Under the Skin Fan Reviews

[michelej1]

[Due to Nico's thread, I thought I'd post my UTS reviews here. The reviews from the other tours are already up, but for the UTS tour, I was not posting on The Ledge. The reviews were on FMlegacy which isn't up right now and I have not put them in the Concert Info section on this site because the dates for that tour are not filled in. So, I will put them here and perhaps also put them in Concert Info one day, if I live long enough]

Depressed that all the formatting (italics, etc.) is lost when I paste in the reviews and in this point in time I just can't go back and edit it all in again.

I did see the OOTC tour a couple of times (just in California), but I didn't write down my impressions back then.

[michelej1]

Troubled in Atlanta, October 6, 2006

As I boarded the airport shuttle headed for baggage claim, the recorded voice announced, “Concourse T. T as in Tango.” Now that had to be a good sign.

I got to the Variety Theater at about 7:00, the crowd was lined up, curved out into the street. It was nice to see Lindsey’s name up in lights, but the marquee jutted out in a triangular manner. Lindsey’s name was just on one side of the sign. On the right side they had the name of tomorrow’s headliner up there.

They didn’t let us in for an hour and since the place looked pretty small, I was afraid I wouldn’t get a good seat, but as it turned out it was pretty open, I could have stood in front of the stage on the floor or in one of the first rows (considered the worst seats visually, according to management). I chose a seat on the side, because the chairs there were elevated and offered a better stage angle.

In the lobby they had key chains, Under the Skin (for $20, which is a lot, but still less than what Max paid!), a black shirt with Lindsey on the front, and a red shirt with a guitar on the front, with Lindsey’s name. I bought the black one and a key chain. I wanted the red but it only came in junior sizes? Are there a lot of children out there who want Lindsey Buckingham t-shirts?? Are there a run on these things in the store's boys' departments everywhere? Speaking of which, I notice how one of his kids calls “Daddy” at the end of Flying Down Juniper. Pretty cute.

The show starts at around 8:45. No need to crane my neck, to wait, wonder or anticipate. Lindsey walks directly out onto the stage the second the lights go down. He comes to his mic, says “Good Evening” and starts playing Not Too Late right away. He is wearing jeans, a black cotton shirt with a v-neck and a black leather jacket. My unbiased, objective, completely neutral opinion is that he’s, um, gorgeous.

Not Too Late: Keyboards and a drumkit are set up on stage, but Lindsey is playing alone. He says, "Good evening," then immediately lowers his head bending it over the guitar. I have no interest in standing near the stage, but for the new songs I wish I had been there, right beneath him, so he could look down and see me singing along to the new songs and know that his longtime fans have already embraced the album, snatched it up off the shelves. To me, he’s the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. I hope he knows there are people out there, rare though they might be, who feel that way about him.

The room is quiet as he plays, you can hear the squeak of the guitar strings. At the close of the song, there’s an echo effect, so his voice is softly repeated with each word. The crowd whoops and hollers for him when he is done. He doesn’t really acknowledge it. Keeps his head down. I should be saying goodnight . . .

Trouble: The crowd recognizes the song and starts clapping in appreciation. It’s good, but not as good as it was for Soundstage. He was still alone, without the band. Come and keep your daddy warm . . . I love that part. This time at the end of the song, when everyone is cheering, Lindsey responds with a hearty Thank You. He is smiling and being himself all of a sudden. A little silly, shuffling through his familiar mannerisms, tilting his head to the side, extending a hand, stomping his feet and smiling.

Someone yells, “Happy Birthday.” He says, “Thank you. It came out the same day as my album. Maybe that’s a sign.”

Never Going Back Again: The crowd yells as they recognize the song. He plays it like he did for the FM tour, except towards the end he gets exuberant and his voice takes on force, emphasizing the fact that he really never does intend to go back, making the closing lyrics almost a roar.

When it’s over he tells the audience it’s nice to see them. The band takes the stage, Neale, Brett, Taku. Neale asks if Lindsey has been having a good time. They chuckle.

