No More Broken Hearts

Fleetwood Mac @ Prudential Center, Newark NJ
The Chain / You Make Loving Fun / Dreams / Second Hand News / Rhiannon / Everywhere / I Know I’m Not Wrong / Tusk / Sisters of the Moon / Say You Love Me / Seven Wonders / Big Love / Landslide / Never Going Back Again / Over My Head / Gypsy / Little Lies / Gold Dust Woman / I’m So Afraid / Go Your Own Way // World Turning / Don’t Stop / Silver Springs /// Songbird

I saw Fleetwood Mac two years ago, back when they were touring without Christine McVie, and it was a really great show. This show is part of their first tour with McVie since the late ‘90s, and was definitely better – but how could it not be with all those McVie hits back in the setlist? You really get a sense of how important Christine is to the band when you see them live – she doesn’t have the intense charisma of Stevie Nicks or the wild energy of Lindsey Buckingham, but her more refined and soulful aesthetic balances out the mood. Also, while Stevie’s songs are the most nakedly emotional and Lindsey is the musical genius of the group, Christine is the one with the greatest talent for crafting immaculate pop hooks.

This really came through when they played her songs from Tango in the Night – “Everywhere” is this perfect balance of effervescent harmonies and soaring melody, while “Little Lies” is this relentless cycle of musical and vocal hooks that’s still quite moody and ethereal. I didn’t quite expect the latter song to be the one that impressed me most in the show, but it just seemed like everyone was especially psyched to be playing it. It’s also the Fleetwood Mac hit that most takes advantage of the band having three distinctive lead singers, as each of them has their own part in the chorus.