Concert Reviews, Photos, Videos and Rock and Roll Stories from fans who love live music

One thing is to go to a concert to catch a great band. Another thing is to go to the show and get up close. Yet another is to go and get up close and get your hands on things. Like Bruce’s friggin’ guitar strings…  not just any guitar but none other than the Ash telecaster with the black pick guard!!! I don’t mean just brushing the strings! I seriously mean hitting the strings like Bam! Bam!  I got them huge!! This is the guitar that will some day be in the Smithsonian or the Rock Hall of Fame!!!  A big time highlight for me tonight!! This was 3^rd time I had the chance to touch the famous telecaster.

The VIP line up out front was fun but whatever reason there were far less people than the Magic tour. Maybe it was the back to back tours or the less than enthusiastic response to the new album, Working on a Dream. The house was sold out and tickets were selling on the street in the $250 range for a GA floor. At any rate the final wrist band handed out was number 676 (Magic tour the VIP line was @1200). The pit would take 350 tonight and that meant odds were better than 50 /50. Number 396 was drawn and 2 of the friends I went down with were in.  You know I wouldn’t be far behind.

We were up close and ready!!  Badlands and No Surrender back to back great openers!! The joint is hot!! Hot!! I mean temperature hot and for a Toronto crowd we are loud!! Could be one of the loudest ACC shows I’ve been too for awhile. Outlaw Pete and Working on a Dream book end She’s The One which is absolutely haunting. The new material sounds 300% better live especially Outlaw Pete.

At 6 feet away awesome!!  Johnny 99 is special man I just love this tune…still got some of that bare bones Nebraska feel. I guess if I had to say there was a rarity pulled out it would be E street shuffle. Probably just me and I know it has been out on this tour a couple times already but it was a nice gem for sure. I have seen a few Bruce shows since the River tour and really don’t recall having seen this one live. You know what I probably have but can’t recall.

Collecting the signs was fun to watch Bruce must picked up 35 and ended up playing Louie Louie. Lights way, way up and Waiting on a Sunny Day gets the house singing huge!  The Promise Land with Bruce shredding it up some with his guitar. What came next is a mesmerizing… Racing in the Streets.

I was seriously entranced it was that good!  All those hours upon hours on driving around blasting Darkness came flooding over me. Lights are down low now, only Bruce at the microphone under a single white spotlight.  You hit that place that makes you know why you love music so much! It is all just magical and you wish it could go on forever!  Bruce picks up a sign in the row front that has 2 headlights that are actually lit and places at the base of the microphone stand. I got all of Racing in Streets on video.

Of the last 5 main set tunes Lonesome Day and The Rising stick out. Kingdom of Days live is another example of how well the new material comes across live. I would have loved to hear the Wrestler as well. Can’t have it all I guess. I really have to say BTR and Radio Nowhere came and went far too quickly for me.  You what when Bruce does BTR he still seems to enjoy it a lot. Once in a while I see bands that blow through the older material and it seems like they don’t care to be even playing it. Anyway I lost a couple tunes somewhere. Like I don’t have the memory. I think maybe I was still blown so away by Racing in The Streets.  Darkness on the Edge of Town is now on heavy rotation!!

I have to say I have some great video. At one point Bruce comes over to my camera and points in the lens and yells “You”! all the while I am videoing. Got to love that!  Hitting the tele twice tonight was amazing and I also had Little Steven put a pick in my hand and take it back saying No! No! then he gave it to a girl beside me! I ended up with another pick though from Nils!! I have a bit of Steven fishing in his pocket for a pick.

I grabbed the entire food share information lead in to Hard Times at the start of encore and most of Rosalita from near end. 10^th Ave got the big man blown as usual. Like in the band intro as Bruce says the biggest man you ever seen!!! This as always is a really fun show.

This band…They tire you out and you wonder how a guy who is 60 years old can do 2 sometimes 3 nights in a row! Then the next day creeps in and man you get that “I’d love to that again feeling!!” and sometimes when there are multiple dates close by you can.

Our live video streaming of a few songs got 4500 views while we were inside the show. Here is Glory Days from our iphone stream.

