Tuesday, October 28, 1997
Fleeting force
MUSIC The newly reunited Fleetwood Mac makes up for a lack
of
surprises with sincere music that proves their staying power
By Mike Prevatt
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
If you missed the Fleetwood Mac show at the Hollywood Bowl on
Friday night, don’t worry. You can still catch it at Tower or
Wherehouse. Well, sort of.
Fleetwood Mac rolled into the Bowl on Friday, fresh after a
three-night, sold-out stand at Irvine Meadows, and performed a
two-and-a-half hour show with the exuberance and musical precision
most artists 20 years younger dream of replicating. The crowd,
while a tad quieter than expected at first, grew with each song in
enthusiasm until the end, where there was standing room only in a
sea of 18,000 voices.
However, the enjoyable show was not without its flaws. Perhaps
the most disappointing aspect of the concert was its onstage
near-replay of their new reunion CD, "The Dance." Clearly the
crowd, whom had already seen the special on MTV, VH-1 and on their
VCRs, deserved more than a show with the set list almost mirroring
the album’s.
Even guitarist/vocalist Lindsey Buckingham’s between-song banter
seemed exactly the same from "The Dance," as well as
keyboardist/vocalist Christine McVie’s sometimes tiring praise of
certain band members following a given song.
Nonetheless, the show still managed to symbolize everything
that’s exciting and refreshing about pop concerts. With the
Hollywood Bowl’s crystal-clear, yet not-too-loud PA system, a
fitting lighting display and a greatest hits set-list that few acts
in history could compete with, Fleetwood Mac presented their
well-hyped spectacle with good taste and flair.
Seeing that the show compares with "The Dance" so well, Friday
night’s performance contained many of the transcendent qualities
that made that album one of the musical highlights of 1997. From
opener "The Chain" until the encore rouser, "Don’t Stop," Fleetwood
Mac took their past, present and future, and put it to a musical
story that goes from excess and intra-band turmoil to hope and
happiness. And, like "The Dance," the musical performance never
missed a beat or a note, especially in Buckingham’s virtuoso guitar
playing and, most especially, singer Stevie Nicks’ raspy and
beautifully emotional vocal delivery.
Nicks was clearly the crowd favorite, as screams of delight
echoed in the Hollywood hills whenever she began one of her songs.
Highly charged renditions of "Gold Dust Woman," "Rhiannon" and the
new radio-favorite "Silver Springs" prove Nicks’ enduring spirit
and unparalleled talent. Ever poignant were soaring versions of
"Gypsy" and the beautifully reflective "Landslide" (which ended in
the same hug she and Buckingham took part in on "The Dance"). She
delighted the crowd with her witchy twirls and soothing vocals,
especially during "Dreams" and "Sweet Girl." But perhaps the
loudest response from the audience (full of countless blonde
Stevie-wannabes) came from a surprise rendition of the rocking
"Stand Back," one of her big hits as a solo artist and her favorite
non-Fleetwood Mac song to perform live.
Buckingham, also one to energize the mostly (but not
exclusively) older audience, performed quite a few of the numbers
with the same boundless spirit as Nicks. "Bleed To Love Her," the
song that got band founder and drummer Mick Fleetwood and
Buckingham together to spark the reunion, shined with a pleasant
tenderness. But his true talents lie within the rockers, like the
booming "Tusk," the fast-paced "My Little Demon" and the now
irony-filled "Go Your Own Way."
However, if Fleetwood Mac reveled in their excessive and
damaging ways in the ’70s and ’80s, they made fools of themselves
by going too far on stage at certain points. Buckingham himself
took his vocals to unwelcome levels during the grunt-filled "Big
Love" and gave an awkward vocal performance of the long and winding
"It’s Not That Funny." And as if the latter song wasn’t bad enough,
Mick Fleetwood felt compelled to come from behind the drum risers,
dance around and beat his chest with some sort of mobile percussion
instrument which ruined the perfect flow of the show. Only fans
loyal enough to relish Fleetwood’s drum solos of long ago could
appreciate such an annoying display.
The seemingly reserved Christine McVie did a fine job with her
numbers, despite her somewhat mediocre singing talents. But McVie,
in the shadows of the more vocally powerful Nicks, never aspired as
a singer to reach the levels of her fellow bandmates. She put her
own special, subtle touches to classics like "You Make Loving Fun,"
"Say You Love Me," to newer gems like "Everywhere," and to the
kiss-and-make-up "Temporary One." The crowd ecstatically took in
"Oh Daddy" and the standard encore-closer "Songbird" with her
touching piano/vocal solo. As a matter of fact, she stole the show
during the encore, with "Songbird" and the Mac-anthem, "Don’t
Stop."
What separated the Hollywood Bowl stop of the reunion tour and
their intimate, emotion-fueled performance at the Warner Bros.
soundstage in Burbank in May that became the MTV special were
performances of old favorites actually edited out of the tapings in
the interest of time (and advertisers). For those of us lucky
enough to witness the reunion at that soundstage, there was
something special about hearing such classics as "Gypsy" and "Gold
Dust Woman" that MTV viewers would not.
Fortunately, for those Hollywood Bowl attendees, those and
others made their way into a commercial-free show (save the little
Best Buy sponsorship logos everywhere), plus some. Such new
additions not played at the Burbank reunion shows included
Buckingham’s "It’s Not That Funny" and "Second Hand News," and the
show-closing, rarely performed "Farmer’s Daughter," sung by all
five members (including bassist John McVie).
There seemed to be something disappointing about hearing "The
Dance" all over again, considering the considerably high ticket
prices for the tour and fact that this was the first time Fleetwood
Mac has performed intact in 10 years. Within the first three songs,
most of the crowd were silenced by the notion that Fleetwood Mac
might just be playing a completely predictable show. Yet, as the
show went on and deviations made their way into the show, the
audience asserted with their screams and sing-a-longs that they
weren’t just seeing the same show they had undoubtedly on tape at
home. Even in all its comparisons to "The Dance," reliving that
incredible show wouldn’t have been the end of the world.
With "reunion" shows, artists must be careful not to drive away
fans that revere them. One wrong move, one notion of reuniting for
the sake of money (ahem, the Eagles, the Sex Pistols) and bits of
credibility can be lost forever. Fleetwood Mac, with all the risks
of falling into the traps that caused them to go their own ways
before, surely has had to deal with multiple pressures from fans,
Warner Bros. and the reunion-weary music press.
And yet, somehow, they come out in the end with grace and
dignity. Never mind the minor shortcomings, high expectations and
loads of dough to be made. It’s all about redemption, a second
chance at coming to terms with themselves and their future.
Hopefully, for their sake and ours, they don’t stop thinking about
tomorrow.
Reprise and Warner Bros. Records
’70s diva Stevie Nicks shined Friday night with her raspy, yet
soaring, vocals.