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Say You Will FAN REVIEWS 7/12/03 Staples Center
Los Angeles, CA Newest reviews posted at the
top. Nikki I didn't know there was a time limit on a review, or I'd have had mine in sooner!! Redwing Fan It was better than I expected! After seeing Stevie solo for the last four years, it was great to see her with the Mac. She seemed more relaxed. And it was very cool to see she brought her band and backup singers. Lindsay Buckingham rocked! From his solo on "Big Love" to his unbelievable performance on "Go Your Own Way", he was great. He and Stevie just rocked all night! Mic put on his drum vest. The drum sequence of "Tusk" was very cool!. The USC marching band was shown on the flowing screen behind the stage. And then of course, there was Stevie. From her trademark songs like "Gypsy" and "Gold Dust Woman" to "Stand Back" which got the whole crowd standing on their feet. It was a magic and incredible night with the Mac!! We love you Stevie!! Bobbie Beeman "An Evening With Fleetwood Mac." That's just what it was. A complete dream. It was a chance for someone like myself (a fanatic you may say, but someone who LOVES this music) to indulge. I was like a pig rolling around in the mud. My favorite band was before me, playing my favorite music and they looked like they were having the time of their lives doing it. Could it be that Mick, John, Lindsey and Stevie were having as much fun as I was? They were having more fun than me! This was my first opportunity to see Fleetwood Mac. It's a long story about how I missed them so many times before, mostly I was just too young. This night reimbursed my soul for all the concerts I missed. The instruments, the voices, and the spirits of the performers were strong. Lindsey and his guitar(s) mesmerized all of us. He is a master and I am proud to be his fan. His performance this evening, like those I have heard on live albums, bootlegs and seen on videos, was haunting and wickedly amazing. The voice, the guitar, the emotion. His whole package was present. John and his bass (the strong silent one), the foundation. The only thing I missed from this evening was John's pounding bass in the song "Illume" (a song that was left out of the set list). John Mc Vie, I appreciate you. He is a master bassist. Mick is off the hook! He is also a foundation. The audience went nuts for the founder that evening. I was so glad to finally be hearing this music live with the captain at the helm. The stage presence this man carries is big and almost sinister, but playful at the same time. I know he was having fun! Stevie is so strong. There aren't words in the English vocabulary to do justice to the gift that she gave the audience on that night. The gift I carry with me always. I have seen Stevie several times before, but the opportunity to see her perform with HER BAND was a dream come true. These men do her justice. When they perform together, everything feels complete. She seemed to feel complete and at such peace. Ah, to have seen her dance with Lindsey, holding hands and running in a circle. The years seemed to fade away and suddenly, I was at all those shows back in the day that I missed. I could go through every song and tell you how masterful it sounded and how my heart got the blood flowing faster each time I heard the next song emerge, but that is obvious. Big Love, Beautiful Child, Rhiannon (the way it was meant to be heard), Landslide, World Turning....I could go on and on. They didn't seem to get tired or even want to leave that stage in Los Angeles, their homecoming. I could not have asked for more. John, Mick, Lindsey, Stevie, THANK YOU for giving me that night. Thank you for your music. I'll be waiting for you at the San Diego Sports Arena on July 19th for a second helping. One last thing, a highlight. Stevie and Lindsey playing, "Say Goodbye." Pure heaven. I could have cried, but I was too happy. Clayre Stevie and The Mac ROCKED both nights in LA! They sounded great! They had fun, and so did we! FLEETWOOD MAC IS WAY COOL! Joel I saw Fleetwood Mack Saturday June, 12... I remarked to several of the concert goers that Stevie has STILL GOT IT ! We were rockin out and having a good old time. Even my Significant who doesn't dance and has no rhythm was up dancing and into it. I appreciated soo much that Fleetwood Mack was so gracious to the audience and just made you feel generally good. Mick Fleetwood said it when he said the MACK is BACK ! Valerie Last night was my very first Fleetwood Mac concert and I was blown away! I sang along to every song and screamed so much and I could barely talk by the end of the night. