Fleetwood Mac: 1 November 2014 – Hartford, CT

The return of Christine McVie to the Fleetwood Mac lineup earned a lot of fanfare and it was a bonus to some other good news. That the band was touring at all was a sign that John McVie’s cancer treatment was successful as well since they had been forced to cancel shows in Australia at the end of 2013 due to his illness. The singer-songwriter and keyboardist Christine had spent time apart from her bandmates for over 16 years, while the rest of the group, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham worked and toured (additional musicians onstage included three backup singers, a drummer and more). But with the group reunited and in good spirits, Fleetwood Mac set off on a half-year-long tour, dubbed ‘On with the Show’, that passed through Hartford, Connecticut on November 1st 2014.

It may not have been a sold-out show, but the two and a half hour performance was an invigorated showcase of epic and classic Fleetwood Mac songs. Although I never had the privilege of seeing the band before, I was very impressed by the overall performance, whether it was a radio hit I knew or a song I hadn’t much knowledge of. They opened strong with “The Chain”, a dramatic and powerful rock song that had the floor audience riled up in their seats. “Seven Wonders” was dedicated by Nicks to the TV show American Horror Story for bringing it back. Nicks also shared a lengthy story about the Velvet Underground store where famous musicians shopped and where she had a premonition about the Fleetwood Mac coming together. The stories and songs, like any well-produced show, were tied together with the lights and projections, so the visuals for “Gold Dust Woman” featured the yellow color prominently for example.

My favorites (and surely many others’) included the “Rhiannon” and “Everywhere” combination; the Buckingham solo, “Big Love” before Nicks returned for “Landslide” and the pre-break set closer “Go Your Own Way”. From my higher up tier vantage, I hadn’t seen many many people standing in the bowl but for the latter song, many people changed their attitudes and rocked out. Given the strong performance from Fleetwood Mac now, I can only imagine what seeing them in their heyday would have been like but I’m just happy I got to watch and sing along to them at least once in my life. The legendary band is in fine form and as a musical experience, they are a must to catch.

SETLIST

The Chain

You Make Loving Fun

Dreams

Second Hand News

Rhiannon

Everywhere

I Know I’m Not Wrong

Tusk

Sisters of the Moon

Say You Love Me

Seven Wonders

Big Love

Landslide

Never Going Back Again

Over My Head

Gypsy

Little Lies

Gold Dust Woman

I’m So Afraid

Go Your Own Way

[break]

World Turning

Don’t Stop

Silver Springs

[break]

Songbird

TOUR DATES

Nov. 12, 2014 Saskatoon, SK Credit Union Centre

Nov. 14, 2014 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome

Nov. 15, 2014 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place

Nov. 18, 2014 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena

Nov. 20, 2014 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome

Nov. 22, 2014 Portland, OR Moda Center

Nov. 24, 2014 Sacramento, CA Sleep Train Arena

Nov. 25, 2014 San Jose, CA SAP Center at San Jose

Nov. 28, 2014 Los Angeles, CA The Forum

Nov. 29, 2014 Los Angeles, CA The Forum

Dec. 02, 2014 San Diego, CA Viejas Arena at San Diego State University

Dec. 03, 2014 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena

Dec. 06, 2014 Los Angeles, CA The Forum

Dec. 07, 2014 Anaheim, CA Honda Center

Dec. 10, 2014 Phoenix, AZ US Airways Center

Dec. 12, 2014 Denver, CO Pepsi Center

Dec. 14, 2014 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center

Dec. 15, 2014 Houston, TX Toyota Center

Dec. 17, 2014 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena

Dec. 19, 2014 Ft. Lauderdale, FL BB&T Center

Dec. 20, 2014 Tampa, FL Tampa Bay Times Forum

Jan. 16, 2015  St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center 

Jan. 17, 2015 Lincoln, NE Pinnacle Bank Arena

Jan. 20, 2015 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena

Jan. 22, 2015  New York, NY Madison Square Garden

Jan. 24, 2015 Atlantic City, NJ Boardwalk Hall

Jan. 25, 2015  Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum

Jan. 28, 2015  Providence, RI Dunkin’ Donuts Center

Jan. 31, 2015 Buffalo, NY First Niagara Center

Feb. 03, 2015 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre

Feb. 05, 2015  Montreal, QC Centre Bell Centre

Feb. 07, 2015 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena

Feb. 08, 2015  Newark, NJ Prudential Center

Feb. 11, 2015   Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena

Feb. 12, 2015 Milwaukee, WI BMO Harris Bradley Center

Feb. 14, 2015 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena

Feb. 17, 2015 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center

Feb. 18, 2015 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena

1-Mar-15 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center

7-Mar-15 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena

8-Mar-15 Knoxville, TN Thompson–Boling Arena

11-Mar-15 Little Rock, AR Verizon Arena

12-Mar-15 Oklahoma City, OK Chesapeake Energy Arena

March 15, 2015  Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena

17-Mar-15 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum Complex

18-Mar-15 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena

27-Mar-15 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center

March 28, 2015  Kansas City, MO Sprint Center

March 31, 2015  Wichita, KS INTRUST Bank Arena