Fleetwood Mac: Live in Boston (DVD)

I got the Fleetwood Mac Live in Boston DVD/CD set out of my local library the other day. Partially because I like Fleetwood Mac and I hadn't seen or heard this recording, but mostly because I have a new surround sound system and wanted to listen to some music mixed in 5.1 surround.

On that count it failed for the most part, as all that comes out of the surround speakers most of the time is crowd noise. Atmospheric, but nothing particularly worth blogging about.

But I found myself captivated by the performance. I have seen Fleetwood Mac live in concert, way back in 1988 - on the Tango in the night tour, just after Lindsey Buckingham left the band - but not with the 'classic' lineup. OK, so Christine McVie isn't on this DVD, so its not the 'classic' lineup either, but it wasn't far off.

Apoligies to John McVie. His bass sounded really good through my new superwoofer, but it wasn't his performance that was captivating.

It was great to watch Mick Fleetwood on the drums though. I've been to a fair few concerts in my time and I have to say that out of all of the drummers I have seen, Mick Fleetwood seems to enjoy himself the most. Every time the camera fell on him he was clearly having the time of his life, it was just a joy to watch.

But, of course, the real show was watching Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham. Their up and down, on and off relationship is, of course, well known. There were many famous Rumours about it in the 70s, so much so that they named their greatest album in honour of that fact. But from the interplay between the two of them on stage, there is clearly so much more than is commonly known. Theirs is a really complex relationship, and that makes for an enthralling performance as they dedicate songs to each other, dance around each other, stare enigmatically into each other's eyes and almost, but not quite, kiss. It was a bit like watching a mystery thriller - you don't really know what is going on but it is gripping nevertheless.

Oh. And the music was quite good too.