Mystery to Me

Wow, my last blog was "Perception vs. Reality" and that really has become a clarion call in the past few hours. This blog is named after both a Fleetwood Mac album and the questions that have arisen since I saw this particular video.



It makes me wonder if I've seen a ... well, "Mirage." (Yes, Fleetwood Mac album from the early '80s). If I was ... "Hypnotized" (pre-Buckingham Nicks song). I don't know what "I'm So Afraid" (with Buckingham Nicks) of in trying to figure it out. Well then again, I do. "I Don't Want to Know" (also with Buckingham Nicks) if it's something you don't want to know, ya know?

I'm definitely all over the actual video, being the person standing in front of the one who took it. Great shot of my watch! Now she's obviously a whole head taller than me -- that'll come in to play later. But what really got to me was the end, I have a reaction that I would say only occurred after the Lindsey moment. I'm about to break down.

This moment happened before the thank yous, and before late tonight, I would have sworn up and down that I got thanked after them. This video changed my mind.

It also reminded me of another fact. Although 'ark saw the blown kiss, I didn't remember it and that was because I had turned around after the "Thank You" in amazement. I was looking for someone else it could have been for. But no one was at my eyeline and, well, the man's eyes are pretty intense. I know he was talking to me. I froze for a second in a way I've only done twice in my lifetime and that's another reason why I know it was me. I did it when Rick Springfield looked at me and even earlier than that, the first time I met my "Guiding Light" fave Terrell Anthony.

So what about the blown kiss? As you can see on the video, the kiss is a bit off camera but comes into view around the time he points to the person holding the camera. It coulda been a general one, it coulda been for her. Hell, maybe it even is really part mine. But I know it wasn't part of the "thank you" package.

THEN he goes away and then the band thank yous are done. What sort of boggles my mind is that both 'ark and I totally got this wrong. I think it might have been the way he saw the kiss. I wanted to see it, so in my mind's eye, I did. We got a picture in our heads of the thank you happening after the band did theirs. It's related to the girls who were behind us after this photographer left, and not at all interesting so I won't go into further detail. But now as sure I was before that it initially happened that way, that's how sure I am now that it was the reverse.

So strange. It's got me "Mystified."

Perception vs. reality

I had this week all planned out to the letter. Used my powers of deductive reasoning culled from years of Dell logic problem solving to figure out when Eric Clapton would be able to join the Allman Brothers Band during their Beacon run and then played chicken to get an I Love All Access package for Fleetwood Mac at an auction for a third of what the other patrons paid for theirs.

And still, with that knowledge of what could happen, well I couldn't even fathom what it would be like when the weekend came to pass. Except maybe the worst-case scenario.

So we're off to the Beacon on Friday night and the band was in a slow jammy state of mind for the first set, starting off with Oteil's solo take on "Little Martha" to a montage of photos of the still very much-missed Duane Allman, whom this year's run is dedicated to. That segued into "Mountain Jam" and the likes of "Trouble No More," "Midnight Rider" and "Ain't Wastin' Time No More" before wrapping up with "Mountain Jam." It was a very laid-back ambience. Maybe that's for the best since we needed to be well-rested for the second set.

"Melissa" started off the second set, which cranked to an at-that-point evening high with "No One Left to Run With." But the Brothers DO have someone left to run with, someone kind of obvious, yet someone they had not played with in public in the four decades of their existence.

And with a this-man-needs-no-introduction introduction, EC joined the band on stage. They started off with "Key to the Highway," just enabling everyone to settle in. "Stormy Monday" was an unexpected setlist selection and the solos were masterful all the way around. Then came "Dreams," and anyone who knows Eric knows that he can just soak up the ambience in any environment and then deliver a masterful solo in that vein. Absolutely done here.



Then the killer punch to me ... "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad." In particular, the guitar exchanges between Eric and Derek Trucks -- with EC now not Derek's boss (like on his solo tour), but his peer. It was dazzling the way they mixed and mingled guitar lines -- as potent as Duane did all those years ago on the Derek and the Dominos album that ultimately gave Derek his name. Like Eric and George Harrison on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."



