- What have I learned? – That Kauai-Metal is indeed a thing.
- Listening to – Tango in the Night – Fleetwood Mac
- Reading – Heart of Dartness by Ned Boulting
With the way time seems to be accelerating I was rather surprised to see it’s already December, seriously when did that happen?
I only got to see Christine McVie and Fleetwood Mac play once, a cool evening in 1990 supporting the Behind the Mask album. I don’t think many people will describe it as a Fleetwood Mac classic. If someone were to say Tango in the Night (released almost 25 years ago…) was the last good one, I’d probably nod along in agreement.
I think it’s fair to say it is a band with complex, perhaps even unstable, relationships, and that led to ever changing lineups from tour to tour. That night at Wembley Stevie Nicks was front and center, but no Lindsay Buckingham to play off of. Mick Fleetwood was there, along with John and Christine McVie.
Buckingham was replaced by Rick Vito, and Billy Burnette. They were part of the previous tour, and the sessions that led to Behind the Mask. At the time Rolling Stone joked that it took both Vito and Burnette to fill Linsey Buckingham’s shoes.
The concert itself has largely faded in my memory at this point, I’d even forgotten Jethro Tull, and Hall and Oats were the warm up acts, until I found the setlist online.
One thing I’d not forgotten is the night was closed with a couple of what are still some of my favorite Fleetwood Mac numbers, Don’t Stop and Songbird. Both written by Christine McVie, she was a brilliant songwriter, and was part of my early exploration into music.
To continue the theme of nostalgia is the Ned Boulting book Into the Heart of Dart-ness. Darts was a big TV sport growing up in the UK, and despite the infighting is still a big deal. This book looks at the sport, how it’s evolved and revisits some household names from my youth.
Like the rest of Ned Boulting’s books this is a fun read, if darts are not your thing On the Road Bike is another good one I really enjoyed.
Have a great week.