Dance Tour Opening Night - Hartford '97
 

For its time, it's a pretty good recording. A little distant at times. This show also has the only '97 performance of Eyes Of The World.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QtK...usp=drive_link


“This is the first time we’ve been on stage together since ’83,” Stevie Nicks told a cheering Hartford crowd during the inaugural date in Fleetwood Mac’s reunion tour Wednesday night at the Meadows Music Theatre.

Then the singer, 49, in her diaphanous veils, launched into a hushed version of “Landslide,” her 20-year-old song that has recently been re- recordced by such modern rock idols as Smashing Pumpkins. Its verses seem to underscore the reunion of the most popular lineup of the 30-year-old band: “Times make you bolder, children get older, I’m getting older too.”

On a pleasant evening that brought a huge, traffic-tying crowd to the Hartford amphitheater in the middle of the week, a large walk-up crowd helped boost attendance past 20,000, making it the third-biggest show of the Meadows season, behind sellouts by the Dave Matthews Band and Jimmy Buffett.

“This is something we were not originally planning to do,” Lindsey Buckingham, 49, told the crowd of the reunion. It was his leaving the band 10 years ago that was the first crack in the platinum lineup that included Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, which produced one of the best-selling rock albums in history, “Rumours” in 1977. The two women stayed on until 1990; leaving John McVie and Fleetwood to try the least successful lineup of the band, which never recorded, but did play the Meadows two years ago on a nostalgia bill between Styx and Pat Benatar.

“This was a chance thing, an organic thing,” Buckingham said of the reunion. Even so, it followed the blueprint of the successful 1994 Eagles reunion — with a televised concert, released as No. 1 album, followed by a sellout tour. Like that tour, the original quintet is matched by the number of augmenting musicians and backup singers. But unlike the Eagles, all the important vocals and instrumentation come from the group.

Months of rehearsals, including the last two days in Hartford, have paid off. From the opening thump of “The Chain” to the panorama of hits, to the handful of new offerings, the band sounded splendid and seemed genuinely touched by the reception.

It was Buckingham’s departure that led to the fissure of the group once, so in many ways it was his party Wednesday. Certainly, he had one of the early highlights, with a dazzling guitar solo on “I’m So Afraid” that brought thunderous acclaim. Though his vocal delivery may rely too much on barks and primal screeches, it was up to him to deliver the high notes in “Dreams” and choruses in “Gypsy.”

Nicks, whose voice is in gorgeous shape, has tailored her songs to her more mature sound, while at the same time injecting more meaning into songs such as “Silver Springs” and “Gold Dust Woman.” She even did her solo hit, “Stand Back.”

She’s lost a lot of weight since the last time she played Hartford, but it was hard to tell under the layers of fabric and veils upon veils. Potential twirls were diminished for her insistence on those platform Minnie Mouse shoes she still wears. But she’s still the star of the group, the one the audience adores most.

Christine McVie, at 54, seemed the consummate professional, bringing her familiar tones to the Mac’s best pop tunes and ballads, such as “Songbird,” which was saved for the encore.

The rhythm section of John McVie, 51, and Fleetwood, 50, looked like randy pirates ably steering the ship into its fourth decade.

The 26-song, two-hour performance was rich in “Rumours” era material, but it had room for surprise, from an acoustic, cathartic, version of Buckingham’s “Big Love” to the show-ending cover of an obscure Beach Boys song, “The Farmer’s Daughter.” Caution and holding back seemed the essence of the show, but the reward came in general technical excellence.

Of the new songs, Buckingham’s “My Little Demon,” was a welcome rocker; Nicks’ “Sweet Girl” provided some timely introspection. Just about the only thing that really didn’t work was “Tusk,” toothless with its big brass part subbed by an accordion.

Most of the new arrangements introduced for the widely viewed MTV concert special “The Dance,” held up live, with a banjo-picking version of “Go Your Own Way” and a nice piano intro to “Rhiannon.” But the concert demonstrated how much better things are live than on TV.

I can't remember all details of the GYOW performance I saw in NYC (Thanksgiving 1997), but I don't remember thinking in banjo sounds at that moment.

This was 3 days after the concert I went. In NYC he did get crazy as in minute 5:00 of this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwLcdsAzZT0

I don't know if it was considerably different from the opening night.

I saw the Buffalo NY show just a few days prior on 11/23/97 - definitely not any Banjo on GYOW!

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

That was such a fun time to be a fan, though. I was so excited for the MTV broadcast and basically had a little watch party for myself. And I know so many others who became fans during that period.

