Rated "4" by Max Here's my view of things... and I would love to hear people's feelings on this... The "Say You Will" album was robbed!! Where were the fantastic: "Thrown Down" "Red Rover" "Destiny Rules" dropped from the set... why ???? "Everybody Finds Out" "Bleed to Love Her" "Steal Your Heart Away" The show would have been SO much better if Lindsey had followed his instincts and played more "Say You Will" songs like he had said he wished to do. The show was fantastic, but it breaks my heart to think that all these songs will fade into the vaults as "album tracks" when they truly deserve so much better than that. I love "Second Hand News" and "Gold Dust Woman" and "Eyes of the World" believe me - but they've been done and re-done and re-done... I'm not saying to quit singing "Go Your Own Way" or "Dreams" or "Gypsy" or "Big Love" but... come on ! The highlights of the show were the new and the unexpected songs such as "Come" and "Say You Will" and "Beautiful Child" (wow, indeed! Great Tusk classic!) and "What's the World Coming To" and "Peacekeeper". Another point - Damn the crowds have no class!! People leave, walk around, buy beer, talk loudly, tell jokes to each other during the "non-classics". Shame on you if you go to a Fleetwood Mac concert wanting to hear only the big fat hits like they're a bunch of Human JukeBoxes !!! I heard this idiot say on my way out: "Damn, Margie- they didn't even play Seven Wonders- instead they played that heavy metal shit - what was that all about?" I am assuming he was refering to COME but please! Wake up! God Bless Lindsey for kicking the band's ass into new and fresh directions. This album deserves the success of at the very least Tango in the Night - so to all the baby-boomers that only wanna hear "Rhiannon" and are leaving while Stevie sings "Goodbye Baby" Shame on You! Thanks Fleetwood Mac and especially Lindsey for a solid, classy show ! What a rush ! Please write me with your views: max_comeau@hotmail.com Rated "5" by Ambica THIS WAS MY FIRST FLEETWOOD MAC CONCERT (not checked for spelling or grammar cause I'm so excited !) Pre Concert The love of my life introduced me to Fleetwood Mac a year ago. Almost all of their songs tell our special love story and so I was more than ecstatic to have the chance to see them in concert for the first time! My FM fanatic has seen them more than a dozen times since the mid 70s so I decided to buy him his ticket for a birthday present. After I missed the Ticketmaster opening ticket sale window, we decided to monitor e-bay and lucked out with amazing tickets a few days later. There was some craziness in actually getting the tickets in our hands but we finally did and the countdown began! I took the day off from work to ensure that I would be ready on time (especially since my outfit would be a mini-tribute to Stevie). It rained but we left really early with plenty of time to spare. The Coliseum filled up quite quickly (despite the rain and the Friday - Memorial Day Weekend traffic) as we waited for the show to begin. The Concert We had floor seats and everyone was standing as soon as the first notes were played at 8:20. The sound was a little off but the band still sounded great as they adjusted the mix. The set list: 1) THE CHAIN - wished it was a little louder but still made my hairs stand up 2) DREAMS - so much better live 3) EYES OF THE WORLD - never heard this one but got into it within a few seconds of play 4) PEACEKEEPER - Lindsey sounded a little playful with his introduction and then he got very serious and intense towards the end. 5) SECOND HAND NEWS - sound improved greatly, I think they turned Lindsey's microphone up a little more than Stevie's though 6) SAY YOU WILL - great harmony...SN and LB started singing to each other ...already...so exciting to watch live vs. video. 7) NEVER GOING BACK AGAIN - guitar was very crisp ... a little sadness there... 8) RHIANNON - a thrill to see...I thought she was rushed through it as well. 9) COME - WOW!!! WOW!!! More than powerful: the guitar...the bass...the drums...I'm speechless on this one you must experience this!!! 10) GYPSY - time for LB to rest and she sounded fantastic...yeah she didn't hit the high notes but her modified version was still so melodic 11) BIG LOVE - much better live... 12) LANDSLIDE - everyone sang with Stevie (She was a little louder, I think they turned her microphone back up a little) She was so sweet and seemed to really enjoy herself on this one, smiled a lot 13) SAY GOODBYE - I didn't expect it to happen but they brought me to tears...just the two of them on stage, staring at each other...it was very intense. It?s a beautiful song. 14) WHAT'S THE WORLD COMING TO - a chance to compose myself and enjoy yet another great new song. 15) BEAUTIFUL CHILD - softly swayed to this one in my sweetie's arms - very sweet song. Stevie was amazing. 