My claim that Kansas City is a music black hole, it seems, is growing stronger by the month.
I’ve received a flood of concert announcements in my inbox lately, with several coming from my all-time favorite artists and bands.
Toad the Wet Sprocket is touring with Counting Crows.
Ingrid Michaelson is promoting a new album.
Fleetwood Mac is reuniting – with Christine McVie!
Nickel Creek is reuniting – after a seven-year hiatus!
Do any of those announcements include a stop in Kansas City or any place in its proximity?
Nope. Nada. Zilch.
If we were still living in Chicagoland? I’d be set.
Seriously. What is it about Kansas City?
For now, I'll take solace in the good chance I'll return to Summerfest -- the coolest and best music festival in the world -- this summer. Ray LaMontagne, Pentatonix, Fitz & the Tantrums, Foy Vance, Tegan & Sara, and -- if I'm really lucky -- Dave Matthews Band. For the record, Bruno Mars would be at the top of my must-see list, but that will be near impossible because I'm committed to something else the night after he makes his Milwaukee stop.
Behold ...
Showing posts with label Fleetwood Mac. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fleetwood Mac. Show all posts
4.01.2014
2.03.2014
Reunited ... and it sounds so good
I got my wish a couple years when Ben Folds Five hit the road together again. Toad the Wet Sprocket is playing again, too.
Even Fleetwood Mac -- with Christine McVie, finally! -- recently announced its reuniting ... Though tickets to see one of their shows will likely be far more than I'm willing to pay.
And the Beatles, well, their Grammys reunion was a dud. And half of them are dead. ... But hey, we have the 50th anniversary of their U.S. debut to bask in. So that's something.
But lately, there's one band I've wished would reunite more than any other.
I gasped out loud when I saw the email tonight and then the headline.
Here's looking forward to their new album and hoping they stop at a venue near me.
Enjoy.
Even Fleetwood Mac -- with Christine McVie, finally! -- recently announced its reuniting ... Though tickets to see one of their shows will likely be far more than I'm willing to pay.
And the Beatles, well, their Grammys reunion was a dud. And half of them are dead. ... But hey, we have the 50th anniversary of their U.S. debut to bask in. So that's something.
But lately, there's one band I've wished would reunite more than any other.
I gasped out loud when I saw the email tonight and then the headline.
Here's looking forward to their new album and hoping they stop at a venue near me.
Enjoy.
3.11.2010
Idol thoughts
Well, I’m good to go on the top “America Idol” girls. How ’bout you?
The only girls I care for were the first four sent to the silver stools tonight -- Didi, Siobhan, Paige and Crystal. And yeah, I’ll take Lacey Brown in the fifth spot. And yeah, I’ll take Katie Stevens because, if nothing else, I suppose there’s some entertainment value in seeing an innocent, likable 17-year-old chasing her whopping dream. … Katelyn Epperly and her poofy locks never stood a chance in my eyes.
Tuesday night’s show, for me, was arguably the most fulfilling of this dreadful season. Perhaps that was largely because after a tense, tough day of work, the number of sleeper songs suited my mood wonderfully …
Performance of the night -- and one of my favorite moments of the season, next to Andrew Garcia’s “Straight Up” and Siobhan’s “Think” -- goes to Didi Benami for her sparkling version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhianon.” Just when you thought Didi was done-di, she stepped up her game and inserted herself right back into the top tier of girls. I loved seeing Didi just strumming her guitar and hearing the lightness in her voice, sans background singers until the choral cries at the end … I wanted to download it from iTunes as soon as it was over!
Siobhan, meanwhile, has reached a level on which she can do nothing wrong in my mind. At this point, she’s my "Idol," and I was shaking my head in amazement at her take on “House of the Rising Sun” and that brilliant a capella opening. That girl and all her quirks are a breath of fresh air.
I’ll give Lacey Brown an honorable mention for her take on Brandi Carlile’s “The Story.” Although I’ll agree it was easily her best performance so far, I thought her emotional attachment to the song was lacking and I was left wanting more … The same goes for Crystal Bowersox’s take on Tracy Chapman‘s “Give Me One Reason.” The performance was strong -- in the way we’ve come to expect from Crystal -- but I was left wanting more. Part of that sentiment also could be coming from my feeling that the radio has played that song to death.
I thought Katie Stevens was as good as gone after her dull and gloomy performance of “Breakaway” … And one week after I went on a limb and said I thought Paige could win it all, she went and tried to commit “Idol” suicide by attempting “Smile” as her personal tribute to Michael Jackson.
In the end, though, all of my favorite girls survived. I didn’t care for Lily (I couldn’t even tell you what she sang Tuesday night, let alone the last few weeks), and I agreed with Kara on Katelyn’s performance of “I Feel the Earth Move.” It looked like she wasn’t playing that piano.
The top guys, on the other hand, leave something to be desired. Even after gushing about Andrew Garcia a couple weeks ago -- as Ryan prepared to announced the final male for the Top 12, I was sort of hoping for him to call Alex Lambert’s name.
It’s just short of a travesty that shaggy-haired Tim Urban broke into the Top 12 over Alex's more deserving soulful tone … Once again, I didn’t hear all the good things the judges appeared to have heard from Timmy’s mouth. But that also might have been the annoyed feeling that settled in at the sound of another Idol contestant trying to tackle “Hallelujah.” Have I also mentioned how annoying Timmy’s reaction shots are when he learns he’s safe?
Then again, as anyone who's ever watched more than a season of "Idol" knows -- "outrage is part of the process."
Admittedly, I only saw half of Wednesday’s night performances …
At exactly 8:30 p.m., I was enjoying Andrew Garcia’s fresh take on “Genie in a Bottle” when, halfway though his performance, the local FOX station’s signal cut out, apparently zapped by a thunderstorm in the area … When it happened, I wondered if I should laugh or cry -- I leaned toward laughing. The FOX station announced tonight it would air the show in its entirety at 4 p.m. on Sunday -- because it’s going to draw mega viewers then, after the people who really care have watched the missed performances on YouTube, read about them on blogs and the Top 12 is old news.
Until now, I had yet to log on to YouTube for Big Mike's performance which several of my Facebook friends and EW have proclaimed one of the best performances of the season ... I thought it was good, not that good. But I'll agree the big guy is definitely a frontrunner.
Of the highlights I did catch …
I sprang from my chair, the moment Lee DeWyze opened the night with a different take on “Fireflies.” I didn’t love the performance, and there were some pitch problems, but it was good fun to hear him rock it up. And for that, I‘ll give him pass to the Top 12.
(Mock me all you want, but have I mentioned how much I love “Fireflies?” … To add to it, Kates told me she was driving with Phoebe this afternoon and the song came on the radio. Phoebe reacted by shouting “Daddy!” -- A product of the number of times Phoebe and I bounced around together while listening to the song last fall.)
And I reacted almost the same way when Alex Lambert started strumming “Trouble.” I also clapped when he inserted a pause in the first verse. I loved his performance and genuinely thought Alex Lambert had secured a spot among the top guys. How wrong I was.
Final note: Matt Giraud and Scott McIntyre’s piano duet on “Tell Her About It” was surprisingly fun to watch. Like David Gokey last week, it’s great to see them really enjoying themselves and holding lots of possibilities in front of them. Caught this version during a search on YouTube ...
