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She's Back!
Vaughn S. Hemingway
aka Tskadelic, aka SuperGuy
on location in Columbus, Ohio
The WNCI 97.9fm 35th Birthday Bash Kids with Cancer Kamp Benefit was a Great Party. WNCI is the number one radio station here in Columbus Ohio and they play current stuff. It was announced Friday that Cher had pulled a muscle exercising and would be bed ridden for 3-10 days. So she decided she couldn't go and told the Radio Station that she would double what the Radio station raised, which ended up being $9170.00.
I missed the opener band but the bands that played aside from that one, are listed below:
Then Tina Arena come on and did a wonderful job of her current Hits, however she had no band just a MIDI backup. I figured well Madonna does it why can't she.
After that a guy came on stage with a guitar playing flamingo style that warped its way into a Disco Rap type of Los Lobos thing. They did a few more and then let KC and the Sunshine Band come on. He did all his big disco hits from the 70,s as the DJ's, Polaris Amphetheatre Employees, and about 150 Columbus natives all did the Locomotion in the main Isle... talk about a community family town.
Then Color Me Bad did their latest hits which had every kid under 17 standing up and going nuts.
Now Stevie Nicks has been gone for a while, but she has not been forgotten, and instead has been sorely missed. One of the DJ's let his Mom introduce Stevie and said, "Here is the one your all waiting to meet Stevie Nicks, and I would like to meet him too," the DJ busted up and said "Stevie Nicks is a Girl Mom" the crowd went berserk, then it took about 2 or 3 more minutes and they had a guy introduce her again "Here's Stevie Nicks" I haven't heard so much screaming in ages, she's a big hit here still. among all ages."
She opened with Outside the Rain which flowed into Dreams. She spoke of the Benefit and thanked the people for showing up and giving her the opportunity to help Sick Children. Then she did Twisted as hot as ever with her now longer Blond Curly Hair nice as can be. Then my kids where screaming and the audience was screaming, so I couldn't make out exactly what she said but I believe she said she was happy that Hole redid Gold Dust Woman which Stevie did very differently, well the words where pretty much the same but the jam that follows and drops a key turned into more of a Carlos Santana thing without the obvious drop into the darker haunted key as she sang "Shadow... Dust Woman". It seemed that she wanted to give Mrs. Cobain a little room to be different with the original version. Anyway she said that she was happy that Gold Dust Woman was a hit for the second time 15 years later and sincerely meant it (I counted 19 years).
After that she did a whole new version of Rhiannon. The words that hit me hardest were when she sang, "She still cries out for him, don't leave me, don't leave me, don't leave me' " and One in a million years you find such a woman." I am not exactly sure on these lyrics but I spent about an hour trying to figure out from the tape exactly what she said. It is funny that woman, you can listen to her sing and the first time it will be apparent that she has said one thing really nice, then you can listen again to the exact thing and she will be saying something entirely different. Well I guess she has kept her mysticism up well. But wait, while she was doing one song this evening she walked around several times flashing a cross with her fingers, I believe she is trying to tell us through this that she is Christian and wants us to know, or she may be using it to fight off bad spirits. Either way this pretty much proves that she is not a Satan worshipper as some incorrectly think. As for Wicca? beats me.
She went on to do Stand Back with her usual flair and every bit as torchy as ever maybe even rocky than usual. She did one metal cover borrowed from Tom Petty, I Need to Know and screamed at the end like Ann Wilson from Heart but the crowd was so loud I couldn't even hear what she was saying. You know those sweet little nothings she puts at the end of songs. Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You came next as sweet as she does Beauty and the Beast. And at the end of that song it got mellow while the keyboardist played some sparkles and she spoke, "When people ask me about the men in my life, well they're all poets, everyone of them."
To: John Kinney's homepage The Nicksfix ONLY!!!
(That means, noone else has my permission to post this on their page.)
From: Corey Gutilla of Johnstown, PA
aka Landslide
First off, I want to thank you John Kinney for sending me the email when you found out about this concert.. Because it enabled me to get the best seats I have ever had at a Stevie or FM concert. Thanks Dude!!!
Now to the concert......
Since you all probably don't care about the other bands there, I won't say too much about them... But I must say this, the crowd was really into everyone that performed.. In all the concerts I have been too in my life I never seen so many people dancing like at this show. And the weather was perfect for a concert..
