When interviewed on television, Lindsey Buckingham always seemed like the sane member of Fleetwood Mac, the one who put up with everybody else’s chemical and personal madness. In performance, it became clear that his madness simply ran a little deeper and was less obvious. It has made his own pop a little subversive, and his performance of “Big Love” ended with him almost barking out the sexual panting that ends the recorded version. Live with a four-piece band, the odd shape of “Tusk” became obvious, but it moved more spryly than it did on record. Playing his solo hit “Trouble” alone didn’t detract from the song’s beauty, but a baroque treatment of “Go Insane” obscured the song’s melody and slowed it down painfully. The oddest moment, though, was the three-song encore, of which the biggest hit was “Holiday Road” from the National Lampoon’s Vacation soundtrack. After that, the show seemed to dwindle away. Not what you expect from a professional hitmaker, but perhaps what you get from someone who struggles to balance being a professional hitmaker with a very idiosyncratic, more personal muse.
Lindsey Buckingham, House of Blues, January 29, 2007
Mere hours after the Saints lost the final playoff game, several hundred people slowly filled the sold-out House of Blues as Albert Hammond, Jr. (formerly of the Strokes) came on as opening act to Incubus. Voices muttered about the defeat and a sense of shock kept the room from watching the stage. There were no bouncing heads, no knee-bops, no swaying hips, but not because the audience was not into it. Albert Hammond, Jr.’s sweetly melancholy lyrics lost their effect on the already depressed crowd. The band left the stage as one might leave a funeral after expressing one’s condolences. Shortly after, when someone started chanting “Screw the Bears” and “Who Dat,” the room roared with angst-ridden response. Incubus took the pulse of the audience and went into an instrumental version of “When the Saints Go Marching In,” instantly capturing the listeners’ attention and revving the adrenaline level for the remainder of the show.