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Say You Will FAN REVIEWS 11/30/03 Earls Court Arena
London, England Newest reviews posted at the
top. Stephen & Jean We had been at Birmingham last Tuesday, and thought it was fantastic, but this was something else entirely. This was a different Stevie. Honestly, she looked 10 years younger than she had the week before (and she looked great then!) At Birmingham we thought she took a few songs to relax, but here, right from the start she hits the ground at full speed. Lights went up at the start of "the Chain", she turns, smiling, to face the crowd and makes immediate eye contact with the girls next to us in the front row and gives them the thumbs up, as if she recognises them from the night before. She seems much more animated, putting so much more feeling into the delivery, and definitely twirling and dancing more. Maybe its because its London (and, I have to say, though we northerners like to think of ourselves as being the loudest crowds, the London crowd were truly fantastic from the start) or maybe she was just having a good day (or was she not having a good day in B'Ham?) -whatever - there were real flashes of the "Red Rocks" Stevie here, if that makes any sense - especially during "Stand Back" when I truly thought that if she didn't stop twirling she was going to fall over. By the way - how does Stevie manage to twirl, twirl, twirl and then grab the mike at exactly the right time to start singing again? It's awesome to watch on video, but to see it for real, and so close, is beyond description. Tears again tonight from Jean, (not from me - I had something in my eye - honest!) during "Silver Springs", "Gypsy" "Beautiful Child" and "Say Goodbye", but she is getting better. At Birmingham she cried like a baby through most of the concert! Jean (fashion correspondent) wants me to add that there were several differences in clothes also - apparently Stevie put on her beige platforms for "GDW", which she hadn't in B'Ham, and she had a different coat with tails towards the end. Could we hope for a show this good again in Glasgow on Sunday? Can't wait. And a home town show as well - no flights or hotels! ps - Hot rumour on Sunday going around was that Christine WILL be making an appearance on Wednesday ???? unfortunately we can't be there -damn! Andrés Aznar Royo Flight on Saturday to London and go back on Monday to Barcelona just to see the FM concert on Sunday makes me a poor fool. However I'm happy with the decission. Probably for spanish people will be very difficult to see them, and impossible that they play in Spain someday. About the concert, the set list was okay but we loss Christine's songs... "Everywhere" for example. Don't stop sounds... different without her. A good idea to play "Second hand news" and "Eyes of the world" it lets to put the public on the wave. Lindsey was really compromised with the fans. His solo guitar plays on "I'm so afraid" or the acoustic "Big love" were great. Stevie... I think she was not inspired. Just "Landslide" was really emmotional. I don't like how she sings "Beautiful Child", "Gold dust woman" or "Gipsy"... "Stand back" was okay but the only one where we see the real capabilities of Stevie as rock singer Mick is incredible. I really believe that he has a deal with the evil... his force and how connects with people is really impressive. And John... we expect a little bit more. It seems part of the forniture. It appears with his bass guitar at the beggining with the acords of "The chain" and disappear for the rest of the concert. The best of... without doubts "Landslide" and "Go your own way" (it was singed by all people in the Earl's Court). Jose A. Garcia Leon First, I want to say I’m sorry, my English is really poor... Back home in Madrid from London, and really tired. I must say I had to wait 26 years!! to make this dream come true, so it’s been a pretty strange weekend, mixed feelings, memories... I was a crazy teenager the night that beautiful and hunting voice sang “Dreams” for the first of a thousand times, in a mad, mad disco at the beach. I listened to THAT voice, stop dancing, as I couldn’t move, looking at the speakers as if I was trying to see her... I run to the DJ, asked him who was the one singing and he just showed to me the Rumours album cover. I saw the girl in the black dress and the crystal ball, and the dream began for me. 26 years later, Stevie and I danced together for the first time two nights ago, and the bittersweet feelings I had inside my heart for over two months, disappeared. I had spent two months (since the day I bought the tickets) feeling happy and, at the same time, kind of… don’t know the word. In some ways I was feeling bad about the fact I was doing something I wanted to do a thousand years ago (I would have killed to see Stevie live back in the early 80’s, the Tusk, Bella Donna, Wild Heart period) and I couldn’t, as she or the Mac never came to Spain, and I had no money to travel, so I felt at last I was doing it, yes, but too late: I had seen Stevie a thousand times in videos, and when I was 15, all I wanted to do was to twirl around in the same place with the girl with crazy blond hair and witchy black dress, shouting her songs with