Cast Away Dreams: Lindsey said that a lot of his old songs went onto the FM album [well, not all of them Lindsey] and so he started writing a lot when he was on the road. The crowd applauds the name “Fleetwood Mac.” Lindsey continues that one time he and his wife were on the road and then she left after they had a little disagreement. She told him that he had to let some things go that he’d been holding onto. After she left, he realizes that she was right. And he saw that he could let them go and instead of mourning the loss, he could actually dance on the dreams that have been relinquished. That’s how the song came about and he described it as being intimate. He sang it sweetly, making it the lullaby that it is. Yet, gentle or not, the song is not really a celebration. You can dance at a wake, but when it's over, you're still grieving and the lyrics speak of the remaining hole, not that the peace release brings. I like the dichotomy, sugar and salt. Sugar and pain.

Because I’ve heard these songs more recently than I’ve heard his other stuff, when he plays the new stuff, I have this sing-a-long mentality, because I HAVE been singing along to them all this week. I am kind of taken aback when I find that everyone in the room is not singing too. However they ARE listening. The room is crowded and the floor area is full of standing people, concentrating on the stage. No one is running for the bathroom or the concession stand. They really seem into the music, even when they don’t know it.

There was a pause and people began yelling out song requests. Lindsey says, “Geez, someone actually called out Red Rover.” Well, did they Linds? I’m not sure, but he sang it anyway.

Red Rover: He says that when he wrote that song he was thinking that the Gods might be unhappy with what’s going on down here and they might be thinking of pulling the plug, but since he wrote it, he’s become more optimistic and doesn’t feel that way anyway. The stage is bathed in red as he sings.

It Was You: Very lovely. This is now my second favorite song right now. Mickman mentioned that you can’t hear the words of the chorus on the record, well you can hear them in the theater and Lindsey sings the children’s names with special relish and enthusiasm.

His voice seems very strong. Better than it did on the SYW tour, although he has lost some range and can’t hit the high notes anymore. Of course, that doesn’t stop them. He tries for them sometimes and ends up sounding hoarse and raspy, but he smiles at that and, of course, the audience smiles back.

Big Love: The band leaves again and he does his thing. The Dance has made this number famous. In fact, before the show started the woman next to me was telling her date that Lindsey BETTER sing “Big Love” because that’s what she got dressed and came out for. Well, he didn’t disappoint.

Go Insane with the Sardonic World introduction. Because this has been on a rest, Go Insane sounds delicious to me, just fantastic. I really think people are mesmerized during the guitar breaks.

Under The Skin: To introduce the song Lindsey says that he feels that everything we need is under the surface waiting to come out. He reproduces the whisper quality of the studio recording in wonderful fashion. I do giggle briefly when the line, “everything grows under the skin” sends bacterial thoughts racing through my brain.

World Turning: Whoa! Not my favorite FM song. Liked the interaction with his co-writer in days past, but did not care for it much on the SYW tour. Tonight, however, I think it’s one of the evening’s highlights. Not only is Lindsey in good voice singing the lyrics alone, but they seem to take on a new, stronger meaning that way. They seem personal and I never thought it was a personal song before. I bet he did this on the CMT show. Anyway, it’s incredible. For the percussion solo, I cannot see Taku but just listening I know that he looks incredibly hot when playing.

Lindsey sits on the floor while Taku performs. Then they do a remix of the song. Like a DJ would. Lindsey isn’t singing. He’s still on the floor, toweling off in the middle of the stage. But there’s a recording of his voice and they’re “scratching” it, so he’s saying, “back, back, back, on the ground, turn around, get down, get down” in stutter time. I really liked it.

I’m So Afraid: Again, usually not my favorite song, but takes on a different life here. For one thing, it wasn’t a surprise that Taku’s solo in World Turning didn’t last as long as Mick’s, but what IS surprising is that Lindsey’s guitar solos are shorter tonight than they are in FM. He must have listened to some of the feedback that said they went on too long. Anyway, since he didn’t do Come, ISA is the song that really had the solo of the evening and I thought it tremendous.

He changed the tempo of the lyrics, so that they sound lighter. Strange move for a song about agony staying so long that you slip and fall and you die, but somehow he does make it a little lighter and a bit sultry. In places, he sounds almost sing song-y, but it works, because what starts off rather whimsically, becomes gradually more intense, so that really the appreciation for the solo builds very nicely, the more complex his playing becomes. The ascent is a smooth, effective one. He doesn’t go as crazy at the end as he did with FM. Less ham, but more meat. There’s a well-deserved, enduring ovation. Lindsey takes off his leather jacket.
I Know I’m Not Wrong: What can I say. When FM added it to the second leg, Lindsey obviously knew it was a keeper.

