[The Nicks Fix]

Fleetwood Mac 2009 - FAN REVIEWS

10/10/09 Globen Stockholm, Sweden




Agneta
In the spring of 1989 I heard ”Rooms on fire” on the radio and became a Stevie Nicks fan from that moment on. Later that year I saw her perform here at the Globe in Stockholm 20 years ago. The following year, 1990, I became a Fleetwood Mac fan and saw them at the same venue with the “Behind the mask” line-up (Rick Vito and Billy Burnette replaced Lindsey). Both times I was in the 1st row. When news came that Fleetwood Mac would tour here for the first time in 19 years I noticed that pre-sale went on shortly after (in June). When I purchased my ticket online I got a seat in 12 th row to the right, realising that I would be sitting on Lindsey’s side. Only a few hours later new tickets went on sale, this time I got a ticket for 5 th row, to the left, on Stevie’s side! Each ticket cost 1010 SEK (about 145 USD). This year I turned 40 and my mother who is the same age as the members of FM got the 12 th row ticket as a gift, and I kept the 5 th row ticket. My mother has hardly listened to FM before, but she has heard me speak a lot of the band and Stevie Nicks in particular over the years. Especially Stevie’s songs have meant a great deal to me in the last 20 years I’ve been a fan. She is truly something special! Her songs (words and music) are extraordinary. I love her work! So how was the concert? We both loved it! Even though the Swedish critics are as negative as always, I don’t think they will ever understand or want to understand FM and Stevie Nicks. Fans however loved the concert. The band and the fans were happy and enjoyed the concert. The venue was almost sold out (looked full with some few empty seats). The set list is basically the same. My mother thought Lindsey carried a huge workload with his guitar solos. He often got standing ovations.

Between songs Stevie, Lindsey and Mick took turns talking to us and telling us about their songs and backgrounds. They all smiled and genuinely seemed to have a good time. Thanking us for a good time together. However I could not see Sharon, very little of Jana and little of Lori. I however saw the keyboard-player and the extra guitarist (my mother hardly saw him). The focus was totally on Stevie, Lindsey and Mick (John as always next to Mick happy in the shadows). From where I was sitting the two screens were perfect for those in the back. I was surprised to see that fans could be so close to the stage. Lots of fans who had other seats on the floor, stood below the stage, in front of 1 st row seats (I thank God I didn’t get a seat in 1 st row, it was totally full of people in front of them, being the same height as Stevie I would have missed out a lot in sight, instead I had perfect view from 5 th row). When Lindsey walked to the edge of the stage he allowed fans to play/touch his guitar! Amazing. No security in sight (laughter).

One mishap occurred though: the keyboard player didn’t play the correct introduction to “Stand Back”. So the band played on and on, waiting for Stevie to come back on stage. We all first thought that Stevie’s wardrobe change took longer than expected. Suddenly they stopped playing. Everyone was looking at the keyboard player Brett who basically waved his arms in the air totally surprised and didn’t seem to know what to do next. As Lindsey walked towards him for a talk, Stevie emerged on stage a bit surprised. Lindsey and Stevie talked to Brett and eventually he started the proper intro for “Stand back”. Even my mother saw this from her seat. But the critics obviously wrote that it was Stevie’s fault that she didn’t find her way back to the stage on time etc. Anyway. I was looking forward to hearing “Stand back” and it was the best song of the evening, my personal favourite. Stevie is the queen of rock! I loved “Sara”, “Gypsy”, “Rhiannon” and “Gold dust woman”. Her masterpieces. I found myself having a tear in my eye during “Landslide”, which Stevie dedicated to our beautiful capital Stockholm and those of us who live here. Thank you Stevie! I could go on forever, but to put it shortly: I wish Mick could have used the same sort of electric-sound-padding on his body while performing his drum-solo during “World turning” like he did 19 years ago. And I have somehow grown accustomed to the Rick Vito/Billy Burnette version of “Oh well” which is closer to the Peter Green original. I am sure several fans missed “Everywhere” and “Little lies”, but without Christine they weren’t performed. So of course we missed her, but we understand that she wants to do something else in life right now. But most of all I will remember all the loving affections the band members showed each other. Hugging, blowing kisses, touching each other’s hands. They seemed happy and at peace. So were we. Thank you!

I missed one thing at the merchandise stand: a tour programme! I wish they could have one for this tour. But I got the tour tee instead (as a gift from my mother). Thank you mom for joining me to this concert. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait 19 years until the next tour.