Speaking of weeping, when that ended, I wasn't nearly ready for the power of "Little Wing," so there was weeping to be sure. And then the BIG surprise "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed." Another ABB song that EC immersed himself in so completely, providing mesmerizing bits within the context of the very prized slice of Allman history. Went along so well with what Derek and Warren Haynes and Gregg Allman and co. were doing.



And the band got to repay the favor on the encore -- "Layla." I was expecting it to sort of soar, with the intertwining lines on "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad" intimated that it might, but the Allmans have developed their own blissful take on it -- simple but majestic. Derek took off solo for the instrumental segment and didn't really need to relinquish the reins.



After the show, Park and visiting Doc Proc tried to make sense of what we just watched. The most obvious comparison was to the "Blind Faith" reunion with Steve Winwood last year. It's a little bit apples and oranges, but when you get down to the crux of it for me, Derek and the Dominos was my fave era in EC history. So if you're going to perform material at that high level, well it's like being in the original Fillmore East when that music was at its peak.



And for that reason, I would say that is the strongest performance that I've ever seen.

So the issue becomes, you have a show the next day. It's a show that you've seen once and that doesn't really alter in the way guitar solos tend to completely change the mood of a Clapton show.

But there were enticements expected to spice up the proceedings, notably the pre-show meet and greet with band founder Mick Fleetwood. The show was taking place at the ... snort ... Izod Center, which I prefer to call the former Continental Airlines Arena. Now all but obliterated by the hideousness which is to become Xanadu -- high def. remains a XanaDON'T! -- I hadn't been there for a couple of years, after spending at least a couple days a week there in the Devils' final season at the arena.




















We got treated like royalty from the moment we got there. Free drinks, ability to purchase merchandise at a table in the room and very attentive service. Then we were off to the stage! Standing on the stage looking out, the arena looked very small. I set down my stuff just to the right of Lindsey Buckingham's pedals. 'ark was apoplectic. See?

Mick came out, started talking and signing for everyone. 'Ark's "condition" manifested itself at my expense as he winkingly claimed that I was a nouveau Mac fan culled from Buckingham and Nicks' arrival. Everyone -- including Mick -- laughed. I doth protested. Everyone -- including Mick -- laughed. Since my question involved Mick bringing his sultry eponymous blues band to "the mainland" and I also referenced "Oh Well," an early Mac hit that was the highlight of the Pittsburgh show for me, 'Ark said I shouldn't worry that Mick really got the wrong impression. Sigh. That isn't over.

But there wasn't time to dwell. Mick said his good-byes and we went back to the pre-show party for catered food (I had chicken, 'Ark had three helpings of ziti) and a trivia contest. 'Ark warned that I get competitive, and yeah, I was a little. When a multiple choice question asked where Mick first heard of Lindsey and Stevie, I didn't only provide the answer: d.) a studio but went for bonus credit by adding "Frozen Love" was the song being played at that time. With only one answer wrong (dang!), we tied for the win and each got a John McVie guitar pick, sweet!

Oh yeah, we still have a show to go to! Our tickets had us in the second row. We all had five-star access laminated passes and walked to our seats, feeling green eyes upon us. There we also got a pink wristband, this meant we could go up to the stage whenever we wanted and would never be told to sit down by beret-throwing party poopers behind us.



The lights go down and we position ourselves right at the foot of Lindsey's monitor! Stood there all bloody night too. Well 'ark stood. I boogied, clapped, whooped, hollered, cheered, whirling dervished, et al. (The video clips are examples of my work, gleaned from a fan on the other side of the stage. I'm the tiny dancer. Mark's orange shirt pops into view as well.) I loved "Monday Morning," "Go Insane," "Second Hand News" and "Oh Well" as much as in Pittsburgh and was blown away to see Lindsey's intricate guitar work on "Big Love" and "Never Going Back Again" a couple of feet from my face.



Stevie was even in better voice on "Gypsy," "Rhiannon," "Storms" and "Gold Dust Woman." John's bass spirited us all along, particularly on "Dreams" and "The Chain," and Mick was just smiling and pounding the crap out of his drums throughout. I even liked "Say You Love Me" -- a definitive Christine song.



