Fleetwood Mac make magic in Perth rain

A DOWNPOUR of rain could do nothing but enhance the hippie-mystique of Fleetwood Mac’s leading lady Stevie Nicks last Friday night.

The poetic and magical performer behind Fleetwood Mac had 25,000 fans at Subiaco Oval mesmerised from the moment she stepped foot on stage.

Dressed in a black lace dress with her trademark ribbon-adorned tambourine in hand, she opened to a rapturous crowd with the band’s 1977 hit The Chain.

Her powerful vocals were backed by the musical talents of Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Christine McVie, who reunited with the band after a 16-year absence.

Fleetwood Mac’s classic line up had returned for their On with the Show tour and as the rain pelted down on their Perth fans, they made sure they turned on one unforgettable show.

Drawing heavily on their 1970s hits from their most celebrate album Rumours, they took the start of the show up a notch with thrilling performances of You Make Loving Fun, Dreams and Second Hand News.

Nicks shared the spotlight with her former lover and legendary guitarist Buckingham who captivated the crowd with a series of flawless guitar solos and his comments about the band’s past exploits.

“There was a grey area between our personal and professional lives – but we have nothing left but love for one another and we’re still here,” he said before the band launched into Rhiannon.

The 1975 hit had the younger generation of late 20/early 30 year olds who were raised on their parents’ Fleetwood Mac albums, like myself, wanting to jump up and dance, which clashed with the baby boomer’s desire to stay firmly in their seats.

Christie McVie reminded everyone how missed her smoky vocals were as she sung Everywhere while perched behind her keyboard.

Tusk, Sara and Say You Love Me followed and were delivered with an effortless perfection that could only be achieved by a band with 40 years of musical chaos and creativity under their belt.

The night’s highlights included Nicks’ performance of Landslide – which showed why she was named one of the 100 greatest singers of all time – and Buckingham’s acoustic guitar solo of Big Love.

Nicks then gave what sounded like a 1960s hippy-inspired speech as she revealed the meaning behind Gypsy and sang it with such emotion it was as if she was still that struggling artist living in San Francisco.

The band’s original member Mick Fleetwood, who had been smashing the drums all night with the enthusiasm of a teenager, drew in the crowd with an eccentric drum solo behind his elaborate kit.

The heavy rain continued to fall and created a mythical ambience as it caught the stage light while Nicks swirled around the stage setting the perfect scene for Gold Dust Woman.

“This is the strangest, most beautiful rainy night ever,” she said.

No one was left seated as the band finished their main set with Go Your Own Way – a song that Lindsey wrote to mark the ending of his relationship with Nicks.

The drenched crowd rocked away to the elated encore Don’t Stop, before Christine McVie asked the crowd to tolerate the rain for one final stellar moment as she got behind a grand piano and finished with Songbird.

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