Stevie came on stage and I was floored by her beauty. She looked absolutely gorgeous!!! WOW!!! She was wearing all black and her outfit was the same style outfit she wore on Dave Letterman and Leno. Oh, and it didn't look like she had boots on, you really couldn't tell because of the full length gown and all.. And I must say.. This is the 5th time I seen Stevie, and she looked the very best at this concert. (I am not saying she didn't look great at the other shows, but she was absolutely radiant at this one)
You can tell she has lost alot of weight.. Her face was as beautiful as ever. Her hair was gorgeous as usual. It was all curly and looks longer than ever.. She has alot of brownish tints in it now.. And it isn't so bleach blond looking anymore. She is one hot rockin mama!!!!
I was really surprised to see Waddy Wacthel playing guitar. So you know that the band sounded excellent with him on lead. I thought Rick Vito would be there, but he wasn't.. I couldn't make out who was playing drums, because of the angle of my seats, and at the end of the show when they took a bow, I was screaming so loud that I forgot to pay attention.. OOPS!! (I know it wasn't Mick Fleetwood... ha ha) Anyways.. the band sounded great!!
Stevie opened with (you guessed it) Outside the Rain. She even did the famous line "Well Mick says Stevie this is one more link in the chain... ". Outside the Rain lead right into Dreams which was great!! Stevie's voice sounded terrific. People were going crazy, Dancing and clapping and screaming, it made it so hard to hear what she was talking about when she spoke.. But hey, it was a party, and people were having a good time. After Dreams, she thanked everyone for coming and helping raise money for cancer children. Then came Twisted.. Which was the song I was waiting for since I never heard her do it live.. TOTALLY EXCELLENT!!!. But I have to say that I like it better with Lindsey. After she sang Twisted.. she said it was from the Movie Twister and it was really hard to make out what all she was saying.. but she was talking about playing it live for us and then she said I am trying to talk to the audience, but they tell me not to talk too much, but I am still trying to talk. Which I may add, this concert was the most I ever heard her talk Then this was the best part of the show.. It was dark, and the beginning of Gold Dust Women started.. When the lights came on, Stevie was up there yanking on something wrapped around her mike. Well.. She had a gold headpiece on. (Sort of like the style of the one she is wearing in the picture inside of the Timespace CD booklet where she is straddling a chair.) Anyways, she was yanking and pulling on this thing for awile and it turns out that it was a gold shawl or wrap that a stage hand must of threw up to her to put on while it was dark. When she finally did get it free from the mike, she just threw it over her shoulder and starting singing.. The crowd was laughing and cheering when she finally got it untangled. Gold Dust Women was 10 1/2 minutes long. approx.. 7 mins. with Stevie singing and the other 3 1/2 minutes the band played. It was awesome!!! Cortney Love... eat your heart out!!! Then, when it was over, Stevie said she was glad that Gold Dust Women was still such a hit. Next came Rhiannon, which was spectacular! I always love to hear her sing this song, because she always does it different. She always puts so much passion and energy into it. The crowd went nuts!! After Rhiannon was over, she came to the mike and said, Great song coming up or next.. Then she went over to one of the band members and said something (as if she decided to change the song sequence) Well, She was right!! Stand Back was next.. The crowd was on there feet and you can imagine, everyone was dancing! Then she did I Need to Know, which was alot more slowed down than when she did it as an encore at the Pittsburgh show for Street Angel. Then the last song she sang was Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You. It was as always... sweet and beautiful. She threw a long white coat on for this song, which was the only time she added any new wardrobe the entire night, except for the mishap during Gold Dust Women. She didn't do the part after she talked about the men in her life. ("And I thought that there was a connection"), but it was and still is one of my all time favorite songs live. The most dissappointing part of the concert was that after the band took their bow and left the stage, they didn't come back out for an encore.. Well,after they left, they didn't turn the lights back on for what seemed like 5 minutes or so.. So everyone was freaking out waiting, hoping she would come back, but I guess she didn't want to.. BUMMER!!! I must say that I had never expected to see Stevie this year, and I turned 30 on August 19th. This was the best birthday present I got and what a hell of a way to ring in the new decade of my old age (HE HE). I even met a Stevie Impersonator at the concert.. She was sitting like or 4 seats down from me.. She was dressed in Chiffon with boots and all.. She looked hot!!! And I also must say, she looked alot like Stevie. HUBBA HUBBA!! Stevie's set was about 1 1/2 long and they were the only band that didn't use a MIDI backup. All in all, Stevie is in excellent form, and still has it after all these years!!! I can't wait to see her again!!!!
