It has been sixteen years since the classic, and most popular, line-up for Fleetwood Mac toured together.  Christine McVie, keyboardist/vocalist and writer behind some of Fleetwood Mac’s most successul songs, retired from the band in 1998.  October marked her first performances on stage for a full concert and audiences have been notably appreciative of her return during the band’s “On With the Show” tour.  Hartford’s XL Center had a packed house and fans were antsy to get the show on the road. 

The band teased the audience with the sound of crickets and a darkened stage before, most appropriately, starting off their two and a half hour performance with “Chain.” This song is credited to all five of the members on the original album, Rumours, who appeared on stage last night (Christine McVie, John McVie, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood).  At the end of this song, a minor issue with John McVie’s bass connection caused a brief break in the show, and Nicks told a quick story while the stage hands could fix the problem. The show jumped right back in to “You Make Loving Fun.”

Buckingham performed a solo acoustic version of “Big Love” before being joined with Nicks for a tender version of “Landslide” followed by a lovely ballad of “Never Going Back Again.”  These two together create a magical energy which simply cannot be ignored.   

Stories behind some of the songs, and the band itself, were told throughout the evening by various members.  Most notably was the story behind Nicks’ lyrics for “Gypsy,” which were written from visiting a store in San Francisco, The Velvet Underground.  Known for it’s wide variety of clothes for musicians, she finally took a ride out there to check it out before she even was a member of Fleetwood Mac.  Once she stepped in to the store, she fell in love with the wooden floor and had an epiphany that something big was about to come her way.  Little did she know, her days with Fleetwood Mac were right around the corner. 

Buckingham did not disappoint as he provided the audience with an intense, energy-packed guitar shredding version of “I’m So Afraid”.  The build up to his guitar rips towards the end of this song included whacking his hands on the strings and throwing everything he had at this performance.  Absolutely insane.  

The show ended with a double encore, with “Songbird” wrapping up the show.  Overall, fans walked away breathless and in utter delight to a fantastic, worth every penny spent on tickets, performance.  Let’s hope McVie continues her stay with Fleetwood Mac for future recordings down the road.

Watch as Christine McVie thanks the fans, and the band, for her return during last night’s show.

 

 

Setlist:

Chain

You Make Loving Fun

Dreams

Second Hand News

Rhiannon

Everywhere

I Know I’m Not Wrong

Tusk

Sisters of the Moon

Say You Love Me

Seven Wonders

Big Love

Landslide

Never Going Back Again

Over My Head

Gypsy

Little Lies

Gold Dust Woman

I’m So Afraid

Go Your Own Way

Encore 1:

World Turning

Don’t Stop

Silver Springs

Encore 2:

Songbird