It was a rock 'n' roll nostalgia trip served with a healthy dose of new material Wednesday as Fleetwood Mac members Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie brought their tour to Robinson Center in Little Rock.
The duo are on the road in support of Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, the album they recorded apart from their fellow Mac mates and released earlier this year.
The new record was heartily represented, with seven of its 10 tracks comprising the 90-plus minute set from the veteran rockers. But their old band was never far away, as the two friends touched upon many of the radio hits that made that group famous, spreading nostalgic vibes across the crowd, which mostly filled the over 2,200 seats.
"Glad you're still here," Buckingham cracked from the stage, referring to a fire alarm that forced the evacuation of the building as opening act Wilderado were taking apart their equipment after their set. After less than a half hour, and the building definitely not engulfed in flames, the audience was herded back inside, wisecracking and ready to rock.
Buckingham picked at his acoustic guitar while McVie stood behind her keyboards for stripped-down, impassioned runs through the first four songs of the evening, which featured the solo Buckingham track "Trouble" and McVie singing her Fleetwood Mac tune "Wish You Were Here."
They were then joined by a four-piece band and dove headfirst into the new material, which, no surprise, sounds a lot like updated Mac — creative, adult pop rock — and was greeted warmly by the audience.
"Sleeping Around the Corner," the new album's first track, got a playful spin. "Too Far Gone" was a blues-rock workout, with drummer Jimmy Paxson thundering his way through the song in what could best be described as a warm up for "Tusk," the percussive title track from the band's 1979 double album that appeared later in the evening to much enthusiasm.
More nods to the past came in the form of "Hold Me" and "Little Lies," and Buckingham crept to the edge of the stage while peeling off a blazing guitar solo during "I'm So Afraid," from 1975's Fleetwood Mac.
A spirited take on the classic rock radio staple "Go Your Own Way" closed the set before the group returned for a two-song encore that included "Everywhere" and the new song, "Lay Down for Me."
What? No "Don't Stop," the song that soundtracked Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign? Alas, no. An opportunity missed in an otherwise fine evening with old friends.
Los Angeles-based four-piece Wilderado opened the evening with a spirited 30-minute set of jangly, atmospheric guitar rock and spot-on vocal harmonies that was reminiscent of Band of Horses.