Won't you lay me down in the tall grass and let me do my stuff...

Saw Lindsey Buckingham tonight. Great show! He looked young and fit as can be, very energetic. His voice hasn't lost a thing. Watching and listening to him, he reminds be of a blend of Michael Stipe (REM) and Gordon Gano (Violent Femmes), and I mean that in the best way. He's got Stipe's passion for singing and a similar voice of about the same range and strength, and can easily move between very soft, sweet whispery ballad vocals to a hard, bellowed rock-n-roll wail. His lyrics are very good and a touch off the beaten path too, but not like Stipe's. He's like Gano in that he's a bit short of stature, though not AS much, and he also has a bit of a whine to his voice, but not in a bad way. Just a sense of longing. And he can play guitar like nobody's business; much better than Gano. But of course he was playing before either of these two were, so I suppose the correct phrasing is THEY sound like parts of HIM!

The man is a guitar virtuoso. He reminds me a bit of Dave Gilmour in how relaxed he is with a guitar in his hands, like it's just a third arm or something. He rarely if ever looks down at it, even when playing complicated parts, and he doesn't relegate himself to chords while singing, letting a supporting guitarist plays the complicated lead line. He does it all. He's not as good as Gilmour, but he's definitely not far off. He had about 5 guitars in rotation including a couple acoustic-electric hybrids, a full electric model, and a couple big standard acoustic models. He changed guitars on every song - such a perfectionist. With the electric, he tore up 8- and 5-minute solos in two different songs as well as played some neat finger-picking, speed playing on the very highest notes, and a whole other bag of tricks. I know the times because I timed them on my cell phone clock. The solos were incredible and left my hairs standing on end. Like I said, Dave Gilmour is the only one who can top what I heard tonight as far as I'm concerned, and that's saying a lot. Their styles are different; Buckingham plays a lot harder and faster while Gilmour plays more flawlessly and makes his guitars almost literally "sing," reminiscent of Eric Clapton. There are a lot of great guitarists in the world though, and Lindsey is among the best.

I counted 5 Fleetwood Mac songs and 11 solo songs (2 of which I recognized), which was about what I'd hoped for. And he made the Fleetwood Mac cuts count: Never Going Back Again, Tusk, Go Your Own Way, Big Love, and Second Hand News. The only song I really missed hearing was Monday Morning. These versions were all superb, with great arrangements and impeccable singing and playing by The Man. His backing band was very tight through the whole show, and never stole the limelight nor sounded way outdone by him. Three or four numbers he performed completely by himself in a spotlight. Overall for his age and the amount of drugs he's put through his body, he was in top form. He talked to the audience a lot and was very soft-spoken and congenial, seemingly much-matured from the rebel he once was. For for those few guitar solos or when he'd cut loose vocally on a chorus, he could still send shivers down your spine and rival any 20- or 30-year old in sheer power.

The high point was after about 5 minutes of an outrageous guitar solo where I could have sworn I saw smoke issuing forth from the guitar, he quieted down and started the final, slowing, hard strumming, like he was about to finally shut it down, only to then sink to his knees at the very front of the stage and take it up an entire notch in volume AND pitch to the place where even dogs get uncomfortable and played 2-3 more minutes of blistering madness, like some angel gone insane coming down from the clouds. All this with his eyes shut and his face toward the ceiling. You could see his face covered in sweat when the lights hit him. The standing O was obligatory, the adrenaline and inspiration flowing in my blood was even better.

There are people who practice and strive to be musicians and have some natural gifts and learn all the rest in order to make themselves a star. Then there are people like Lindsey Buckingham, John and Paul, Fogelberg, Gilmour, and others who are just born to it and make the rest of us sick by making it look so easy. He is certainly a prodigy at guitar and vocally, and at times - but with frustrating inconsistency - lyrically. But if you get a chance to see him, do. Even though it I missed Christie McVie and to a lesser extent Stevie Nicks, and the harmonies of the three most of all, he alone is still worth it. He was certainly the musical force behind that group for the few albums he was a member, I've no doubt about that anymore.

I'd like to extend a special thanks to Radiogirl for my ticket. The seat was second row balcony near the center with no one in front of me. Perfecto! Thank you very much indeed, it was a great show.