[The Nicks Fix]

The Tampa Tribune
July 5, 1998

Nicks continues to enchant her fans

By CURTIS ROSS

TAMPA - The nation's arenas must look increasingly familiar to Stevie Nicks.

She made the rounds last fall with the reunited Fleetwood Mac, which played the Ice Palace in November.

Nicks returned with her own band Friday night, drawing a crowd of 6,873 for a set focused on tracks from ``Enchanted,'' a three-disc box set compilation of her solo work.

Nicks' appeal may not be as universal as Fleetwood Mac's - that band drew a crowd of 17,247. But if anything, her fans are even more devoted. Some came decked out in Stevie-wear: Shawls, antique dresses and black suede stacked- heel boots were in abundance.

Nicks didn't disappoint the faithful. The show featured a gothic stage set (stained glass and billowing fabric) and several costume changes. And Nicks' most dramatic material, such as ``Gold Dust Woman'' and ``Edge of Seventeen,'' received prominent placement in the set.

But Nicks ignored some of her hits (``Gypsy'' and ``If Anyone Falls,'' for instance) in favor of less familiar tunes from her box set.

``Garbo'' took the middle slot of a mostly acoustic trio of songs, which began with ``After the Glitter Fades'' and concluded with ``Rose Garden,'' a song Nicks said she wrote at age 17.

These songs found Nicks in especially strong voice. Her two backup singers provided pleasant, countryish harmonies here as well.

She rocked harder on the piano-driven ``Enchanted'' and the disco-pulsed ``Stand Back.'' Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' ``I Need to Know'' was a surprise encore, and Nicks closed with the lullaby-ish ``Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You.''

Opening act Boz Scaggs offered grittier music, kicking off his nearly hourlong set with the uptown blues of ``Some Change.'' He crooned his make-out anthem, ``Look What You've Done to Me,'' before closing with a powerhouse trio - ``Loan Me a Dime,'' ``Lowdown'' and his encore, ``Lido Shuffle.''


Thanks to CL Moon for sending this article to The Nicks Fix.

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