---Stevie Nicks at the Polaris, in Columbus, OH
by Susan Childs, aka Gypsy63
The night of August 24, 1996 will remain in my heart forever...... Of all the times I've seen Stevie perform live, none have touched me quite the way this particular evening did.
Part of what made this concert so memorable was finally meeting so many wonderful people that I've met online.....I made the long journey to Ohio with a special friend from AOL, and we had a great time putting faces to familiar names.
Never has Stevie looked so elegant as she did that night......she was radiant in a very long black sweeping gown with long flowing sleeves. My impression was that she looked like a princess having just stepped out of some medieval fairy tale. Her hair was very full and wavy, perfectly styled ( I must admit, I am glad the fuzzy Street Angel hair is gone). The only jewelry I saw were two wide cuff bracelets, one on each wrist.....they were full of sparkly stones and I remember being mesmerized when she held her hands up.....her sleeves would fall back and it looked like fire flashing from her hands when the spotlights hit the bracelets. Sharon and Lori also looked very elegant in long black gowns.....and seeing the great Waddy Wachtel off to the left nearly transported me back to "Bella Donna" time!
We were fortunate to have seats down front, but the big video screens afforded everyone a good view of how beautiful Stevie looked......at times the screens split into two views, a closeup of her face with a full length shot next to it. The Polaris is an excellent concert venue and well worth the drive, should Stevie perform there again some day.
The songlist was as follows: Outside the Rain/Dreams, Twisted, Gold Dust Woman, Rhiannon, Stand Back, I Need to Know, Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You.
Her voice was incredible.....strong and clear......she was smiling and seemed very happy, thoroughly glad to be back on stage where she belongs. She sang every song fully, without reserve......"Rhiannon" was the only song I felt she held back on a bit, but her rendition of the song was so fabulous that I didn't really miss that full-gusto ending that "we all long for...."
I was amused by her comment to the audience about being proud that "Gold Dust Woman" is a hit all over again....I guess we shouldn't rag on Courtney Love too much, if Stevie herself is proud of the cover recording!! It was also amusing to see Stevie wrestling with the gold sash that had been tied to her microphone stand when she tried to remove it....somebody had knotted it too tightly!
"Twisted" is a song near to my heart and it was exciting to hear Stevie perform this solo.....unlike the July 4 concert, where the keyboardist sang Lindsey's vocals, this time it was all Stevie and she was superb!
I was so pleased to see Stevie do an all-out "Stand Back" that really showcased her as the classic star she is.....the audience went wild for this popular song and I am reminded that Stevie herself says it is her favourite song to perform onstage. It's easy to see why.....she obviously had a very good time with it.
Stevie left the stage briefly to don a white shawl over her gown. "Has Anyone Ever Written" sounded particularly poignant and touching, as this evening drew to a close much too soon......we had all hoped for Waddy to kick into the opening riff of "Edge of 17" so we could run down to the stage.......but I really cannot complain. And yes, Stevie, I will always "remember"...........
Shortly after I arrived in Columbus the magic of Stevie seemed to be everywhere I went! I stopped at a place called Dick Clarks American Bandstand restaurant for lunch, and as you enter in a glass case is Stevie's blue velvet jacket. Also was the album cover for Tusk and the insert photo's from the Tusk album inside the case which I believe the jacket was from that tour. On the far wall was a framed photo of Stevie with a black scarf she wore on the Bella Donna tour! I was not the only Stevie fan there, a few others with Stevie shirts on were also there as we pointed to each others Stevie shirts! The same as I was entering the Polaris, a guy with the same Street Angel shirt as I waved and pointed to our shirts!
Stevie headlined the show so she was the last of alot of good performers! I have to say she was the only one to have practically everyone on there feet for the whole performance. The only other band was KC and the Sunshine band that had everyone up and on there feet! I would say the majority of the people there were mainly to see Stevie! I saw numerous Stevie shirts and in the row in front of me, a woman dressed in white Stevie like clothing.
