The former Fleetwood Mac frontman thrills with old gems and new tunes

by Patrick Berkery
Rolling Stone Magazine
Oct 11th 2006
Lindsey Buckingham wears many hats, and he displayed them all during his stand at New York’s intimate Town Hall last night. Throughout the ninety-minute set, the former Fleetwood Mac frontman morphed from one persona to another, whispering about the pangs of cult status during “Not Too Late,” bopping through the family-man ballad “It Was You” (both culled from his stripped-down new solo disc Under the Skin), howling and prowling the stage during “Tusk,” or quietly strumming the meditative “Go Insane.” Amid such schizophrenic hijinks, you could walk away wondering who this man really.

No matter. The boisterous crowd let it be known this was exactly the Buckingham they
paid to see, calling out for solo and Mac obscurities (particularly those from Tusk ) throughout the show. Offering a “We haven’t really worked it up” disclaimer, Buckingham rewarded the faithful with a sublime encore reading of the ballad “Save Me a Place,” complete with the Brian Wilson-style harmonies he worked out with his backing trio right there on the spot.

While Buckingham seemed comfortable with that guard-down spontaneity, the studied perfectionist did rear his head. (This is, after all, the meticulous sonic architect who presided over three-day piano tuning sessions during Fleetwood Mac’s indulgent Seventies heyday.)

During a stormy “Big Love,” Buckingham watched his fingers intently, carefully measuring each breath. He wrung perfect silence from the crowd for his “You don’t know what it means to win” breakdown on the peaceful, easy “Never Going Back Again.” Even something as playful as the sunny highway shuffle “Holiday Road” was done to the letter, right down to the enthusiastic dog barks. “I maintained my dignity there, right?” he asked the crowd after an authentic fit of growls, woofs and snarls.

Whichever incarnation Buckingham decides to inhabit onstage, one thing’s for certain: he’s out there, man.

Catch Lindsey Buckingham at one of the following dates…

October 13th: Orpheum Theatre, Boston
October 14th: Foxwoods Casino, Mashantucket, CT
October 15th: Borgata Hotel/ Casino, Atlantic City, NJ
October 17th: Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, WI
October 20th: Lakewood Civic Auditorium, Lakewood, OH
October 21th: Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, OH
October 22nd: Emerald Theatre, Mount Clemens, MI
October 24th: Park West, Chicago

November 1st: Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
November 2nd: Viejas Dreamcatcher Showroom, Alpine, CA
November 3rd: The Grove of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA
November 5th: Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA
November 6th: Palace Of Fine Arts, San Francisco
November 10th: The Wiltern, Los Angeles
November 13th: Paramount Theatre, Denver
November 16th: Newmark Theatre, Portland, OR
November 17th: Moore Theatre, Seattle
November 18th: Centre for the Performing Arts, Vancouver, BC