I saw Lindsey Buckingham with opening act JS Ondara at The Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor Michigan Saturday night.
Opening things up was singer / songwriter JS Ondara who did a pleasant set of songs without a band, just him and his guitar. Ondara is from Kenya and does not even have an album out yet, but he was engaging performer with a nice voice and interesting songs. His half hour set was engaging and I enjoyed it.
After an intermission Buckingham came on with a full backing band of two keyboards (and some guitar), drummer and bassist. They created a rich full sound with plenty of vocal harmonies especially on the Fleetwood Mac material. Lindsey has always been an engaging performer. He often told stories in between songs and alluded to the situation with his old bandmates without actually coming out and talking about it directly. After the main set Lindsey took the time to introduce each of his bandmates, telling where they were from and information about each of them. After the show I heard a few people grumbling in the bathroom that Buckingham talked too much, but for me I enjoyed his stories and introductions and thought it was classy how he showed respect to his band and audience. Lindsey mixed up the set list with various songs from his solo career along with Fleetwood Mac classics. The show was in a theater and at the beginning, as so often happens with an older audience, half the people wanted to stand and half wanted to sit. In the end the audience sat after the first few numbers. Lindsey’s material is so broad, and goes from quiet ballads to loud rockers and everything in between. In the middle of the set, the band departed the stage and Lindsey did several songs with just him and his guitar. When he performed “Never Going Back Again”, there was little doubt where the sentiment was aimed, and I got the feeling that he really meant it this time. Of course Buckingham’s guitar playing is amazing using his unique finger picking style, almost like one would play a banjo. He is a master at concert pacing and once he broke out “Holiday Road” the crowd was on it’s feet for the rest of the show. “I’m So Afraid” was a highlight with it’s long guitar solo showing off Lindsey’s chops. The main set closed with a rocking version of “Go Your Own Way”. For the encore, Buckingham and his band came out and did 3 more songs. It was a great night of music as Lindsey and the band were in top form. If you are at all a Fleetwood Mac / Buckingham fan I would highly recommend this tour if it is coming to your town. Here is the set list:
DON’T LOOK DOWN
GO INSANE
SURRENDER THE RAIN
NOT TOO LATE
DOING WHAT I CAN
TROUBLE
I MUST GO
STREET OF DREAMS
SHUT US DOWN
NEVER GOING BACK AGAIN
BIG LOVE
IN OUR OWN TIME
SLOW DANCING
SOUL DRIFTER
HOLIDAY ROAD
TUSK
I’M SO AFRAID
GO YOUR OWN WAY
ENCORE:
TURN IT ON
DOWN ON RODEO
TREASON
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