Definitely! I remember all those threads in the old Ledge. Actually it was all those show comments that make decide to fly on november 1997 just to see Fleetwood Mac. Fortunately I have family in NJ so I didn't spend in hotel.

Most comments were positive at that time. But there were some fake news too. I remember somebody posted that they broke up during the tour, probably around october and cancelled all remaining shows. Many of us were worried for a few minutes, cause a quick check at networks confirmed there were no reliable sources about it.

The Ledge and Lis were full of joy back then. I remember it vividly.

Thanks Big Al. I'm not sure whether I've heard this version of EOTW before but either way it's been a long while. The review article is also well written. Banjo GYOW must be an error for banjo SYLM.

OMG I was full of joy at that time!! :laugh: It was so amazing to see them actually back together...to see the Dance on all the TVs in walmart, and trade for tons of new videos/audios...and see new interviews in magazines etc. It was unbelievable to me, like a friggin dream. thanks for the reminder!! xoxo :woohoo:

-Lis

Also...they were so young! Stevie and Lindsey were 48/49, Christine in her early 50s.

You and Marty were posting like goats at seventeen!!

It was an amazing time. Silver Springs finally made it to the masses. Since I heard that song on the b side of GYOW in 1977 it became one of my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs. To hear and see the song perform live was not something I ever thought would happen. I never left being a fan even in the early 90’s when they “weren’t cool”.So when the Dance hit all of sudden many “ closet “ fans appeared once again.

I remember getting to hear little snippets of the songs on Amazon. I was going a bit out of my mind in anticipation.

I only got into the online fanship a couple of years after the fact, but wasn't there also an official Fleetwood Mac website around that time that played a snippet of Big Love from The Dance in an endless wav loop?

I'd also tried downloading Rhiannon from the The Dance off Napster, but with my bad dialup connection it took a day or so just to get the first one minute of piano, and then the download cut out right around when the song properly starts.:laugh:

Wow. I looked for this back in 1997 at bootleg stores. The internet was kind of new back then so never found it. Stevie sounded great this night. The Westwood Irvine last concert of the tour she sounded worn down. Lindsey sounds great too. Wish I could have been there! Some parents of kids at my high school went to that night. I managed to get front row seats for the opening night of Enchanted at the same venue the following year.

The reviewer writes as if the accordion subbing in for the brass section (on Tusk) was new.

Christine was responsible for the high harmonies, not Lindsey.

Was there really a critique of Stevie’s twirls?!

I didn’t start stalking The Ledge until around 2000. Didn’t get a profile until 2004!

The ticket on sale for the Charlotte show got cancelled at the last minute, so they didn't play that show and a few others that were scheduled around that date. That left me to scramble to get a ticket for the Atlanta show and all that was available was a lawn seat. When I arrived for the show it was freezing cold. Someone booked an outdoor show in the fall/winter. I had layers and layers of clothes and was still freezing. It was memorable for all the wrong reasons. The show started late because the crew had to get heaters for the stage and Stevie wore a heavy coat through the whole show. When she sang Silver Springs she strained to hit the notes and the crowd around me gasped in surprise. It was a nice show and I was glad I got to see them especially since that was the end of them adding more shows to the tour.

I was able to get an free advance copy of the CD, so that was a thrill. They were red hot at that moment, and everyone's darling.

I lurked for 2-3 years before joining. People seemed so mean here. Obviously I finally dove in and began returning punches.

This Ledge is next to nothing of what it used to be. Before Facebook this was a much more social place, with Chit Chat often being the busiest forum.

And I find it odd that the "top" posters have LONG been gone. For a long time, Amber and Distention ruled the roost here. And yet they still are in the top 5 posters, even after a decade(or more) of being gone.

I think I started around 1996. But didn't get a profile until later.

It's so funny that you and I, David and Steve MacD(and others) were all on Usenet, almost 30 years ago(I didn't get a computer until somewhere around 1996).

Ahhh yes!! Usenet!! I forgot about that.

Back then I was just a baby. 17 years old. I believe I went by AnthonyCT originally since I was living there. The other young ones were Erica (of Saugatuck CT, whom attended the Hartford Enchanted show with me), A kid named Scott Boucher, Laura from Tennessee (LauraTN) and someone else. I think Pearl? I forget.

There was also the Talk To Me Chat Room (remember Chat Rooms?!) where you could make up any name you wanted before entering. Someone or someone’s would say they were anyone where Stevie’s Mom to The lady who ran her fan club, to Christine’s child that she had in secret in the Mirage era. LOL. We were so freaking naive and gullible. the Blue Ledge and Pink Ledge sometimes had turf wars which in the late 90’s led to the Black Ledge where there was a lot of cyber bullying led by a guy who still came here up till a few years ago. God. What a bunch of weirdos. I took it so seriously back then. Then, thankfully I got this thing called a Life and now I only come to lurk and look for news and relive those early days when FM was still productive and full of life. I’m 43 now. Soon 44. And though I love FM I do miss them and wish they hadn’t been so lazy post 1997.

