Concert Review: Fleetwood Mac @ Wells Fargo Center
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
They came for the gold dust woman, and they stayed for the drum solo by the man in the red shoes.
Kristin McGonigle
[ 10/29 ] They came for the gold dust woman, and they stayed for the drum solo by the man in the red shoes. Fleetwood Mac’s two-and-a-half-hour set at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday was nothing short of magical. Much has been made of the return of Christine McVie, absent from the band for 16 years. Indeed, hearing “Everywhere,” “Little Lies” (and thousands of people backing her up on “Say That You Love Me”) was once in a lifetime. However, it was the collective — singer/guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, bassist John McVie, drummer/jester Mick Fleetwood, and of course the incomparable Stevie Nicks — that was truly divine.
They opened with “The Chain,” bounced right into “You Make Lovin’ Fun” and then took it down with “Dreams.” Things really got moving with Buckingham’s “Second Hand News,” which managed to feel both joyful and fierce. Buckingham was a force of nature, tearing through the bombastic “Tusk,” a solo acoustic “Big Love,” and a slowed-down, almost chilling “Never Going Back Again.” It’s easy to forget you’re watching folks in their sixties and seventies. When Mick Fleetwood introduced Nicks, he called her the band’s resident romantic, and that night she channeled all that poetry and mysticism into “Sisters of the Moon,” “Rhiannon” and on “Gold Dust Woman,” casting a spell with glittery shawls and flowing scarves. Fleetwood took center stage during “World Turning” for a ferocious solo (he screamed “are you with me?!?!”), and the show rounded out nicely with “Don’t Stop” and “Silver Springs.”
Finally, after the McVie classic “Songbird” — as lovely as you’d imagine — Nicks professed her love and gratitude to Philadelphia. She said she believed the city responsible for McVie’s return (something about a dreamcatcher thrown into the audience a few years back, and soon after McVie came calling to return to the band). “Our dream girl came back,” said Nicks. Not sure about all that, Stevie, but we’re happy to take the credit.
