7 Minute Miles

Fleetwood Mac at Xcel


After missing the reunited Fleetwood Mac at Target Center last fall (and reading all of the great reviews from that September 30th tour opener), I was determined to catch another stop somewhere. When they expanded the original city list and added St. Paul on January 16th, it was a no-brainer. As Forbes and Pollstar have reported, though, the On With The Show tour is the most expensive ticket so far in 2015, with an average ticket price of $305 on the secondary market. DGS and I decided that the upper level sides at the X would be borderline reasonable for $90+ and we made the purchase.

Now I have to admit, I wore out the green greatest hits CD growing up, but was never a serious, collect-all-the-records kind of fan. And I guess I never really knew all of the history between the various band members either (more on that later). But everyone knows the names: Stevie Nicks (66). Lindsey Buckingham (65). Mick Fleetwood (67). John McVie (69). And, of course, Christine McVie (71) returning to the band after a 16-year absence. Given those ages (and the past history), this really is a historic, near-miracle kind of concert. If you have the opportunity, just pay the money and go.

I also have to admit that every time I saw Lindsey Buckingham on the big video screen, all I could think of was Bill Hader on SNL’s What’s Up With That? Made me smile over and over…

The Rumours album from 1977 has sold more than 45 million copies worldwide, currently ranking it sixth on the all-time list. Some of those songs I’ve heard so many times, I almost wanted to skip past them during the show. Others, like The Chain that opened the show, are just so classic I could listen to them over and over. Tusk was always one of my favorite 45s and they did a nice live arrangement that made up for the lack of a real marching band. Landslide, Gypsy and Little Lies were my other personal highlights.

Speaking of Little Lies, let’s talk about that band history a bit. Christine and John were married, she had an affair with the band’s lighting director and they later divorced. Stevie and Lindsey were a romantic couple (then broke up), Mick divorced after his wife had an affair with former guitarist Bob Weston and was later romantically linked to Nicks. It’s truly amazing that they can all stand on the same stage, showering accolades on each other (and singing a song like Little Lies with straight faces). On top of all that, John suffered an addiction-related seizure (and was recently treated for cancer), while Stevie at one point entered the Betty Ford Clinic for cocaine treatment. Just a bit of drama, no?

The reviews of the show were mostly positive and it sounds like it was pretty much the same set list as September (see below). The Star Tribune sent Jon Bream, Ross Raihala covered the show for the Pioneer Press (and did another outstanding job live tweeting) and the Gimme Noise blog over at City Pages sent a youngster with her dad. That last review had a line I really liked: “Stevie Nicks twirls and I die.” So true…

  • The Chain
  • You Make Loving Fun
  • Dreams
  • Second Hand News
  • Rhiannon
  • Everywhere
  • I Know I’m Not Wrong
  • Tusk
  • Sisters of the Moon
  • Say You Love Me
  • Seven Wonders
  • Big Love
  • Landslide
  • Never Going Back Again
  • Over My Head
  • Gypsy
  • Little Lies
  • Gold Dust Woman
  • I’m So Afraid
  • Go Your Own Way
  • Encore:
  • World Turning
  • Don’t Stop
  • Silver Springs
  • Second Encore:
  • Songbird
Originally published by DK on February 3, 2015 at 12:52 am in Concerts, Friends, Longform, Music


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