Oh the days of usenet, bill gamelson craziness, and what about the seven wonders forum drama!!!

Plus you had Maureen hacking CD-Rs of soundboard recordings that *allegedly* came directly from Mick. The Memphis '82 show was a solid $35 plus shipping! Get those money orders at the post office. This was before paypal!

Looking back, I'm impressed by the ecosystem that existed within the fan community. The amount of bootleg/demo trading was pretty darn extensive. There was an entire site dedicated to cataloging all of Stevie's known demos and their lyrics. There were several small businesses that catered to / specialized in Fleetwood Mac memorabilia. I used to get a xerox printed catalog mailed to me from a guy that had promo photos, old backstage passes, posters, lps, 45's...you name it for sale. Before all of that, there were printed fanzines which had mostly gone by the wayside by the time I became a fan in '97.

Indeed, the good old days. Bill Gamelson... what a NUT! Somewhere I've got pics of him skydiving with a Stevie license plate(and several other pics).

This would HAVE to be him now.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php...ibextid=ZbWKwL
Didn't Stevie get a restraining order against him?

And Seven Dunders? I "think" it began after a major Ledge crash....... or was it after the Great Ledge Implosion(super moderator crap) of 2007? Either way, it was an okay backup site for a while(and they actually asked me to be a mod, I declined), until it became a $tevie ONLY worship site. ANY criticism of her goatness, and you were instantly bant.

Wow, I never knew any of that. I remember Nixfix. Was he part of that?

I never did Nixfix, or even checked it out. Come on man... even the name is a turnoff. Christine Central has a far more alluring name.

She was still tolerable back then.

Nicksfix.com changed the url to rockalittle.com

Though it seems it's still online, I have not entered in a long time. When I googled it, Norton Safeweb warns me about evaluated potential safety and security issues with rockalittle.com.

Seven Wonders Message Board. My first foray into the internet love of Stevie/Mac. I did love it though. I also loved the UK Fleetwood Mac board.

It was great at first. But later turned into a Stevie shrine. ANY criticism of Stevie and you were kicked off the board. Seriously.


When they asked me to be a mod, I was like, "well sh*t, this isn't going to go well", and I declined.

But you could have been King Sh*t of Turd Mountain of the Stevie Shrine!

That would be Turd Mountain.

I can't remember now if it began during The Great Ledge Implosion of 2007....or there were also a few times The Ledge went down for several days. But somebody started that board as a result of troubles here.

And for those who weren't around for the implosion, there was a kid from KY on here, who would start MANY threads each and every day. We had a "supermoderator" back then. Well, everyone was complaining about the kid. The Supermod told us all that he could do whatever he wanted, and we could all just get over it. (I'm hazy on this next part)....somehow there was another mod who would drunkenly make crazy posts in the middle of the night. Well, this girl named Carrie talked us all into making a pic of a horse's ass(no B-hole, just tail) into our profile pics. Well, the sh*t hit the fan the following morning, and something like 30 of us were banned for a month(although the Super had a couple friends that did it, and they got away with it). I'm now 90% sure that that's when Seven Dunders became a board. BTW- so after a couple days, the bans were lifted, and the Supermod wasn't around much longer.

Haha I kind of remember this stuff but was very inactive in my perusal of this board at that time. Hey I was mid-20’s and had more important…interests. Anyway, I know EXACTLY who you’re talking about with the drunken chaos posts all night long. She was totally off her rocker! Was it really that long ago or did she make a random return a few years later? Gold dust Stevie or something?

There was also the Stevie impersonator, turned eBay fraudster, who eventually did time in Jail for animal abuse!

I think her real name was Chris. And her Ledge name was golddustwoman? I think?

And your mid 20's interests were clearly where they should've been. Not wasting your time talking about dinosaurs.

Yep that’s it. I think it was abbreviated - maybe gldstwmn or something like that. Too funny, some of those posts were downright off the wall and a real trip to see!!

Oh man, it was almost 20 years ago but they were indeed dinosaurs even then! Now they’re just fossils.

Goat crimes?

Was that MusicMan08 or something like that? I think I remember that kid.

Why did the SevenWonders board tank? Personally I think The Ledge just had better format.

Here we go again. :laugh:

Holy sh*t...yeah it was MusicMan something. What a blast from the past.