Lindsey Buckingham Live!
Fox Theatre, Tucson, Arizona
December 5, 2021
By Mary Andrews
Lindsey Buckingham gained instant fame in 1975 when he joined Fleetwood Mac. Buckingham has been given much credit for Fleetwood Mac’s meteoric success for his vocals, fingerpicking guitar style, and songwriting skills over the years. He insisted that his girlfriend, Stevie Nicks, be included in the band at the same time.
Buckingham penned “Monday Morning” and “I’m So Afraid” on the first Fleetwood Mac album that changed the course of the new lineup’s careers and lives. Since that time Rolling Stone has ranked Buckingham in their list of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.” The second album, Rumors, went multiplatinum with greater than 40 million sales worldwide. Not bad for a guitarist who never took guitar lessons or learned to read music.
The front man also pursued a solo career at the same time as his involvement with the super group. He has released seven solo albums as well as an album with Christine McVie. The most recent release is the self-titled, Lindsey Buckingham, released this year.
The album was actually completed three years ago. Buckingham addressed this issue during the show when he said, “The reason we are here is because I have a new album. It took a while to get this album out. It’s been ready to go for about three years. Events kept conspiring to keep it from coming out. I had to keep kicking it down the road. At one time, there was a bit of a health issue. And then of course more recently, there was the pandemic. The point is we finally got it out. In some ways it’s actually more meaningful now. Not only the timing of it coming out, but perhaps the subject matter of the album has taken on more resonance than it would have for me three years ago. All things seem to work out for the best.” The health issue was that Buckingham experienced severe chest pain and underwent emergency open heart surgery. The surgery was successful, but caused vocal cord damage that eventually repaired itself over time.
This was a sold-out show at the Fox Theatre. The fans erupted in applause and cheers as Buckingham entered the stage, donned his guitar, and started performing “Not Too Late.” Buckingham’s rapid guitar picking was captivating and flawless. The fans were on their feet swaying to the music and that set the tone for the entire evening.
The band consisted of a drummer, a keyboardist, a second guitarist, and a bassist. All were superb musicians and some of them have been performing with Buckingham for more than 30 years. He remarked that the drummer is the newest member of the band and “he is the best.” (That may have been a hit on Mick Fleetwood.) Midway into the set, the band left the stage and Buckingham played solo. Illuminated by a single spotlight, Buckingham played “Shut Us Down,” “Trouble,” “Never Going Back Again,” and “Big Love.”
The band returned and they performed songs from his most recent solo album, “Scream,” “I Don’t Mind,” “On the Wrong Side,” and “Swan Song.” The crowd enjoyed the new material, but they went wild with the familiar old Fleetwood Mac tunes. It was the most energetic portion of the show with everyone up, dancing, and singing along to “Second Hand News,” “Tusk,” “I’m So Afraid” and “Go Your Own Way.”
Buckingham and the band returned to perform an encore after a lengthy standing ovation. “Love Is Here to Stay” and “Time” were the final songs of the night. The performers took a bow and the show was over until next time
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