Tusk: Of course, we here recognize this song from a mile away. You hear the jungle sound effect and you know immediately, but it takes a little while for the rest of the audience to catch on to what it is. When they do, they’re into it. For the instrumental at the end, Lindsey goes over and jams with Brett and it makes me remember the face of a pretty girl – with an accordion. Sigh.

Murrow: This song does have a redrum murder feel to it (which has been said of Red Rover), but here that’s not a bad thing. The men all deepen their voices to drone the chorus in a monotonous way, but with a mechanical speed that creates a sinister kind of fun. I honestly think that if this song were known to more people, it could be a concert focal point. At the end they are singing along with the audio from a news report.

Go Your Own Way: Well, you know . . .

At the end of GYOW Lindsey says, “Thank you. Goodnight,” in a forceful kind of way that assures me he has no intention of going anywhere.

Holiday Road: Is he the one who sings that song? It’s not as good as it can be. But this is the first night of the tour. It will get better. At the end of the song, Lindsey woof, woof, woofs. Then Brett joins in and starts howling. Lindsey falls onto the floor. That’s a male humor kind of thing. The same people who like The Three Stooges . . .I don’t get it. Well, actually, I did kind of like it when Lindsey first started barking, but then enough.

Lindsey introduces the band. Says they’re all longtime friends. Said that Taku was a little nervous at first and said that he didn’t know how to play a drum kit but, of course, he’s miraculous. Said that Brett is the one who put together the set list and is a man of many talents, playing bass tonight, even though he usually doesn’t. He says that when he last toured he had about 30 people up there on stage with him, but his album being what it is, it only makes sense that the band be smaller this time.

Show You How: What can I say? That’s the reason I came. The boys trip me up though because the vocal arrangements on the chorus are not like they are on the album. Brett and Neale are singing one line and Lindsey is singing another and Lindsey is kind of emphasizing the word “how,” throwing it out there. It’s not like it is on the record, but just as good.

My 27th year of loving Lindsey, but it could have started tonight. If this were Day 1, after this evening I’d still be truly, madly, deeply.

[michelej1]

November 3, 2006 Anaheim Grove

Just returned from the show at the Grove of Anaheim.

I basically have no additional thoughts since seeing the Atlanta performance. I think Lindsey's voice has grown hoarser, but that's to be expected.

I believe this crowd was a little more sedate. It was quieter between songs and when people whooped or called out words in the intervals, it was more pronounced. There were 6 rows of seats in the front of the auditorium, but the rest of the seating was composed of dining tables. You got dinner as part of the ticket price and they stopped serving at 7:45.

For the intro to Never Going Back Again, Lindsey said you sometimes walk down a blind alley and described how you never know what life holds for you. He was born in Northern California but moved here to Southern California. If he hadn't moved, he would never have enjoyed a great musical career which, he says, is continuing today. But he also never would have met his wife. Well, I don't know about that. He left Northern California 35 years ago. If the whole point of leaving was to come here and meet Kristen, why in the world did Destiny think he needed a 30 year head start? She was a toddler when he left Northern California, so I'm not sure that's what fate had planned for him when he made the commute!

He says that he met her and has 3 wonderful kids. He said his wife and the oldest two children were in the audience tonight.

We commented on Sardonic World in the Boston threads. I'm not sure what the audience makes of it, but for me it's odd because it's really not linked to Go Insane, so I'm not sure why it always precedes it. On its own, the poem only takes me back to 1987 and that is so far away from where the band is at today, that -- well, the words haven't lost their significance, but they make me think that Lindsey still hasn't gotten over leaving FM. Those shades of regret don't fade away after all, or else he would have put the poem to rest.

When I hear him recite it, I don't feel restless, so much as I feel that that "survival move" must have killed him. Sometimes there just is no closure. Tears heal, such as healing is.

After the frenzied peak of I'm So Afraid, Lindsey ends the song, back at center stage, on the floor, strumming.

During the drum solo in World Turning I notice that Lindsey spends most of the time wiping his face. As scratchy as his voice is, I'd think he'd want to drink more water. When he finishes toweling off, he throws the towel at Brett in a playful manner. He rocks and gestures in time to the recorded rap at the end of the song.

