I never had the privilege of seeing one of the best-selling music acts of all time, Fleetwood Mac, in concert.
The wizardry of drummer Mick Fleetwood, the mesmerising guitar skills of Lindsey Buckingham, bassist extraordinaire John McVie and ethereal beauties and songstresses Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks were second to none in their day.
As a collective, despite their individual squabbles and relationship problems, they sold more than 120 million albums worldwide, backed by two phenomenal offerings in Rumours and Tango in the Night, and released countless smash hit singles such as Go Your Own Way, Don’t Stop, Landslide, Rhiannon, Gypsy, Everywhere, Little Lies, Big Love, Seven Wonders and many, many more.
So, you could probably understand my trepidation about seeing a show entitled Yesterday’s Gone: The Fleetwood Mac Legacy at the Newcastle Civic Theatre on a cool Tuesday night (17 September).
No matter who took the stage, they’d have massive shoes to fill.
But, it seems I had nothing to worry about.
With a multi-talented band of musos backing them, Eskimo Joe frontman Kav Temperley, nine-time CMAA Golden Guitar award winner Fanny Lumsden, ARIA nominee Charlie Collins and Karen Lee Andrews were almost as good as the “real deal”.
Even before the gig landed in the city, Temperley told me he was being “wheeled out as the token male”.
And, to his credit, he took a back seat to the wonderful vocals of Lumsden, Collins and Andrews.
However, he still made a mark with his acoustic version of Big Love and an outstanding rendition of the Tom Petty-Stevie Nicks classic Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.
“I spend much of my time out on the road with the Eskies and I’m very physically and emotionally invested in everything we do,” Temperley said.
“So, this is just a lovely thing to do.
“It’s our job to honour them.”
They did that… and more.
The stars, however, were Lumsden and Collins, who flawlessly channelled Nicks, and Andrews, a powerhouse to fill the late McVie’s role.
Their individual deliveries of Rhiannon, Landslide and Songbird, for example, were executed perfectly.
And, fittingly, they all joined forces to deliver Go Your Own Way and Don’t Stop, which had the crowd on its feet or toe-tapping furiously.
At one point, if I closed your eyes, it felt like I was actually listening to Fleetwood Mac.
That’s the biggest compliment you could pay the Yesterday’s Gone team.
For more entertainment stories:
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- Local musicians to make waves at DockFest
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