The only girls I care for were the first four sent to the silver stools tonight -- Didi, Siobhan, Paige and Crystal. And yeah, I’ll take Lacey Brown in the fifth spot. And yeah, I’ll take Katie Stevens because, if nothing else, I suppose there’s some entertainment value in seeing an innocent, likable 17-year-old chasing her whopping dream. … Katelyn Epperly and her poofy locks never stood a chance in my eyes.
Tuesday night’s show, for me, was arguably the most fulfilling of this dreadful season. Perhaps that was largely because after a tense, tough day of work, the number of sleeper songs suited my mood wonderfully …
Performance of the night -- and one of my favorite moments of the season, next to Andrew Garcia’s “Straight Up” and Siobhan’s “Think” -- goes to Didi Benami for her sparkling version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhianon.” Just when you thought Didi was done-di, she stepped up her game and inserted herself right back into the top tier of girls. I loved seeing Didi just strumming her guitar and hearing the lightness in her voice, sans background singers until the choral cries at the end … I wanted to download it from iTunes as soon as it was over!
Siobhan, meanwhile, has reached a level on which she can do nothing wrong in my mind. At this point, she’s my "Idol," and I was shaking my head in amazement at her take on “House of the Rising Sun” and that brilliant a capella opening. That girl and all her quirks are a breath of fresh air.
I’ll give Lacey Brown an honorable mention for her take on Brandi Carlile’s “The Story.” Although I’ll agree it was easily her best performance so far, I thought her emotional attachment to the song was lacking and I was left wanting more … The same goes for Crystal Bowersox’s take on Tracy Chapman‘s “Give Me One Reason.” The performance was strong -- in the way we’ve come to expect from Crystal -- but I was left wanting more. Part of that sentiment also could be coming from my feeling that the radio has played that song to death.
I thought Katie Stevens was as good as gone after her dull and gloomy performance of “Breakaway” … And one week after I went on a limb and said I thought Paige could win it all, she went and tried to commit “Idol” suicide by attempting “Smile” as her personal tribute to Michael Jackson.
In the end, though, all of my favorite girls survived. I didn’t care for Lily (I couldn’t even tell you what she sang Tuesday night, let alone the last few weeks), and I agreed with Kara on Katelyn’s performance of “I Feel the Earth Move.” It looked like she wasn’t playing that piano.
The top guys, on the other hand, leave something to be desired. Even after gushing about Andrew Garcia a couple weeks ago -- as Ryan prepared to announced the final male for the Top 12, I was sort of hoping for him to call Alex Lambert’s name.
It’s just short of a travesty that shaggy-haired Tim Urban broke into the Top 12 over Alex's more deserving soulful tone … Once again, I didn’t hear all the good things the judges appeared to have heard from Timmy’s mouth. But that also might have been the annoyed feeling that settled in at the sound of another Idol contestant trying to tackle “Hallelujah.” Have I also mentioned how annoying Timmy’s reaction shots are when he learns he’s safe?
Then again, as anyone who's ever watched more than a season of "Idol" knows -- "outrage is part of the process."
Admittedly, I only saw half of Wednesday’s night performances …
At exactly 8:30 p.m., I was enjoying Andrew Garcia’s fresh take on “Genie in a Bottle” when, halfway though his performance, the local FOX station’s signal cut out, apparently zapped by a thunderstorm in the area … When it happened, I wondered if I should laugh or cry -- I leaned toward laughing. The FOX station announced tonight it would air the show in its entirety at 4 p.m. on Sunday -- because it’s going to draw mega viewers then, after the people who really care have watched the missed performances on YouTube, read about them on blogs and the Top 12 is old news.
Until now, I had yet to log on to YouTube for Big Mike's performance which several of my Facebook friends and EW have proclaimed one of the best performances of the season ... I thought it was good, not that good. But I'll agree the big guy is definitely a frontrunner.
Of the highlights I did catch …
I sprang from my chair, the moment Lee DeWyze opened the night with a different take on “Fireflies.” I didn’t love the performance, and there were some pitch problems, but it was good fun to hear him rock it up. And for that, I‘ll give him pass to the Top 12.
(Mock me all you want, but have I mentioned how much I love “Fireflies?” … To add to it, Kates told me she was driving with Phoebe this afternoon and the song came on the radio. Phoebe reacted by shouting “Daddy!” -- A product of the number of times Phoebe and I bounced around together while listening to the song last fall.)
And I reacted almost the same way when Alex Lambert started strumming “Trouble.” I also clapped when he inserted a pause in the first verse. I loved his performance and genuinely thought Alex Lambert had secured a spot among the top guys. How wrong I was.
Final note: Matt Giraud and Scott McIntyre’s piano duet on “Tell Her About It” was surprisingly fun to watch. Like David Gokey last week, it’s great to see them really enjoying themselves and holding lots of possibilities in front of them. Caught this version during a search on YouTube ...
7.08.2007
Summerfest '07: The End
All of my Summerfest '07 posts...
a Day 1
a Day 2
a Day 3
a Day 4
a Day 5
... No Summerfest tonight.
... Kates and I were up at 6:30 this morning and on the road by 7:30, trekking to join my extended family for 'lil Owen's baptism ... Wonderful service. Owen was cute and did well. We celebrated at the house afterward. Caught up on life. And it was good ...
We were on our way home by 2 ... and thoughts of sneaking in one more night of Summerfest were filling my mind ...
I still had a couple tickets left over, and I thought it would be cool to be there once more on closing night. Blue October was playing at the U.S. Cellular stage at 10 and I was interested in seeing them ...
I think more than anything I just wanted one more giant Summerfest cup of Mountain Dew and the perfect amount of ice ...
On the other side, it was really hot. And having to drive up to the Park N' Ride and catch yet another bus to Summerfest didn't really excite me. Same for the crowds and for the notion of another night of minimal sleep ...
(I am really dragging after all. I tried driving home this afternoon, but a third of the way into the drive I had to pull over and switch with Kates out of fear I was going to crash the car. She took over driving and I slept the rest of the ride home ...)
... I was still trying to decide whether I wanted to go right up until 7 p.m., and for a time Kates was going to go with me ... but we stepped back to reality and decided to stay home instead, cooking a pizza and watching Friends DVDs, thus easing the soul with some good laughs ...
And so it ends. Summerfest 2007, the 40th Anniversary celebration turns into a memory now. And a fine memory it will be ...
So too ends, the best 11 days I've had in a long, long, long time. Easily the best 11 days to start a new year of birth ... Lots of Summerfest, with Nostalgia Fest, a good night of baseball and Fourth of July on the beach mixed in -- nice.
My mourning period will last a few days. But don't worry I'll be OK ...
... This year, I made it to five of the 11 nights and saw a total of 17 bands -- give or take one or two, it was hard to keep track ... and from Headlights last Friday night to Scythian on Saturday, there hasn't been a year where I've had such a good time seeing the no-name/up-and-coming/pre-headliner bands ... Every night was better than the one before ...