OK, the pieces de resistance. Lindsey rocking out to "Stand Back," singing song lyrics when he wasn't in front of the mic. On "World Turning," in which Mick's drum solo ends with Lindsey vocal loops from the song, he mimicked his own voice "Iiiiiiii" several times in the darkness at stage left. As "Tusk" ended, he leaned close to the audience in the center. We could see two women just aching to reach out and touch him. As if an animal in a zoo. Guess that's appropriate with "Tusk." Finally one did and then the other, and he didn't recoil in horror but smiled broadly.




I sort of figured out that I was in his peripheral vision pretty much all night, when he looked down at his guitar strings, well, I was right below him jamming away. We had the simultaneous pogo going on during the chorus of "Go Your Own Way." But then ... the second verse of "Don't Stop," when Stevie's singing and he was looking at me from across his monitor ... he scrunches up his face at me in a way that I mirrored. I looked at 'ark, he was laughing heartily. That's in the above clip, and the moment comes right before the chorus, about 1:20 into the song. You can't see the face, but you can definitely see the lean, haha.

And after "Silver Springs," Lindsey looks out at the tens of thousands and thanks everyone for coming. And then ... and then, no joke... he came over near me said "Thank YOU" and blew a kiss to me. I half-smiled and then froze. Then turned around to make sure he was talking to me. Then I looked over at 'ark and he was all "Yes, that was for you!" Then my face crumpled and tears welled in my eyes. Being the considerate b/f he is, 'ark laughed at me. But I was gone. Gone, but aware enough to snag Lindsey's setlist, anyway!

But now what? We seriously have no idea. Not even about perceiving a particular direction.

Addendum to the story: Once our pro photos came over, I recalled that I forgot to add that Mick was helping me wear my scarf in our photo, and that our hostess was very intrigued by my vintage Mac rings. (See below)

Three concerts, two wins, one long road trip

Park packed a LOT into three days -- Van Morrison performing the entire Astral Weeks album (and more!), the Devils avenging a shutout to the Panthers, Chris Duarte burning up Mexicali, Brodeur and the boys recording their second shutout in three games and Fleetwood Mac opening their tour on all cylinders. A little snowstorm couldn't touch that.

The fun started Friday unassumingly when I went to snare Jack Bruce tix at BB's and was treated to the sight of Robert Cray tuning up for his gig that night. We probably would have been at that show, but Van Morrison was dipping into the archives for my favorite trend, the complete album show.

He actually started the evening with a whole other set though, and as the last time I saw him was a pretty brief show one New Year's Eve many moons ago, I was knocked out by Van singing his way through all of it and not giving away his vocals like he did back then.

Van is always reinventing the song with his bit of a rambling vocal style akin to an R&B Bob Dylan, and he just kept hitting them out of the park -- from a striking "And It Stoned Me" to an unexpected and top-notch "Comfortably Numb" to "Common One," which found him trading lyrics with his main sideman -- to the point that it cracked the Man up.

After the first set and a short break, Van and the band (with strings, minus some backup singers and guitarists) brought the elegant, soulful "Astral Weeks" to life. I came in to it knowing the album and 'ark hadn't before hearing it the week before, but it didn't matter either way as both of us wound up completely enthralled.

Next day, the Devils were playing early, so we figured we could fit it in to the busy schedule. In the teams' last meeting in Florida, the Panthers blanked the Devs, 4-0. This was complete reversal, the Devils looked totally sharp and Florida totally not. It helped that the Panthers' starting goalie couldn't play, so Craig Anderssson had to man the net for the whole 7-2 shellacking.

That night we went to Mexicali Live, and Chris Duarte just scorched the place like an electric jalapeno. He's got a wide array of interests and the guitar arsenal to back it up, so he can deliver Hendrix as well as alternative Soul Coughing -- spinning it through his unique filter. Like 'ark says it's a crime that this guy ain't as well known as regional counterparts like Stevie Ray Vaughan and frequent Clapton sideman Doyle Bramhall II.

