I won't get much into the repetitive set list or the recurring song introductions except for the fact that the songs were identical to those listed for the NY show (and I'm sure in the same order). Lindsey didn't use the word "organic" in his "Bleed to Love Her" intro but discussed the same scenario with recruiting Mick. Also, his "Demon" and "Big Love" intro were slightly different.
The only problem I had was that it was too chilly to be outside for a concert! It must have been in the mid 40s before the show ended. And, to me, it seemed FM were slightly bothered with the chill. Stevie greeted the crowd after "The Chain" and said something about not having such cold temperatures in "sunny California." It also seemed like Lindsey was pained about something, either the cold or something else. My mother, who was using binoculars during the ending of "I'm So Afraid" said that he was shooting mean looks to Mick and/or John. I couldn't see that close, so I won't speculate. She is convinced that he was disturbed by SOMETHING. Then, towards the end, Lindsey thanked everyone for coming and said that "the cold is limiting us, so we're gonna do a couple more for ya and get out of here." That was my tip off that perhaps the chill was getting to him. He was soaking wet with sweat, after all! From that statement, I thought we were going to get jipped out of a song or two, but, thankfully, they completed the entire set along with "Don't Stop," "Songbird" (which Christine dedicated to us, since we had to sit out there and freeze), and "Farmer's Daughter" (which they did all lined up at the front of the stage like "Say You Love Me").
As for Stevie, she looked and sounded GREAT. I know the weight issue is a taboo topic here :-) but I thought she looked more slimmed down than she did on the video. Whatever... As for her vocal delivery, all of her songs sounded good, but it was when she kicked into "Stand Back" that she really seemed to move and get into it. (In fact, they all did for that song!). Her wardrobe changes were frequent but hard to follow because she was so layered for the cold. Finally, before "Rhiannon," she came out with less robes and we could see her black dress with spaghetti straps with a blue/green shimmery skirt. She didn't say too much to the audience outside of the "thank yous"; there were a few statements that I missed because the sound got muddy. The same thing happened when Christine spoke. Anyway, at the end of "Rhiannon" after she finished with the lines "Don't leave me...now", she smiled to the audience and said "YOU won't leave me, will you?" and the crowd went nuts.
As previously reported, Lindsey and Stevie did embrace after "Landslide" and did carry on what seemed to be an extensive conversation during the instrumental break. I kept the binoculars glued on them during the last few lines of the song and watched as they gave each other a LONG hug (perhaps to warm themselves from the cold??!?). She then approached the mike and said "We thank you." I also noticed that, after "Farmer's Daughter" when the band was bowing and walking off stage, Stevie and Lindsey held hands all the way off stage. I could see them from my vantage point until they reached the curtain to go behind the stage. Interesting observation, but small in comparison to the MUSIC that was performed!!!
As I said, it was a great show. Mick, John and Christine all played with enthusiasm. Another fashion update: Christine looked gorgeous in her black slacks, white blouse and black velvet jacket (fashioned like her "Dance" jackets). When she first took the stage, she also had a thin black scarf twisted once around her neck, and she just looked TOO good! I can only hope to look that "together" when I'm 54!! :-) Mick's drum pad solo stole the show! He was great! He kept yelling "Are you with me?" and "Are you STILL with me?" and the crowd was screaming and jumping the whole time! Did anyone notice that he had those drum pads in his crotch as well??? What a howl! John, while still reserved, did his part well, and seemed to be enjoying himself. As for the comment about Mick signing off with "Good night, Cleveland," I must admit that it does sound familiar. I remember something he said catching my attention, and I'm sure that was it. I'll forgive him THIS TIME....:-)
Other observations (you haven't fallen asleep yet, have you??): I agree with the others that the lighting and stage set up was sparse, but again, it's the band we're here to see, not the lights. I was, however, impressed with the lighting at the end of "Silver Springs" when Stevie is softly singing the last part "...blue/green colors flashing..." As she sang those lines, the lights came up and appeared to give off a blue/green shimmer above the stage. It looked like water and its effect really brought the song to an end in a stunning fashion.
As for the merchandise, BRING YOUR WALLETS AND/OR CREDIT CARD. They were accepting Visa and MasterCard here at Star Lake, so I had to buy TWO T-shirts. The graphics were some of the best I have ever seen for tour shirts. The one that grabbed me was the "Rumours" shirt that was beige in color (like the album) and had the picture of Mick and Stevie from the cover with "Fleetwood Mac" across the picture in the same album cover script. On the back were all of the tour stops printed around the picture of the band that appears on the inside of "Rumours" (the one with Lindsey with the "Milt" T-shirt) with the words "Reunion Tour '97" at the bottom. Had to have it! I also bought the one with Stevie and Lindsey hugging (the same as the CD picture) but it was printed like a moon with a picture of the entire band at the bottom.
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Overall Rating
4.0
A Chilly Night In Pittsburg!!!
Written by
Jun 10, 2008 at 04:35 PM
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A warm and wonderful feeling seemed to take over the audience after the band hit the stage at 8:30 p.m. They opened with "The Chain" and followed with hit after hit. The new songs from "The Dance" were wonderful but I was a bit disappointed, being relatively close (16th row), that more audience members were not familiar with the new tunes. I figured at that close, I would be in the die hard fan area.