... Above all, if you asked me to name my top four bands/musicians right now -- I’d give you Ben Folds, The Shins, Fleetwood Mac and Guster. And here I sit, having seen three of them (Lindsey Buckingham, of course, representing the Fleetwood Mac aspect) in a week's span -- I think that’s pretty darn special …
(For the record, I tried to come up with an even five for my top bands, but among the next bands I thought of -- Beach Boys, Chicago, Matchbox Twenty, Mute Math -- it was too hard to pick just one, and even then, none of them have garnered the consistent play over the last several months as my top four … )
... Actually the reminiscing began a few days ago already as I started searching YouTube for some videos from this year's Summerfest ... So here I give you some of my findings, representing a few of my favorite moments from this year's Summerfest ...
The first is a video of Lindsey Buckingham performing "Big Love" last Saturday night. The visual on it sucks, but the audio does the job ...
This one, although not from Summerfest, is of Lindsey doing "Never Going Back Again." According to the tag, this video was actually shot a few months ago in New York. But his performance at Summerfest was almost identical to this one, so here you go ...
Here's a short clip of Ben Folds doing the "Such Great Heights" cover ... man, I wish the whole thing was here! ...
... And here's a clip of the A-MAZ-ing synthesizer solo that he played at the end of "Such Great Heights" ...
Thankfully, there's a lot more of John Mayer's show. Like my favorite of the night, "Waiting On The World To Change" ...
... "Bigger Than My Body."
And "Your Body Is A Wonderland" (yeah, the crowd was this loud almost all night ...)
And of course, it wouldn't be worth remembering Summerfest without people dancing on picnic tables. This video apparently was taken last night as me and a few hundred others were waiting to see Guster ...
Summerfest reads ... cleaning out my Google alerts about all things Summerfest ...
a Heat doesn't stop the beat
a Keeping a clean smile
a Milwaukee Talks: Summerfest Chairman Howard Schnoll
a Trains, planes and guided missiles at the lake
a Summerfest grounds may get makeover
a Is this Summerfest or Oktoberfest?
a Carlin's naughty words still ring in officer's ears
a Roads traveled: 40 years of Summerfest
a Summerfest TV documentary blends history with reminiscences ... I watched this documentary. I didn't think it was that good; it didn't tell me a whole lot I didn't already know and the production quality was lacking, if not cheesy ...
a Festival shook off dust, mud to put smile on summer
a jsonline's Summerfest page
a Day 1
a Day 2
a Day 3
a Day 4
a Day 5
... No Summerfest tonight.
... Kates and I were up at 6:30 this morning and on the road by 7:30, trekking to join my extended family for 'lil Owen's baptism ... Wonderful service. Owen was cute and did well. We celebrated at the house afterward. Caught up on life. And it was good ...
We were on our way home by 2 ... and thoughts of sneaking in one more night of Summerfest were filling my mind ...
I still had a couple tickets left over, and I thought it would be cool to be there once more on closing night. Blue October was playing at the U.S. Cellular stage at 10 and I was interested in seeing them ...
I think more than anything I just wanted one more giant Summerfest cup of Mountain Dew and the perfect amount of ice ...
On the other side, it was really hot. And having to drive up to the Park N' Ride and catch yet another bus to Summerfest didn't really excite me. Same for the crowds and for the notion of another night of minimal sleep ...
(I am really dragging after all. I tried driving home this afternoon, but a third of the way into the drive I had to pull over and switch with Kates out of fear I was going to crash the car. She took over driving and I slept the rest of the ride home ...)
... I was still trying to decide whether I wanted to go right up until 7 p.m., and for a time Kates was going to go with me ... but we stepped back to reality and decided to stay home instead, cooking a pizza and watching Friends DVDs, thus easing the soul with some good laughs ...
And so it ends. Summerfest 2007, the 40th Anniversary celebration turns into a memory now. And a fine memory it will be ...
So too ends, the best 11 days I've had in a long, long, long time. Easily the best 11 days to start a new year of birth ... Lots of Summerfest, with Nostalgia Fest, a good night of baseball and Fourth of July on the beach mixed in -- nice.
My mourning period will last a few days. But don't worry I'll be OK ...
... This year, I made it to five of the 11 nights and saw a total of 17 bands -- give or take one or two, it was hard to keep track ... and from Headlights last Friday night to Scythian on Saturday, there hasn't been a year where I've had such a good time seeing the no-name/up-and-coming/pre-headliner bands ... Every night was better than the one before ...
... Above all, if you asked me to name my top four bands/musicians right now -- I’d give you Ben Folds, The Shins, Fleetwood Mac and Guster. And here I sit, having seen three of them (Lindsey Buckingham, of course, representing the Fleetwood Mac aspect) in a week's span -- I think that’s pretty darn special …
(For the record, I tried to come up with an even five for my top bands, but among the next bands I thought of -- Beach Boys, Chicago, Matchbox Twenty, Mute Math -- it was too hard to pick just one, and even then, none of them have garnered the consistent play over the last several months as my top four … )
... Actually the reminiscing began a few days ago already as I started searching YouTube for some videos from this year's Summerfest ... So here I give you some of my findings, representing a few of my favorite moments from this year's Summerfest ...
The first is a video of Lindsey Buckingham performing "Big Love" last Saturday night. The visual on it sucks, but the audio does the job ...
This one, although not from Summerfest, is of Lindsey doing "Never Going Back Again." According to the tag, this video was actually shot a few months ago in New York. But his performance at Summerfest was almost identical to this one, so here you go ...
Here's a short clip of Ben Folds doing the "Such Great Heights" cover ... man, I wish the whole thing was here! ...
... And here's a clip of the A-MAZ-ing synthesizer solo that he played at the end of "Such Great Heights" ...
Thankfully, there's a lot more of John Mayer's show. Like my favorite of the night, "Waiting On The World To Change" ...
... "Bigger Than My Body."
And "Your Body Is A Wonderland" (yeah, the crowd was this loud almost all night ...)
And of course, it wouldn't be worth remembering Summerfest without people dancing on picnic tables. This video apparently was taken last night as me and a few hundred others were waiting to see Guster ...
Summerfest reads ... cleaning out my Google alerts about all things Summerfest ...
a Heat doesn't stop the beat
a Keeping a clean smile
a Milwaukee Talks: Summerfest Chairman Howard Schnoll
a Trains, planes and guided missiles at the lake
a Summerfest grounds may get makeover
a Is this Summerfest or Oktoberfest?
a Carlin's naughty words still ring in officer's ears
a Roads traveled: 40 years of Summerfest
a Summerfest TV documentary blends history with reminiscences ... I watched this documentary. I didn't think it was that good; it didn't tell me a whole lot I didn't already know and the production quality was lacking, if not cheesy ...
a Festival shook off dust, mud to put smile on summer
a jsonline's Summerfest page
7.01.2007
Summerfest '07: Day 2
Kates and I hit up another night of Summerfest on Saturday night, this time with our attention set on Lindsey Buckingham ...
But priority No. 1 after parking the car was finding something to eat, since neither of us had a solid lunch in between all of our running around earlier in the day. We passed through the gates a little after 5 p.m. and embarked on our first pass through the grounds, looking for the most appetizing menu ... Soon enough, Martino’s caught my eye and I went for a Chicago style hot dog piled with relish, onions, a couple tomatoes and, wouldn’t you know it, the first pickle I’ve ever eaten in my life. Funny, I was so hungry that for once even a pickle looked appetizing to me. And it was pretty tasty, too -- I just might have acquired a new taste ... Then after a little more browsing, Kates settled on a gyro from Greek Village, and from there we carried our food baskets to the M&I Classic Rock stage on the south end of the grounds for The Britins ...
