LIVES
Fleetwood Mac in Oakland, while in Utrecht, Swamp Dogg is at Le Guess Who?
THE INK barely had time to dry on Lindsey Buckingham’s breach of contract lawsuit when Fleetwood Mac headed off without him on this 52-date arena tour. According to some of the rock press and music-biz magazines that have been reporting on the newest episode in the long-running Fleetwood Mac soap opera, Buckingham sent his bandmates a personal note along with the legal papers, asking if there was a way of making up, and closing with the line, “I love you no matter what.” If the words of The Chain – the song they’ve been opening with every night on this tour – is not their official answer, it’s tempting to think of it that way when you hear Stevie Nicks and Neil Finn, flanked by Christine McVie and Mike Campbell, sing, with more than a note of triumph, “If, you don’t love me now/You will never love me again”, as the better part of 20,000 people sing along. Fleetwood Mac Mk XV sound very good, better than when I last saw Fleetwood Mac play in this 20,000-seater sports arena, on their last tour with Lindsey Buckingham. It was a good enough show – they’re seasoned pros, they can do it with their eyes closed – but it wasn’t as good as this. Stevie Nicks, I remember, sounded subdued – which might have helped Buckingham appear all the more manic. To replace Buckingham, it’s interesting that they chose not one but two people. Neil Finn, frontman of Crowded House and a star in his own right, is largely on vocal duties, duetting with Christine and Stevie, while Mike Campbell, Tom Petty’s co-writer and right-hand man in The Heartbreakers, is largely on guitar. Both are masters of classic pop-rock, which makes perfect sense. But they’re also modest and unshowy, almost the anti-Lindsey. Campbell, with his checkered suit, floppy hat and John Lennon sunglasses, is more colourfully dressed than the black-clad Finn, but both seem happy standing in one place and not grabbing the spotlight. If the fans miss Buckingham’s volatility, histrionics and edge, it’s hard to tell, since almost every song is met with a roar from the crowd. But Stevie looks like she doesn't miss it one bit. She’s on excellent form. If there’s any drama going on tonight, it’s all hers, in songs like Rhiannon, Gypsy and Gold Dust Woman – dancing or draped over a mikestand hung with ribbons, the big screen behind the stage that normally shows the musicians now showing videos of long-haired dancers in floating clothes, or horses running through water in slow motion, their manes flying. You wonder how much Buckingham’s absence has to do with the song selection. Black Magic Woman, for example, a Fleetwood Mac single from the ’60s. Nicks, who introduces it and sings it “from a woman’s perspective” in the first person, tells us she had no idea that it was written by Peter Green. As was Oh Well, where Campbell gets to sing lead and rock out on guitar. There’s also Danny Kirwan’s Tell Me All The Things You Do from the Mac’s 1970 album Kiln House – interesting choice – on which Christine and Finn share lead vocals. Finn gets his turn in the spotlight with Don’t Dream It’s Over, Nicks joining in, and the audience turning their mobile phones into a sea of fake lighters, singing all the “hey nows”, just as they’ve sung along with almost all the songs, especially those from the Buckingham-Nicks era. This audience member could have done without Mick Fleetwood’s never-ending drum solo, accompanied by primal yells and gurning and complemented by a percussionist on a second drum set (there's also an extra guitarist, a keyboard player and two female backing singers). But arenas tend to encourage those kinds of big gestures, and there’s a lot more to like, including Christine McVie’s vocal and keyboards on Everywhere and You Make Loving Fun. The most moving moment of the night comes in the encore. A cover of Tom Petty’s Free Fallin’, Nicks singing in a deep, strong voice, the whole band turning towards the screen at the end to look up at the photo of Petty smiling down at them. That had to be hard on Campbell and Nicks. But it’s followed by an uplifting Don’t Stop, the biggest sing-along in the show. To close, Stevie and Christine get together at one microphone and sing together, arm around each other, like two survivors from a golden age, seeing it out to the end. Which I guess is what it’s all about.
“Primal yells and gurning… arenas tend to encourage those kinds of gestures.”