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Stevie’s solo shows five times but I’ve never seen Lindsay live and man can that guy play, his energy and spirit were so infectious that crowd was on their feet the entire show. Last night was my 21st birthday celebration and I couldn’t think of a better place to be then watching my favorite band. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world because I got to spend the whole concert standing right in front of Lindsay and maybe be a few feet away from Stevie! I came really to see Stevie I’m such I big fan of hers, but Lindsay stole the show pure and simple. For his songs "Big Love," "I’m so Afraid," "Go Your Own Way," and "Second Hand News," Lindsay put everything he had into them pounding on his guitar with such a ferocious energy unlike anything I’ve seen before and I’ve seen a lot bands. And as for "Come," even though I adore the new album (I listen to it everyday on my commute) this wasn’t my favorite song. But being right in front of Lindsay when he poured his heart and soul into this song left me breathless. It was the definite highlight of the evening. Stevie on the other hand started out a little slow last night with a subdue "Riannon," which surprised me because she always sings that with such intensity at her shows. However, once she got warmed up she gained more energy with each song and "Gold Dust Woman," "Silver Springs," "Beautiful Child," "Gypsy," and "Stand Back" were incredible. She even twirled around ten times during "Stand Back" and the crowd went wild. Through the whole show Stevie seemed to hold back a little and let Lindsay shine. He was making eye contact with the audience and smiling at everyone, he even let a few of us lucky fans strum his guitar. Stevie kind of stayed back on the stage trying not to get in his way. Lindsay tried to get her more into the show. At one point Lindsay picked up a loose cord and started twirling it around. Stevie at first looked puzzled but soon he grabbed her hand and they were twirling around the stage together. During "Landslide’ she rubbed his shoulders when he was playing the guitar part and he kissed her on the head when the song was over, it was so beautiful. They looked at each other throughout the night, especially on "Say You Will," "Silver Springs" and "Second Hand News" (Lindsay made the cutest facial expressions at Stevie during this song) but on "Say Good Bye" they sang the entire song to each other, which gave it such an emotional weight. As for their new songs, I just loved them. They were really rocking on "What’s the World Coming To," "Peacekeeper" and "Say You Will." My only suggestion would be I would have loved hearing "Everybody Finds Out," my favorite song off the new album. Mick Fleetwood was amazing throughout the night, but especially on "Eyes of the World" and his solo number "World Turning." He got the audience so into that song and he seemed to be loving every minute. Lindsay watched him from the side of the stage and joined in that the end of the song for one hell of a jam session. "Tusk" was equally as heart pounding with the whole band really getting into it and dancing around the stage. Before I knew it the 2 and ½ went by so fast, I was so sad to see the concert was coming to an end, but thankfully they did a few encores. It was a treat to see Stevie sing "Don’t Stop," she changed a couple of the lyrics and really made that song her own. For the last song she broke my heart when she sang "Good Bye Baby" it was so beautiful and so powerful in it’s quiet way. After the song was over the groups took a bow together and Lindsay shook some of the fans hands, collected the gifts that people bought for him and even signed a couple of autographs including mine. When he came over to me I told him that it’s was my birthday and I thanked him for making it the best ever. He gave me a big smile back. What a night, the music, the emotion, the energy. It’s been almost 12 hours since the concert was over and the music is still in my head as vibrant as it was last night. Stevie looked so beautiful and rocked so hard, I just adore her. And Lindsay played with such force and intensity I have a new appreciation for him. That was the best concert ever! I’ll remember my 21th birthday forever. Thank you Fleetwood Mac! I can’t wait to see them at the Pond!!! Curtis Helmus This was the 2nd show on the Say You Will tour, I have attended. I previously saw Fleetwood Mac's Grand Rapids, MI show in June. Both shows were a blast. Stevie looks and sounds great. It is always a wonderful experience to see Stevie perform. Michele I just returned from the second Los Angeles show, after having been last night too. I would have to say