We arrived at the stage about 10 minutes into their show, and I think we found the last available picnic bench in the place. All you had to do was look at these guys dressed in their gray Beatles suits and you understood why the place was packed. People are suckers for Beatles bands, especially when they dress the part … These guys had people dancing on the picnic tables in no time as they ran off “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “All My Loving,” “Boys,” “Hard Day’s Night,” “I Should've Known Better,” “Help!” “I Feel Fine,” “In My Life,” “Day Tripper” and “Drive My Car.”
These guys looked the part, played the part and talked the part, British accents and all. I loved 'em from start to finish ... Kates was a little more critical, however, pointing out the guys went slightly out of tune when they needed to hit higher notes, and she was having trouble overlooking a fifth Beatle, who accompanied the band with a keyboard and other instruments ...
No matter, the band pulled out “Twist and Shout” as the final number of their "pre Sgt. Pepper" set, and the number of people dancing on picnic tables nearly doubled. The star in our corner of the stage area was a middle-aged man who took to a picnic table without any regard of who was watching him. And when an grandmother handed him an inflatable Spongebob Squarepants, he used it as a dance partner ...
After a 15-minute break, the Britins returned to the stage for its "Sgt. Pepper" garb and they just might have been the worst Beatle costumes ever worn. The looked like cheap knockoffs; like Halloween costumes made out of that cheap plastic or vinyl material
To start off the set, they offered up “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / A Little Help From My Friends,” “Hello Goodbye,” “Good Day Sunshine,” “Fixing A Hole” and “Eleanor Rigby,” which is when Kates and I decided to move on ...
* * *
On our to-do list in between catching the Britins and heading to the Briggs & Stratton stage for the rest of the night's performers was taking a ride on Summerfest's iconic Skyglider. In five years of going to Summerfest, I'd never hitched a ride on the thing, and darn it, this year I wanted that experience ...
Like a ski lift, the glider takes patrons from one end of the grounds to another. Kates and I paid the $3 apiece to get our tickets and then took our place in the line, which moved swiftly as the glider's attendants herded riders in and out of the area. "This is quite the operation," I mused to Kates ... The gliders don’t stop, so when they tell you to go, you go and you get to the yellow box painted on the ground as quickly as possible. Within moments there’s a glider coming up fast behind you, taking your feet out from under you and lifting you high into the air above Summerfest … Talk about a rush.
The sensation of being lifted above the grounds, my feet dangling to nowhere, was a little bit of an adjustment for the first couple minutes or so of the ride. Then the awe of the scenery set in -- seeing all the hordes of people wandering below, sampling each stage we passed, pretty much seeing the magnitude of the Summerfest grounds from a bird's eye view. Again, a rush.
* * *
Afterward, I purchased my bucket of Mountain Dew for the night and Kates went for a cup of raspberry sherbet at Cold Stone Creamery. Then we headed for the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard to catch the remainder of the Briggs Bluesbusters show and then Lindsey Buckingham at 10 p.m.
About those Bluesbusters: Don’t let the “blues” in their name fool you. I was mesmerized by these guys last year, so I was thrilled when I noticed they were opening for Buckingham last night. Year after year, this huge collection of amateur, but very talented, musicians has got to be one of most entertaining bands to play Summerfest ...
The membership of the house band for Briggs & Stratton includes employees, friends and family members who make up a wide range of ages and abilities. The band numbers fluctuate from song to song, but they capped out tonight at 13 strong with the help of Reed Kailing, a former member of the Grass Roots and Badfinger.
We caught them charming yet another crowd with their covers of Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash. We caught them singing McCartney's “Band on the Run,” Petty’s “American Girl,” Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69,” Melissa Etheridge’s “I’m The Only One,” The Grass Roots’ “Temptation Eyes,” and The Boss’s “Born to Run.” As usual they raised the energy bar with every number, and their finales are something to savor. Tonight, the band wrapped their set with their fantastic take on The Who’s “Baba O’ Riley,” -- keytar and all -- and a crowd sing-a-long of Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone.”
The Bluesbusters were off the stage by 9, although I’m not sure the crowd was ready to see them go. I’m thinking they easily could have stolen another 30 minutes on the stage before Buckingham came on …
* * *
To pass the hour between the Bluesbusters and Buckingham, Kates and I tag-teamed with some Solitaire on the iPod … For the record, I’d played about 20 games since discovering the game on the iPod a few weeks ago, and I’d settled on the idea that it was impossible to win. … Last night was Kates first-ever attempt at the game and she endured just six or seven losses before she won, not once, but two consecutive games …
In the meantime, I surveyed the crowd and decided Kates and I were two in maybe a dozen or so twenty-somethings sprinkled throughout the crowd. Yep, with Buckingham, an icon of the '70s pop scene, scheduled to play, we were surrounded by Baby Boomers.
… But after hanging in a bowl of somewhat immature college-aged fans at Friday night's OAR show, it was a welcomed change of pace. Still, I did see a few of the boomers, albeit a little slower and with more regard for their beverages, push their way through the crowd in pursuit of the best seats ...
No doubt the place to be last night for the young bucks -- at least for those who couldn’t afford to hit the Marcus for The Fray -- was the Miller Lite Oasis for the Goo Goo Dolls. That place already appeared packed at 6 p.m., and once again, I might have been in the mix had we not seen them perform last summer… Surely Lifehouse drew a crowd at the Zippo Rock Stage, too.
Going in to last night, I tried not to get my expectations too high. In the last couple years, seemingly out of nowhere, I’ve developed quite an admiration for Fleetwood Mac. Like any fan of the band, I assume, I’ve become a huge fan of the “Rumours” album and I enjoy their self-titled release almost as much.” Kates and I both adore “Never Going Back Again,” (there's a sweet live video of it here!) and Buckingham’s guitar work and vocals on songs like “Go Your Own Way,” “Second Hand News” and “Don’t Stop” thrill me every time I hear them (especially on THIS version)…
But, I knew next to nothing about his solo work. In fact, I hardly realized he had an established solo career until I began reading more into Fleetwood Mac and I caught some of the reviews for his “Under The Skin” release last year …
So I'd decided I was ready for anything ...
* * *
In the end Buckingham was more than satisfying Saturday night, offering a solid two-hour set steeped with a bountiful mix of Fleetwood Mac favorites and his solo work.
In between repeated standing ovations, thunderous clapping and uninhibited cheering, there were several words and classifications thrown out throughout the night to describe Buckingham -- an American treasure, uber-amazing, eccentric -- and all of them fit the bill.
Buckingham took the stage alone and kicked off the intimate performance with “Not Too Late,” as the sight of his fingers galloping effortlessly on his guitar strings nearly sucked the air out from underneath the Hoan Bridge. He followed it up with another solo effort, “Trouble” and then opened the lid on his Fleetwood Mac catalog with “Never Going Back Again,” though his vocals on the latter were shaky, raspy, forced and, well, disappointing.
