OMG

Fan favorite: Stevie Nicks evokes unforgettable memories of a rowdier, yetsimpler, time

I'm feeling verklempt. We love you, Stevie.
Diva
Angel
Mick Fleetwood, left, Stevie (of course), John McVie, Christine McVie andLindsey Buckingham
Photo by Herbert Worthington/Courtesy Warner Brothers
So beautiful, so young, so in love. Did you know that Mick Fleetwood, uponhearing "Frozen Love" from this incredible album, asked Lindsey to join theband? Yes, it is true. Lindsey said only if Stevie came along, calling it apackage deal. The rest, my darlings, is history.
Stevie and Lindsey on the 2011 Tour
Most Beautiful
Hello, Gorgeous!
To die for.
Stevie's latest

People! Stevie Nicks (diva, Diva, DIVA) is playing Saturday night at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, and I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling verklempt. Don’t talk amongst yourselves yet, though. I have something I must say. Bear with me, my k-dumplings.

My complete, undivided and upmost adoration for Stevie began in college, so I’ve been a devoted fan for years older than some of you are old. When I learned of a Fleetwood Mac concert at Dallas’ Reunion Arena I had to be there. Someone — I didn't care who — was taking me to see Stevie.

I found the perfect roadies (blessings upon you, my friends) who played Stevie all the way to Dallas, with a few acceptable interruptions of The Doors, ZZ Top, The Stones and more period music. (I was patient.) Singing our hearts out all along Interstate 35, we somehow made it to the stadium parking lot, God bless. And the next thing I knew, I was inside the arena ready for Stevie.

Yes, ready to tumble for her.

OMG

I stood in that venue for the entire show (I was young then, so no swollen ankle problems). It was the most powerful concert I have ever seen. It was like heroin, so I’ve heard. Stevie, in lacy black, flowing attire — she looked spectacular; did you see her nails? — captivated the entire audience, casting a spell like the witch she had been accused of being.

I stood in that venue for the entire show (I was young then, so no swollen ankle problems). It was the most powerful concert I have ever seen. It was like heroin, so I’ve heard.

Mick Fleetwood hammered out the drums, sexy Lindsey Buckingham played his guitar in a seductive manner to a flirting Stevie and Christine McVie melted, melted like butter, everyone with her keyboard and vocal performance of “Landslide.” The Dallas newspaper said Christine stole the show, but not in my opinion. Not from my Stevie. She was fabulous. To die for.

OMG

Yes, in my second life, I want to be Stevie. Hello, gorgeous! For now, dressing in all lacy black with black boots for Halloween and, of course, carrying a tambourine, the essential accessory, is as close as I can get to being this remarkable woman.

Watch for me. I’ll voodoo your pants off when I’m Stevie, thank you very much.

OMG

My best date in college came shortly after that Fleetwood Mac adventure with a friend who was just as crazy about the band, mainly Stevie, as I was…and always will be.

“Come over. I’ve chilled a bottle of your favorite wine, and we’ll sit on the couch and listen to some great music.”

I did, and we did, playing the entire album, both sides, of Buckingham/Nicks.

It’s a memory I won’t forget. (Approaching verklemptism now. Wait, wait. Ah, there, it passed.)

Years later, caught in a sudden rainstorm in West Texas, I grabbed my then 10-year-old son to hop in the car to head for ranch house shelter. (Yes, I was at a ranch, believe it or not, a fabulous ranch at that.) What did we play? What else? “Thunder Always Happens When It’s Raining.”

We immediately felt safe, all thanks to Stevie. (Stevie, we love you, we adore you, you are beautiful.)

I must say, my son is in college now, studying to be a doctor, thank you very much. Yes, my son, a doctor. I am so very proud.

I play over and over again the video special featuring Tom Petty and Stevie, The Heartbreakers’ legendary, honorary little sister, in their rendition of “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” Watch it. No one does “I Need to Know” like Stevie in that same duo performance. Again, to die for.

OMG

OK, now I AM verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. I’ll give you a topic: Stevie Nicks. Discuss.

Stevie, with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers:

Stevie Nicks in 1987, "Stand Back":

unspecified

Movie Review

Great directing and acting power The Christophers to artistic heights

Photo by Claudette Barius

Michaela Coel and Ian McKellen in The Christophers.

Director Steven Soderbergh is one of those filmmakers who — aside from the Ocean’s series — never seems to make the same kind of movie twice. He is somehow able to adapt his abilities to all sorts of different stories, making each of them as compelling as any other. His latest masterclass is in the London-set film, The Christophers.

Lori Butler (Michaela Coel), who restores art for a living, is approached by brother and sister Sallie and Barnaby Sklar (Jessica Gunning and James Corden) with a scheme. They want her to become the new assistant for their aging father, Julian (Ian McKellen), a famous artist known for a series called “The Christophers,” in order to gain access to unfinished paintings from the series and complete them herself.

Lori accepts the deal despite having some uneasy feelings about Julian, with whom she had a bad interaction years ago. Julian is just as wary, both because he knows of his children’s interest in the unfinished works, and because he would prefer to be left in peace. Although the trepidation on both sides continues for the bulk of the story, a grudging respect arises between two artists who know skill when they see it.

Directed by Soderbergh and written by Ed Solomon, who last collaborated on No Sudden Move, the film is astonishing in its ability to be compelling with such a small story. Much of the film is spent inside Julian’s multi-story home as Julian and Lori have low-level confrontations about a variety of things, including the meaning of his art, her abilities, the fate of the remaining “Christophers,” and more. Each conversation brings out more detail about their worldviews and their thoughts about their lot in life.

Much of the success of the film lies in the performances of McKellen and Coel. The 86-year-old McKellen has not lost his ability to astonish with the spoken word, and the monologues he delivers are engrossing even when they’re about mundane things. Coel, best known for the 2020 HBO show I May Destroy You, is a great foil for McKellen, never backing down from his challenges and giving her own unique takes on her lines.

While the film can be enjoyable for non-art lovers, those who appreciate the vagaries of the art world will have a lot to chew on. Soderbergh and Solomon debate a lot of aspects of art, including whether it’s possible to separate the art from the person making it, why some art is valued more than others, the ethics of forgery, and more. Because the film is about a fictional artist, it gives the filmmakers a bit more freedom in their criticisms.

Aside from McKellen and Coel, Gunning (Baby Reindeer) and Corden are the only other two people who get significant screen time in the film. Both of them are, let’s say, acquired tastes, and each gives an elevated performance that matches the energy of their respective characters. Tilly Botsford makes a nice impression in a small role as Julian’s masseuse.

Soderbergh’s last three films — Presence, Black Bag, and now The Christophers — have nothing in common other than the expert filmmaker helming all of them. When you can make a ghost story, a spy film, and a small film about artists equally interesting, you know you’re doing something right.

---

The Christophers is now playing in theaters.

movies film

OMG

Fan favorite: Stevie Nicks evokes unforgettable memories of a rowdier, yetsimpler, time

This Houston suburb saw top-20 biggest drop in housing prices in U.S.

Austin-based taco chain celebrates Katy debut with free breakfast tacos

14 Walmart stores across Greater Houston to get complete makeovers

Movie Review

Great directing and acting power The Christophers to artistic heights