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Fleetwood Mac: Hot Flashes In Concert [City Heat – January 1991]

A history lesson in pop music culture and the northwest swansong of one of the most prominent collaborations to ever create. Playing a plethora of hits from the latest and earliest incarnations, Fleetwood Mac took us through the two and a half hour set to the end of an era.

An excellent show opener, “In The Back Of My Mind”, from the Behind The Mask LP (their latest), be­gan the tour de force. The ladies lead them through a couple of classics, “The Chain” and “Dreams”, then Christine McVie captivated us with a version of “Isn’t It Midnight” that featured a revamped chorus arrange­ment.

The Macs truly mixed it up material-wise, blend­ing past with present all through the set. The ancient “Oh Well” (on which Billy Burnette sang a fabulous, teasing lead) and the even more ancient (from the very first album, circa 1967) “Messin’ Round” were mingled in with “Rhiannon” and the very recent “Love Is Danger­ous”.

1991_01_CityHeat_InConcert_FleetwoodMac

During the older stuff, guitarist Rick Vito (a major ham) dedicated a song to founding member Peter Green as well as to Stevie Nicks and Christine, both of which have decided not to tour with Fleetwood Mac any longer in order to pursue their respective solo careers.

Drudging up a longtime favor­ite that they’d dropped from recent tours, “Landslide” was a definite pleaser. Also in that category was Mick Fleetwood’s center-stage romp during a reprise of “World Turn­ing”. The comic bandleader raged on the set, came out front and pounded an African drum tucked under his arm.

Then he slapped and tapped his body where drum pads were hidden in his outfit (resplendent with plenty of gratuitous sexual innuendo) all of this to the accompaniment of a Ghanaian percussionist sporting a horned helmet. It was then that they took the opportunity to introduce him, Isaac, the two back-up singers, Sharon and Lynn, and local wiz Dan Garfield, who was supplying addi­tional keyboards.

Amongst the memories winding down the show – “Little Lies”, “Everywhere”, “All I Want To Do”, “Gold Dust Woman”, “Don’t Stop”, and “Go Your Own Way” – were the last song from Fleetwood Mac’s new album; “Stand On The Rock”, and an encore that Burnette’s father and uncle wrote together, “Tear It Up”.

With the departure of the ladies, it may seem that the band’s future is in question. I doubt that this is the case.

With Mick’s track record and John McVie still working the bass like he did this night Fleetwood Mac is anything but dead. My guess is that we’ll see yet another change in the band’s constant evolution.

The final number of the night (quite appropriately) was an exceptional rendition of “Songbird” with Chris­tine and a grand piano, sharing the stage alone.

Alice In Chains – Facelift: Fresh Blood [RIP – December 1990]

Something different, something new. Something fresh to sink your teeth into. Something familiar, yet not. Isn’t this what we are all looking for?

RIP Fresh Blood: Alice In Chains

RIP Fresh Blood: Alice In Chains

Unchain Alice, and that’s precisely what you’ll find. Although true to Seattle’s trademark grunge style, Alice brands it with their own personality. Heavily influenced by other Emerald City stars like Soundgarden and Mother Love Bone, their music reflects the close-knit camaraderie between the bands working the Seattle scene. With the big family attitude of the bands up there, it would mean there was something wrong if they didn’t.

However, Alice’s influences certainly aren’t limited to locals only. Their Columbia debut, Facelift, expresses their interest in The Cult and vintage Judas Priest as well. It’s a heavy, crunchy album rounded out by some slower tempos artfully produced by Dave Jerden.

Thanks in part to him, Layne Staley’s nasal-inflected vocals have matured into a strong, tough, streetwise sound; while Jerry Cantrell’s guitar injects painful emotion into cuts like Sea Of Sorrow and Love/Hate/Love, then fills Sunshine and We Die Young with raw, boisterous energy. The pounding rhythms come via Sean Kinney’s enthusiasm-filled drumming fleshed out with Mike Starr’s thick ‘n’ meaty bass licks.

The sometimes morbid, always thoughtful lyrics focus less on sex than the world in general, as viewed from the perspective of youth specifically. Staley attributes much of the band’s sound to the fact that they are all young and somewhat angry about the state of our society. But this does not mean that they have no sense of humor. Quite the opposite! They try to deal with serious subjects in their music while retaining an irreverent attitude about themselves. They like to have fun.

As for the name, they just don’t know. The stories range from Warrell Dane (Sanctuary’s singer) once wanting to form a thrash band that wore dresses on stage, to a recent quote from Staley that starts with the band owning a cat named Alice and concludes unprintably. Their name’s origination is generally credited to Staley, so I asked the major prankster Kinney what it means. He said, “For some people it sounds like a girl’s name, like Allison Chanes,” then he turns the question over to Cantrell, “What’s it mean, Jerry?”

“Alice In Chains could very well have been Herbert In Chains or Herbert In The Mud, for that matter. It actually means nothing.” Then, as an afterthought, “Actually, it sounds like the title to a really good porno movie!” To which Kinney adds, “we’re hoping to make one.” Alice will be touring the states in the months (which did turn into years) ahead, so remember: You’re never too young for a Facelift.