photo: David Brewster, Star TribuneFleetwood Mac is my favorite band ever. My sister Renata and I are huge fans of Stevie Nicks. It was Renata who introduced me to Fleetwood Mac and Stevie's solo music when I was 16 years old (on the Edge of Seventeen...?? ok, I couldn't resist that one!!) We always said how cool it would be to go to a Fleetwood Mac concert. We finally got the chance in 2004. It was a phenomenal concert! The whole occasion was definitely one to remember. We still talk about it as if it happened last week. Renata and I drove 8 hours to Calgary for the concert, all the while dealing with cruddy weather (it was beautiful when we left home but freezing and windy in Calgary in July, which was ODD!), a decapitated bird stuck on our windshield, lack of sleep and not really knowing where the heck the Saddledome was and which train we were supposed to be on to GET to the Saddledome. We eventually found it. We shopped and hung out for the afternoon, went for supper at an awesome Chinese Restaurant, took the LRT to the concert and had a blast. Then we took the LRT back to the mall where our car was parked and proceeded to drive 8 straight hours back home, stopping for coffee at Timmy Ho's about 3 times on the way. Then Renata drove an extra 2.5 hours to her place. ALL IN ONE DAY. Talk about a marathon trip!! Renata says she was up for 29 hours straight. I catnapped on the way home off and on. Call us crazy. Call us insane. Our parents thought we were nutso. But it was all for Stevie and Fleetwood Mac. And it was the best concert I have ever been to.....that is, until last year, when my husband and I saw Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in concert (Stevie's friends), who topped them.
Anyway, Fleetwood Mac is on tour again this year and I jumped at the chance to get tickets immediately after finding out about it on Ticketmaster. I did end up buying tickets for a concert in May, which I am excited about, but I wasn't so excited to pay $199 (each!) for good available tickets........especially with the state the economy is in. Oh well. I know this may be the last time I see FM in concert, so I am justifying it.
An early review of the Twin Cities concert was good but Stevie's review was so-so, her voice apparently wasn't in top form. I hope her health is ok and that her voice will improve as the tour goes on. It would be very disappointing if her voice wasn't up to par.
I did sneak a peek at the early tour setlist and Stevie is performing my favorite FM song ever, "Sara". That is cause for celebration! She performed it at the Calgary concert and I cried during the whole song. I knew from the opening chords what the song was going to be and she even wore the famous red 'Sara' shawl, reserved to be worn only while singing "Sara"....while the original 'Sara' concert video from 1979 played on the screen behind her. At that time, she hadn't performed the song live in 14 years (I knew that fact from nicksfix.com), so that was a big bonus for me -- the highlight of the concert.
An interesting note about this setlist - it includes "Storms" from Tusk (1979), which is possibly the first time Stevie has performed that song live on tour. I love "Storms".....very raw, very beautiful. I wish "Seven Wonders" could be included as part of the setlist (LOVE THAT SONG!!), "Thrown Down" from Say You Will and "Oh Daddy" as a duet between Stevie and Lindsey....one can dream though, right?