Hanna O.
I was at the Ericsson Globe, Stockholm, Sweden, concert and it was magical, I'm speachless...wow!!!! Where do I start...???....Ok, fist I had 5th row seats, with my dad....then a security guard came to the girls behind me and said "Fleetwood Mac want to have some people who stand in front of the stage the whole concert, do you want to do that?" and they said, yeas, of course and then I asked him if I could to, and he said of course I could, so I ended up right in front of the stage, with my arms and hands holding in the stage and with Stevie right in front of me the whole concert!!!!!!!!!!! Could it be better????? Yes, it could...they started and the concert wnet on Amazing!!! I sand along to EVERY single song and it was sooo great!!!....I'm speachless!!!! Ok, I was standing with my hands reaching for Stevie the whole time and then sometime in the middle of the concert...*STEVIE WENT TO ME, SHE SMILED A BIIIG SMILE AND SHE TOOK MY HAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *Her hand was sooo tiny and soft and I couldn't belove it was true, that Stevie Nicks had seen me and took my hand in hers!!! And I, I was chocked!!!! I started to cry and cried the whole time after that moment!!!! Then I was able to play Lindsey's guitar, touch his shoes and his hand and OMG!!!!!! It was* NO DOUBT THE BEST DAY IN MY LIFE EVER!!!!!!!* Everything happened to me that I never, ever would have thought would have happened!!!! It was all my dreams come true that night...Stevie took my hand she smiled at me several times during the concert...Stevie Nicks...The real Stevie Nicks!!!!! I screamed and cried all the time!!!!
Love you Stevie!!!Fleetwood Mac was THE BEST EVER this conceert and I'l NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER FORGET IT!!!!!! I have been a Mac/Stevie fan in 2 years now and this has been my dream, to see them in real life and to shake Stevie's hand and play Lindsey's guitar and everyting happened to me in 2.30 hours! This is a prove that dreams come true! I hope they come here to canidenavia more, 'cause now they probably know that they got a lot of fans here wanting to see them soon again!!!

Ulf from Sweden
I can only say Thank You for an absolutely Great Evening!

I was there together with my douther. We loved the concert like everybody else in the arena Globen.

Fleetwood Mac are for sure one of the best band ..ever.

Stephanie Nicks...your voice is a true killer and so is Lindsey's guitar playing. Great songs, great musicians...and great hart!

Cant be better!

Thank You very much!

Tramper
Never dreamed that I would send a concert review to Stevie Nicks' official home page. But here I am. I did attend the show in Stockholm, Sweden last Saturday. I have been a fan of Stevie Nicks and FM since the early eighties (Mirage), but this was my first concert with FM/Nicks. A long wait is finally over.

The concert in Stockholm last Saturday was very emotional and powerful for me. Finally I got the chance to see the band live. The most memorable moment was “Silver Springs”. Got carried away there. When I first heard that FM would come to Stockholm on their “Unleashed Tour” I was a bit surprised. I thought that it would never happen. The concert gave me the opportunity to rediscover the FM/Nicks back catalogue. What a treasure! There is a mix of spiritual, loving, melancholy, hopeful mood in Stevie Nick’s music that will never stop fascinating me.

Lindsey was in a good shape, and he received well deserved response from the audience. However when Stevie entered the stage it was purely magic. There is a point when time and space becomes irrelevant. When music is just here and now, and you are filled with it as if other things didn’t matter. A moment when you are in some kind of trance. There were many of those moments in the Globe, especially when Stevie sang her songs. After the show I received the news that Sweden lost an important football match. It didn’t become me at all. The place where came from were only filled with winners.

Standout moments. “Don’t Stop”, “Dreams”, “Sara”, “Stand back”, “Landslide”, and of course the masterpiece “Silver Springs”.

The most special album with Stevie is “Rock A Little”. That album is connected to some very special memories in my life. No song from that album in Stockholm though. Who knows what will happen in the future? Perhaps yet another miracle will occur in Stockholm. Stevie Nicks stopping by on a solo tour. That would be the day. Anyway, what’s wrong with dreaming?

Henke W.
First of all – thank you Agneta for your review of this magical evening, you took the words right out of my mouth! I was also on the fifth row on Stevie’s side. Maybe you were the petite blonde to the right of me… So, this is my story: I have been listening to Fleetwood Mac, I guess, ever since I was born (1983). My parents have been fans since the 70’s and my mom always had her mix-tapes back in the 80’s – when there were neither CDs nor internet. Luckily for me, I got to grow up listening to all the best music that artists of the 70’s and the 80’s had to offer. Of course – I didn’t know that then. It wasn’t until about seven years ago when I purchased The Very Best of FLEETWOOD MAC that I really learned the passion, greatness and love this group produced. Suddenly I heard songs I had heard during my entire childhood and it occurred to me that I had absolutely no idea that so many of these great pieces of music came from a small group of people, thousands of miles away. It didn’t take long until I stumbled upon Stevie’s solo work; it was on a CD-shelf at a supermarket – Timespace. I was hooked! Since then I’ve bought pretty much everything there is to buy with both Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, and I haven’t been disappointed yet. I never expected to see Stevie or The Mac live so when I heard they were coming here to Sweden I really couldn’t believe it at first. By coincidence a friend told me that they were going to tour Europe so I got online right away, and, I was lucky to get GREAT seats for me and my parents.
As the arena started filling up I got more and more nervous, mainly because it would be just my luck if they canceled for some reason. Optimistic as always…
However, when John, Mick, Lindsey and Stevie finally walked on stage, all I felt was happiness and calm. Fleetwood Mac had arrived! The set-list, I guess, was the same as the one on the North-American tour so there were no major surprises really. I did think there was some change to Go Insane but I can’t really explain what because I don’t know. Never mind…
I seemed to take a while for the audience to “warm up” but that changed, I think, when Lindsey got standing ovations after one of his guitar solos. That got everyone heated up.
Lindsey received pretty harsh criticism in several papers the day after because of his guitar solos. Why I don’t know. He really connected with the audience and everyone had fun!