The encores were Holiday Road, Show Us How, Save Me a Place. I thought it was over, but after the band departed Lindsey said, "Do you want to hear one more?" He then played Bleed to Love Her.
At the beginning of Holiday Road Lindsey says that he needs the audience's help at the end of the song, because the band doesn't want to lose their dignity alone. He says we'll know what he's talking about when he gets there. So, at the end, when the audience participates in the barking he says, "I notice you lost your dignity too. That makes us feel better."

Holiday Road worked a bit better when he did it as an encore during the OOTC tour, because the world was more familiar with it then. The Vacation movies were still current. Now, I believe a smaller part of the audience recognizes the song. Yet, Lindsey's audience skewers older, so maybe -- at any rate, I don't think it is as effective as it was 14 years ago. I love the song and love the video and actually think of it as a little bit more than camp. However, I could see something else in the set. Lindsey points out that Brett put the setlist together. I need to talk to Brett!

When he introduces the band, he credits them for supporting him when he goes "out of the box." In fact, he says he probably never would have made the album, if it hadn't been for them. When someone screams out Neale's name, Lindsey notices and indicates to Neale that he has a fan. Lindsey says that he has figured out that he and Neale have known each other for 17 years now. He discusses how he trusts Neale and when Neale says that he is veering too far off course musically, he always takes Neales advice and reigns himself in.

During the Vegas shows, Stevie said that she thinks that Taku is the most talented percussionist around. Tonight Lindsey said that Taku is now his favorite drummer. Hmmph! At least he had more sense than to say that Brett was now his favorite keyboardist.

When Lindsey talks about Brett's keyboard skills, Brett bangs the keys with his elbow. Lindsey says, "It worked for Question Mark and the Mysterians." Then he makes an expression which acknowledges that he knows how obscure (and dated) a reference that is.

To my surprise, Brett comes to his mic and points out the obvious, saying that there is no one like the one and only Lindsey Buckingham. Lindsey bows his head in acknowledgment.

Just before he leaves the stage, Lindsey yells, "Thank you Los Angeles and Orange County." I suppose that after a month of touring, he feels just as good to be home as I feel to see him here.

I'm not wishing the week away, but I have to admit I'm excited about next Friday's show most of all. I know that Lindsey will be especially hot for the celebrity home crowd.

Michele

[michelej1]

Santa Barbara, November 5, 2006 Arlington Theater

Just returned from the Santa Barbara show.

Outside the Arlington Theater the marquee headline proclaimed that Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham would be appearing. Hmmm. Are there a lot of people out there who had no interest in buying tickets, but when they found out the guy was in Fleetwood Mac they suddenly swarmed the box office, even though they still didn't recognize his name?

The words "Fleetwood Mac" were in smaller letters stacked on top of each other and Lindsey Buckingham was splayed out wide across the billboard. Even though his name was still the headline, I felt uneasy. Shades of Clifford Davis. The band should sue him for billing that way!

I don't know if this theater doubles as a cinema or not, but there is a concession stand with popcorn and big candy bars, just like at the movies. Outside as I walked in, a guy was giving away free tickets. There were no takers, presumably because everyone in the vicinity already had a ticket.

There were still plenty of empty seats inside. Since it seemed to be a movie theater, maybe it would have sold out if Lindsey had been on a double bill with Borat.

The lights go down at 8:20 p.m. and Lindsey takes the stage so fast that he's performing before I even recognize it's him.

He's in much better voice than he was Friday.

He always credits Brett for putting together the setlist, but he controls the sequencing mood with his attitude as well. For the first two songs, Not Too Late and Trouble, he is quiet. He plays softly, sings softly, but his mood is closed too. Somber. He's not interacting much. How he takes my breath away, pretending he's not there. His emotion is withheld and expressions guarded. Never Going Back Again is mostly the same way, but then things change towards the end.

Suddenly, for the last verse, Never Going Back Again is not just a song, but a proclamation! He begins hopping with his body and strumming the guitar ferociously, loudly. Then he begins laughing, smirking, and making those quirky faces and comments that are so innately his. It seems that it's at that moment, 3 quarters into the 3rd song, that Lindsey Buckingham really takes the stage. The rest was a warm up, luring the audience in, making them think they're going to get something conservative and then springing the surprise. Suddenly you know that it's not a museum tour, but a party!

That's when the band comes out of the wings, making the newly celebratory mood complete.

As Lindsey introduces Castaway Dreams, he says it was written when he was on Tour with Fleetwood Mac. The audience applauds the name and Lindsey nods his head matter-of-factly and says, "Yeah, that's a good band." Brett shrugs and shakes his head and Lindsey questions him, "You don't think it's a good band?"

