Friday, April 17, 2009

Up Next on the Stage: Fleetwood Mac...



My life will change tomorrow evening when I travel to Columbus, OH to see Fleetwood Mac perform live. My mother raised me on many classic rock bands, but Fleetwood Mac has stuck with me more than all the others. Would I have loved to seen Fleetwood Mac in their prime? Without a doubt, yes...but, that does not mean I am not looking forward to seeing them on the stage at Nationwide Arena.

Christine McVie will not be joining the band for this "farewell tour", which is certainly a disappointment considering how much I love her songs from the Fleetwood Mac catalog. Stevie Nicks is on board so enough said there. It is hard for me to believe that after all these years as a fan that I will actually get to see these musicians perform upon the stage. All those years ago, riding around in the car with my mother listening to the sounds of Fleetwood Mac have made me realize that good things really do come your way if you just wait for them.

Background:

Fleetwood Mac are a British rock band formed in 1967 which have experienced a high turnover of personnel and varied levels of success. From the band's inception through the end of 1974, no incarnation of Fleetwood Mac lasted as long as two years.

The only member present in the band from the very beginning is its namesake drummer Mick Fleetwood. Bassist John McVie, despite his giving part of his name to the band, did not play on their first single nor at their first concerts. Keyboardist Christine McVie has, to date, appeared on all but two albums, either as a member or as a session musician. She also supplied the artwork for the album "Kiln House".

The two most successful periods for the band were during the late 1960s British blues boom, when they were led by guitarist Peter Green, and from 1975 to 1987, with more pop-orientation, featuring Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. The band enjoyed more modest success in the intervening period between 1971 and 1974, with the line-up including Bob Welch, and also during the 1990s which saw more personnel changes before the return of Nicks and Buckingham in 1997, and more recently, the departure of Christine McVie.


Songs I most want to see performed:

Gypsy
Landslide
Sara
Seven Wonders
Beautiful Child
Silver Springs
Storms

Suggested listening:

'Fleetwood Mac' (1975)



'Rumours' (1977)



'Tusk' (1979)



'Mirage' (1982)



'Tango in the Night' (1987)



'The Dance' (1997)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I hope you enjoy the concert! Your nostalgia about Fleetwood Mac will only make the experience sweeter. Leave your reaction to the show on my fan blog if you like!