Shoreline Amphitheatre

August 8, 1998

I just read the review already posted for the Shoreline show in Mountain View and wanted to add a bit. My best friend and I went to see Stevie at the same amphitheatre where we saw Fleetwood Mac's Dance concert last October which made it a special evening to begin with. And of course Stevie was magnificent. We agree that the most fabulous part of the concert was Stevies chatting. Even though we were long from born by the time she and Lindsey left the Bay Area, she made us feel like we were part of a homecoming for her. It was wonderful the way she made each person there feel special. Also as she introduced her band to the audience, there was a moment where she almost forgot the name of one of the guitarists. She joked it off as part of turning fifty. Just that small slip of the memory made the evening so real and so unforgettable for us. It was truly enchanting.

What A Show

August 1, 1998

Yes, Stevie Nicks was at Shoreline in Mountain View Saturday, what a show it was.

I had planned to leave Campbell at 6:30 p.m. to drive the 15 minute drive to Mountain View to go to the concert. Well, that didn't work. When I left my place I turned the radio on, Edge Of Seventeen had just started. Bouncing around while driving in my car I laughed when I realize this was the song that first made me notice Stevie and made me go to her Bella Donna concert. Now, I'm heading to her Enchanted concert and E of 17 is playing. Once the song was over the D.J. who was at Shoreline said the traffic was a total mess. What? Shoreline has a traffic jam? That never happens. Uh oh, we are going to be late. My mom was at my sister's house so I drove there to pick her up. She wasn't ready. It was a very hot day and my mom couldn't decide what to wear. Since we were sitting on the grass I wanted her to wear pants so she won't get cold. Finally, she changes and we are ready to leave. It was 7:05 p.m. Concert started in 55 minutes. I hop on highway 101 to drive to Shoreline. Within 10 minutes we are there. I see a traffic jam on the lanes 1 and 2. Problem there is traffic from highway 85 is merging unto 101 and the exit to Shoreline is also right there. Big mess, cars barely moving. I thought, Shoreline has been opened for 12 years. People still haven't figured out how to get in thru the back door? I guess not because I just zipped by the mess and went thru the back entrance. We were in the parking lot within 5 minutes.

We parked real close to the entrance of Shoreline. I pulled my big bags and two blankets out of the car and we started walking to the entrance. All of a sudden I realized I forgot my water. I knew Shoreline didn't sell the water I like so I told my mom to keep walking and I was going to go back to the car. Good thing it was close. I grabbed two bottles of water and went back to the entrance. As I got near it there were two guys outside carrying HUGE signs and screaming not to go to the concert because Stevie is a witch. The signs had about 10 different words on them. I saw something about fornication and gays. I thought the whole thing was funny because isn't there something in the Bible that says "thou shall not judge?" Aren't these guys judging?

So as I got closer I just had to look this guy in the eye and I wanted to charm him so I gave him the biggest smile I could without taking my eye off of him, he kept repeating "Stevie is a witch! Don't go to this concert". People were ignoring him but I was having fun. I got right next to him and I could see his eye flicker. He got nervous then a little angry with me and told me Stevie is a w----. I started smiling even more, not taking my eye off him, but, I had a concert to go to, couldn't play with him all night so I left. I found my mom sitting near the bench. I gave her her ticket and we walked to the gates to get in.

The lady who was taking tickets in the line wasn't concentrating very good. The couple in front of us were trying to take something in and she wasn't sure if it was allowed so she was waiting for someone to clear them thru. She let my mom in after checking her purse. I was carrying a tape recorder but hid it very well. I was also carrying a big purse, a small bag and two blankets. I handed her my ticket because I told her to take it first, she didn't want the ticket yet, she grabbed my blanket and they almost fell to the ground. She apologize but then she turned to the couple who were waiting to get clear to go in. Then she looked in my purse. I stuffed it with bags. She saw a case. I told her my binoculars. Then she let me go in. She forgot to take my ticket so, I still have my concert ticket intact.