Lindsey goes on to say that he resisted growing up for a long time. Someone in the audience yells, "Why start now?" Lindsey laughs and says "good point." He says that his wife is in the audience tonight, adding, "I love you, darling."

I'm So Afraid follows the same pattern as the opening of the show. Sedate at first, but building into a frenzy. It begins quietly. Lindsey does the lyrics with whimsy. It's rather light and glossy, not really reflecting the feeling of agony tearing at one's heart too long. So the mood is casual, the vocals almost sing-songy, but suddenly the guitar playing becomes intense, passionate. Lindsey's eyes are closed as if he's in a zone. His playing ascends to another level, but he remains earthbound. Man and spirit separate.

With both GYOW and ISA I think Lindsey concentrates more on playing than on showing off (as he reports that Will thought he was doing during the SYW tour). Sure he continues to swing the guitar and doing the dog paddle strummng at the end, but it lasts only briefly and doesn't upstage a true display of talent, as it may have done at times in 2003-2004.

Kate and Curran had mentioned that Lindsey's band had a "uniform" of sorts: jeans and black shirts. It wasn't just a coincidence. That's what all the men wore Friday as well. Tonight, Brett was standing in the auditorium before the show and he had a green shirt on, but for the show he changed to a black one, with the words "Triumph" emblazoned across the chest.

When Lindsey introduces Neale, he says he met him 17 years ago, going back to those Malibu days when they were all hurting themselves. Friday he said that only in California does everyone understand that comment. When he was in the midwest, no one got what he meant by "hurting ourselves."

When Lindsey introduces Taku he comments, "we may have to kidnap him next year." Then he adds "oops" as if he said something he should not have. That reminds me of the posts on the board today saying that Stevie would be touring in 2007. Was Lindsey talking about kidnapping Taku from Stevie or was he referring to some other gig Taku has?

When Lindsey finishes the band intros, Brett mentions what pure joy it is to work with Lindsey. Brett calls him the one and only Lindsey Buckingham.

The encores are Save Me A Place and Bleed to Love Her.

Michele

[michelej1]

San Francisco November 6, 2006, Palace of Fine Arts

Well, no one sang I Left My Heart in San Francisco tonight, but I think it would be appropriate. I just saw Lindsey at the Palace of Fine Arts.

Since the performances were the same as in previous shows, I will just comment on the little asides that added special nuance to the evening.

Ironically, yesterday I wrote that he doesn't interact with the audience during the first 2.5 songs. Well, he proved me wrong tonight. As soon as he walked to his mic he said, "For all of you here tonight, thank you for not going to see the Stones."

I had no idea they were in Frisco. I wouldn't go see the Stones on a double bill with Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney, if I had the chance to see Lindsey.

I don't think he can see that well under the lights. People from the Ledge had big signs that said "Woof" and even when Brett pointed them out to Lindsey and he shielded his eyes, I don't think he could read them. But he HEARS almost everything. People from 10-20 rows back were yelling things out to him and he answered them with very specific replies.

Almost as soon as the concert started, some guy yelled for him to sing, "All My Sorrows." He said that guy must be John Stewart."

When he introduces NGBA he says that, "As some of you know, I was born and raised here in the Peninsula." He says that as a boy he never dreamed of moving to Los Angeles, but when you travel the blind alley that is life you don't know where it will take you. If he and Stevie hadn't gone to Los Angeles, then they never would have found the wonderful music careers that both of them continue to enjoy. Hmmph. So, he thinks he and Stevie both have great music careers?

He says that if he hadn't moved to Los Angeles he wouldn't have met his wife and become the father of three children relatively late in life [Yeah Lindsey, but that happened 30 years after you moved]. He said as he gets older he becomes more aware of the importance of family and many of his family members are in the audience tonight. He says he loves them all, especially Jeff and he doesn't think he'd even be up on stage tonight if Jeff hadn't brought home that Elvis record.

I have a tiny complaint about Go Insane. I think Lindsey should just end the song with it's last line, "She's a lot like you." That's very raw and very effective. But he draws it out by singing, "oh yeah" and I think that costs him a bit of momentum. Small quibble.

