from Shannon Sanderson:
I had to leave my apartment at 3:30 am and I arrived at the NBC Studios at 5am. Of course, there was already a line of Fleetwood Mac fans lined up. Some had even spent the night on the sidewalk. Everyone had their signs all ready to go. A few people were dressed in top hats with scarves and chiffon skirts. We were allowed in a little before 6am. I was right up front. I was so excited. Here comes the cool part: The sound check began around 6:15 am. From outside on the plaza you can see into the main office of the building. Inside we saw Mick, then John, then Lindsey, and finally Stevie looking radiant. It was early in the morning and it was about 38 degrees in NYC, but Miss Nicks looked awesome. She was dressed in a floor length fur coat with a pink scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. Her hair was up in a loose bun and she looked as if she didn't have a drop of makeup on-she didn't need it! In fact, I thought she looked even better without it. She and Lindsey were talking as they were walking out to the stage. They did the sound check singing "Go Your Own Way", "Peacekeeper", "Rhiannon", and "Say You Will". They all looked very cold-especially Lindsey who only had on a leather jacket. They were in good spirits though and it looked like they were happy to be playing together again. They left the stage and came back a couple of hours later. We saw Stevie getting touched up by the make-up artist. Her hair is really so long and beautiful! We watched her and didn't really listen to anything Matt Lauer was saying. :) They went on to the stage and went through the same set up. Stevie was in the same coat and scarf, but her hair was down and 'blowin' in the wind'. :) When Matt Lauer was interviewing them Lindsey threw Stevie some funny reactions when the camera wasn't on them. They all seem like good friends now. It's refreshing. After they were finished they went down to the very front and shook some hands then they were ushered away quickly. It was nothing short of a spiritual experience. Rockefeller Plaza looks so large on TV, but it's really so small and intimate, so to see them there was amazing. They were so close! It was a great way to start the day!

The whole experience was GREAT. Besides hearing 2 sets, (the other at 8:30) the object of everyone was to GET ON CAMERA!! I set up my tape machine ahead of time and saw my "HI KARIE IN CEDAR RAPIDS" sign about a dozen times.

I can't wait for the tour to begin. I'm going to at least 3 venues!

Peter, Kath, Jill, Jan, Mary Ellen and I had traveled from Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey to see Fleetwood Mac on NBC's "Today" show. We'd brought along a huge banner that we'd made and we were wearing top hats and Stevie jackets, and waving tambourines with ribbons, showing support for our favorite band. It was wonderful to know we were here to welcome Fleetwood Mac back on the concert trail with their first true (albeit short) public performance of the tour.

The Plaza looked stunning lit up with bright stage lights against the dark, pre-dawn sky. Mick Fleetwood's drum kit is all gold-plated; it was just dazzling! Stevie's microphone stand was not adorned with the usual ribbons; it now was beautifully draped with what looked to be a long strand of glittering crystal beads. Around 6 am, they began to usher in the line of fans. Unfortunately, the security guard wanted to dismantle our banner before we could go in and therefore that cost us a bit of time, making it difficult to get the spots we were hoping for. But we did manage to secure a place along the front railing on Lindsey Buckingham's side, behind the private VIP section. We had a clear view to the right side of the stage, blocked only a bit by some equipment on the floor.

Dress rehearsal began not much later, with Stevie looking so young with only pink lipstick on her face and her hair wrapped in a Sara-like bun on top of her head. She was wrapped in a full-length furry coat with a pink, heavy-fringed scarf around her neck. Stevie also wore black pants and flat boots. Despite the near freezing temperature, Lindsey was in good voice and was playing his guitar really well. Stevie's voice sounded strong and clear.

Mick and John McVie looked great and were doing their usual thing. Mindy Stein and Sharon Celani were doing backup vocals, and various other members of Stevie's solo band were onstage including Brett Tuggle and Carlos Rios. The songs performed were the old hits "Go Your Own Way" and "Rhiannon" plus two of the new songs, "Peacekeeper" and "Say You Will". The fans loved every minute, everyone was shouting and waving tambourines. At one point, Lindsey walked over to Stevie as he was playing guitar, and he nuzzled his nose into her upper arm in the sweetest gesture you've ever seen. For long time fans like us, it was wonderful to see them still able to emotionally connect on that stage.

After the band went back inside the studio, we had quite a while to wait. We couldn't leave the area because if you did, security would not allow you to come back in. I think we would have all killed for a hot cup of coffee by this point! There were elevated television monitors that kept us in tune with what was being broadcast at the moment. It was disappointing to see that not many of the "regular fans" were able to get too close to the stage, between the press and all the VIPs. One of the VIP ladies asked, "What's with all the tambourines?" Uhhh….hellooooo?!! But we were really thrilled to be there and to be a part of the show.

The band came out again and Stevie explained that they needed to do another quick soundcheck, so they performed "Peacekeeper" again. What a great song that is! Then the band went back indoors until it was time for their concert.

We could see the band inside the glass doors doing some interviews. More VIPs were ushered into the front area and on the side. We got to see Al Roker coming out to do his weather reports; he'd also talk to some people along the side and in the VIP section.

There were lots of cool fans around us. My friend Howie managed to locate our group, and a cool guy with a camera next to us turned out to be someone I knew from eBay. We bumped into a few other familiar faces throughout the day, even my fellow Night of 1000 Stevies performer, the fabulous BellaDonna.

Sometimes it feels like a very small world out there in Stevie-land!

When the band came back, they were dressed the same way as they had been for soundcheck, although Stevie's hair was now hanging down and her face was fully made-up. Everyone looked terrific and they sounded fabulous. They did the same four songs as before. Matt Lauer interviewed the band onstage, as well. We shouted at Lindsey at one point and he looked straight at us and when he acknowledged our Fleetwood Mac banner, that just made our day. As the band left the stage, they stopped to sign autographs for people in the VIP box only. But the band was gracious to the whole audience while onstage and there was a tremendous amount of excitement in the air. When it was over, we did get see Mindy and Sharon, Carlos and Brett heading to their limo but the rest of the band was never seen; they left from an underground exit.

We were very cold and tired at this point, so we went for breakfast and then drove past the World Trade Center site before heading back home. It was great fun to share such an experience with terrific friends (whom I might not have ever gotten to know if it were not for our mutual love of Stevie's music). No doubt it was one of the craziest things we've done but we're sure glad that we did it.

The NBC people photographed us several different times with our banner; that captures a lot of fun memories. When watching the video of the program, our gang was visible a few times and I had to laugh when I spotted my own tambourine ribbons waving behind Matt Lauer's head.