Fleetwood Mac - The Dance review
Rolling Stone
September 1997

Nostalgia is certainly key to the enduring appeal of Fleetwood Mac, but the radio popularity of their signature hits alone did not explain why the opening show of the group's reunion tour had such a familiar ring. Taking the stage of the Hartford, Conn., Meadows Music Theater Wednesday night to ravenous applause, the band opened with "The Chain" and then played "Dreams," "Everywhere" and "Gold Dust Woman" -- the same sequence of classic oldies that opens its new concert video, "The Dance." A few songs later, singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham introduced one of the band's new tunes, "Bleed to Love Her," by saying a few words about how "organic" the group's decision to get back together was. Mostly, they were the same words he used to introduce the song on the video and accompanying album.

\\In fact, Fleetwood Mac's entire set bore a striking resemblance to the one they performed in May for an MTV special -- down to the order in which they played most of the songs, much of their stage patter and even the sexually charged stare Buckingham and Stevie Nicks exchanged during "Silver Springs." And though the group's set may change during the course of its 42-date tour, the predictability of its performance raises an important question: Did the band begin with "The Chain" because it's an affecting anthem about maintaining the ties that bind during turbulent times or simply because fans are now conditioned to hearing it as an opener?

\\For their part, the fans didn't seem to mind -- who expects surprises amid the now-familiar pattern of MTV concerts that lead to live albums that lead to reunion tours? Most were so excited to hear hits like "Rhiannon," "You Make Loving Fun" and the Nicks solo song "Stand Back" that they seemed to regard the concert's pacing as a virtue. As the group played "The Chain," one woman screamed something about wanting it played at her wedding -- quite a statement about how catchy the song is, considering that Fleetwood Mac's tangled interpersonal history is hardly a testament to monogamy.

\\Indeed, the simple fact that the group could fill a two-and-a-half hour set almost entirely with memorable songs is evidence of their continuing influence, and few of their songs suffered because they didn't embellish them onstage. The Buckingham-Nicks-Mick Fleetwood-Christine McVie-John McVie edition of Fleetwood Mac -- here buttressed by two backup guitarists, a backup percussionist and two backup singers -- was always known more for studio and songwriting genius than improvisational chops, so almost note-for-note versions of their hits didn't sound entirely inappropriate. In fact, some of them sounded great, especially an unplugged-style "Say You Love Me" that featured Fleetwood on bongos and Buckingham on banjo.

\\Still, the band was at its best when it loosened up and departed from the script set out by "The Dance." Buckingham gave the new "My Little Demon" an edge much of the show lacked. The group's complex 1979 hit "Tusk" sounded more vital without the USC Marching Band, which joined it for the song on the MTV special. And though "Go Your Own Way" was an unsurprising set-closer, Buckingham's wailing guitar solos made it sound fresh.

\\The first encore, an almost clinical rendition of "Don't Stop," represented the show at its predictable worst. Afterward, though, Christine McVie returned to the stage alone to play a poignant "Songbird" on piano, after which the entire group came back out to play what Nicks called "our goodbye song" -- a cover