During one of the breaks between songs, women yell out, "I love you Lindsey." He responds, "Brett loves you too." Then a guy yells, "I love you too Lindsey." Lindsey raises a brow and says, "What city are we in again." The crowd reminds him that it's San Francisco and he nods meaningfully. Then someone says it's the City of Love. He says, "That's right. It's the City of Love. I remember that."
For Under the Skin there's a bit of a different into. He says he wrote it for someone he's known for many years who was at a place in their life where they didn't know who they were or how to get to the next level. He says he thinks that everything you need to propel yourself to that next level is there, under the skin.

The band intros come after Holiday Road and Lindsey points out that the fans who were holding up the "Woof, woof" signs should have had the signs facing the audience, not the band, because the audience needed cue cards to bark along with them.

When he says that he met Neale back in the days when they were all hurting themselves, a woman in the audience yells and whoops and Lindsey says, "Oh, there's someone who's STILL hurting herself." Lindsey says he's known Neale for 17 years and said it will almost be 18, if they get to go on touring, which he hopes they will. I don't know why he says that so pointedly. Maybe he's now trying to rally promoter support for next year's tour following the release of that rock album we've been promised.

He says he met Taku as a percussionist and they've called upon him to do many strange things when he joined their combo, including playing drum kit. It worked and Lindsey says of Taku: "he's now my favorite drummer." So, I guess that makes Mick Lindsey's favorite tall drummer.

Lindsey calls Brett the conscience of the band and asks Brett if there is anything else he wants him to say about Brett to the screaming fans. Lindsey says, "Do you want to tell them where you're staying tonight?" Brett says that they are going home tonight. Lindsey says, "Oh yeah. You're right. We're going home."

When he says that they use Brett for a lot of things [Brett is in charge of the sound effects too] and even have him playing bass, Brett holds up his bass and looks at it quizzically, as if he has never seen one before. Pretty funny.

When it's time for the encores, a woman yells, "We want at least 30 more songs." Lindsey makes his voice weak and hoarse and exclaims, "Thirty?! I was thinking maybe one more."

At one point it looks like Lindsey's guitar may not be plugged in and he says that he has no power. The band all mimics Scotty from Star Trek saying, "I have no power, captain," with an accent. But Lindsey says that it is his fault. "Pilot error." The guitar had been plugged in after all.

The "I'm taking requests" phase of the tour is over, even though Lindsey did pretend as if he might entertain some new ones, I would bet that SMAP and BTLH are permanent staples and I'd be surprised if they vary the rest of this tour.

Lindsey closes the show by saying, "San Francisco, you guys made me feel as if I was at home tonight. And I am. I love you."

[michelej1]

Los Angeles, November 10, 2006 Wiltern

Barring unforeseen miracles, tonight was the last stop on the tour for me .

I didn't see any celebrities in the Los Angeles audience tonight, but Kristen and Will were sitting in the 3rd row left. I thought it too bad that Kristen didn't have enough clout to score a ticket in the center section, but I suppose she wasn't sweating it. After all, she knows what he looks like already, maybe having a concert view is not all that important to her.

Both she and Will were wearing green Go Your Own Way t-shirts. Kristen's is topped with a black leather jacket which actually matches Lindsey's. I guess Lee Lee ditched her dad this time around. Some people just have better ways to spend their Friday nights, I guess!

When Lindsey introduces NGBA he says that if he hadn't come to Los Angeles from Northern California he never would have met all the friends who were there tonight.

Now that I'm familiar with the show, I noticed that I'm excited and anticipating each and every tune, except for Under the Skin and Red Rover. After UTS I feel this slight relief that it's now out of the way, knowing that there are nothing else but good times ahead. Now, UTS belongs in the set, because it's brand new, the title track from the album he's there to promote. Moreover, I love the studio version of the song anyway and am very touched by the lyrics. So, whether it translates live for me or not, I'm so thrilled to be able to see it performed.

Red Rover? That's a different matter. The song means a lot to him. I'm glad he got to indulge himself with its creation and wouldn't take it away from him any more than I'd take the Tusk album away. But where does it end? He got it on a Fleetwood Mac album. He performed it on tour with Fleetwood Mac. Can't he just let it go now? When I think of everything else he could be performing in its place, I could weep. Lindsey is singing endlessly about dreams deferred these days, but what about my dreams, none of which are bathed in blue, none of which are bathed in white!