There was some mishap during the intro to Stand Back which made the music stop completely for a moment. Some ignorant critics wrote that this was because Stevie took too long to change outfits but that’s not true, I could see her from where I was standing and she was just waiting for the correct intro to start I guess. Both the band and the audience just laughed it off so there was really nothing to complain about if you ask me. Stevie just said something like “You get to hear a special version of this song” and then they started again. It was fantastic of course! I think she had a new shawl and she didn’t have those big shoes without heels as she wears sometimes – it was good old platforms! And the twirls were, of course, enchanting! :D
Both Stevie and Lindsey seemed more chatty than usual and everyone in the band appeared to genuinely have fun the whole night. Maybe they were somewhat surprised that they were so popular here in Sweden as well. Hopefully they’ll remember that and come back again! I’ll probably never see Stevie solo, since she doesn’t tour over here, but having seen the legendary Fleetwood Mac makes me satisfied for now.

Thank you everyone who take a moment to share your thoughts and experiences here with other fans. To me it feels like a group of friends looking out for each other. Peace.

ULF H.
First I like to say that the concert was MAGIC! Here below I describe why.

I say like Hanna - "where shall I start?" I start with my own Fleetwood Mac history. Late 70`s I became a fan of the group. It was my older brother who bought "Tusk" that invited me! I recorded Tusk on the taperecorder and felt strongly the harmonic music. At that time I listended to ABBA and ELO and such groups, and Fleetwoods harmonic songs came to my heart. In the 80´s and forward I more and more listened to tougher rock´n roll music, but I still listened to Mac. I bought "Rumours" and "The greatest hits" and songs like "Go your own way", "Songbird" and "Little lies" became favourites. The 90´s went on. In 1997 a friend of mine ( a Mac fan) recorded on his VCR a concert with Fleetwood Mac. I was just thrilled!!! Such good music, such good show, such good singing! I bought "The dance" on VHS and the CD. For many, many hours I have been listening to this show and seeing the show on video. Lindsey´s guitarsolo on "Go your.." is fantastic and Stevies "Silver spring" is magic.

From 1997 and 12 (!) years ahead I looked, looked and looked for a sign that Fleetwood Mac was coming to Sweden/Denmark. But nothing, nothing. "Are the only touring USA??" Finally I gave up. "Well, just to realize that I will never see Stevie and the rest singing live". BUT...early june in the paper there was a note saying - "Fleetwood Mac is coming to Sweden". I just couldn´t understand!! I emailed a friend and then we just instantly booked the tickets. First I had a ticket on row 12, but then I hesitated about how much money I had on my card.....and when I finally booked 5 minutes later we were done to row 34!!

The concert!! It was magic from song nr 2 "The chain" and especially when you Stevie sang "Gypsy" the MAc was just on the road to a success and magical concert. "Dreams", "Gypsy", "Sara" "Rhiannon" - my skin went cold when I heard your sweet voice and the songs. I nearly shivered! After "Rhiannon" I turned to my friend and said "this is magic!". He was silented and stunned, but nodded "Yes!". The mix of your songs and Lindsey´s more pop/rocksongs is great. Lindsey´s singing and guitarsolos are just great! "I´m so afraid" and others. Mick is such a cool guy behind the drums, and Johns bassplay gives your heart bumpingfeeling. During the concert you listen a lot, but also watch. Lindsey´s black jacket, John´s cap, Stevies dresses (black, red, black again!). I also saw the feeling when you sang. Lindsey more eager and Stevie more gentle, holding the microphone and giving the audience all the pain, the joy and other feelings from your great songs.

I have been to many concerts, standing up dancing and singing, but now I felt so good to just sit and listen, listen, watch. Perfect!! I really LISTENED and it was magic. When the audience rose to "Go your own way" and the rest of the show, I rose too but my soul and heart had rose for a long time :)

The end of the show. "Don´t stop" - I had a tear in my eye thinking about the longing for this concert since 1997
"Silver spring" - I had tears inside of me during the whole song. Tears of joy, of harmony of happiness. A perfect ending of the show.
Thank you Stevie.
Thank you Lindesy, Mick and John.

Don´t let it be 19 years until next time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



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