So last night, the husband and I went to see Fleetwood Mac at the (dreaded) Tacoma Dome.  I had never seen them before, even though I have literally been listening to them ever since my sisters first plopped a pair of headphones on my head when I was seven and started up Rumors.  I bought my own copy in college and proceeded to work my way through their other good albums.  I say “good albums” because the Fleetwood Mac of the ’80’s should be forgotten forever.  Oy.  Stevie Nicks of the ’80’s, though?  Fabulous.  Edge of Seventeen, Leather and Lace, Stop Dragging My Heart Around.

I digress.

Anyway, Christine McVie was there, so I figured it was now or never.  So we drove for TWO AND A HALF HOURS in ridiculous traffic from Seattle to Tacoma, ate bad stadium pizza for dinner and settled in for the show.  The highlights:

• Opened with The Chain.  LOVE that song.
• Closed with Songbird.  Christine McVie on piano, Lindsay Buckingham on guitar and the gorgeous richness of McVie’s voice.  Love.  It’s a song that has turned into a mama song for me since I had the kid.  So lovely.
• Some of the video backdrops were gorgeous, especially the Maxfield Parrish painting come to life during Rhiannon.
• I’m pretty sure that Stevie Nicks went through at least five scarves/shawls and definitely came out in a top hat at one point.  The voice isn’t hitting the high notes, but otherwise she sounds and looks great.
• Lindsay Buckingham is, indeed, a BADASS guitarist.  And he doesn’t use a pick at all.  His fingers must be pure callous.
• Christine McVie looks So. Fabulous.  Her gorgeous bone structure is serving her well.
• I suspect that Mick Fleetwood spent some quality time at the magic store in Pike Place Market, given the collapsible shiny red top hat that made an appearance on his noggin toward the end of the evening.
• TUSK!  TUSK WAS AMAZING!!!
• Mick Fleetwood’s call and response drum solo.  I’m not normally a huge fan of the extended drum solo, but Mick brought the charm.

Terrible video of Tusk!  Amazing Tusk!

There is a part of me that thinks that I might have been a GTO in a previous life, shagging rock stars silly.  My inner groupie, she is strong.  She is reigned in, but she is strong and she has thoughts.  Thoughts like “which member of this band would be the most fun to take a tumble with”.  John McVie is obviously out of the running.  He just seems like he would rather be home with a nice cup of tea.  Lindsay Buckingham seems like the type who would need…applause or something.  Mick Fleetwood, though?  He looks like the type to say “Let’s see how much weight that chandelier will hold”.  Even now.  He has a twinkle in his eye that says he’s trouble.  Plus, drummers have great shoulders.

On the way home, the husband and I had an in depth discussion about that kind of arena rock that the ’70’s specialized in.  Led Zeppelin.  The Who.  Queen.  AC DC.  Bowie.  Bands who came on stage and shook the place down to the ground.  Who played the kind of music that gives you goosebumps and makes you want to jump up and down and makes you happy in your heartbraingut.  So the discussion was about who is doing that now?  Who are our bands currently that are tearing places down with their big, giant, epic, possibly anthemic music?  Most of the bands I can think of have been around for at LEAST 25 years.  U2.  Nine Inch Nails.  We came up with The Arcade Fire as a band that we have seen that has that mastery of dynamics and the epic build.  Obviously, they’re a completely different creature than the Zep, but they still have that big epicness.  My friends on the Facebook mentioned Muse, but I’ve never seen them live.  Who else?  Who makes you goosebumpy and ready to RAWK?