FM’s performance was probably equally spectacular both times. Although since I was sitting in the 5th row Friday and back in a lower loge section tonight, I probably enjoyed the first show most, overall. I did find, being in the middle of the stadium, in the thick of it all, that Friday I had underestimated the crowd’s appreciation of certain parts of the show (i.e. World Turning and Mick’s drum solo). Up front you can see the facial expressions of band members and that’s exciting, but further back you can see 1000s of people in the throes of good music and that’s like being part of a wave, exciting in its own way. When they addressed the crowd before “Peacekeeper,” Lindsey said that Los Angeles was “pretty much” their home town and Stevie interjected: “It IS our home town.” Bet she doesn’t say that in Arizona! He said that they came out to Los Angeles from Northern California “to try to . . .” He paused and Stevie supplied the words “do something.” Lindsey continued that they came out to try to do something with their careers. Then they ran into “these guys” (Mick and John). It’s been a long, strange trip since then (audience laughter), “but the point is – here we are!” Then, he gave his “Love. Justice. Force” speech for Peacekeeper. I like the arrangement at the end of the song where Stevie, Mindy and Sharon are singing the chorus and he’s cutting in with part of the verse, making it sound more like it did on the record. “Second Hand News,” Lindsey once said that in the studio he kind of speeds things up electronically on some songs; he thinks that speed, even though it’s artificial, helps compound and crystallize the artistry and tone of certain music. I think of that as being true when he whips through Second Hand News. “Say You Will” is really a beauty and a contrast to Stevie’s past hit singles. It’s fitting that she pulled this sunny glory out of her sleeve for the record that Christine did not contribute to, because it’s an upbeat, Christine-like thing, though I think the lyrics have more depth than Christine’s famous feel-good tune, “Don’t Stop.” After Mick’s drum part ends on this song, even he does some hand choreography. As Lindsey and Stevie sing the close, Mick is rolling his arms one over the other, silently orchestrating the last notes. What I love about “Never Going Back Again” is that the applause comes due to the way the song is sung and not the instrumental talent, which is a change of pace where Lindsey is concerned. “Rhiannon.” I can think of few songs in pop history that have as exhilarating an opening beat as this one. It’s obviously a signature tune for Stevie, but actually if John was compiling a musical resume, he should put his driving bass work from Rhiannon right at the top of his list of credentials. If Stevie doesn’t let loose vocally on Rhiannon, as in the days of yore, she still wrings every ounce of energy out of the lyrical phrasing, so you get intensity, without the volume. “Take me with the sky-high-high-high-high.” Lindsey is in the background by the drum kit, one leg up on the podium, one leg on the floor, hopping up and down during this part. “Come.” I wonder why this song seems to exhaust Lindsey so much more than all of the others that he exerts himself to the max in. He spends half of “Gypsy” still sweating from “Come.” For “Landslide” Stevie said that they only talk in a few cities and Los Angeles is one of them. She and Lindsey came out here in 1971 and they got a record deal, but then the record was dropped “and we thought we were dead. We didn’t know what we were going to do next. Would we have to get jobs? Then we got a phone call from Mr. Mick Fleetwood and he wanted us to join Fleetwood Mac, sight unseen. We didn’t have to audition at all. And he wanted both of us. They could have asked just him [Lindsey]. They already had a girl singer. They didn’t need two of them.” Anyway, she said Los Angeles is where it all started and is very special to them. During Landslide, she went behind and did the piano thing on Lindsey’s shoulder again. Then, at the last “snow covered hills” she held up her hand upright to him, like she did last night. They clasped fingers for awhile. After the song was over, they hugged laterally, shoulder to shoulder again. Forehead kiss. I hope they realize that “Beautiful Child” goes over well with the audience. “I’ll do as I’m told, even if I never hold you again.” “Gold Dust Woman,” Stevie’s broken screams “ack, ahh, ahhh” are as powerful as ever. Noticed Stevie added the present tense line, “am I still a fool?” tonight. This time during “Tusk,” after doing a little dance around John and adjusting his guitar chord so he could proceed to chase