16) GOLD DUST WOMAN - one of my favorites anyway but a real thrill to see her doing her thing especially at the end with the shawl moves:) 17) I'M SO AFRAID - I don't know how Lindsey's fingers were still attached after that one...wow!!!!! 18) SILVER SPRINGS - everyone sang along to this and she modified the high notes but it was still so great - she thanked us all for remembering...my favorite song! 19) TUSK - I thought we might get a surprise live marching band but the back up band and enhanced video/audio simulations brought everyone to their feet. It sounded wonderfully musically rich. 20) STAND BACK- She owned the crowd!! You go Stevie! Also great keyboards on this one. 21) GO YOUR OWN WAY - They closed out the regular set with this one...we were all on our feet and in the aisles clapping, jumping, singing and dancing, it was quite thrilling and I was sweating profusely at this point but couldn't possible leave for a drink now!!! I didn't want to miss a second and I didn't. Too bad for those who left during COME, SAY GOODBYE & at this point when they all thought it was over... 22) The encore set began with WORLD TURNING showcasing the many talents on stage especially Mick and Lindsey...Mick's drum vest performance...a whirlwind of strange and wonderful energy...I loved it! 23) DON'T STOP - Stevie was great...the whole band was so into it. We were, of course, still on our feet...so much fun! 24) GOODBYE BABY - emotional - beautiful song Post Concert Convinced that only 20 minutes had gone by, I sat there basking in awe of my first Fleetwood Mac experience. Unfortunately that came to an abrupt halt when the Coliseum staff kicked us out; continually rushing and herding us like animals while we tried to use the restrooms, buy a T-Shirt and get our rain gear on. So off we went into the cold rainy night. BUT as soon as we got to the car I was able to pick up where I left off at the end of the concert (still processing)...just looking forward to SUNDAY...yeah baby!!! Rated "4.5" by Brian Kelly The show was fantastic. Lindsey was shockingly energetic for a man his age and voice is similarly strong. Likewise, Stevie sounds much better both on the new album and new tour as compared with Shangri-La. Although her voice got a bit tired by the end of the show, she sounds much healthier than she did when I saw her in Reading, PA for her last solo tour. The best moments were The Chain, Come, Landslide, and Stand Back. My only regret was that they didn't perform Running Through the Garden and that overall, they played twice as many Lindsey songs from Say You Will (Peacekeeper, Come, What's the World Coming To, and Say Goodbye) as Stevie's two (Say You Will and Goodbye Baby). Rated "4" by Ethan LaStella Lindsey is the man!!! It's his show, and Stevie is a 'pale shadow of a woman' that she used to be. She cannot hit the high notes on classics like "Rhiannon" and "Dreams", but as many of the other reviews said, she did get a little better as the night went on. It was just a shame to hear the backup singers bailing her out... a lot. They rocked out (for lack of a better term) on many songs. An amped up version of "Tusk" was cool, and the soft (perhaps too soft) dated, radio friendly touches of "Don't Stop" and "Go Your Own Way" were given a full on rock treatment they so desperately needed. Buckingham did not fail to impress on any of his solos, and his voice was pretty much on key. Fleetwood's drum solo was bizarre, if too electronic. He has to realize his fans like real percussion ... adventurous, but maybe a bit too much. Overall though a very good show. Please email me ethanl@optonline.net if you were at this show and agree/disagree with anything I wrote. Thanks for reading. Rated "5" by Jan When you've been a Fleetwood Mac fan for as long I have you always think you know exactly what's going to happen when and how at a show. You know the set list ahead of time, what they'll be wearing, even what they're gonna say before each song. You always think you know it all before you step inside. And then, as they always do, they blow away all expectations and amaze and inspire you, even with all of your pre-show knowledge. At least that was my experience last night anyway. LEGend: ARM = Audience Responso-Meter (audience rating/reaction) LEG = Leg-O-Meter (my rating) The Chain That friggin' driving bass! I wanted to run up and tackle John and say "move to the front of the stage so we can see you will ya?" ARM= 5 LEG= 5 Dreams Our first glimpse of Stevie. She sounded GREAT but the audience seemed to not really