Lindsey Buckingham

[Koala]

How Cool, have a great time!

[sodascouts]

It was INCREDIBLE, but I have had seriously about 1.5 hours of sleep. I think I'll go to bed early tonight, and get you the review tomorrow!

[Koala]

Can't wait to hear more!

[Henley Honey]

Waiting patiently . . . . . . .

[sodascouts]

With all the other things I've been donig since August, you might think it was pretty crazy for me to go all the way to Chicago just to see Lindsey Buckingham, especially since I'll be seeing him in Atlanta in another month. Also, this was hellacious scheduling wise because I absolutely had to be at work at 2:30 Monday, and the earliest flight I could get landed at 7:45 am in Nashville, after which I would half to drive three and a half more hours (the show was Sunday night and there were no late Sunday flights). It was cutting it close, and I knew if I did this I would pretty much get no sleep Sunday night since I would have to be at the airport at 4:00 am... what was I thinking?

Well, I was thinking that this was special. First, I have a friend there who definitely needed some support now because her brother recently died at just 27 from a drug overdose. Secondly, the show was general admission, which meant a hardcore like me was pretty much guaranteed first row unless there was some VIP crap. Finally, it was Chicago - and I miss Chicago!

BEFORE THE SHOW

My friend Tiffany and I got there at 1:00 pm (doors open at 6:30). We knew we wouldn't be first - there is a fan named David from Minnesota who kind of follows Lindsey around the midwest from show to show. He was there bright and early - 7:30 am! However, at 1:00 pm, he was still the only one in line. We took our places as second and third, grateful for the awning as it was raining steadily. What a dreary day!

Finally, a line started to form about 4:30ish. Turns out the show didn't sell very well - it sold about 600 tickets, barely half capacity - hardly surprising considering that it wasn't even listed on Ticketmaster and only promoted locally.

The good news is that the fans who did brave the weather and were savvy enough to know about the show in the first place were industrial hard cores. An audience that consists largely of hardcores is a very, very good thing!

Sure enough, once the doors opened, we were right up at the front. Tiffany and I knew just where to go - stage right, where Lindsey plays the "I'm So Afraid" guitar solo over some lucky girl. We each hoped it would be us!

Unfortunately, on the way to the restroom before the show started, Tiffany fell and fractured her finger bone. After getting it taped by a medic, she returned to her seat and stayed anyway, hoping Lindsey would make the pain go away while he played. She tells me she still enjoyed the show.

I was hit on aggressively by the head of security when we asked if we could stand at the stage (we could). It was a novelty for me, lol. At the end of the show, he gave me a backstage pass - but sadly, it was already marked through. It didn't get me backstage, but it's a nice souvenir.

THE SHOW!

Lindsey came out onstage alone without his backing band, acoustic guitar in hand. He was dressed in jeans and a black top open at the neck with a black leather jacket. Despite being a bit on the skinny side and losing a lot of that famous curly hair, he looked good. (See photos on the next post).

We all jumped to our feet and stayed there all night long. Nobody was asking anyone to sit down because everybody was up! All 600 of us! That's the way it should always be, if you ask me!

As you will see, the setlist included a lot of material off of the new album Seeds We Sow, but also each one of his previous solo albums was represented in the setlist at least once. I really appreciated that - I like it when the setlist spans the artists' career. Of course, some Fleetwood Mac classics were included as well.

For the first several songs, it was just Lindsey spotlit with an acoustic guitar. His skill astounds me. With his legendary finger-picking style, he can make one guitar sound orchestral.

Without saying a word, he started playing Shut Us Down off of 2006's Under the Skin. It's a low energy song that doesn't really soar until the end, so I'm not sure if it's the best way to start off, but it certainly exhibits that great guitar.

Next was his minor hit from 1985, Go Insane, in an acoustic arrangement like the one you'll find on Fleetwood Mac's The Dance DVD as well as Lindsey's own Soundstage. Go Insane is VERY effective acoustically - it adds a level of intensity that's not in the studio version with all its 80s electric keyboards and the like. LOVED it.

From that, he went into his only top 20 hit, Law and Order's Trouble from 1981. I also love this acoustic arrangement. It turns Trouble from a cheesy song about running from love into an intimate confession about a fear of intimacy.

Next, it was time for his first Fleetwood Mac song, Never Going Back Again. I adore that song, but it was one of his weakest vocally, as he started whispering the lyrics instead of singing them. I'm not sure what that was about but hey, the guitar work was good. Plus, it had a different intro than usual, which was cool.

The next song, Big Love, was also a Fleetwood Mac hit albeit it one of their lesser ones. This is the same acoustic arrangement you'll find on The Dance as well. Once again, I love it - and it is a show-stopper with its elaborate fingerwork.

Finally, the rest of the band joined Lindsey - the rest being keyboardist Bret Tuggle, guitarist Neale Heywood, and drummer Walfredo Reyes. Lindsey also picked up a pick for the first and only time that evening to play Under the Skin. This is another soft song but it's very beautiful.

The same is true for All My Sorrows off of 1992's Out of the Cradle: soft and beautiful. I would have preferred he do Soul Drifter off of that album but hey, I was just glad he played something off of it - it's a masterpiece!

Then, it was finally time to rock! The next two were energetic new songs: In Our Own Time and Illumination. They're even better live than they are on the album. The whole place was rockin' out, and since it was so full of hardcores, people were just as responsive to the new material as to the more well-known numbers. In fact, many of us were already mouthing the words to all the songs even though the album just came out a couple weeks ago.