Stevie, Lindsey started twirling something in Stevie’s face (kids don’t try this at home). As far as I could see, it was one of the beaded strings from her microphone, which he swung round and round in front of her. Then, they were twirling around, holding hands, him raising his guitar up and down. It was like a weird maypole dance. After the music ends, Lindsey comes to the microphone and groans. He stays hunched over, letting his guitar dangle from his neck, walking like an orangutan for a bit, then dancing as Taku’s drumming starts and we reach the peak of the evening with “Stand Back.” I don’t get into Stevie’s twirls like most fans do, but I really love the way she starts at the side of the stage and spins herself back to her microphone. It’s cool. You have to love the diva attitude on this number. She’s like Alexander Haig, telling the world: “I’m in charge here!” “Go Your Own Way.” I still appreciate Lindsey’s guitar hamminess at the end, where’s he’s playing with his hands crossed over the strings, then goes to the drum stand and is hitting the cymbals with one hand and his guitar with the other, making lots of noise and then finally giving Mick the signal to close the tune. Love when he and Stevie cross each other on the stage, him going to his right as she travels left. Stevie is standing in the corner, in front of Taku, shaking her head so hard that her hair is flying all over the place. The song ends triumphantly, Lindsey jumping off the podium simultaneous with Stevie giving her tambourine one last clang. Now, before I would have said that I’d just as soon have “Love is Dangerous” for the encore, as “World Turning,” but tonight I appreciated it more. The audience was really into Mick. Then when you have the recorded voices saying “world turning, world turning,” as the drum solo ends, it is undeniably powerful the way Stevie, John and the rest of the band come back onto stage and Mick seamlessly segues from his drum vest, back to the regular drum kit. Then, Lindsey and Stevie take the microphones again and finish the verse. It’s a wonderful rhythmic culmination that I had not fully appreciated before. It’s a good thing that Mick introduces the main band members, since Christine is no longer there to yell out “Stevie Nicks” and “Lindsey Buckingham” after hit numbers anymore. Stevie and Lindsey certainly aren’t going to do it for each other. Actually, Stevie is off stage when most of Lindsey’s big songs end, so she couldn’t call out his name even if she wanted to, which she probably doesn’t. Lindsey is always on stage, but he’s hardly going to run up to the mike and scream “Stevie Nicks!” after “Stand Back.” Actually, though they do seem supportive of each other’s solo turns. Last night, after “Rhiannon” and before “Come,” as Stevie was walking off the stage she and Lindsey caressed hands in passing. Tonight during “Don’t Stop,” Lindsey again motions for Stevie to do his line, “it’ll soon be here.” That reminds me of “The Dance” tour, when they were all at the front of the stage singing “Say You Love Me,” when it came to the end and Lindsey was suppose to sing his “oooh ooooh” in between the “falling, falling, falling,” lyrics, Christine would always point at him with her tambourine. Let me just say how much I miss her again. She is my third favorite performer in that group, so it’s not as if I was ever an FM fan just because of her. Still, as much as I love the others, things feel incomplete in her absence. When you have a group where the sum is greater than its parts, if you lose 1/5 of the band, you have less than 80% left. I know Mick and I know that he’s done everything in HIS power to try to convince her to return, but I hope the others have as well. I mean, we know that at one time Keith Olsen was going to produce a second solo album for her. So, she’s still making music. I don’t know why she can’t be involved in the next Fleetwood Mac album, even if she skips the tour. When the band talks about the “opportunity” that her absence gives them to try something new, I think they are mostly just trying to make lemonade out of sour lemons. I hope they want Christine back as much as I do. When I hear them talk about the “power trio” of Mick, John and Lindsey and discuss how the band has taken a masculine turn, I laugh. It’s true, the slant is different, but Lindsey’s voice only deepened in the last 5 years. He’s got a very strong feminine side, just as Christine (musically) and Stevie (vocally) can have a very testosterone/aggressive side. I like what the three brought out in each other. I’d like to see that balance restored someday. In the meantime, I’m just grateful for what we have now. Mick reminded John