Fleetwood Mac Concert Review

By Madisen Gummer
Music Journalist

Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, will go down as one of the greatest nights of about 15,000 people’s lives. Every seat was filled at Frank Erwin Center for the legendary Fleetwood Mac. They began the night with “The Chain,” which was a nice ode to their everlasting importance and endurance as a band. The original members, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood were joined on stage by guitarists and vocalists Mike Campbell and Neil Finn, who made up for the lack of Lindsey Buckingham. The backdrop screen lit up with mystifying and atmospheric graphics and videos that fit the mood of each song; from “Dreams” to “Gold Dust Woman” it enhanced this already effervescent experience.

Before the days of Stevie Nicks’ Fleetwood Mac, there was Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, which they paid homage to with their rendition of “Black Magic Woman.” However, they sang it in the perspective of the woman because as Nicks said, it is the year of the woman, and we celebrated the powerful women that front this band. They rode the magic of that song into “Rhiannon,” which is my favorite song of all time, and Nicks re-entered the stage with one of her famous black shawls. The song about an old witch hypnotized the crowd as Nicks spun around on stage just like she has been doing for over 40 years, and they let us take home a little of that magic with us.

Another unique highlight was during “World Turning” when Fleetwood went on an adventurous drum solo, having the audience echo his “heyos” and “yayos.” He took a break from sitting behind his drum kit to dance across stage with a bongo strapped to his side. The rest of the band came back out to finish up the song and send out new energy with “Gypsy.”

Mick introduced Finn’s solo song “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” where he was joined by Nicks halfway through. The two of them performed a beautifully elegant version of “Landslide” that moved everyone to tears. Fleetwood Mac came together to bewitch their audience one more time with “Gold Dust Woman.” Nicks, decorated in another one of her signature gold shawls, undulated around the stage with her bandmates with that same Rhiannon-esque ardor.

The encore consisted of a heartfelt tribute to Tom Petty with his song “Free Fallin’,” their notorious anthem “Don’t Stop” and an empowering duet between Nicks and McVie to “All Over Again,” that McVie herself called “unprecedented.” Fleetwood Mac’s power has spread across generations of music lovers, and for all of us to come together for one night is something so special. All of these songs hold such timeless and personal meanings standing on their own, but to hear them live by the people who gave life to their lyrics and melodies and riffs gives them so much more meaning. To experience the magic of Fleetwood Mac firsthand is truly transcending and metamorphic, and a once in a lifetime event.

Here is a playlist of their full setlist, and I have included a live version of Rhiannon which highlights the power of their live performance:

Featured image by Madisen Gummer.