Fleetwood Mac
Say You Will '03
Now, where to begin. First off, I have two passions in life, my family and music. In my musical passion, there are only two categories for me: one, the Goo Goo Dolls and two, Fleetwood Mac. While the latter was not from my generation, my mother exposed me to their music at a very early age and while I enjoyed it, it had yet to become a passion; that is until The Dance, 1997. This where I first saw the magic that five people could create on one stage. Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham; five people who have made music history.
They made a new album, Say You Will, minus Christine McVie and began a new tour, minus Christine McVie; who chooses not to tour anymore. So, when I found out that they were only going to be two hours away from me in Nashville, TN, I jumped at my chance to see this magic in person. Tickets were on sale about three months in advance, so I had three months to gather energy, excitement. . .and plenty of time to find something to wear. :) After much searching, I finally found an outfit that I think would make Stevie proud, excluding the top hat that I just couldn't seem to find the time to buy.
It was a strange thing however, me and Stephanie, 21; Tiff, my sister, 16; and my parents, whose ages will not appear *smirk* making our way to Tennessee all to see the same concert and not feel ashamed about it. We left early that afternoon and made our way to the hotel, including a few mishaps. One of which concerns my parents calling the cell and asking me if I had remembered to bring the tickets halfway into our journey. Of course I brought them. . .didn't I? I clearly remember putting them in my suitcase, but maybe I didn't? Oh shit, I forgot the tickets?! Or did I? Leave it up to your parents to make you doubt yourself. Two cars pull over at the next rest area and I check my suitcase, there are 5 pretty blue and yellow tickets staring at me. I knew I brought them.
Finally, we make it the hotel, my dad goes in to get our rooms and out from the hotel lobby, comes a man with a black Fleetwood Mac 2003 tour shirt. We all point it out, say we know where he is going tonight and go on about our business. My dad comes out with the key cards, and the man in the FM shirt comes by again and we point him out to my dad. He tells us that he had already talked to him in the lobby and he comes over and introduces himself to us. At the moment, his name has left my memory, but this is the important part. He said he'd been listening to their music since he was 6 years old, had already been to 7 shows and had tickets to 5 more, including one for the next day! That my friends, was a fan. We find our room, and it turns out his is right next door to ours. So, we were checking out his car and if he hadn't told us he was an FM fan, his car would have given it away. He has a personalized FM license plate and 2 bumper stickers on the back.
Now, we get settled in our room, go across the street and eat some very bad food from the buffet then me and my sis head back to the room to Stevie-fy ourselves while Stephanie GAP's herself. *wink, wink* We luv ya girl! We make it to the theatre, get through security and make our way to the T-shirt line while my parents go to our seats. I spend way too much at the stand (4 t-shirts, a coffee mug and a keychain), $8 on two bottles of water, then decide the shopping spree is over and we all make our way to our seats. The concert ended up starting about half an hour late, but the wait was well worth it. The lights went out and the next thing ya know; Mick, John, Stevie and Lindsey casually make their way on the stage. No flashy entrance, no bright lights, just them and their instruments walking out onto the stage brought the crowd out of their seats and screams emitting from their mouths. The lights brighten up the stage and they break into The Chain.
They all looked wonderful, Stevie in black chiffon and her now signature platform black tennis shoes; Mick in his white shirt, black vest and vibrant red shoes; John, always the casual dresser in white sneakers, black vest and tan baseball cap; and Lindsey, still looking good in his 50's in a white shirt unbuttoned with a long silver necklace. I'm not going to go through the whole setlist or the whole concert, just the high points for me, and there were many of them. ;)
John McVie, the man who doesn't need to stand in the spotlight to be appreciated. Most of the show, he quietly jammed away in the corner in front of Mick's drums, swinging back and forth a few times, but when he had his solo in The Chain, the whole arena knew John McVie was in the room. No one can play the bass in that song like John.
Next, the great guitarist himself, Lindsey Buckingham. It is honestly hard to describe what the man does on stage in words. To be frank, he is a madman. The man got more standing ovations than I know what to compare it with, he is absolutely brilliant on the guitar. During Big Love, it sounds like there are 3 other guitars accompanying him, yet he absolutely alone. On Come, Tusk, and Go Your Own Way, he absolutely owned those songs. The man doesn't use a pick, he plays only with his fingers and at the end of the solos on Come and Tusk, he was literally scratching and clawing at the strings, but in all that chaos, a beautiful sound emerged. During the more quiet songs like Silver Springs, he simply closed his eyes, leaned his head back and never missed a chord. My favorite performance, Second Hand News. I never thought I'd live to see the day to see Fleetwood Mac perform that song live.
Now, Stevie Nicks. The woman with the raspy voice and the witchy look. All I have to say: the girl still has it. During Rhiannon, right before, "Dreams unwind loves a state of mind. . ." two arms raised swinging black chiffon and one single spin, the cheers were so loud it literally drowned out the music. That was only a sample of what was to come and if that was it, I could have died a happy woman. The woman tore up Gold Dust woman, made your cry during Landslide and Beautiful Child and brought your out of your seat for Stand Back; my fav Stevie performance. The black shawl with gold polka dots, not the same as in the video, but a close second. The energy just seeped out of her during that performance and the crowd was happy to scoop it up. During the solo, she was a blur of black and gold as she spun. Another moment I thought I would never live long enough to see in person.
Lastly, Mick Fleetwood. He had one drum solo during the beginning of the concert that just kicked ass. Eyes wide, mouth open, just doing what he does best and most importantly; enjoying it. For the first encore, they started with World Turning, which is just a great song to hear live, but add Mick's 5+ minute drum solo and it's even better. All the band had left the stage except Lindsey who sat on the floor with his guitar and watched the master drummer at work. He had a small mic and was at first just beating away on the drums. "Are ya with me?!" And the crowd screamed. Then he came out from behind the drums and beat away on the bongo. Now, the best part, he had like an electronic drum machine sewed into his vest, about 6 white buttons, and just tapped away on them all the while dancing and screaming to the crowd. Then it broke back into World Turning and was followed by Don't Stop. For the second encore, Stevie sang a more quiet song, Goodbye Baby, very fitting.
A few words of wisdom; Stevie, "Keep on writing those songs," and Fleetwood, "Be nice to one another and remember to smile."
And the night was over. I had screamed myself hoarse and clapped so hard I popped blood vessels in my hand. They still hurt. And my sis in the good 'ol Goo fashion, beat two rings flat.. Needless to say, I had a wonderful time, we all had a wonderful time and highly recommend a show for anyone. Even if ya don't like Fleetwood Mac, they put on a kick ass show.
The End.
If God had intended man to smoke, he would have set him on fire.
from mutedfaith.com