The band played for about 2-21/2 hours before the show ended with "Farmer's Daughter". Lindsey seemed to indicate that they were kind of cold too (Christine had on these very cool black gloves with no fingers to them) so I think they cut the show a little short. I don't blame them. My fingers were numb and I had gloves on!!!!!!
The show was excellent and everybody sounded better than EVER!!!! It fulfilled all my expectations and more.
More Than I Expected
I won't get much into the repetitive set list or the recurring song introductions except for the fact that the songs were identical to those listed for the NY show (and I'm sure in the same order). Lindsey didn't use the word "organic" in his "Bleed to Love Her" intro but discussed the same scenario with recruiting Mick. Also, his "Demon" and "Big Love" intro were slightly different.
The only problem I had was that it was too chilly to be outside for a concert! It must have been in the mid 40s before the show ended. And, to me, it seemed FM were slightly bothered with the chill. Stevie greeted the crowd after "The Chain" and said something about not having such cold temperatures in "sunny California." It also seemed like Lindsey was pained about something, either the cold or something else. My mother, who was using binoculars during the ending of "I'm So Afraid" said that he was shooting mean looks to Mick and/or John. I couldn't see that close, so I won't speculate. She is convinced that he was disturbed by SOMETHING. Then, towards the end, Lindsey thanked everyone for coming and said that "the cold is limiting us, so we're gonna do a couple more for ya and get out of here." That was my tip off that perhaps the chill was getting to him. He was soaking wet with sweat, after all! From that statement, I thought we were going to get jipped out of a song or two, but, thankfully, they completed the entire set along with "Don't Stop," "Songbird" (which Christine dedicated to us, since we had to sit out there and freeze), and "Farmer's Daughter" (which they did all lined up at the front of the stage like "Say You Love Me").
As for Stevie, she looked and sounded GREAT. I know the weight issue is a taboo topic here :-) but I thought she looked more slimmed down than she did on the video. Whatever... As for her vocal delivery, all of her songs sounded good, but it was when she kicked into "Stand Back" that she really seemed to move and get into it. (In fact, they all did for that song!). Her wardrobe changes were frequent but hard to follow because she was so layered for the cold. Finally, before "Rhiannon," she came out with less robes and we could see her black dress with spaghetti straps with a blue/green shimmery skirt. She didn't say too much to the audience outside of the "thank yous"; there were a few statements that I missed because the sound got muddy. The same thing happened when Christine spoke. Anyway, at the end of "Rhiannon" after she finished with the lines "Don't leave me...now", she smiled to the audience and said "YOU won't leave me, will you?" and the crowd went nuts.
As previously reported, Lindsey and Stevie did embrace after "Landslide" and did carry on what seemed to be an extensive conversation during the instrumental break. I kept the binoculars glued on them during the last few lines of the song and watched as they gave each other a LONG hug (perhaps to warm themselves from the cold??!?). She then approached the mike and said "We thank you." I also noticed that, after "Farmer's Daughter" when the band was bowing and walking off stage, Stevie and Lindsey held hands all the way off stage. I could see them from my vantage point until they reached the curtain to go behind the stage. Interesting observation, but small in comparison to the MUSIC that was performed!!!
As I said, it was a great show. Mick, John and Christine all played with enthusiasm. Another fashion update: Christine looked gorgeous in her black slacks, white blouse and black velvet jacket (fashioned like her "Dance" jackets). When she first took the stage, she also had a thin black scarf twisted once around her neck, and she just looked TOO good! I can only hope to look that "together" when I'm 54!! :-) Mick's drum pad solo stole the show! He was great! He kept yelling "Are you with me?" and "Are you STILL with me?" and the crowd was screaming and jumping the whole time! Did anyone notice that he had those drum pads in his crotch as well??? What a howl! John, while still reserved, did his part well, and seemed to be enjoying himself. As for the comment about Mick signing off with "Good night, Cleveland," I must admit that it does sound familiar. I remember something he said catching my attention, and I'm sure that was it. I'll forgive him THIS TIME....:-)
Other observations (you haven't fallen asleep yet, have you??): I agree with the others that the lighting and stage set up was sparse, but again, it's the band we're here to see, not the lights. I was, however, impressed with the lighting at the end of "Silver Springs" when Stevie is softly singing the last part "...blue/green colors flashing..." As she sang those lines, the lights came up and appeared to give off a blue/green shimmer above the stage. It looked like water and its effect really brought the song to an end in a stunning fashion.
As for the merchandise, BRING YOUR WALLETS AND/OR CREDIT CARD. They were accepting Visa and MasterCard here at Star Lake, so I had to buy TWO T-shirts. The graphics were some of the best I have ever seen for tour shirts. The one that grabbed me was the "Rumours" shirt that was beige in color (like the album) and had the picture of Mick and Stevie from the cover with "Fleetwood Mac" across the picture in the same album cover script. On the back were all of the tour stops printed around the picture of the band that appears on the inside of "Rumours" (the one with Lindsey with the "Milt" T-shirt) with the words "Reunion Tour '97" at the bottom. Had to have it! I also bought the one with Stevie and Lindsey hugging (the same as the CD picture) but it was printed like a moon with a picture of the entire band at the bottom.