This was Glory Days to finish us off.. and one more touch of the strings

Below here are a photo of a lyrics sheet and guitar pic handed to us at the end of show

This show also inspired us to dig into the archives and pull out a couple of photos from the Born In The USA Tour from 1984 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

For more photos from this show visit out Flickr Photo Page.

Leave us a comment about the show below!

The concert goal tonight was to get a cheap single on the street and get inside to where my contact was so he could assist me with getting down front on the floor.  There weren’t alot of singles floating around but after waiting about 6 songs in I grabbed a ticket for $20 and was into The Air Canada Centre now. This is the ticket here… wondering why it says “Rumour” on it? Anyone?

After seeing the band last week I did not have plans to go this week  until I found out a friend of mine from high school was going to the show and would be in the front row. This friend… Tina and I went to go see Fleetwood Mac together in October of 1987 at Maple Leaf Gardens here in Toronto. We had reminisced about this show once or twice over the years and how Christine McVie performed Songbird as the closer. ( Did you know Lindsey Buckingham didn’t perform on that tour?) Now for tonight I knew I could get down front where Tina & her sister Robin would be and I thought the 21 year concert reunion would be a blast.

Down to the floors & contact made with my friend and I am on the floor at the back, big lights full house and he tells me that no security is allowed up front and that I was on my own from about the red-line. No problem. I’m in my element. Total Pro. I stroll up and crank a hard left at the stage…it gets louder, I make no eye contact and…

I’m in.

There is 7-8 feet in front of the Row 1 seats that seem like a VIP Section gone wild. Cameras, dancing and the Mac groove is on. I figure these girls are dead centre. Yes. Tina turns her head and its them. I edge my way in and the reunion is on. Wow we are close. I mean no barrier, do what you want close. This is unique in that there is no security to be seen… heck we can’t see anything except Lindsey Buckingham’s boots.

This type of access changes things so much even compared to the 3rd row seats I sat in last week. One of the key factors( for those who haven’t put their elbows up on a stage before) is that you hear the show mainly from stage monitors… not the actual stacks of speakers that the rest of the Arena is listeing too. Right beside us was what looked like a centre channel from a home theater system and it was Lindsey’s vocals mainly…so at times Stevie’s vocals were abit distant.

This crowd did seem to respond at a more heightened level then the previous show. I won’t compare the two shows song for song as I noticed a few slip ups each night and at the same time some stronger moments for Stevie and John McVie during this Show 2! When you are only 4-8 feet from the performers you see everything. From the detail in Stevie’s costumes to Mick’s Red Shoes… everything is right there including the glances back and forth between Nicks & Buckingham… or better yet… eye contact & a nod from Lindsey that makes you feel like you are part of the show.

And we are.

In this video you will hear more from fans than you think you would down front… Never Going Back Again none the less is timeless.

Robin loved “Storms” and for me… the Drum beginning of Gold Dust Woman… just grabbed me… when I wasn’t expecting it. These are the moments the music lover goes for…. You sing along, your brain reminisces and your eyes get glued to the Gypsy that remains… doing her turns, her dance and finally a pose.

The setlist was identical almost to last weeks.. so we hear Lindsey wind it up on “So Afraid” including the guitar solo where he lets a few fans touch his strings…then came Stevie after another small break for her Stand Back and Go Your Own Way to close out the set.

Back onstage for the encore and here we get World Turning including Mick Fleetwoods Drum Solo. I actually sat my camera on the stage while video taping part of this. You can hear the groove being delivered here and we all joined in here heavy. Great Tune!

The crowd is in the ether. Don’t Stop…is in full motion …  my guess now is  all Robin and Tina can think about are the Roses they bought for Stevie… we knew Silver Springs was next. We were dead centre. Would Stevie take them or would Lindsey just pick them up for her like at some previous shows.  Silver Springs begins and Tina goes to get the flowers. We could be in no better positon.. It was a privilege now to see this unfolding… Robin had probably rolled this movie thru in her head numerous times … I leaned over and asked do you want this moment on video or a photo? She said “Video”…. I clicked on the camera and joined Lindsey right here…

How did it all finish…? ……..Just like this photo says above…

Mick Fleetwood’s Red Shoes,

Lindsey’s guitar on the floor 3 feet in front of us

and ….