The way the show peaks with I Know I'm Not Wrong, Tusk and Go Your Own Way back to back is like the Tusk, Stand Back and Go Your Own Way trilogy that worked so well during the Say You Will tour. It's a triple audience play.

Also when Lindsey says that during the tour would be unimaginable without Neale, Taku and Brett, it's reminiscent of Mick saying his life would have been unimaginable without the Macsters, during the SYW band introductions.

When Lindsey gets to Taku he says that, "he's going to stay on the road with us, whether he wants to or not." Taku just nodded enthusiastically, as if in accordance. Well, we'll see.
Towards the end, after the band took a group bow, Lindsey ran into the wings and made hasty gestures to his assistant, Ray. I started to get excited thinking maybe he was making a last minute switch to the encore song and was asking for a different guitar. Well, a surprise was not afoot. He closed with Save Me a Place and Bleed to Love Her.

Singing "maybe I need to be amazed" and watching Lindsey command the audience, I was.

Michele

[michelej1]

Las Vegas, January 19, 2007

Richard Dashut in the house!

I hadn’t read any reviews from the 2nd leg of Lindsey’s tour and no news is good news right? So, I went to the concert hoping that maybe something might have been added from OOTC. No such luck.

The setlist was the same as last year, with Save Me a Place and Bleed to Love Her as the closing songs. Lindsey is still in fine voice and hasn't lost an ounce of the energy exhibited in earlier shows. Little has changed since the other shows I reviewed. I think Go Insane and ISA may have even been more stirring tonight than usual.

The more interviews I’ve been reading, the more I realize how unhappy Lindsey was with the OOTC tour. That’s something I’d never known about all these years. I’d always realized he’d lost money on the tour, but I didn’t suspect that so many of the venues themselves seem to provide a disappointing memory for him. Well, only time will tell, but this tour around Lindsey seems really happy with the set, the venues and the reception he's been getting. To show it, he came out smiling from the beginning.

During the first shows, he started the opening songs looking very serious. Just a few months ago, during Not Too Late, Lindsey almost reminded me of a classical performer, concentrating only on the technique, focused intently on his strings. But tonight, he came out smiling and looking somehow lighthearted from the beginning. The mood of the opening notes was quiet, but his spirit seemed to be soaring even early on.

As he changed guitars, I saw that Ray Lindsey was no longer there as his assistant.

As the night heated up and the songs got more raucous, Lindsey responded to the men and the women yelling cat calls at him. They said, “we love you. You’re so sexy. You’re the man.” He cocked his head, laughed, raised an eyebrow in mock surprise. Acknowledging some of the amorous solicitations, Neale said, “What happens in Vegas . . .”

When people scream that they love Lindsey, Neale wonders, “What’s not to love?” Indeed.

The new songs had the normal introductions. For UTS Lindsey said it was written for someone who he has known a long time, who seemed to be having trouble moving from step A to step B. He said that he thinks everything you need to advance is inside of you, “under the skin.”

I noticed that he was playful on Tusk, stretching and repeating lyrics, “just tell me that you love me. Telllll me.”

He is more playful still on Holiday Road, when he gets to the woof, woof parts and chants, “Bark like a dog” into the mic several times, urging, “bark for me. Bark for me.” I don’t know. It’s starting to sound somewhat illicit. Afterwards, he asks, “Did we gain or lose dignity?”

Before he introduced the band, he pointed out that he had collaborators on Holiday Road who are in the audience tonight. Richard Dashut and Steve Ross. He has them stand up. He said they’d gone a long way together [all told, Lindsey lived with Richard longer than he’d lived with Stevie] and he hadn’t seen them in a long time. He’s thrilled that they’re there and he chides them, “It’s your fault I’m up here.”

Man, it makes me feel teary because I feel I know Richard. Many of the Fleetwood Mac comrades are anonymous to us fans, but I’ve seen so much footage of Richard that I consider him one of the gang. I miss him. I think of the pie fight footage and of the song “Ricky” very often and always with fondness. Warner Bros. seems to be insisting that Lindsey have a producer on his next album. Well who better than Richard, assuming they're still on warm terms. They certainly both looked more than friendly tonight.

Lindsey goes on to introduce the band. He asks Neale if he’s ok. He says that Neale seems to have been having trouble all night and wonders, “Have you been imbibing?” When he introduces Taku, he doesn’t say anything about either keeping or losing him for the rest of the tour as he was doing last year. So, I suppose Taku’s continued presence is a done deal.