that they’ve been together since 1967. The way they still rock, it could have been 2067 tonight. Lindsey was holding Stevie’s hand and kissed it after they returned for the last encore. Obviously, they do this same stuff every night, but when they share these moments over to the side of the stage, they seem genuine. They know they aren’t on the monitor and most of the audience can’t see those little gestures anyway. So, I assume they do them, because they mean them. After “Goodbye Baby,” Stevie started taking her bow, before the music even stopped. She bent at the waist and hung there for a long moment, as the applause rose. Then she backed up and took her place in line with the others. People threw 2 leis on the stage. I saw Lindsey pick one off the floor. He and Stevie left the main stage but seemed to be waiting over to the side, while Mick said goodnight to the audience. Lindsey had some audience gifts in his hand and I saw him offer one item to Stevie, but she declined it. Then, after Mick’s final goodnight they all became a wonderful memory John Let us tell you about the incredible evening we had at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Friday the 12th of July. People of all ages from 2-?? were packed in to see the most talented group of musicians and singers that we will probably see in a long time. Being Die-Hard Fleetwood Mac fans we were excited, running to get to our seats by 8:00, because we read they were opening with "The Chain". If we missed that the night would have been down hill from there. We were on time, the band was a little delayed, but well worth the anticipation and restless wait! Our favorite song was started followed by "Dreams" close second then followed by all of our other favorites (too many to list here)! We were so lucky to have an open space in front of our seats. We used it, I believe, to dance to every song! Even the new work, which we sang along with just the same as "Gold Dust Woman"! We are totally thrilled with the new album and the fans that only came to hear the old stuff are missing out. "Say You Will" our humble opinion is the best album since "Rumours" These guys are such wonderful musicians. They know their craft and give it to you on a silver platter, nothing was flat or stale. They came to preform and they did it well. Stevie's Voice is amazing, she graced the stage, opened her mouth and then there was that sound! Not to mention the harmony! Lindsey is incredible after seeing the show live I have so much respect for him. Mick is the driving force, not a beat is missed and the pound of his bass drum takes over your pulse, I guarantee it! John did his thing on bass, relentlessly with the Fleetwood sound we all love! We missed Christine on some harmonies, but the show was still explosive! Most reviews are very accurate this is a show worth seeing at any price, we were thinking of going the second night and paying for nose bleed seats just to be part of it all again. Thanks for the best live performance we've ever seen! Gloria Ubardelli At the end of the Fleetwood Mac concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Saturday night, as Mick Fleetwood said goodbye to the screaming sea of fans his last words to us were...."And don't forget....THE MAC IS BACK"! What a way to leave the audience wanting more. I am so glad I went to this concert. These guys were in top form! Lindsey Buckingham nearly set the place on fire doing his guitar solos on Come and I'm So Afraid (the latter is ALWAYS a highlight for me). Stevie and Lindsey sounded fantastic together all night, but I just loved hearing them together on Say Goodbye, which is quickly becoming my favorite song on the Say You Will cd. I'm ready for another Buckingham/Nicks cd! I was a little disappointed with Staples Center, though. The sound wasn't that great (too many vibrations and echos throughout unless they were doing a song like Landslide or Big Love), but that was forgotten half way through the show. It seemed like the audience was giving the Mac one standing ovation after another. And deservedly so! These guys must sleep great at night after putting on these concerts. I did think about Christine McVie a couple of times last night, but since she didn't want to tour this time out, I feel they covered her parts well. I think this also gave us a chance to hear Fleetwood Mac sing some gems that are rarely done live. Hearing Stevie sing Beautiful Child took me back to 1979 again. I have been wanting to hear this song live since Tusk came out and last night's performance brought tears to my eyes. Love to the Mac. It was a great Saturday night spent!
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