We stopped by another bench and then folded the blankets again then made a bee-line to the merchandise. I saw four t-shirts. "Where's the sweat shirt?" I asked the guy. What sweatshirt? There was none. "Where's the Enchanted Bears" I asked. What Enchanted Bears? THERE WERE NONE! I was upset. There was no chalk t-shirt either! The guy said this was all they gave him. There was only the 4 t-shirts, hat, tourbook, buttons, key chain and picture. I told the guy I wasn't going to spend that much then because they had nothing. Then I told him I wanted all four t-shirts. He grabbed them and told me the price, then I said I want the tourbook, key chain, and button. He was surprised. I paid a lot. I guess he was wondering what I was planning to spend in the first place. Because of the missing merchandise I saved $90.00 dollars, but I kept complaining about no bears as I walked to the grass. The place was already packed. I wanted to be close to the stage. I saw a spot that was opened and perfect near the big screen and a good shot of the stage, we set our blankets up and then sat down. It was 8:00 p.m. Michael McDonald just started.

What an outstanding show it was. The guy started out great and just got better from there. He sang my favorite Doobie Brothers song "It Keeps You Running". I LOVE that song. But, it's a short song, he sang a wonderful very long version of it and he made me forget about the disappointment of not getting an Enchanted Bear. I was having a great time. The place just kept getting more and more people. I was tripping out on the turn out. Rocking as I sat on the grass and just enjoying everything I was seeing.

Michael did one encore but I knew all the songs he sang and he was the best opening act Stevie has ever had! I also spotted Lenny up on stage with Michael. The man loves to play, doesn't he? If Michael came back to town, I would have to see him again.

When Michael was over we waited for Stevie. Shoreline holds 22,000 people. There was at least 20,000 people for this show. It was nice to see Stevie bringing everyone out. During Street Angel the place wasn't even half full and people with grass tickets were moved to the seats. Saturday night, you were lucky if you could find a spot on the grass and see the stage. Stevie is back on top!