Quickly afterward, he was joined on the stage by a three-man backing band and the group wasted no time plowing into an energizing “Second Hand News” that dynamited the crowd to its feet while transporting a good portion of them back to younger days (after the song, a giddy older woman standing next to me was giggling like a starstruck teenager), or in my case to driving my car earlier in the day ...
Buckingham cemented his reputation as a tremendous guitar player early in the set and ran from stage right to stage left, rocking with a youthful exuberance throughout the night. But at times he failed to keep the momentum going and that had the crowd playing a game of stand-up, sit-down for parts of the set.
That game was quite a bit easier to endure, however, than the deafening and distorted sound quality, which I don’t think was any fault of Buckingham’s crew but rather the poorly placed Briggs stage, which sits squarely underneath the Hoan Bridge. Near the end of the performance, several fans could be seen holding hands to their ears, trying anything to stop the numbness, and I think the young girl seated on the bench in front of us and huddled under her mother’s wing was actually crying from the pain of the noise. Kates and I were wearing ear plugs, but I’m still dealing with an intense ringing in my ears this morning.
But on with the show. Buckingham moved on to another one of his solo efforts with “Castaway Dreams,” a take on growing up, then the self-described “uber-strange” Fleetwood tune “Red Rover.” He also turned in some dazzling guitar work on “Big Love” and “World Turning.”
And on the percussive “Tusk,” Buckingham got the crowd bursting to its feet once again. I had briefly fantasized that perhaps the UW marching band would appear from behind the stage with the accompaniment, but instead the backing musicians worked their keyboards and drums to replicate the sound originally recorded by the USC Trojan marching band (another great live version here!). In the meantime, a man in front of me whaled on his air horn.
Buckingham closed the first part of his set with a ferocious “Go Your Own Way” that had him punching and swatting at the neck of his guitar. And then after a short breather, he returned to the stage with the bouncy “Holiday Road” and a lovely “Show You How.”
As the clock struck midnight, Buckingham was wrapping up his performance -- and his nine-month tour. The band got a little mushy on each other as Buckingham introduced the others and gushed about hos great their tour had been -- with his “Shut Us Down.” In the background, the PA system was announcing the grounds were closing and patrons were being encouraged to leave the grounds. But Buckingham hardly seemed to care, bowing into his guitar and singing softly, “No, I will stay around / As long as I can /As long as I can.”
But priority No. 1 after parking the car was finding something to eat, since neither of us had a solid lunch in between all of our running around earlier in the day. We passed through the gates a little after 5 p.m. and embarked on our first pass through the grounds, looking for the most appetizing menu ... Soon enough, Martino’s caught my eye and I went for a Chicago style hot dog piled with relish, onions, a couple tomatoes and, wouldn’t you know it, the first pickle I’ve ever eaten in my life. Funny, I was so hungry that for once even a pickle looked appetizing to me. And it was pretty tasty, too -- I just might have acquired a new taste ... Then after a little more browsing, Kates settled on a gyro from Greek Village, and from there we carried our food baskets to the M&I Classic Rock stage on the south end of the grounds for The Britins ...
We arrived at the stage about 10 minutes into their show, and I think we found the last available picnic bench in the place. All you had to do was look at these guys dressed in their gray Beatles suits and you understood why the place was packed. People are suckers for Beatles bands, especially when they dress the part … These guys had people dancing on the picnic tables in no time as they ran off “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “All My Loving,” “Boys,” “Hard Day’s Night,” “I Should've Known Better,” “Help!” “I Feel Fine,” “In My Life,” “Day Tripper” and “Drive My Car.”These guys looked the part, played the part and talked the part, British accents and all. I loved 'em from start to finish ... Kates was a little more critical, however, pointing out the guys went slightly out of tune when they needed to hit higher notes, and she was having trouble overlooking a fifth Beatle, who accompanied the band with a keyboard and other instruments ...
No matter, the band pulled out “Twist and Shout” as the final number of their "pre Sgt. Pepper" set, and the number of people dancing on picnic tables nearly doubled. The star in our corner of the stage area was a middle-aged man who took to a picnic table without any regard of who was watching him. And when an grandmother handed him an inflatable Spongebob Squarepants, he used it as a dance partner ...After a 15-minute break, the Britins returned to the stage for its "Sgt. Pepper" garb and they just might have been the worst Beatle costumes ever worn. The looked like cheap knockoffs; like Halloween costumes made out of that cheap plastic or vinyl material
To start off the set, they offered up “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / A Little Help From My Friends,” “Hello Goodbye,” “Good Day Sunshine,” “Fixing A Hole” and “Eleanor Rigby,” which is when Kates and I decided to move on ...
* * *
On our to-do list in between catching the Britins and heading to the Briggs & Stratton stage for the rest of the night's performers was taking a ride on Summerfest's iconic Skyglider. In five years of going to Summerfest, I'd never hitched a ride on the thing, and darn it, this year I wanted that experience ...
Like a ski lift, the glider takes patrons from one end of the grounds to another. Kates and I paid the $3 apiece to get our tickets and then took our place in the line, which moved swiftly as the glider's attendants herded riders in and out of the area. "This is quite the operation," I mused to Kates ... The gliders don’t stop, so when they tell you to go, you go and you get to the yellow box painted on the ground as quickly as possible. Within moments there’s a glider coming up fast behind you, taking your feet out from under you and lifting you high into the air above Summerfest … Talk about a rush.
The sensation of being lifted above the grounds, my feet dangling to nowhere, was a little bit of an adjustment for the first couple minutes or so of the ride. Then the awe of the scenery set in -- seeing all the hordes of people wandering below, sampling each stage we passed, pretty much seeing the magnitude of the Summerfest grounds from a bird's eye view. Again, a rush.* * *
Afterward, I purchased my bucket of Mountain Dew for the night and Kates went for a cup of raspberry sherbet at Cold Stone Creamery. Then we headed for the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard to catch the remainder of the Briggs Bluesbusters show and then Lindsey Buckingham at 10 p.m.
About those Bluesbusters: Don’t let the “blues” in their name fool you. I was mesmerized by these guys last year, so I was thrilled when I noticed they were opening for Buckingham last night. Year after year, this huge collection of amateur, but very talented, musicians has got to be one of most entertaining bands to play Summerfest ...
The membership of the house band for Briggs & Stratton includes employees, friends and family members who make up a wide range of ages and abilities. The band numbers fluctuate from song to song, but they capped out tonight at 13 strong with the help of Reed Kailing, a former member of the Grass Roots and Badfinger.
We caught them charming yet another crowd with their covers of Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash. We caught them singing McCartney's “Band on the Run,” Petty’s “American Girl,” Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69,” Melissa Etheridge’s “I’m The Only One,” The Grass Roots’ “Temptation Eyes,” and The Boss’s “Born to Run.” As usual they raised the energy bar with every number, and their finales are something to savor. Tonight, the band wrapped their set with their fantastic take on The Who’s “Baba O’ Riley,” -- keytar and all -- and a crowd sing-a-long of Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone.”
