Fleetwood Mac @ ACC 3/17/09 review/setlist

[TimmyB]

After seeing several parts of Fleetwood Mac separately over the years, I thought it was time to see them all together, well at least four fifths of the Rumours line up together as Christine McVie retired after the Dance Tour in the late nineteen nineties. So on Saint Patrick’s Day 2009 I walked into the Air Canada Centre to see Brits Mick Fleetwood, John McVie with their sometime Yankee band mates Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

I was disappointed to miss the last time Christine came out on the road with Fleetwood Mac and I had regretted missing their return without her in 2003, especially after I saw Lindsey and Stevie separately perform solo gigs in 2007. Lindsey Buckingham one of the most unheralded stars in the history of rock and roll, blew me away at the Danforth Music Hall a couple of years ago. He is the complete package, a fantastic guitarist, with material that is uniquely his and he performs with passion. In the same year I saw Stevie on my birthday where I witnessed that sultry voice that still had the crowd hang on every word like few others can. So in 2009 a part of the Fleetwood Mac Unleashed: Hits Tour 2009 I was sure to get a ticket.

And the hits tour was just that full of their hits that focussed mainly on the first three albums with Lindsey and Stevie in the mid seventies, ‘Fleetwood Mac,’ ‘Rumours’ and ‘Tusk.’ The most songs came from ‘Rumours’ which has to date sold over 30 million units worldwide. To replace Christine on keyboards they had Brett Tuggle and three background singers with Neale Haywood on rhythm guitar who were out with Fleetwood Mac in 2003-2004.

Opening with two songs by Lindsey “Monday Morning†which opened their 1975 debut, as in the debut of the tenth line up of the Mac, followed by “The Chain†they had the crowd eating out of their hands and then they blew the roof off of the ACC with Stevie’s chart topping “Dreams.†Switching between Lindsey and Stevie songs throughout the night, including solo songs Lindsey’s “Go Insane†and Stevie’s “Stand Back†they decided to tip their Stevie Nicks top hat to Christine by singing her hit “Say You Love Me†they also played another former Mac member song that of Peter Green’s “Oh Well.â€

With the show focussing six songs from ‘Fleetwood Mac’ and eight from ‘Rumours’ it was great to see four from the more obscure yet brilliant ‘Tusk,’ with hits singles “Sara†and title track which has to be one of the most unique hit singles ever released and though the ACC gig did not have the USC Trojan Marching Band, the song had a powerful crescendo that ended with a passionate scream from Lindsey as the song ended. They also performed from it Stevie’s “Storms†for the first time and Lindsey’s “I Know I’m Not Wrong.â€

The set ended with “Go Your Own Way†with Lindsey doing his best Bruce Springsteen impression by going up to the front of the stage and having the crowd put their hands on his guitar. The encore consisted of “World Turning,†“Don’t Stop†and the Nicks song “Silver Springs†which is one of the best songs ever to be originally off of a hit album.

Throughout the night it was still something to see Stevie and Lindsey look at each other while they performed songs that they had written for each other in love and in heartbreak. And they played on that to the crowd as they have done for over thirty years by holding hands while they came out on stage and by at one point having Stevie singing into Lindsey’s mic as he laid his head on her shoulder. Heartbreak now sells in the tabloids today but there was a time when it sold records, over thirty million and counting.

Peace,

Tim

Fleetwood Mac

Air Canada Centre

Tue Mar 17, 2009.

Start time 8:13pm

1. Monday Morning

2. The Chain

3. Dreams

4. I Know I’m Not Wrong

5. Gypsy

6. Go Insane

7. Rhiannon

8. Second Hand News

9. Tusk

10. Sara

11. Big Love

12. Landslide

13. Never Go Back Again

14. Storms

15. Say You Love Me

16. Gold Dust Woman

17. Oh Well

18. I’m So Afraid

19. Stand Back

20. Go Your Own Way

Encore: 21. World Turning

22. Don’t Stop

Encore II: 23. Silver Springs

End time 10:31pm (Total time 2 hours and 17 minutes)

[fluffhead77]

well said Timmy. I was there also and had a fantastic time - Buckingham is the shit - had no idea he was that great a guitarist.

[Freak By Night]

I downloaded a recording from the Pittsburgh show on March 1st through dimeadozen. Setlist is the same, and the sound is a solid B+

Thanks for the review TimmyB. I'm looking forward to the concert here next Monday.

[TimmyB]

I originally was going to see Fleetwood Mac next Thursday, but I have class that day and since I was able to go this past Tuesday without missing work or school I jumped on it.

That said Danielle is still going next week and needs to find someone to go with her and I enjoyed the show so much that I want to go again, but I really shouldn't.

Peace,

Tim