As we waited for Stevie, they changed the stage. What a wonderful stage Stevie had. I saw the design on the fabric that was flowing on the stage and it was really nice. The glass back drop no longer looked like a spider web but like stain glass. I enjoyed the big design on the floor of the stage that looked like a sun with different designs on it. At 9:15 p.m., the lights went down, Chris came out. The guy looks so different. I had seen him close up years ago and he looks older now than his sister. He read the meaning of Enchanted and then introduced Stevie Nicks. Now I have seen both, her father and her brother introduce her. Next time I want to see her mother do it. Stevie walked out carrying a bouquet of white roses. She and Chris met up and gave each other a very heart warming hug. They love her other dearly. . . Then Stevie walked to the edge of the stage toward the right and gave a guy her flowers. He accepted them and then she walked up to her mic. . . She kicked off with Outside The Rain. Oh Stevie, it was so nice to have you home. The song was beautiful . . . love is a word that some entertain, if you find it, you have woooon the game. . . Then Dreams begins. I really enjoyed this version. A little different from the Dance. There was a girl a few rows in front of us who got up to dance as soon as Stevie began singing. She blocked our view of the stage. She was the only one standing. So I watched the screen. Stevie wore her little shiny thing on her forehead. I can't remember the name but I thought of Rhapsody and Rhiannon. Stevie touched it to make sure it was in place. She also had glitter around her eyes. She looked good . . When Dreams was over, Stevie welcomed everyone. She said she kept telling herself all day that she wasn't going to get emotional because she had gone to San Francisco during the day and she was trying not to get emotional since this was were everything started for her. This was the place she saw Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix and all the big bands. This was the place where her and Lindsey opened up for everyone. Where she played the Santa Clara County Fair Grounds. She did say this tour was to support the box set, which contain songs from "1982". That was her words. And she was going to sing songs that maybe we didn't hear before but if we didn't that's because we were asleep. She was happy that we showed up. . . Then she kicked into Enchanted. I LOVE THIS SONG and always have. The minute the beat kicked in I sitting down on the grass started rocking. I pretended my binoculars were a tambourine and just started dancing and playing along with the song and having a great time. Then I notice the girl who was still standing up. She was lost, her body had no clue how to dance to this song. She looked like a fool because she couldn't keep up. She finally sat down and didn't get back up, my mom was happy. From Enchanted she went into GDW. Oh, wonderful. I was thinking of all the Angel's on the ledge. Stevie was just having fun on stage. She said on GDW that it's just the clothes, if she didn't have the clothes she couldn't sing it. I was so happy to see her and I was beaming. When she talked she was just thrilled to finally be home and it showed. Stevie has always loved San Jose and kept mentioning the name. . . Then the next song started and I knew the song, I heard it before, I even knew the words, I just couldn't remember the name. Then I figured it out - Gold and Braid. Stevie of course loves to say "thank you very much" and she did it all night. I loved the way she started the acoustic set. First After The Glitter Fades. She asked us if we could tell she had lived there. She said only L.A. and San Jose were the only cities who could understand what her "Hollywood songs" really meant. And then told the story of this song which I'm sure you guys heard. Then Garbo (John L and Marlene, I thought of both of you on this one). She told the story of the B/N shot. She said she went into more detail of the story here because it was home. But my favorite story was for Rose Garden. The guy she wrote the song for when she was 17 years old was the best looking guy at her high school and they had been dating. HE was in the audience. I loved that! She didn't want to point him out because he still lived in the area and it would embarrass him so bad. She was very happy in her life at the time she wrote the song, she loved the music scene in San Francisco and was in heaven with her life, but knew one day, she would make it big, even if she had to be a drug dealer. She did say that part was a joke. She was also overcome with memories being home and if she was a comedienne she said she could tell outrageous stories of her life in San Jose. . . Then she went into Street Angel. Oh, beautiful. I got so caught up with the song, I was in heaven. . . Well you all know the show set. You know what she talked about. This is getting long and I better stop. I will say something about Landslide. In some cities she said she didn't know anyone so they picked a person from the audience. But here, she knew so many people she just couldn't pick just one person so the song was for everyone. But she did realize how much she missed Bill Graham. Which was funny because I have been thinking a lot about him lately. Bill was a big force in the music business in the Bay Area. Everyone knew Bill. I had bumped into him a few weeks before he died years ago and I was thinking about how much "I" miss him and to hear Stevie say the same thing just brought me to tears. She dedicated Landslide to Bill. That was perfect! If you want to know what he looks like, look at Mick's 25 years book. There's a picture of Bill, he's the one who Stevie is riding horse back on backstage after a concert. Bill was a wonderful person and we all miss him. . . Rhiannon, Edge Of Seventeen, Stand Back, Twister, Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You, I Need To Know. All the songs were great. Stevie performed almost exactly two hours. The audience was very calm. Rarely got up which was nice because EVERYONE was given a chance to watch Stevie. What a show it was. At the end of the show Carlos brought out Stevie's dog Sara to the stage and handed her to Stevie. Stevie gave her a kiss. Ahh. And then Stevie walked away and the show was over. . . It was a beautiful night. A breeze had kicked in, the moon was out in force and just enjoying the show along with everyone else. It's nice to see Stevie this happy. She just yakked away and sang beautifully. Her voice was in top notch. It's nice to have my friend home for a couple of hours. . . To George, John L. Travis, Sarah, Hayley, Blackcat, Mo, Marlene, Keith, Allan, Torri, Violett, Dave, Rhiannon, Rhapsody, Piper, and all the Angels on the ledge. You were all in my thoughts Saturday night and in the spirit of the sky. I want to thank each and everyone of you for making my experience on the ledge a very memorable one. It has been a lot of fun. . . To Stevie, thank you.