Between sets, he didn't disappear either. He sat at his merch table and posed for photos and appreciatively listened to babbling fan comments. I blathered to him something about how 'ark told me I'd really like him because Hendrix was a big influence of his. He had just come off a scintillating take on "Third Stone," but Chris said he'd try to work some Jimi in. Then he thought a second, chuckled and said, "Well I just did that, didn't I?"

On to Pittsburgh about seven hours away. We were getting regular text updates from the best sister-turned-fanatical hockey fan (I know, MY fault) going. Brodeur delivered his second shutout in three days in a 3-0 blanking of the Filthy Flyers! No way his ego is going to suffer for that one, right?

Of course we had the tunes cranked and were treated to a gorgeous sunset through the mountains while listening to Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood lift not only the roof off the Garden but the whole damn building during "Voodoo Chile" last February.

We had been toying with the idea of partaking of Le Big Mac -- ya know, Mac Attack and what not -- and were pretty much powerless when a sign popped up for the world's largest Big Mac. So we stopped there and shot this gargantuan burger in the city it was first created in. Of course, neither of us actually had a Royale with Cheese.

On to the show. When I had looked at the map back when I bought the tickets, it led me to believe we'd be about half an arena away, albeit in some nice club seats. But in actuality, the stage was a couple sections in front of the end of the ice and the seats were really spectacular.

As Unleashed has been billed as a "hits" show, I have to admit I was a little concerned on how it was going to play out. Completely unfounded. I might have known all the songs, but at the tour opener, the band just let it rip.

Starting with "Monday Morning" and "The Chain," they ran through a substantial chunk of the back history. Just coming off their own brief tours, Lindsey and Mick were ON. Lindsey's vocals were searing, and sort of pointed out a bit of Stevie's shortcomings. Not surprising she can't hit some of the power notes anymore, but she was just dazzling on "Gold Dust Woman" and one of the set's big surprises, the ballad "Storms" off of "Tusk."

Lindsey sped up "Go Insane," so it was more akin to the original version than the lengthened version he did on the band's last tour in 2003. "Second Hand News" benefited from Stevie's vocals, but we sort of prefer "Never Going Back Again" with just Lindsey.

Another big surprise, and my personal favorite of the night, was "Oh Well" -- a big hit for the band before the Buckingham Nicks era. 'Ark was pretty amused, he referred to me as a "whirling dervish" during the song. I had suffered a stiff neck for a couple days, and I think it helped work the kink out ... but 'ark fretted it could have ended up the other way with me in traction the next day.

Stevie and Lindsey performed "Landslide" on their own, and Stevie disarmingly missed her vocal cue because the audience was soaking it up. Speaking of that, "Stand Back" brought me back to the days of dancing in front of the TV and I got up to boogie with a couple of neighboring Chiffonheads (that's what the fans who are totally there to see and emulate Stevie are called).

That apparently was the last straw for the sourpuss sitting behind us. He had been kind of a pain through the whole show, imploring the girls (tiny little rail things, were they that bothersome?) to sit down starting with the second number. Usually fans just sort of come to an unspoken arrangement, we'll sit for long periods of time and get up when the music really moves us. 'ark had been eyeing him from the beginning, ready to defend my dancing honor, apparently.

So "Stand Back" ends and "Go Your Own Way" starts, and that's pretty much the international signal for anyone who is able to get up and dance to do just that. Sourpuss had had enough by the end of the song, he actually grabbed the crocheted beret off Chiffonhead No. 1's head and tossed it and then stormed out. Incredible, seriously.

(That's my camera phone view. Objects are much closer than they appear.) Ultimately, it didn't bother the rest of us, though. We stood the rest of the show for the anthemic "Don't Stop" (OK, we do miss Christine McVie, particularly on this and "Say You Love Me") and "World Turning." The band even came back for a second encore ... "Silver Springs," sigh. I have NO idea how Stevie can deliver the vocal chops needed in that number at the tail end of the set, but she did.

With the heavily scheduled front end of vacation over, we set out for Virginia with news of the serious snowfall blanketing the country. Luckily, all we really ran across was a light dusting and some flurries. And the journey came full circle too, as we picked up Van Morrison's Astral Weeks Live CD and listened to it on the final leg.