Stevie Nicks holding our Dozen Roses.

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Monday Morning you look so fine, Friday I got travelin on my mind – I was 6 or 7 and remember the sound of Fleetwood Mac’s White Album on Vinyl. My mom’s speakers were as tall as me and the bass… Lindsey’s voice become a staple for years along with Stevie Nicks and of course Christine Mcvie.

March17, 2009 and Fleetwood Mac arrives in Toronto for the first of two shows this month. Yes that’s my ticket above that I picked up a few hours before the show. 3rd row! That’s what made up my mind for me. Down to the Air Canada Centre and I walk over to will-call, see a friend right away and then head on in through the front doors. Here is the sign on the doors walking in. I took this with my blackberry. Ok well the sign didn’t work to well because down front was a total photo shoot. Security sat down. There were no barriers between row 1 and the stage. Fans were leaning on the stage with their digi-cams.

Monday Morning launched the show off followed by The Chain and Dreams. Lindsey showed his strong presence early here in the show… his unique vocals and of course his guitar mastery. I wasn’t expecting to hear “Gypsy” and it was real cool to experience as it totally brought me back to the early 80′s.  Think about how many times you heard that tune on the radio back then? She is dancing…away from you now…

Dancing, singing and the hits.. was the mood down front in the first 3-5 rows. That was the purpose here as Lindsey announced “we have no new album “yet” and we just want to have some fun playing the songs we like”.  With the repertoire this band has things didn’t really get slow with the middle of the set being Rhiannon, Second Hand News, Tusk and then the beautiful Sara. It’s easy to get lost inside of a song like Sara… and then get woken up with the climatic finger-picking journey of Big Love… big big love.

Landslide is always good, maybe not as in depth as the version on the “DANCE DVD” but this stripped down part of the evening showcased a well crafted version of Never Going Back Again… that seemed to defy time.  Lindsey slowed it right down as many tried to sing along… it seemed to get slower… Stevie Nicks twirled around and sauntered over towards Lindsey for a “moment” and by the time I realized I should be video taping this one… it ended. Storms featured some video imaging on the screens above the bands heads and diehards along with Stevie herself seemed to like this one.

Say You Love Me… just drives home the fact that Christine Mcvie is not part of Fleetwood Mac anymore. Not just her vocals are missed but her left stage presence. One of the best songs I’ve ever seen presented was  in the late 80′s at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto. Final encore… Christine on the grand piano, Mick Fleetwood comes out and lays a dozen red roses across the top of the piano and I swear I saw a Dove flying around while Christine sang SONGBIRD.

Back to 2009 here and by the time So Afraid hit everyone… the guitar solo here defied what many casual fans forgot or just plain don’t know. Lindsey Buckingham can play the music-box ! Then hearing Stevie do her solo Stand Back I thought maybe we would get Edge of Seventeen. No luck there.

The main set finished off with a strong Go Your Own Way.Top Hat on Stevie and more guitar fun from Buckingham with him letting some front row fans pluck away on the strings for a few seconds during his solo.

World Turning was song 21 and the 1st of a 3 song encore. It offered up bug-eyed Mick Fleetwood doing his thing on drums along with some Mick-chanting and what seemed to be recorded-feedback vocals of Lindsey being played by the keyboardist I believe. I didn’t see Mick’s little drummer-helper during this song although he did have someone playing behind the stack of monitors to his left. Apparently Mick isn’t as strong as he used to be on the skins.

Drum Solo

Don’t Stop & Silver Springs are the final songs…and it seems everyone is happy. No one song here took me into the clouds or anything. Fleetwood Mac just reminds me of my mom, a time period that was fun and is almost like having some “comfort food.”  The chance to sit 3rd row centre is something a real concert goer doesn’t turn down…..you get the ticket and run to your seat. (even though it was 2 rows behind where I sat 5 years ago when I saw the Mac.)

Security told me there were 5 fights on the night …all woman. Thanks to the Original Kid Rock for stopping by behind 3rd row to show off that he had the actual setlist and it was only half way through the show.

If you were at the show please leave us a comment or if you are going to the next one then drop us a link to your photos or videos. I twittered & updated my facebook during the show for the first time also offering up some live photos as they happened. Next up… live streaming video.

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