get into it. It just dragged. I guess they feel like they have to play it. ARM= 3 LEG= 3 Eyes of the World Our first glimpse of Lindsey. He just took over the stage gave us a clear indication that this was going to be HIS show. ARM= 2 LEG= 4 Peacekeeper Very odd that the audience did not know this song. The only people that seemed to know the song were the hardcores. It was 'ok', certainly better than TV. ARM= 3 LEG= 4 Second Hand News Somehow LB freshened this song up so much that it felt brand new. He does a really unique version of this. Very different from what we've heard before. ARM= 5 LEG= 5 Say You Will The audience did not know this song. Was a bit of a let-down for the audience that had been standing for SHN. I loved it though. It sounded fresh and NEW like it's supposed to. ARM= 3 (they were singing along at the end though) LEG= 5 Never Going Back Again Wow! What he does with this song on this tour! Again, it didn't sound old, feel old. The show was a regular pick-apolooza! ARM= 4 LEG= 5 Rhiannon Really sucked IMO. In the beginning of the song especially, the band was playing twice as fast as she was singing. Wasn't pretty, from my perspective. Also, I could be imagining this but she seemed to stumble with the words on the first verse. ARM= 3 LEG= 2 Come One of the highlights for me. I felt like I was at a Black Sabbath concert or something. Everybody went to the bathroom. Thank God -- more room for me to bang my head like the true metal queen that I aspire to be ARM= 3 (some folks did get into at the end) LEG= 5++++++++++ Gypsy Biggest friggin' mistake. Who's idea was it to put this song after the monster that is 'Come'? Terrible letdown but it is unfair to blame Stevie for it. How can you follow that song with this one? Incredulous! ARM=4 (they liked it cos they weren't there for 'Come' first ) LEG= 3 (cos I just couldn't get into it after 'Come') Big Love Another great LB solo. It seemed too short though. Just as I started to get into it, it ended and I was like..."Oh...ok" ARM= 4 LEG= 5 Landslide The audience sang this song great. Oh sorry, you wanted to know how Stevie was She was beautiful, sweet, generous with the audience, and SMILING. ARM= 5++++++++ LEG= 5++++++++ Say Goodbye Kinda boring on stage. Certainly the only people paying attention to this song were the hardcores. The audience probably like this one cos they finally could carry on quiet conversation and hear each other. ARM= 2 LEG= 3 What's the World Coming To Nice job. LB sounded fine, much better than on the record. Didn't blow me away but it was nice. ARM= 3 (somewhat of a positive reaction on this one--for a new song) LEG= 4 Beautiful Child This was a real treat and it felt like it. I was just in awe staring at Stevie the whole time. It was nice to see some of the non-hardcores knowing this song. Her voice is fine, folks. ARM= 4 LEG= 5++++++++ Gold Dust Woman Definitely a big highlight for me. She did the whole shawl thing (and I did my shawl thing too) ARM= 5++++++++ LEG= 5+++++++++ I'm So Afraid The audience LOVED this one. They really got into it as it went along. Surprised me how much they were into it. Lindsey had totally owned the audience at this point. ARM= 5 LEG= 5++++++++ Silver Springs Very sweet. Yeah there were air kisses but nothing that remotely resembled intimate contact. And yes, Kristin was there. I saw her. ARM= 5 (it was nice to see the audience swaying along) LEG= 5 Tusk This got everyone on their feet. We were all like Mac-sican Jumping Beans.. ARM= 5+++++++ LEG= 5++++++++ Stand Back I think Stevie does this one better solo but still it got everybody moving and that was a feat considering we were all so worn out from Tusk. ARM= 5 LEG= 5 Go Your Own Way Of course everybody went crazy for this one. Nuff said. I enjoyed it too. ARM= 5+++++++ LEG= 5+++++++ World Turning (Mick's drum solo) Musically it was wonderful but he must have said "Are you with me?" about 10 times. I'm like Mick...where am I going...I paid $150 for this? ARM= 4 LEG= 4 Don't Stop (Stevie's singing Christine's part) The audience went wild but oh I won't mention my stupid poll again. Stevie did a good job with Christine's parts. But I have one question. If you can go 22 songs without playing a Christine song, why start at the very end of the show? ARM= 5 LEG= 4 Goodbye Baby Was worried that I wasn't gonna dig this. But I did. It was a delightfully sweet, but not sacchariny silly sweet -- way to end the show. Most people had left so I got to go up to the stage. ARM= 3 LEG= 5 ----------------- I also want to say that Fleetwood Mac fans are indeed the best in the world! I met so many wonderful people last night and have Mac memories to last a lifetime. P.S. And a big shout-out