She opened with Outside The Rain into Dreams and wore a black dress with a long black coat, that looked sort of like lace or a lace like pattern. Her hair long and wavy! Waddy was back on guitar ith Carlos Rios! She thanked everyone for coming to benefit the kids camp, although it was hard to hear what she was saying with everyone screaming and yelling! This time she sung Twisted by herself instead of a duet, with Sharon and Lori backing her. Stevie seemed to be looking right at Waddy as she sung Twisted, and he had a big smile on his face! She mentioned that Twisted was from the new movie Twister and it sounded like she said she'd like to be inside a Twister, and that it was a very new song. As the intro for Gold Dust Woman began, she attempted to take a golden scarf off he mic, but she couldn't get it off! She tryed and tryed and finally yanked it off, but then she couldn't get out the knot so she tossed it onto the floor of the stage, laughing. This was one fantastic version of Gold Dust Woman!!!! Waddy and Carlos were really jamming away the end of the song, as Stevie walked back to the mic singing "shadow"! And she mentioned how exciting it was that Gold Dust Woman was popular again! Rhiannon was the following song, a great song to follow the spectacular Gold Dust Woman! Hauntingly slow in the beginning breaking into the fast rock beat! She ended the song with a refrain of "don't leave me now"! Stand Back had a little different intro then the usual, and the crowd was going crazy by this point! I Need To Know followed and she mentioned Tom Petty as she usually does, but I couldn't hear what she actually said. The lights went out for a few seconds and when they came back on Stevie now had on a white shaw. The last song was Has Anyone ever Written Anything For You and it looked like she had tears in her eyes? Maybe because this was the end of the show and she was sorry it was to end. At the end of the song where she speaks "and when they ask her about the men in her life.. she said, well in answer to your question..they were poets, and they were priest of nothing, they were legends" she follows that singing out in beautiful voice "legends"!!! Stevie and the band walked up to the front of the stage and took a bow, then Stevie thanked everyone and ended the evening with "I miss you, bye, bye"!
After about a ten hour road trip we arrived in Columbus on Saturday Morning, although rain had threatened to the south, it was beautiful there, clear and sunny, one of the brightest days I have seen in a long time. The Polaris Park area is so clean and new looking, I can't imagine that it has been in operation for very long, when we arrived at the Amphitheatre it happened to be open and after showing my ID, etc. I picked up the tickets. We somehow were sure the long white limo at the VIP area was Stevie, maybe not. Our conversation with the WNCI engineer revealed that Cher had cancelled and they expected Stevie who was to go on last to do a longer set, after all she was the STAR.
Gates opened for the show around 4pm and we were there. Excitement filled the air and if it is any indication of her following, the dress was very gothic, some of these looked from a distance very much like Ms. Nicks. One young lady in white to the right of the stage was so much like Stevie we had to go over and see for sure. I suppose imitation is a grand form of flattery.
The early acts warmed up the crowd, J'son, Voice of the Beehive, and the rest were good, not even KC and the Sunshine girls could really prepare the crowd for what was about to happen.
Just after sunset, with a beautiful waxing moon high in the evening sky, the final warmup band left the stage and the local DJ's began the buildup to Stevie. One DJ and his mom did a neat job. But Ms. Nicks is in no way a boy. The final intro was short and sweet-- The Music built to a cresendo to the pulsing start of OUTSIDE THE RAIN as Stevie Nicks came from the right of the stage to the center, about 10 or maybe fifteen feet from us, the crowd was deafning, the feeling so very electric, the LOVE for this woman is unreal, as she sang the first song and worked into the second which was DREAMS, the crowd never sat down and they just kept going wild. Stevie finally calmed them down as she thanked them and the radio people for letting her be there, she said "It is nice that we can get together and party and help someone", she was very sincere, you could just tell it was heartfelt.
As the band started Twisted, Stevie said they didn't put it where they wanted the song in the movie, but sorta said Oh Well, then turned around and the crowd went crazy again. In the song where the words go "You search for demons, I think YOU are the demon", she changed that to "I think WE are the demons", Stevie seemed to be perfect. Her hair was longer than I have seen it ever, past the middle of her back and a perm from heaven that made her aura so beautiful, the crowd could not hold back at the sight of her. When she talked about Gold Dust Woman being a hit song today, it was in awe of the 'way things are', Stevie also said, "They tell me I Talk Too MUCH", there was not one soul in the crowd that wasn't thinking, please TALK MORE, Talk to us all night Stevie, just be here with us.
The version of Rhiannon was the version like on the Red Rocks video where she slows down and goes into the WORDS of the song then the band BUSTS loose and she sings the song, the first part almost like a chant, the crowd kept it up, almost all standing, clapping, the effect she had on everyone was unreal. Stevie went solo after I NEED TO KNOW with the beautiful, HAS ANYONE EVER WRITTEN ANYTHING FOR YOU, and even though that was the final song and the band left the stage and it was over, it was not. The joy on the faces, the feeling of spending an hour or so with such a woman, that beautiful voice, and the look she gave the band when the shawl tied to the mike would not come untied for Gold Dust Woman, well that look was priceless, and two rows away it is now a memory forever,
Thank You Stevie and Thanks John.
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