her, hurting my hands clapping and losing my voice screaming like the mad fan I was. And I never could. So when the time to do it finally came, I felt happy and at the same time, sad, cause I knew I wasn’t that crazy teenager anymore, and it was a long time since I twirled around last time… In some ways, I was feeling pretty old. Stevie Nicks was drowning in the sea of love at the same time I was doing it, dreaming different dreams the same nights, asking different gypsies to take us home while we were dancing Stand Back together, even if we were 10.000 miles far from each other; howling at the moon with my black widows and all of our sisters… Dancing “I can’t wait” under the rain in the middle of a traffic jam with me and my friends, one crazy night in Madrid... And (fool that I was) crying for the beautiful childs that never came in the middle of so many storms. Two nights ago, my friend Lola (a longtime Stevie fan-atic too) and me were shouting and screaming, 26 years later, but still loud enough… We couldn’t twirl and barely dance, as we had no place, but we flew for 2½ hours all over the a-little-bit cold audience at Earl’s Court... Our seats were not as good as I thought, we were a little too far. The set list was exactly the same it was in the US, and the sound was great but a little too loud sometimes. What can I say about Stevie? She looked great and, I think, really happy. I must say she put a lot of heart through the whole night, always smiling and, to my surprise, dancing a lot, specially Stand Back, twirling around LOTS. And the voice... she was incredible: clear, powerful, tender, beautiful. Landslide, Rhiannon, Beautiful Child (I couldn’t believe I was listening to that live)... But for me, the real thing was Gold Dust Woman. I have a dozen versions of that song alive, but I can’t explain what I saw and heard in London, and how I felt when she finished that one. For the rest of Stevie’s songs, I really loved Say You Will (not my favourite song of the album), the way she sang it and the little dance, she looked so cute. Silver Springs, Gypsy and Stand Back need some rest. I think the first one has lost something we saw in the Dance video (and I’m tired of the Lindsey-Stevie story, hugs and kisses included), and Stand Back was too crazy, I really prefer the long stunning live versions from the 80’s. Lindsey was tireless and he played like the great guitar player he is. Say Goodbye was so beautiful, much better than the record. They were both singing so sweetly. The crowd went wild with his solos, but I really love him playing songs like Say Goodbye or Big Love, forget about the Tango version. Mick was great, as everybody knows. And John was hiding somewhere. I missed: Illume, Thrown Down and Destiny Rules (my favourites from the new album) and Lindsey’s Steal Your Heart Away and Red Rover. Stevie: You’ll never read this one, but I want to thank you for so many years of wonderful music. Maybe we are together in a parallel universe. Destiny rules. Lolo My friend Lola's review. Too poetic to be translated. 30 de Noviembre. Londres. 20:02: empieza el espectáculo - se apagan las luces y la magia invade el Earls Court. Entras como un hada oscura y nos encadenas a todos en tu cadena y, a partir de ahí, siento un duende que me recorre por dentro (que me envuelve) y estoy en otro sitio. Y la banda y tu voz están dentro de mí y dentro de todos, y subimos cada vez más alto... Rhiannon, Landslide, Beautiful Child... hasta que una lluvia de oro hace que me deshaga en mil átomos, y una fuerza descontrolada me atraviesa a mí junto a los demás y me lanza a todas partes, porque tú te has deshecho conmigo, porque tú eres la mujer del polvo dorado... No dejes de mover tus alas en el escenario frente a Mick, no pares nunca; sigue desgarrándonos con tu cristal. Porque en momentos como estos nosotros no somos nosotros, somos tú, somos vosotros. Gracias por eso. La próxima vez te espero en Madrid, para que Sara y el Angel me acunen entre Tormentas, y todos volvamos a ser Hermanos de la Luna. Lola. ARPage Absolutely Incredible!.... That is how my husband describes the experience of seeing Fleetwood Mac in Earls Court, London on November 30, 2003. The last time we saw Stevie Nicks was during her Trouble in Shangri-La tour in Texas. It was a Wonderful time for us, first going to the concert in Dallas then driving the next day to Houston to see her again. Now two years later and living in the UK we were thrilled when we heard that the UK dates had been added. It was a full house in Earls Court and although some people seemed a bit reserved it was still incredible. It was a great feeling to see how many people love Fleetwood Mac…and to see Mick on drums on the big screen…. Hearing ~Say Goodbye~ live was hauntingly beautiful as was Landslide…. Our favourites Dreams, Rhiannon, Gypsy, Silver Springs, Gold Dust Woman, Stand Back, and Go Your Own Way had us all on our feet… When they left the stage after singing ~Go Your Own Way~… some people got up and started walking out. We were on our feet stomping and clapping refusing to let the night end and then we saw them in the shadows coming back… The place went wild… everyone was on their feet… Mick… John… Stevie and Lindsey hand in hand. Everyone