Correction: Fleetwood Mac performed in Little Rock in June 1977 at Barton Coliseum as well as May 2013 at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock. The 1977 performance was omitted from an article Tuesday about the band’s performance today at Verizon.
Fleetwood Mac is obviously following its own advice, as promulgated in its song "Don't Stop," the band's well-known hit (especially in Arkansas). The band didn't stop when singer-keyboardist Christine McVie left the band, and now she is back.
During McVie's absence, the only song of hers that the band performed was "Don't Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow)," the anthem that powered Arkansas' Bill Clinton on his successful quest for the presidency in 1992.
Fleetwood Mac
8 p.m. Wednesday, Verizon Arena, North Little Rock
Tickets: $174, $140, $106.50, $73.50, $52.50
(800) 745-3000
Fleetwood Mac has had an up-and-down existence, with extensive, sometimes rapid personnel changes. The only member who has endured the entire ride has been drummer Mick Fleetwood, since August 1967, although bassist John McVie has been around almost as long, joining Fleetwood a month later.
The band's only previous Arkansas performance was in May 2013, when the band included Fleetwood, John McVie, singer Stevie Nicks and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. Though the band had no new album to promote then (or now), its rationale for touring two years ago was the 35th anniversary of the release of its album Rumours and a subsequent release of an enhanced version.
The difference in the band between 2013 and now is the return of Christine McVie after a 16-year absence (she first joined the band in 1970). Nicks and Buckingham, a couple of American musicians, joined what had originally been a British blues rock band in 1975.
Massive success arrived with that lineup of three men and two women, culminating with its self-titled 1975 album, powered by the band's first radio hit, Christine McVie's "Over My Head," her composition "Say You Love Me" and Nicks' "Rhiannon" and "Landslide." Two years later, the band reached the commercial and critical stratosphere with Rumours, which featured Christine McVie's songs "Don't Stop," "You Make Lovin' Fun" and "Songbird," as well as Nicks' "Dreams," "Gold Dust Woman" and "Chains" and Buckingham's "Second Hand News."
While Rumours has sold more than 45 million copies worldwide, it contained only one No. 1 single, "Dreams." A new album is reportedly in the works, although without input from Nicks. From all reports, the current tour is a "greatest hits" scenario, without any new material or songs prior to the Buckingham and Nicks era. The band has released no new material since Say You Will in 2003.
The group originally announced a 40-date North American "On With the Show" tour that began Sept. 30 in Minneapolis, but on Oct. 9, it was announced that there would be an additional 28 dates between Jan. 16 and March 31. And then more shows were added in Dallas, Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The tour is scheduled through June 14, when the band will perform at the Isle of Wight Festival in the United Kingdom.
Style on 03/10/2015