of a strong quality, and made for a great evening of music. Never having seen Fleetwood Mac before, I came away pleased to have finally done so.
Ultimately, this was an enjoyable evening of solid music, and it incorporated more than just Fleetwood Mac. This was a reminder of other great musical acts, particularly Tom Petty and Crowded House, which made it extra special, and relevant, given the involvement of Stevie Nicks with some musical collaborations with Petty in particular. But mostly, it was being able to enjoy a great band like Fleetwood Mac performing at a solid level, at least one last time for their fans. And for some of us, of course, like my son and I, both our first and last time.
Notable - some might suggest inescapable - was the absence of former lead guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham/ Some cynics might suggest that it took two to fill the whole of this one man, and they may have a point. However, I would argue that the music produced was still of a strong quality, and made for a great evening of music. Never having seen Fleetwood Mac before, I came away pleased to have finally done so.
Ultimately, this was an enjoyable evening of solid music, and it incorporated more than just Fleetwood Mac. This was a reminder of other great musical acts, particularly Tom Petty and Crowded House, which made it extra special, and relevant, given the involvement of Stevie Nicks with some musical collaborations with Petty in particular. But mostly, it was being able to enjoy a great band like Fleetwood Mac performing at a solid level, at least one last time for their fans. And for some of us, of course, like my son and I, both our first and last time.
Setlist taken from Setlist.fm: (https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fleetwood-mac/2019/prudential-center-newark-nj-13921d85.html )
The Chain
Little Lies
Dreams
Second Hand News
Say You Love Me
Black Magic Woman
Everywhere
Rhiannon
World Turning (Mick Fleetwood drum solo)
Gypsy
Oh Well
Don’t Dream It’s Over (Crowded House cover)
Landslide
Hold Me
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
Just a side note: Kit Harrington, known best for playing Jon Snow in the Game of Thrones, was at this show. Stevie Nicks dedicated the song Landslide to an unnamed actor from the hugely popular show, which will soon begin airing it's final season:
Stevie Nicks Dedicates 'Landslide' to 'Game of Thrones' Actor Kit Harington at Fleetwood Mac Show 3/14/2019 by Jason Lipshutz:
Harington couple spotted at 'Fleetwood Mac' concert in new Jersey. Photo • by ktinwonderland1 #KitHarington #RoseLeslie:
https://twitter.com/KitHarington10/status/1106127785498734592
Here are some pictures from the memorable evening:
Mick Fleetwood was dressed in a style reminiscent of the album cover for their landmark Rumours album. That included the infamous two balls, which, appropriately enough, hang by his midsection, much like they did on the album cover, as a talisman.
Neil Finn performing Don't Dream It's Over, the iconic tune that was far and away the most well known song by his old band, Crowded House: This wound up being my last picture of the night, as my phone was seriously running low on storage space, and I had to remain disciplined:
Review: Thinking through Fleetwood Mac's tour without Lindsey Buckingham By MIKAEL WOOD | POP MUSIC CRITIC | DEC 12, 2018:
Four highlights from Fleetwood Mac's new tour by Sarah Rodman, December 18, 2018:
Everything You Need to Know About the Fleetwood Mac Tour
I envy you guys for having gotten to see that show. I love pretty much all of their classic hits from the 70s and 80s, though like you I'm tired of "Don't Stop" – attributable both to a similar disenchantment with Bill Clinton, and my never having much cared for that song in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised that they didn't perform "Over My Head". Christine McVie has a beautiful singing voice and contributed some great songs over the years – a number of which are well-known and played on classic rock stations everywhere – but her songs tend to be overshadowed by the megahits penned by Lindsey Buckingham and/or Stevie Nicks. I am on the other hand surprised that "Sara" wasn't included in the setlist. It's a great song, and presumably one of their five biggest hits. Then again, Fleetwood Mac finds itself faced with a dilemma only iconic bands that have been in the game for decades can relate to: having so many beloved hits that most fans are going to be mildly bummed that some of them were omitted.
I find it more than a little dodgy and off-putting that Lindsey Buckingham was booted from the band, particularly in light of the central role he played in transforming "the Mac" into one of the most successful touring acts of the last four and a half decades. Plus, his voice and guitar-playing are a key part of their sound. That being said, I agree with you: seeing most of the classic lineup is still well worth it, especially since chances to see them perform live are fast running out. (Unless Fleetwood Mac winds up being one of those bands whose "farewell" drags on suspiciously long. Stay tuned...)
Unless your phone's camera has a zoom, it looks like you guys had pretty good seats. Arena and stadium shows are much more enjoyable when you're at least in the same zip code as the band and not staring at the stupid jumbotron for the duration of the show.
I'm guessing Sébastien wasn't overly familiar with their catalog – how did he enjoy the show? Tell him Uncle "Some Guy from Jersey" says hello.
Well, I got the best seats that I could afford. They were relatively cheap, because as you can tell from the angling, it was a bit behind the stage. But when I looked at the map, they did not seem all that bad. When we actually got there, I was surprised by how good the seats were, and how close we were to the stage. That was a very pleasant surprise! I've been to some shows like that before, and frankly, I would prefer sitting somewhere like that over higher priced, nosebleed seats facing the band more properly any day of the week. Closer to the action, and you can see some of what's going on backstage. I will definitely tell Sebast that Uncle "Some Guy from Jersey" said hi, and no, he was not overly familiar with them, although I tried to quickly prepare him before the show. All in all, he seemed to enjoy it, though.
ReplyDelete