cheered when Lindsey kissed Stevie’s hand… It was a magical moment we will never forget… and on December 10th, we get to live it again. My husband and I gave each other an early Christmas present…and with the help of our best man Albert Perez (a true Stevie Nicks Fan) we have 5th row seats on the floor! Andrew I'm still in my 20's (born the year Rumours came out!!), so only began to appreciate FM around 1990 when behind The Mask was released. I've waited 13 years to finally experience this, and to hear my favorite enchantress/songbird sing in front of my very eyes! What can I say- after all these months on the road the band were fresh, in good spirit and ROCKED! If i'm honest, it was Stevie I was there to see. She's provided so much inspiration through some very difficult times. When things were really bad I used to curl up and play 'Doin The Best I Can' over and over. That made me stronger! I was so disappointed that she didnt do any shows over here when TISL came out, and so had to pay for the best seats for this show, incase its the only chance I get to see her live!! Stevie obviously looked fantastic- so pretty and elegant, even cheeky in the way she wiggled her hips from side to side through Tusk!!! Her stage presence is unlike anything i've seen. She can work the audience into a frenzy with just a few twirls of her hem-line!! These guys don't have to put themselves through a 2 and half hour show everynight, they are doing it for the love of performing, and that comes across in their interactions and rapport between songs. I was lucky enough to be 8 seats from the front, opposite Stevie's ribbon-laced mike. I didn't need to look at the screens, I could see every expression right there on her 'timeless' face. Lindsey added so much humour to the show- especially in his guitar-bangin solos during Come and So Afraid, and his play-fighting with Stevie during Tusk!! He is such a talented (and under-rated) guitarist. Mike's drum solo during World Turning was totally awesome as well- i didn't realise he had such star quality and it was great to see him take centre-stage for a change. John stood back in the shadows throughout to let the others take the light! I don't think he actually said anything throughout! The highlight for me was definitely Stand Back. Myself, and the whole arena went absolutely crazy. My legs still ache from too much jumpin up and down!! Stevie had so much energy throughout this song, twirling during Lindsey's solo maybe 6 or 7 times. She totally rocked, as much as anyone 30 years younger could!! What a star! I'm so glad this song got such a good reception, as her solo stuff is so unknown over here :o( There are so many highlights, Beautiful Child, Landslide, Say You Will (with the cute little dance moves) and Gold Dust Woman. I've seen Stevie perform this song so many times on video but nothing compared to tonite. Seeing her figure drapped in an orange shawl swaying and moving in the shadows to the outro was unbelievable. She must have performed these songs a million times but still puts so much of her soul into it! Lindsey's highlight, apart from the guitar solos, was Go Your Own Way- i think again the whole Stadium was up and rocking! This show went beyond all my expectations- I can't believe its all over and hope that as a momentum they release a video of the tour, so when the 'long nets of white cloud my memory', i'll be able to watch it and re-live the magic.......... Charlie Wow! Having been a fan for 29 years, I finally got the chance to see the Mac live. Not a hint of a band going through the motions or living off the fat, but two and a half hours of turbo-charged total commitment from a band at the height of their powers (this is NOT hype). Lindsey's outrageous, adrenalin-fuelled solos were a thing of genius, with Mick's masterclass drumming powering the band through, and John's beautiful, understated basslines stitching the whole tapestry of sound together. This is a band earning their corn, respecting their audience, and playing out of their skins for the sheer enjoyment of being there. As for Stevie, a mesmerising presence every time she took the spotlight, her voice is actually better than ever, effortlessly filling the stadium with a resonance that has grown in expressiveness. When she sang '... and I'm gettin' older too' it made me feel that getting older maybe isn't so bad after all! Highlights?:'Rhiannon' (of course),'Peacekeeper', 'Landslide', 'Silver Springs', 'Go Your Own Way', 'Don't Stop', 'World Turning' (and THAT drum solo), 'Goodbye Baby', 'Gold Dust Woman', 'Beautiful Child', 'What's The World Coming Too', 'Big Love', 'Gypsy', 'Tusk', 'Stand Back' ... OK, OK, you get the picture - there wasn't a slack moment. Gig of the year? Gig of my life! Keep on dreaming Stevie... Michele Sunday's show was as good as Saturday's. As the tour progresses, Lindsey works himself into more and more of a frenzy at the close of his solo numbers. During "Come" he starts swinging the guitar by its neck and I fear what would happen if he lost hold of it and it flew into the audience. He's equally animated for "I'm So Afraid"'s climax. At one point he's on the ground with the guitar, on all fours, at another he tosses the guitar aside, to his