The Bluesbusters were off the stage by 9, although I’m not sure the crowd was ready to see them go. I’m thinking they easily could have stolen another 30 minutes on the stage before Buckingham came on …
* * *
To pass the hour between the Bluesbusters and Buckingham, Kates and I tag-teamed with some Solitaire on the iPod … For the record, I’d played about 20 games since discovering the game on the iPod a few weeks ago, and I’d settled on the idea that it was impossible to win. … Last night was Kates first-ever attempt at the game and she endured just six or seven losses before she won, not once, but two consecutive games …
In the meantime, I surveyed the crowd and decided Kates and I were two in maybe a dozen or so twenty-somethings sprinkled throughout the crowd. Yep, with Buckingham, an icon of the '70s pop scene, scheduled to play, we were surrounded by Baby Boomers.
… But after hanging in a bowl of somewhat immature college-aged fans at Friday night's OAR show, it was a welcomed change of pace. Still, I did see a few of the boomers, albeit a little slower and with more regard for their beverages, push their way through the crowd in pursuit of the best seats ...
No doubt the place to be last night for the young bucks -- at least for those who couldn’t afford to hit the Marcus for The Fray -- was the Miller Lite Oasis for the Goo Goo Dolls. That place already appeared packed at 6 p.m., and once again, I might have been in the mix had we not seen them perform last summer… Surely Lifehouse drew a crowd at the Zippo Rock Stage, too.
Going in to last night, I tried not to get my expectations too high. In the last couple years, seemingly out of nowhere, I’ve developed quite an admiration for Fleetwood Mac. Like any fan of the band, I assume, I’ve become a huge fan of the “Rumours” album and I enjoy their self-titled release almost as much.” Kates and I both adore “Never Going Back Again,” (there's a sweet live video of it here!) and Buckingham’s guitar work and vocals on songs like “Go Your Own Way,” “Second Hand News” and “Don’t Stop” thrill me every time I hear them (especially on THIS version)…
But, I knew next to nothing about his solo work. In fact, I hardly realized he had an established solo career until I began reading more into Fleetwood Mac and I caught some of the reviews for his “Under The Skin” release last year …
So I'd decided I was ready for anything ...
* * *
In the end Buckingham was more than satisfying Saturday night, offering a solid two-hour set steeped with a bountiful mix of Fleetwood Mac favorites and his solo work.
In between repeated standing ovations, thunderous clapping and uninhibited cheering, there were several words and classifications thrown out throughout the night to describe Buckingham -- an American treasure, uber-amazing, eccentric -- and all of them fit the bill.Buckingham took the stage alone and kicked off the intimate performance with “Not Too Late,” as the sight of his fingers galloping effortlessly on his guitar strings nearly sucked the air out from underneath the Hoan Bridge. He followed it up with another solo effort, “Trouble” and then opened the lid on his Fleetwood Mac catalog with “Never Going Back Again,” though his vocals on the latter were shaky, raspy, forced and, well, disappointing.
Quickly afterward, he was joined on the stage by a three-man backing band and the group wasted no time plowing into an energizing “Second Hand News” that dynamited the crowd to its feet while transporting a good portion of them back to younger days (after the song, a giddy older woman standing next to me was giggling like a starstruck teenager), or in my case to driving my car earlier in the day ...
Buckingham cemented his reputation as a tremendous guitar player early in the set and ran from stage right to stage left, rocking with a youthful exuberance throughout the night. But at times he failed to keep the momentum going and that had the crowd playing a game of stand-up, sit-down for parts of the set.
That game was quite a bit easier to endure, however, than the deafening and distorted sound quality, which I don’t think was any fault of Buckingham’s crew but rather the poorly placed Briggs stage, which sits squarely underneath the Hoan Bridge. Near the end of the performance, several fans could be seen holding hands to their ears, trying anything to stop the numbness, and I think the young girl seated on the bench in front of us and huddled under her mother’s wing was actually crying from the pain of the noise. Kates and I were wearing ear plugs, but I’m still dealing with an intense ringing in my ears this morning.
But on with the show. Buckingham moved on to another one of his solo efforts with “Castaway Dreams,” a take on growing up, then the self-described “uber-strange” Fleetwood tune “Red Rover.” He also turned in some dazzling guitar work on “Big Love” and “World Turning.”
And on the percussive “Tusk,” Buckingham got the crowd bursting to its feet once again. I had briefly fantasized that perhaps the UW marching band would appear from behind the stage with the accompaniment, but instead the backing musicians worked their keyboards and drums to replicate the sound originally recorded by the USC Trojan marching band (another great live version here!). In the meantime, a man in front of me whaled on his air horn.Buckingham closed the first part of his set with a ferocious “Go Your Own Way” that had him punching and swatting at the neck of his guitar. And then after a short breather, he returned to the stage with the bouncy “Holiday Road” and a lovely “Show You How.”
As the clock struck midnight, Buckingham was wrapping up his performance -- and his nine-month tour. The band got a little mushy on each other as Buckingham introduced the others and gushed about hos great their tour had been -- with his “Shut Us Down.” In the background, the PA system was announcing the grounds were closing and patrons were being encouraged to leave the grounds. But Buckingham hardly seemed to care, bowing into his guitar and singing softly, “No, I will stay around / As long as I can /As long as I can.”
6.21.2007
Seen and heard
... Kates has had a lot of homework all week. Which leaves me downstairs in my cave watching baseball (except for tonight. The Cubs played earlier today and no one else is on tonight. So I'm blowing through some good music) ...
The best nights, of course, are when there's multiple games on and I can flip to my hearts content. Last night, I caught a little of the replay of the afternoon's Brewers-Giants game, then flipped over to ESPN for the Red Sox-Braves game, and finally settled on the Cubs-Rangers game ...
The best part: Catching Sammy Sosa's 600th homerun. Watching him connect with the ball, the hop, the blown kisses ... Forgetting for a few moments how it all ended in Chicago and how much we loved cheering him on for a few of those summers, it was hard not to let a smile leak out while he rounded the bases and took repeated curtain calls ...
The best nights, of course, are when there's multiple games on and I can flip to my hearts content. Last night, I caught a little of the replay of the afternoon's Brewers-Giants game, then flipped over to ESPN for the Red Sox-Braves game, and finally settled on the Cubs-Rangers game ...
The best part: Catching Sammy Sosa's 600th homerun. Watching him connect with the ball, the hop, the blown kisses ... Forgetting for a few moments how it all ended in Chicago and how much we loved cheering him on for a few of those summers, it was hard not to let a smile leak out while he rounded the bases and took repeated curtain calls ...
* * *
Just days ago, I was watching with a certain interest and marveling at an interview featuring Brian Williams with New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and the speculation that he could be a strong candidate for the presidency ...
Then word comes today that he's backing away from the Republican party. Now that makes that interview even more interesting ... A breath of fresh air indeed.
Though I'm skeptical that he could give the already so-established candidates a good run for 2008. Somebody, a few of them, would have to take a hard fall ... 2012 perhaps?
* * *
On the radio the other day I heard that NBC is courting Jon Stewart as a possible replacement to Jay Leno on the Tonight Show ...
My ears immediately perked up. As the story I heard was reported: NBC is having second thoughts about Leno handing over the reigns to Conan, and the network is trying to lure Stewart to NBC to either replace Leno, when he supposedly leaves the Tonight Show in 2009, or NBC could convince Leno to stay and Stewart would take the post-Leno slot currently held by Conan ... Either way, it sounds like NBC wants to say bye-bye Conan ...