Even so, the next two songs he played - Fleetwood Mac's Second Hand News and then Tusk - were huge crowd pleasers, especially Second Hand News. What a great song!

After Tusk, he slowed it down again with two more new songs - the impassioned Stars Are Crazy and the lovely End of Time. As you can tell, I'm a huge fan of both songs.

Then he went into That's the Way Love Goes. Honestly, this song kind of annoys me on the album because he does all this digital voice manipulation that makes him sound unnatural. I'm not into that. However, live, he sung it in his natural voice (of course) and I must say it ROCKED! During the chorus, the front almost became a mosh pit. It was AWESOME!

I'm So Afraid is my personal favorite of Lindsey's and one of my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs as well. I love the song's intensity, its drama, and its mind-blowingly awesome guitar solo. As I said earlier, Tiff and I positioned ourselves on the side of the stage where he comes to play that solo and hoped he would do a repeat of Indianapolis 2008 and play over one of us. Luckily he did - it was me again! He planted a foot on either side of me on the stage and played it directly over me. Only this time, it was even more intense, because not only did he play the song over me, he bent over until his lips were almost touching mine and hovered there a moment as he did some of the guitar work, then jerked up and played the climax without backing up one step. Talk about "in your face"! I had seen him do that to another lucky girl at a prior concert, but this was the first time I had gotten that "almost kiss" and I about died!!!! HOLY CRAP THAT WAS HOT. THANK YOU LINDSEY. lol I wasn't the only one who enjoyed it; the place went nuts for that slammin' solo! He is such an incredible guitarist!

As I attempted to get my breath back and discovered that I was sweating almost as hard as Lindsey at that point, Lindsey started up Go Your Own Way. It is his signature song, and it always makes the crowd go wild. Tonight was no exception. He blew the doors off of this one as well!

Off he went.. then back for the encore!

I was delighted that he pulled out Turn It On from Out of the Cradle - it's such a positive song and it rocked the house! We were all yelling "TURN IT ON" as he sang the chorus and he was eating it up!

His penultimate song Treason was for some reason especially moving and I was surprised at the number of people singing along; it's a rather obscure track off of Gift of Screws. Still, as I've pointed out, we were mostly hardcores!

He did one more encore: the title track Seeds We Sow. It was honestly a bit anticlimactic because Treason is both mellow and uplifting whereas Seeds We Sow is more contemplative and doesn't quite have the same power. Still, it's a good song, and it was an incredible show!

Can't wait to see him one more time in Atlanta!

[sodascouts]

Some professional photos (none taken by me; they were strict about cameras purportedly at Lindsey's request):

[Koala]

As always thanks for your fantastic review!If I read your reviews as if I had almost been present.

Great photos!

[TimothyBFan]

"Your moment" had to worth every dollar and every sleepless moment it took to make this trip happen? Very, very cool!!

Out of curiosity, how many shows have you seen so far this year and how many miles have you racked up in the air or on the ground to do it? None of my business but since I do live vicariously through you, I feel I need to know who we've seen and how many times and where we've been.

[Prettymaid]

Yay! You got an 'almost kiss'! I've never seen that but you describe it very well. Did he ever take his jacket off? Just wondering because I know how hot and sweaty he gets.

Oh and one more thing. I've said this to you in person, Nancy, and I'll say it here, now. You have a wonderful way of almost always backing up a negative statement with a positive one. I love that about you and this review is full of examples.

Without saying a word, he started playing Shut Us Down off of 2006's Under the Skin. It's a low energy song that doesn't really soar until the end, so I'm not sure if it's the best way to start off, but it certainly exhibits that great guitar...

Next, it was time for his first Fleetwood Mac song, Never Going Back Again. I adore that song, but it was one of his weakest vocally, as he started whispering the lyrics instead of singing them. I'm not sure what that was about but hey, the guitar work was good. Plus, it had a different intro than usual, which was cool...

The same is true for All My Sorrows off of 1992's Out of the Cradle: soft and beautiful. I would have preferred he do Soul Drifter off of that album but hey, I was just glad he played something off of it - it's a masterpiece!
...
He did one more encore: the title track Seeds We Sow. It was honestly a bit anticlimactic because Treason is both mellow and uplifting whereas Seeds We Sow is more contemplative and doesn't quite have the same power. Still, it's a good song, and it was an incredible show!...

[sodascouts]

Thanks for the kind words, guys!

PM - he didn't take his jacket off one time, not even when the sweat was pouring off of him. Odd, I know! As for being positive - I try! I find being negative all the time just makes you an unpleasant person to be around.

Willie - this has been an exceptionally busy year for me because all my favorites are releasing albums and/or doing shows all of the sudden!

It started in March when I saw Stevie with Rod Stewart in Atlanta.

Then, Stevie announced a special show in Los Angeles in May which I went to.

Next, Stevie announced her tour. I wound up going to opening night in Denver, then another show in Cincinnati.

Lindsey announced his tour. I went to the Chicago show here, and I'm also planning to go to Atlanta.

Of course, I went to Glenn's two Niagara Falls shows.

Up ahead: Don Henley in Tulsa, Joe Walsh in Oklahoma as well the next night (crazy!) and Joe Walsh in Atlantic City.

After seeing Joe, I will indeed have sen all the current Eagles do full solo shows. Exciting!