NASHVILLE |FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/TODD BRODGINSKI//MARCEE RONDAN
FLEETWOOD MAC
FLEETWOOD MAC TAKES LOS ANGELES
Cameron Crowe, Brooke Shields and Josh Groban were among the celebrities who turned out for FLEETWOOD MAC‘s triumphant two shows at the Staples Center this past weekend (July 11, 12). Before taking the stage on Saturday night, STEVIE NICKS, LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM, MICK FLEETWOOD and JOHN McVIE were each presented with a plaque from the R.I.A.A., signifying U.S. sales in excess of 50 million albums, including their current album SAY YOU WILL, the title cut of which is the band’s new single. At the two hours-plus shows, the band mixed new material with classics, plus deep album cuts like “Eyes of the World,” “Beautiful Child” and “I’m So Afraid,” with fans loudly shouting their approval. In a Los Angeles Times live review, Steve Appleford said (7/14/03), “The old tunes largely retained their original charm, not from nostalgia but simply because their best songs still work, exploring the darker edges of human relationships within a subversive folk-rock sound. Such modern punk-based artists as Billy Corgan and Courtney Love have called those songs deeply influential on their work…. On Friday, Buckingham seemed to draw the most fire from songs on the new album,SAY YOU WILL…he’s a feisty, underappreciated guitarist…Buckingham slipped into a frantic, apocalyptic guitar solo (on ‘Come’) that at least revealed where his creative energies still lie: in the present.” And Ben Wener of the Orange Country Register called the group (7/14/03) “…reinvigorated, ravishing (in Nicks’ case) and with renewed reason to exist…” Meanwhile, FLEETWOOD MAC have another pair of Los Angeles-area shows–July 16 and 17 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim–set for this week.
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