to all of the hardcore Mac fans (including this really nice lady Terri who was sitting next to me). Having them in my section on the floor made the evening all the more wonderful. See ya Sunday! Rated "4" by Josh Right off the bat, I should say the following: a) I've never seen Fleetwood Mac perform in any incarnation b) I'm a huge Lindsey Buckingham fan; I don't really care for most of Christine's songs so I don't mind at all that she's not there. Stevie I could take or leave. I was really hoping Lindsey was going to put out a solo album and do a solo tour, but obviously that didn't happen. So I was really there to see Lindsey play. I didn't have tickets, I wasn't even sure that I was going until a couple hours before the show. We got there maybe 90 minutes early, and went to the box office asked what they had at the lowest price. All they had (as expected) were crappy limited view behind the stage tickets. So I figured those wouldn't sell out, but it was worth sticking around the parking lot in case anything decent came along. Literally, all the money I had in the pocket was cash for two lowest price tickets, so I couldn't afford to pay for better seats. Immediately after walking away from the ticket window, one guy walked up to us and asked if we needed, and was willing to take our $100 for a pair of floor tickets, but on close inspection we could see that they were literally the last row of the floor. I know it would have been a steal to get two $135 tickets for $50 each, but they were the back row of the floor, so I passed. A few moments later a lady walked by trying to sell her single, but I needed a pair. Too bad, that was something like 25th row center. After a few moments, a couple women walked up to us and explained they had extra tickets; I'm not quite sure if I got the story straight, they bought tickets and then someone else bought them tickets, so there was an extra pair. I said right away that I only had the amount of cash that I had, and that I really didn't have any desire to completely screw anyone out of their money, so they probably wouldn't be interested in selling to us. But they said "Hey, these were $85 tickets, I think. I'm going inside to meet my other friends now. There really isn't anyone else here, and I'd rather get $50 for each than walk in with these extras in my pocket and be out $85." Well, hey, good deal. Did the little TicketMaster lighter trick to make sure they were real, and they were, exchanged the tickets, and parted ways. When I looked closer, they were actually the $135 tickets! I was amazed when we walked inside and o! ur tickets were something like 15th or 20th row on the left side of the first level of the arena. They were parallel to the first section of floor seats, so as far as lower level tickets go, these were probably the best in the house! (I wish I would have known where these two women were sitting now, I definitely would have whipped out the credit card to buy them a beer or something after that.) Band comes out at 8:25, and from the start, Lindsey's on fire. Absolutely smoking. The setlist appeared to be the same as its been, and it's a good set. Stevie had the second song, and, well, she doesn't exactly sound young anymore. Her first few songs were sung flat, sometimes off-key, with very little emotion or passion, but she started to warm up with the excellent title track of the new album "Say You Will," and by "Landslide" she was in decent form. Not as good as she once was, but at least as good as on their live album from a few years ago. I can't go any further without mentioning the rhythm section of John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. They stood out when they were supposed to stand out, and supported when they were supposed to support. Though John shies out of the light and Mick only gets a few moments in the front, they really did shine. The backing musicians (I counted seven - two guitarists, one keyboard/guitarist, one drummer, one percussionists, and Stevie's two backing vocalists) did their jobs as well. They were never really noticable (which was the point) but nevertheless they played very well. The guitarists supported Lindsey by playing rhythm guitar on a few songs (though I never noticed any of them doing any more than that), the keyboard player revived all of those piano parts from the albums, the drummers added some extra depth to Mick's pounding drumming, and the vocalists did a good job of cushioning Stevie. But the show really belonged to Lindsey. Whether he was playing his own songs or backing up Stevie, he was the heart of this show. I was amazed how he could play a subtle part in one of her songs and then do a full blown assault of a solo