Before introducing Brett, he goes over to him and they exchange whispers. From the other side Neale says, “oh no. This can’t be good.” Lindsey seems to be asking Brett whether he has permission to say something or not. I don’t know what Brett’s answer is, but Lindsey then wonders if he should give the audience Brett’s room number. He makes a few jokes about Brett’s love life and Brett says, “Lindsey you’re using your outside voice. You’re going to get me in trouble.”

When it’s time for the encore, Lindsey and Neale confer as if Lindsey doesn’t know what he’s going to do next. Oh brother, who are they kidding? Lindsey asks Neale to speak up. So Neale squeaks, “Save me, save me” sounding a little like the insect with a man’s head in the movie, “The Fly.” That’s the band’s cue to regroup to perform SMAP.

As the band bows together and the others prepare to leave the stage, Brett gestures that there will be one more song, leaving Lindsey alone for Bleed to Love Her.

When the show started, they told us not to approach the stage. However at the end of I’m So Afraid, one woman went up to stand in front of Lindsey. After that, dozens got out of their seats and crowded in front of the stage. The Luxor security staff seemed to consist of only 2 people: a timid woman and an elderly man. They made no effort to shepherd people back to their seats. I did notice that at this concert and all of the others I’ve attended, the one thing they do like to crack down is the photos. Even at the end of the show, when security generally becomes lax, they still come up to people and tell them to put their cameras away. I wonder if this is a restriction that Lindsey’s people like to enforce, since I don’t see it done quite this way at other concerts. Usually, they start off telling you no cameras, but during the last half hour of the event, no one cares too much anymore.

Ah well, even though I miss a lot of photo opportunities myself, I know there’s always someone on the internet who has captured Lindsey in all of his glory. That will be something to hold on to when this long-awaited Lindsey odyssey comes to its end. Michele

[elle]

Originally Posted by michelej1

[Due to Nico's thread, I thought I'd post my UTS reviews here. The reviews from the other tours are already up, but for the UTS tour, I was not posting on The Ledge. The reviews were on FMlegacy which isn't up right now and I have not put them in the Concert Info section on this site because the dates for that tour are not filled in. So, I will put them here

i don't know whether you were inspired by my raving about shackin'up's lost GOS reviews, or just that thread in general, but i'm definitely grateful!! just spent some highly enjoyable time reading these.

i laughed when you kept calling Walfredo Alfredo.

believe it or not i had no idea that SMAP and BTLH were regular encores during the first leg of the UTS tour. i thought he did them just as one-offs here and there.

which cements it - other than by some random request from time to time, no need for him to add SMAP as a part of his regular setlist . it's been done before. let's move on to WATL.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by elle

i laughed when you kept calling Walfredo Alfredo.

Uh oh. I didn't even notice.

I was thinking about WATL last night and decided if FM does it, then that's Lindsey's sign to you that he won't be doing a solo concert any time soon. It will be your consolation prize!

Michele

[elle]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Uh oh. I didn't even notice.

I was thinking about WATL last night and decided if FM does it, then that's Lindsey's sign to you that he won't be doing a solo concert any time soon. It will be your consolation prize!

Michele

that's a bittersweet thought.

nah he can't remember that far back (Jones Beach may be the last time i requested WATL i think?). don't think he has any clue anymore that's the song i kept badgering him about. he's seen requests for at least Deep Dense, Rodeo and Holiday Road since. and of course, RAB.

[redtulip]

Originally Posted by elle

i don't know whether you were inspired by my raving about shackin'up's lost GOS reviews, or just that thread in general, but i'm definitely grateful!! just spent some highly enjoyable time reading these.

i laughed when you kept calling Walfredo Alfredo.

believe it or not i had no idea that SMAP and BTLH were regular encores during the first leg of the UTS tour. i thought he did them just as one-offs here and there.

which cements it - other than by some random request from time to time, no need for him to add SMAP as a part of his regular setlist . it's been done before. let's move on to WATL.

Bite your tongue! SMAP > WATL forever!!!!!

[elle]

Originally Posted by redtulip

Bite your tongue! SMAP > WATL forever!!!!!

read Michele's reviews. he performed it every day, for the whole long leg of that tour.

WATL? never yet. just one verse, once.

[Lindsfan]

Originally Posted by redtulip

Bite your tongue! SMAP > WATL forever!!!!!