Fleetwood Mac Still Has Freshness For '70s Crowd

But though the clean-cut crowd dotted with blonde Stevie-wannabes might have been happy to simply hear an FM hit parade, the band never settled for pandering. Staples from each of the three songwriters were heard -- Nicks' wifty ``Rhiannon,'' Christine McVie's jaunty ``You Make Loving Fun,'' Buckingham's 1992 Clinton campaign anthem, ``Don't Stop'' - but the 2 1/2-hour show mixed de rigueur fare with riskier moves.

McVie's ``Say You Love Me'' was redressed with banjo and accordion. Buckingham's solo hit ``Go Insane'' received an acoustic overhaul. None of the new songs came off as throwaways. And hardcore fans were rewarded with obscurities like Nicks' pointed ``Silver Spring'' (``You'll never get away from the woman who loves you,'' she sang, looking ex-boyfriend Buckingham in the eye) and the Beach Boys' ``Farmer's Daughter.''

McVie's warm low vocals and Nicks' raspy wail were in excellent form, and Buckingham's tightly wound presence and wiry guitar work gave the easy-listening evening a much-needed edge. (Nothing however, could save ``Tusk,'' which sounded lost without the USC marching band.)

But - besides the many costume changes employed by Sally Struthers lookalike Nicks - what gave the show a poignancy was that songs about disintegrating relationships like Nicks' ``Dreams'' and Buckingham's ``Go Your Own Way'' that were the self-obsessed band's '70s trademark were revisited with verve, as if they really meant something to the five dysfunctional friends on stage. And as a result, for one night at least, those old hits sounded fresh.