Fleetwood Mac

Last year it was announced that Lindsey Buckingham had been fired from Fleetwood Mac and that Mike Campbell (of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) and Neil Finn (one of my musical heroes) were taking his place in the band. I will admit I was stunned and really couldn’t imagine this scenario. It just seemed a bit too weird to think of Neil, one of my favorites, playing as part of FM, a favorite band of mine going back for several years. There was quite a furor in the media at the time and people were very much divided. I didn’t think too much more on it at the time but did start hearing reviews of shows once the tour began. Surprisingly, there was a hugely positive response at the time. It now was a matter of if and when the shows might reach Australia.

In January the announcement did come and when tickets went on sale I was a bit torn about whether to get tickets or not. In the end I decided to go for it and went online to purchase. Initially I had found tickets in the first block but had some technical issues when trying to make a purchase and so ended up with seats in the next section back. This was still quite a reasonable view so I can’t complain.

Months passed and my mind had the idea the show was mid-late August so was taken by surprise when I discovered the show was on the 9th. The Scientist and I had intended to go see a friend playing with her band in a local venue that night. I made my apologies and my friend was quite forgiving and said if she had tickets she’d be missing her show too. She’d been to see FM a couple years back in the rain and loved the show despite being left with a nasty cold afterwards. That show had the classic lineup which we haven’t seen before. The Scientist and I saw them on the Behind the Mask tour when Rick Vito and Billy Burnette were in place of Lindsey.

Friday arrived and the Scientist decided to work from home so he could get ready sooner. We made the unprecedented decision to take public transport to the show, partly due to it being included in the ticket price and partly to avoid driving in and the exorbitant parking fees. Anyway, we got ready and left a bit early to walk to the bus stop. We were first to board, having walked to the terminus. Once in town, we walked to the venue, which was a short distance from the bus terminal. Our plan was to get a bite to eat at Pita Pit, a local favorite eatery that had announced their presence. We discovered three food trucks on-site so had a look at the fare for the other two. When we arrived at Pita Pit, a worker that we know from our local store approached us and gave us discount coupons. That kind of decided us and we managed to get our two meals plus potato wedges for a mere $14.

After eating we walked across the side street to the venue and ventured in. Over the loudspeaker there was an ongoing announcement being broadcast in an annoying gee whiz kind of voice about getting into the venue. I can’t recall what it was but we heard it while eating and then while waiting to get inside and it was highly annoying. Once inside we went in search of water fountains to fill our water bottles. It’s not often we’ve been able to enter an arena with our own so it was good to take advantage. It took a while to find them but they seemed kind of obvious once we did. Then we went inside the arena and were ushered personally to our row since the crowds were still pretty limited.

The show was set to start at 8pm and there were still a lot of empty seats even ten minutes before that. I guess most people just assume the start will be late and act accordingly. Or they were all hanging around the bars getting drinks and didn’t care if they were late to the show. The start time rolled around and people were still flooding in. I should add there was no support act for this show, something we both found rather unusual. The lights finally went down at a quarter past and the band were soon onstage to a roar as Mick Fleetwood entered the stage and took his place at the drum kit.

Soon they launched into The Chain and it was a good start. I’m so used to the original lineup with this song that it didn’t seem possible it would be as good. But it really was well done. After the song finished, Stevie spoke up and told us this was the 63rd show of the tour. And of course it was the first for Australia. The band launched into Little Lies with Christine McVie singing lead vocals. Her voice sounded a bit rough for this one, which was a surprise since it’s been Stevie’s voice that has been a bit off in recent years. Still it was a good performance overall.

Next up is Dreams and we’re into the stuff that made up the heart of my love of Fleetwood Mac all those years ago. Stevie is in her element on vocals and the tambourine and the evening is heading into the magical realm at this point. Then we have Second Hand News and this is where I find Neil Finn makes it seem real to me. I am just so used to Buckingham vocals on this but Neil honestly did a really good job on this.

I can’t recall all of the songs played but the next of note is their new version of Black Magic Woman, with Stevie on lead vocals. This was my highlight of the night with all performing so well and the audience was very appreciative.

Suddenly we’re onto a Neil Finn creation with the song, I Got You from his days in Split Enz. I will point out that band was huge in Australia, making Neil and his brother Tim rather honorary Aussies as opposed to Kiwis from across the pond. I came to hear this song long after its heyday but it’s a big staple in the Neil Finn catalogue and the crowd loved it. Everyone was on their feet and it was reminiscent of seeing Split Enz in the frigid Burswood Dome in winter 2006 and everyone was up and dancing. You’d have thought the crowd was there for Neil on this song.

Moving on we get to Rhiannon which is another magical performance. And next we move on to World Turning which was a big Lindsey song. But with Neil and Christine on lead vocals, it was amazing and this led into a long drum solo by Mick Fleetwood, and eventually onto more amazing drumming with the addition of Taku Hirana on drums beside him. It was another highlight of the show before other members of the band gradually returned to the stage to finish up.

After this Mick comes to the front of the stage to make proper introductions of the band. There are cheers for the additional players on stage. One of the greatest cheers comes for Neil, which is amazing seeing he is the youngest and latest to join the band. But it’s like he’s the hero of the night and he looks so happy to be there. Just like a kid at times. The biggest roar comes for Stevie a bit later, which is fitting since she is the often the leading star of the show for the band.

A bit later in the show, the song Oh Well is played. This is another throwback to the early FM and Mike Campbell takes the on the vocals and gives another amazing performance. It’s truly rocking blues number that evokes the late ’60s era from which it originated.

We get Gypsy and Landslide from Stevie and then You Make Loving Fun and Hold Me from Christine. Another fabulous performance of Gold Dust Woman by Stevie, a dark and riveting number that kind of feels like black magic…

In the midst of all these lovely songs is Don’t Dream it’s Over with Neil and Stevie sharing vocals and the local crowd just erupts. The love for Neil and this “Aussie” classic is palpable. Plus there’s the awesome sing-along of the crowd with band during the chorus.

The set finishes with Don’t Stop, which brings the house down and the band leave the stage for a time. When they return the screen behind the band shows images of Tom Petty as they go into the Free Fallin’ with Stevie taking on the vocals. The feeling in the crowd is of sadness but admiration for the close friend of two of the band members.

Finally, the band plays it’s finale of Don’t Stop and the crowd is roaring and on its feet. Well at least up where we are they are standing and joining in the song. It’s a fitting end to the show and it kind of leaves you with the feeling of hope for the future.

The band lingers on stage for a while and Neil takes many bows as he moves across the stage. Again, he’s having a wonderful time and I can’t help feeling it’s a bit like a homecoming for him to be back in Australia with a “new” band. Stevie also moves as though a queen and pays respect to the crowd from various parts of the stage. Finally it’s just Mick Fleetwood who leaves with heartfelt words to say for us to be safe on our return home and to be good to one another.

The lights come up and we wait for a while as the crowd pours out the exits. I figure it might be awhile until we get out but things move along quickly and soon we are heading back to the bus terminal. It’s a pleasant night and if not for a bit of rush to catch our bus, I’d have liked to have hung out a bit along the way. In the end it wasn’t the rush we thought it was but at that point it felt better just to get where we needed. We thought initially we’d have missed the 11pm bus but we arrived with plenty of time, which is good since it would have been a hugely late night for the Scientist.

Surprisingly I felt really tired when we got home and went to bed kind of early, which is quite different to usual when the buzz of the night keeps me going for long time after I’m home.

All in all it was a wonderful night that will long be remembered.