in his own, without any ackwardness in the transition of style. The four new songs he played were as good as anything he's done (I wish he would have played more of his newer tunes, like "Steal Your Heart Away.") Stevie didn't chat much, but Lindsey took the time to introduce each of his new songs and say a few words about them, which I enjoyed. He's as good a singer as he ever was, if not better. And as for his playing - what can you say about it? He is perhaps the most underrated or overlooked guitarist in rock. It's a shame that for all the solo success Stevie has had, Lindsey doesn't get much recognition for his work. The guitar solo in "Come" was one of the most amazing things I've ever heard; I was literally breathless, stunned! and trying to figure out how the hell he did that. The energy he brought to old hits like "Go Your Own Way" and "I'm So Afraid" was unbelievable. His accompanying vocals on the moving "Say You Will" and gorgeous "Silver Springs" helped make those songs highlights of the show. I don't think there's anything this man can't do. I knew he would play well, but he exceeded even my highest expectations. If there was anything I'd change about the perfomance, I would have thrown in some more of the new songs. They didn't get the biggest applause and sent quite a few people to the bathroom, but when you're playing a 24 song set supporting a new album with 18 new tracks, it would have been nice to have gotten more than 6 of them. But I suppose there's always next time. I gave this a four because I didn't feel Stevie Nicks was in top form through the whole night, and didn't find her to be a particularly engaging performer. If I was to rate her portion of the show seperately, I'd probably give her a 3, with a higher rating to "Say You Will,""Landslide," "Silver Springs," and "Goodbye Baby". If we're talking about Lindsey's songs and his support of Stevie, as well as the rest of the band's performance, that's undoubtedly a 5 in my book. This two hour, fifteen minute performance was not worth missing, and I would gladly see Lindsey Buckingham play solo anytime, and I'd even go to see him in Fleetwood Mac again. Rated "5" by Phil Rizz Excellent show!!! Lindsey carried the band for the first 5 or so songs. Stevie seemed a little off, struggling with the high notes and holding the long ones. But once she warmed up, you can see her comiing into the Stevie Nicks we know. Her rendition of "Landslide" took on new meaning for all of us... "I'm getting older". The audience and Stevie sang together, I looked around to see tears in peoples eyes, she won us over at that point. The applause were deafening. From that point on, she performed her signature songs, Gypsy, Gold Dust Woman, rhiannon like the old stevie. Each time she did one of signature moves, spins, shadows, etc, the audience went nuts. Landslide and Gold Dust Woman was by all means a highlight. Lindsey Buckingham has IMO become one of the legendary guitarists up there alone with tito santana and clapton. He has far surpassed the fingers of Eddie Van Halen. His solos were incredible, at one point i could swear his guitar was talking! His energy and stage presence carries Fleetwood Mac. He went right out, center stage and made that guitar sing... unbelievable. Without him, there would me no Mac, unlike the un-noticable absence of Christie McVie. The concert, was mostly vintage Mac, post Rumours, with none of the wishywashy Christine songs. "Beautiful Child" was performed which I never heard Stevie do live. Mick came out for the encore with his drum vest on and did the signature solo. Typical Mick fleetwood, the Mad drummer, what more can I say. He's Mick Fleetwood. all in all, I've seen every Fleetwood Mac concert that has come to the NY area since 1974. This, today, was the best. But I have probably said that after every one. The have gooen older with us. Which makes us feel like were old friends that got together one more time. From my seats, side stage, one level up, what I noticed in the crowd... ALOT OF HAIRLINES!..:) the audience was predominently 30-35 and older. No insane screaming, no standing on chairs. the 70's generation flashing back and rocking with the Mac Attack. Not even a joint was lit anywhere I could see..or smell. But we were all there. 30 years.. and they're still a great band. This concert. 10 out of 10. Rated "5" by Tom No complaints here...this was my first Fleetwood Mac show and boy was it amazing. The sound was a little weak at first but as the show went on the mix became better until it was perfect by the 5th or 6th song. There is so much charm in the band, and they create an amazing atmosphere. 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