right and leaves it there. As he moves center stage, gratified by the applause, panting and sweating profusely. During "Good Dust Woman" Stevie is still playing with the phrasing of "shadows" at the end. She lets the background singers sing "running in the shadows" before she follows with her own "shadows" then finally, she just repeats "shadows" over and over before flowing into her turn. She is really in character for this song, a femme fatale, flirting with John -- or at least with his bass as she moves to him and then retreats with a spin, shading her face, then looks back at him again. After Rhiannon, as Stevie walks off the stage, she usually clasps Lindsey's hand in passing, but tonight she also does the same thing after Gypsy. Mick jumps down off the drum kit to escort Stevie from the stage and as they leave together, Stevie reaches out to touch hands with Lindsey before exiting. For Landslide, Stevie says that she doesn't like to repeat herself by using the same dedication from the night before. So, she wants to thank the audience for their continuing support and she wants to thank all of the musical influences who hailed from London and have inspired her (and Lindsey). She wants to vary the previous dedication to say this time the song is for all the songwriters, singers, and musicians who came from London and shared their genius with the world. For Beautiful Child Stevie says that the next song is from an album they recorded back in 1979. She kind of holds up a silencing hand and I wonder if she thinks the audience thinks she might be getting ready to sing Sara. Anyway, she says it's a song she never thought she'd sing, but after all of these years "these lovely men" let her sing the song this time. For "Stand Back" as Lindsey is mouthing the words in the shadows, when Stevie gets to the part where one man said "take me" Lindsey points to himself. That's quite an offer there. He usually stands on the edge of the stage during the song, facing the audience, but a couple of times he makes his way back to the drumkit and faces Mick, enjoying the show that Stevie, Brett, Neale and Carlos are putting on. For "Go Your Own Way" I wonder why Lindsey still bothers disconnecting the amplifier chord to his guitar, since he ends up taking the guitar off altogether. But he still unplugs the chord first and swings it, before putting the guitar down. It seems to me that Lindsey ends "World Turning" with more of a flourish than he used to, a longer guitar riff or something. Before, I recall it ending rather promptly, but now it's prolonged with Stevie shaking her tamborine in exuberance with the closing chords. For the band introductions, Mick says that he can't imagine life without the other three and their four lives are forever intertwined, seemingly into the horizon. When he introduces Lindsey, Lindsey comes over with an outstretched arm and Mick kisses him and as the audience claps for Lindsey, Mick says, "and a helluva guitar player I should add." As "Stephanie" is introduced as the lady of the band, Lindsey blows his customary kiss to her, but she doesn't see or respond. After John is introduced Mick adds that tonight there's someone else -- so, of course I'm thinking that he's about to bring Christine on . . . but he says that he believes that Peter Green is in the audience. The whole band cheers for Peter Green. After "Don't Stop" I'm quite relieved to see that the band is immediately setting up for "Goodbye Baby," since they didn't sing it last night (the show started earlier Sunday, so if a noise curfew caused it to be cut Saturday, they probably were able to fit it in this time, because it was still only about 10:30 p.m.). When they come back on stage, Lindsey kisses the side of Stevie's head and then her hand as they walk to the mics. After the songs end, Lindsey shakes a few hands in the audience and then goes and stands in the wings. Mick picks some presents off of the floor and gives them to Stevie. She eventually goes over and stands besides Lindsey. They both raise their fists when Mick says "The Mac is Back." Aymi Well I went to both shows out of luck, and I still can't believe now that it's been and gone(I will prob end up going on the Dec 10th too!) From Stevies gorgeous vocals and amazing on stage perfomance to Lindsey's guitar solo's the whole show left me speechless! I now have 'The Dance' cd and dvd on repeat!! Absolutely brilliant, first class band, you don't get perfomances like that from the young bands really(and I'm only 23 and feel that way!!) Gold Dust Woman was most probably my favourite although it's hard to choose, cause they were all fantastic, I couldn't quite believe I was finally hearing it 'live' when Rhiannon started up!! And 'Stand Back' was just the right sort of song for that sort of venue, stadium rock! Mick was very entertaining during his solo in World Turning he's a real showman and John McVie the quiet one of the lot is an extremely talented bass player too. Stevie if you ever read this, as a singer you will always be a great idol of mine, you are an amazing performer and I only hope I see you again, I always dream of being a backing singer for you for just one night! :0)
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