Fleetwood Mac: Classic or Dud

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/music/midnight-sun-blog/bal-fleetwood-mac-at-verizon-center-review,0,4842455.story
Nice review of the Baltimore gig from Lexie Mountain.

Technically, that's really the Baltimore Sun review of a show in Washington DC at the Verizon Center. Here's the W. Post freelancer's take:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/fleetwood-mac-relives-rumours-as-crowd-revels-in-hits-at-verizon-center/2013/04/10/118044a0-a1e5-11e2-9c03-6952ff305f35_story.html

This is such a weird, weirdly wrong graf:

The night wasn’t only about “Rumours.” Drummer Mick Fleetwood, 65, who lived in the D.C. area in the 1990s while running a nightclub named Fleetwood’s in Alexandria, got to shine during “Not That Funny” and “Tusk,” both cuts from a 1979 percussion-heavy double LP also called “Tusk” that served as a sort of musical equivalent of “Heaven’s Gate.” The band delivered the collection so over budget (it was labeled the costliest record ever made) that the album was considered a flop before it hit the bins. But, as Buckingham boasted while introducing the “Tusk” portion of the set, time has been kind. The record ended up selling in the multi-platinum range and has been embraced in more recent decades by scads of indie-rock bands, who have mined edginess from perhaps the most middle-of-the-road band in rock annals. Two examples: The Decemberists covered “Think About Me,” and Camper Van Beethoven covered the entire two-record set.

I had never heard the Peter Green stuff....it's awesome! What should I go for after Best Of...which is all I've heard? Thanks.

The Best Of actually does a pretty good job, imo. Though Green is a great player, so maybe some live stuff?

Mick Fleetwood, 65, who lived in the D.C. area in the 1990s while running a nightclub named Fleetwood’s in Alexandria

mad i didn't know this (but i guess i wasn't old enough to go at the time anyway)

Drove down from Boston to see FM at Mohegan Sun tonight. I have a lot of thoughts, but I'm quite tired so I'll keep it short:

They are really into it.

Mick Fleetwood, 65, who lived in the D.C. area in the 1990s while running a nightclub named Fleetwood’s in Alexandria

anyone know what this club was like?

i've never been there but i know it was awesome

So when is that new EP coming out?

has this been mentioned re: christine?

‘If they wanted me to, I might pop back on stage when they’re in London,’ she says, gracing me with a rare interview, ‘just to do a little duet or something like that.’

:O http://metro.co.uk/2013/04/04/fleetwood-mac-the-resurgent-1970s-icons-head-out-on-a-new-world-tour-3581866/

So when is that new EP coming out?

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Wednesday, April 24, 2013 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This week, possibly tomorrow, I heard.

Recent performance of one of the new songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CITTkWQyf4g

EP's out!

where? iTunes?

Yep. Two Buckingham, one Nicks.

Buckingham-Nicks musical collab is approx. 45 yrs old now. So is Fleetwood-McVie.

Just thought I'd point that out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzZCoe38_hM

That exchange may be the all-time greatest moment from Mighty Boosh

That and the 'Gary Numan vs. Jazz-Funk' exchange.

aaah i love that Tusk bit

A terrific recent Nicks interview. Has she ever sounded this perceptive and healthy? Note how she and a fan break down thinking of each other's moms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXg2kZV8-6s

Ooh, will watch asap

on record store day a woman picked up tusk and asked the guy she was with if it was good and he said, in an authoritative tone, "it's a late work, but i think some people consider it to be good." some people.

someone introduce lindsey to a graphic designer pls

"it's a late work, but i think some people consider it to be good."

BAAAARFF

as if there are "some people" for whom the song Sara means nothing.

idk, you overhear a lot of weird things on record store day

that's alllllll for everyoooonee

What makes think you're the one who can record store day without cryin?

"it's a late work, but i think some people consider it to be good."

why do people who don't have any opinions still feel the need to have and share an opinion?

yeah OMG i cant believe someone had an opinion on a record and responded to a direct question about said record with the opinion

it's not really an opinion, is it, though? it says nothing.

It's not an opinion -- it's the floundering of a dude who steals his expertise from what he reads who can't remember what he read about the record in question.

Note how she and a fan break down thinking of each other's moms.

OK, haven't watched this yet, but I will when I get a chance. But the situation reminds me of this Nicks radio interview she did in the late 80s. They were taking phone calls from listeners and this young woman calls in like "my best friend is dying in the hospital and she's a huge Stevie Nicks fan, will you come out and visit her." And Nicks respectfully declined, but she was obviously totally shook up by the request. It made me think about all the weighty emotional stuff that people probably share with musicians or other celebrities and entertainers that they feel some sort of deep connection to. I know even smaller indoor artists get more of this kind of contact than they can stand sometimes, but I'd bet that Nicks might attract this line of outreach, even moreso than lots of other mega celebrities.

http://www.salon.com/2013/09/27/christine_mcvie_reunites_with_fleetwood_mac_to_play_dont_stop/

awww, Christine played "Don't Stop" with the Mac last nite

Ah, if it was "You Make Loving Fun" she sang then I would have really kicked myself for not going.

She was on again tonight. Wiped away a tear thinking it might be the last time ever.

how were they overall? two weeks till i see em in paris, just gone with some mac-esque decadence and booked my 36 quid megabus return.

omigod McVie's voice is just about intact, i.e. still able to project the emotions of those songs

I love how Stevie keeps looking at Christine as if to reignite their harmonic chemistry.

I don't think this is fake; they all look genuinely happy to see her.

that was great

They were fantastic. It's rare that I come away from a gig feeling satisfied but they managed it. Was a long gig at more than two-and-a-half hours. There was a five-song Tusk section including a bitchin' title track and Sisters Of The Moon (first time since 1980 says Stevie). Some acoustic numbers - Lindsay doing Big Love was astounding. There was nothing pre-classic-line-up except one pretty lost Buckingham Nicks tune, which felt like a treat. Only regret is they didn't break out Honey Hi or Never Forget, but in the circumstances...

I even got a recognisable snap of them:

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/3796/6fcy.jpg

Paris show was superb, even though they're playing massive hit after massive hit they don't feel at all like a nostalgia act, still so dynamic and intense at all times. Sara and Landslide particularly lovely and moving, and that epic Gold Dust Woman jam into I'm So Afraid was so heavy and raw, parts of it could've been Bardo Pond or something.

Also even though I bought the second cheapest tier of ticket my seat was really good, no farther back than I would've been at the back of Brixton Academy or somewhere like that. Though disappointingly my section never got around to standing up. (I'd also been wondering what the demographic of a Paris Mac show would be, and the answer was the most boring one possible - middle-aged English people...)

Here is the one photie I took:

http://oi39.tinypic.com/119vt5i.jpg

lol. But at least they get to go to Paris. And better seats too by the looks. I'd been to the O2 once before for Prince, but was up in the gods and view and sound were a bit terrible. Both were better in the lower tier, but there's no getting around that it's a vast venue and you can still be really far away.

I'm So Afraid is so dark and heavy... The version on the 1980 live album is just insane. Really wish I'd been able to make one of these shows, but I just don't have the cash, or the contacts to blag.

Bummer: http://music-mix.ew.com/2013/10/27/fleetwood-mac-john-mcvie-cancer/

Christine McVie's back: http://pitchfork.com/news/53561-christine-mcvie-rejoining-fleetwood-mac/

not a fan of the pre-buckingham/nicks fleetwood mac's sound, but then i remind myself the old mac recorded this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJrLjcRAcho

Bare Trees is a wonderful album!