NEW YORK, NY—Fingerpicking maestro and ‘70s rock god from Fleetwood Mac turned his guitar at the Town Hall into a six-stringed weapon of massive destruction. Lacing the crowd with its finger-flicked twangs and hammer-downs of contorted pop, Buckingham stretched well beyond the confines of the Mac’s soft rock as he took the crowd on a trip that went from the experimental to the harmonic thunder of the Beach Boys.
He reinvented the wheel once again for an incredible night of blistering guitar work and crunching melodies. Keeping an eye on the small machine that he likens to this solo work (as opposed to the Fleetwood Mac’s big machine), Buckingham followed his muse to the beat of a different drummer as he let his guitar playing show the way that he wrapped his vocals around in harmonic wails reminiscent of the pop candy of psychedelic stewards Brian Wilson and Syd Barrett.
In support of his sixth solo album the band blew the lid off the studio versions of the homemade albums letting the music breathe, bleed and spill over the adoring crowd. Buckingham delivered the goods like a stoneyed, mischievous youth as he carefully mixed in the new stuff with Mac faves that kept both hardcore Buckingham fans and Mac fans on the edges of their seats.
He must have gone through at least 10 guitars over the course of the night. Looking fit, trim and with a beaming smile to boot, in a leather blazer, Lindsey worked the crowd like a man on a mission. His guitar pyrotechnics were incredible to watch and feel as they combined flamenco and Travis-picking styles (the use of alternating bass notes that is one of the cornerstones of the blues and country music) into uniquely metamorphosised blasts that were staccato, spitfired and frenetic one second, then calm and serene the next.
His band supplemented the multitracked studio versions with some great background singing, faithfully adding depth and diversity to the originals. Starting off solo on acoustic Buckingham was a one-man army as he let his fingers do the licking over his vocals that went from a soothing whisper to a cathartic wail as they built up tension before release.
Opening up with “Shut Us Down,” from 2006’s Under The Skin, six solo acoustic jammies followed, including “Go Insane,” the hit “Trouble” and ending with Fleetwood Mac’s “Big Love.” The rest of the night was a full-blown rock out. Starting off slowly on “I’m So Afraid,” Buckingham took the crowd on a whirlwind swirl through his demented genius by pulling them in softly then ripping it with terse blasts of twisted, edgy psychedelia.
“Go Your Own Way,” “Never Going Back Again” and the junglefied beats of “Tusk” took us all back to the ‘70s. The newer numbers reflected the contemplative tone of a man on the edge of a nervous breakdown. On “Stars Are Crazy” and the closer “Seeds We Sow,” Buckingham exorcised his inner demons to the crowd’s delight, ending an incredible night by an incredible musician.