Initally, I'm thinking this is a smart move for NBC ... Maybe it's just me getting older, but I've grown increasingly annoyed with Conan during the last couple years. Much of his material is unoriginal, juvenile and well, not funny (Really, how many more nights can he spend morphing celebrity mugs together to show us what their kids might look like ... I hate those segments.) His interviews don't flow, and too often he interrupts his guests and turns the focus on himself ... A few years ago, I was in the camp who thought Conan was the next best thing on late night TV. Now, I'm only tuning in if he's got a guest I really want to see, and then I'm fast-forwarding through the rest of the show ...
On the other hand, I'm thinking, and hoping John Stewart doesn't take the bait and remains true to The Daily Show I've come to loooooooove over the last couple years (thanks DVR!)
* * *
On the news the other night, I caught a report that the Vatican had come up with its own set of the Ten Commandments ...
For driving ...
I love it! ... especially No. 5: Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
* * *
A conversation at work this week, as Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" played through the small speakers of our corner's iPod ...
"I hate Fleetwood Mac."
Me: "You hate Fleetwood Mac?"
"Well, I don't hate Fleetwood Mac. I just don't like this album."
Me: "Really! Not a big fan of the Rumours album, huh? ... It's one of my favorite albums of all time!"
"No. I mean, I had it, and I listened to it like 4 billion times --"
Me: "Which I'm in the process of doing right now."
"Yeah, so I just can't stand to listen to it anymore."
I'm hoping I never get to that point.
1.11.2007
Rumours & Fascination
... So I couldn't take it anymore. Three copies of "Rumours" on vinyl, and today I finally broke down and got a copy of it on CD, even though I told myself when I started collecting vinyls that I would never buy an album I already had on CD or vice versa ...
... I also got a hold of "Legacy", the "Rumours" tribute album on CD ...
… And so my fascination with Fleetwood Mac, which has been building for a couple years now, continues …
… Growing up, I knew of them. I knew of Stevie Nicks. And I could sing “Landslide” word for word every time it came on the radio. Heck, “Don’t Stop” (I can't mention this song without referring to this live performance!) was on a mix tape my parents made me when I was young, and it’s become one of my all-time favorite songs.
But I never made any of the connections. Any references I heard or saw of Fleetwood Mac being a great band, especially when they had a small resurgence a few years ago with their “Say You Will” album, were pretty much shrugged off …
Until a couple years ago when I was working a late shift and returning from an accident scene. I’ll never forget it -- Pulling up to a stoplight. Listening to The Drive, which was then a new found favorite radio station of mine. And “Hold Me” comes on … I have vivid memories of being much younger and standing in our small town barbershop -- Denny’s -- with my brother and mom, sometime in the mid-‘80s. “Hold Me” came on the overhead stereo, and I’ve loved the song ever since. But again, never knew who sang it. So when it came on the radio again that night a couple years ago, I was filled with glee, and I hung on in hopes of hearing the DJ tell me, finally, once and for all, the answer. It was Fleetwood Mac …
Not long after that, I was listening to The Drive again, driving through the parking lot of our local DMV, and I heard “Never Going Back Again” for the first time. I was mesmerized by that song’s guitar picking, the bouncy melody and those fresh harmonies. Once again, I hung on to hear the DJ tell me the song was from, who else, Fleetwood Mac …
And not long after that, I was downloading Fleetwood Mac’s Greatest Hits album. Only then did I realize that the super group was behind all these songs I’d come to know and love for as long as I’d been listening to a radio -- “Don’t Stop,” “You Make Loving Fun,” “Rhiannon,” “Go Your Own Way,” “Everywhere,” (I remember hearing that one for the first time at the barber shop too) “Little Lies” and on and on …
A couple months later, as if I didn’t feel low enough for not realizing what Fleetwood Mac has represented all these years, I was sorting through an old box of cassette tapes and discovered I’d had the green Greatest Hits album in my collection the whole time -- I inherited it in college from a professor and never gave it a listen. Like everything else, I’d shrugged it off …
Then, last year of course, I recovered my parents turntable and stereo system and began buying up vinyl albums. “Rumours” was one of the first albums I bought. I fell in love with it immediately -- and hard …
…It was released in 1977, but somehow remains timeless. It doesn’t sound anything like what you’d expect to hear on a ‘70s album, let alone a “break-up” album and it’s one of the few albums I can consistently listen to all the way through. Without skipping songs …
There's a reason why Rolling Stone has called it one of the greatest albums of all-time ...
The classics stand out, of course -- “Don’t Stop,” “Dreams,” “Go Your Own Way,” and “You Make Loving Fun.” But I’ve been hearing all of those for years …
The real gems for me now are “Never Going Back Again,” which still blows me away every time, and the punchy lead-off track “Second Hand News,” along with its Side B counterpart, “I Don’t Want To Know.” And speaking of gems -- how about “Songbird” !? Kates and I got to know and love Eva Casidy’s version on the “Love Actually” soundtrack, so imagine my wonder when I realized it too was part of the “Rumours” album …
There’s a special dose of attitude, emotion and intensity within every song that pushes the album to such heights. It begs me to sing along. It begs me to dance. It always leaves me wanting more … and I can’t find any more words to describe it than those ...
Unfortunately, though, the "Rumours Legacy" doesn't hold a candle to the original -- which actually may be another testament to how great the original is ... Tonic's "Second Hand News" is, dare I say, as good as the original, and I like The Cranberries luscious spin in "Go Your Own Way" but the rest of the disc is a throw-away. Elton John does a decent "Don't Stop," but it's too much like Elton John and not like Fleetwood Mac. And while I love Shawn Colvin, her version of "The Chain" doesn't quite do it for me either. I mean, jeez, there's a lot of artists to love on this album -- The Corrs, Jewel, the Goo Goo Dolls (singing their version of "I Don't Want To Know") Duncan Sheik, Sister Hazel (heck, that's one of the reasons I got so interested in it in the first place) -- but they don't get it done ...
How disappointing is the Legacy album? I never want to hear Matchbox Twenty's dark, twisted version of "Never Going Back Again" again ...
... I also got a hold of "Legacy", the "Rumours" tribute album on CD ...
… And so my fascination with Fleetwood Mac, which has been building for a couple years now, continues …
… Growing up, I knew of them. I knew of Stevie Nicks. And I could sing “Landslide” word for word every time it came on the radio. Heck, “Don’t Stop” (I can't mention this song without referring to this live performance!) was on a mix tape my parents made me when I was young, and it’s become one of my all-time favorite songs.
But I never made any of the connections. Any references I heard or saw of Fleetwood Mac being a great band, especially when they had a small resurgence a few years ago with their “Say You Will” album, were pretty much shrugged off …
Until a couple years ago when I was working a late shift and returning from an accident scene. I’ll never forget it -- Pulling up to a stoplight. Listening to The Drive, which was then a new found favorite radio station of mine. And “Hold Me” comes on … I have vivid memories of being much younger and standing in our small town barbershop -- Denny’s -- with my brother and mom, sometime in the mid-‘80s. “Hold Me” came on the overhead stereo, and I’ve loved the song ever since. But again, never knew who sang it. So when it came on the radio again that night a couple years ago, I was filled with glee, and I hung on in hopes of hearing the DJ tell me, finally, once and for all, the answer. It was Fleetwood Mac …
Not long after that, I was listening to The Drive again, driving through the parking lot of our local DMV, and I heard “Never Going Back Again” for the first time. I was mesmerized by that song’s guitar picking, the bouncy melody and those fresh harmonies. Once again, I hung on to hear the DJ tell me the song was from, who else, Fleetwood Mac …
And not long after that, I was downloading Fleetwood Mac’s Greatest Hits album. Only then did I realize that the super group was behind all these songs I’d come to know and love for as long as I’d been listening to a radio -- “Don’t Stop,” “You Make Loving Fun,” “Rhiannon,” “Go Your Own Way,” “Everywhere,” (I remember hearing that one for the first time at the barber shop too) “Little Lies” and on and on …
A couple months later, as if I didn’t feel low enough for not realizing what Fleetwood Mac has represented all these years, I was sorting through an old box of cassette tapes and discovered I’d had the green Greatest Hits album in my collection the whole time -- I inherited it in college from a professor and never gave it a listen. Like everything else, I’d shrugged it off …
Then, last year of course, I recovered my parents turntable and stereo system and began buying up vinyl albums. “Rumours” was one of the first albums I bought. I fell in love with it immediately -- and hard …
…It was released in 1977, but somehow remains timeless. It doesn’t sound anything like what you’d expect to hear on a ‘70s album, let alone a “break-up” album and it’s one of the few albums I can consistently listen to all the way through. Without skipping songs …
There's a reason why Rolling Stone has called it one of the greatest albums of all-time ...
The classics stand out, of course -- “Don’t Stop,” “Dreams,” “Go Your Own Way,” and “You Make Loving Fun.” But I’ve been hearing all of those for years …
The real gems for me now are “Never Going Back Again,” which still blows me away every time, and the punchy lead-off track “Second Hand News,” along with its Side B counterpart, “I Don’t Want To Know.” And speaking of gems -- how about “Songbird” !? Kates and I got to know and love Eva Casidy’s version on the “Love Actually” soundtrack, so imagine my wonder when I realized it too was part of the “Rumours” album …
There’s a special dose of attitude, emotion and intensity within every song that pushes the album to such heights. It begs me to sing along. It begs me to dance. It always leaves me wanting more … and I can’t find any more words to describe it than those ...
Unfortunately, though, the "Rumours Legacy" doesn't hold a candle to the original -- which actually may be another testament to how great the original is ... Tonic's "Second Hand News" is, dare I say, as good as the original, and I like The Cranberries luscious spin in "Go Your Own Way" but the rest of the disc is a throw-away. Elton John does a decent "Don't Stop," but it's too much like Elton John and not like Fleetwood Mac. And while I love Shawn Colvin, her version of "The Chain" doesn't quite do it for me either. I mean, jeez, there's a lot of artists to love on this album -- The Corrs, Jewel, the Goo Goo Dolls (singing their version of "I Don't Want To Know") Duncan Sheik, Sister Hazel (heck, that's one of the reasons I got so interested in it in the first place) -- but they don't get it done ...
How disappointing is the Legacy album? I never want to hear Matchbox Twenty's dark, twisted version of "Never Going Back Again" again ...
12.21.2006
Holiday cheer
... I heard "The 12 Pains of Christmas" on the radio today. I was laughing out loud and it just might have been my favorite moment of the holiday season thus far ... (see and hear it here by pressing play on the YouTube video ...)
... Then I get home and I immediately flip on Fleetwood Mac's "I Don't Want to Know." ... I've been playing the song repeatedly this week and can't seem to shake it out of my head. If I don't watch it, I'm gonna be wearing out that "Rumours" album pretty quick ...
Funny. Last week I was stuck in 1966 and couldn't pull myself away from Pet Sounds. This week, I guess I'm stuck in 1977 ...
Then again, both albums are so timeless it's as though they could have been released this year ... God, I love good music ...
... Then I get home and I immediately flip on Fleetwood Mac's "I Don't Want to Know." ... I've been playing the song repeatedly this week and can't seem to shake it out of my head. If I don't watch it, I'm gonna be wearing out that "Rumours" album pretty quick ...
Funny. Last week I was stuck in 1966 and couldn't pull myself away from Pet Sounds. This week, I guess I'm stuck in 1977 ...
Then again, both albums are so timeless it's as though they could have been released this year ... God, I love good music ...
12.17.2006
Sunday reading
Some of the good reads I stumbled upon this week ...Life stuff ...
a Awesome auto does 1,000,000 miles, retires ...awesome in deed.
a Don't be 404 about latest buzzwords
a When you reach the half-century mark, almost anything goes
Music ...
a Bye, bye, bye: Music scene no longer dominated by teens ... Thank goodness! ... Have I mentioned that I can't stand Rihanna?
a Ray LaMontagne, Finding His Place
a Going own ways brings Fleetwood Mac back ... Listening to Fleetwood today, I Googled the band and stumbled across this story from the jsonline. It's 3 years old and written prior to their Summerfest stop, but a worthy read nonetheless. I mean, c'mon, it's Fleetwood Mac! ...
The screens ...
a Animal house: Fanning navigates farm life in ‘Charlotte’s Web’
a 'Charlotte's Web' returns
a Need to sell? Hire a penguin
a Rx for Success: How 'St. Elsewhere' Influenced Today's Top Medical Dramas
a Teaching an old series new tricks ... I still don't get why people are so ga-ga over "Ugly Betty."
a Networks: Listen Up for New Year's resolutions ... I'm a strong supporter of "Brothers & Sisters" and "The Class." But I'm not buying the push for NBC's struggling shows ...
a On Wikipedia, Oblivion Looms for the Non-Notable
a Video Visionaries Meld Traditional TV and the Web
Baseball ...
a Who's the Evil Empire now?
a Incessant talk about money has him green around the gills ... me too.
a Spare the morality play: McGwire deserves induction ... Some good points here.
10.15.2006
Sunday reading
Some of the stories that caught my eye this last week ...
In the news...
a Plane hit home of parade victim ... poor woman.
On TV ...
a 'SNL' sitcom '30 Rock' is right address ... Seriously!? Has he seen the other TV shows?
a Couric Is in an Unfamiliar Place — 3rd ... and she'd better get used to it.
In Music ...
a Mann of the Hour
a Fleetwood Mac guitarist hits midlife with intensity
a Colvin Re-Emerges After Depression
Baseball ...
a Sponsorship deal calls for White Sox to begin games at 7:11 p.m. ... what'll they think of next?
In the news...
a Plane hit home of parade victim ... poor woman.
On TV ...
a 'SNL' sitcom '30 Rock' is right address ... Seriously!? Has he seen the other TV shows?
a Couric Is in an Unfamiliar Place — 3rd ... and she'd better get used to it.
In Music ...
a Mann of the Hour
a Fleetwood Mac guitarist hits midlife with intensity
a Colvin Re-Emerges After Depression
Baseball ...
a Sponsorship deal calls for White Sox to begin games at 7:11 p.m. ... what'll they think of next?
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