The Review Is In

With McVie in fine form, Fleetwood Mac turns back time in nostalgic concert

Fleetwood Mac played to a sold-out adoring crowd at the Toyota Center on Monday night. Many in the audience saw the band on their 2013 World Tour in June. Our reviewer gave the concert a big thumbs-up, with a footnote that “Fleetwood Mac is not Fleetwood Mac without keyboardist/vocalist Christine McVie.”

This time around, a youthful looking 71-year-old McVie joined the band, and her energy and high spirits elevated the concert to another level.

Every time McVie took the lead, the crowd roared — and the band itself seemed delighted to have their “beautiful Christine” back.

Every time McVie took the lead, the crowd roared — and the band itself seemed delighted to have their “beautiful Christine” back. With good reason. She soared in a powerful “Say That You Love Me” and “Over My Head” and provided spirited keyboards on “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow.”

Playing for nearly three hours to a mostly older yet energetic crowd (this was not your Eagles audience who meekly followed orders to stay seated), Stevie Nicks, Lindsay Buckingham and McVie shared lead vocals. Opening with “The Chain” written by all five band members from the classic album Rumours, McVie then launched into “You Make Loving Fun.” Her lyrical and earthy alto made it clear that while Fleetwood Mac has held up amazingly well given their ages, McVie adds a richer and more nuanced sound.

Plus it allowed Nicks to harmonize and Buckingham to play his emotional guitar solos without having to be overly burdened with vocals.

Hits and cheering

With McVie back in the mix, the 24-song setlist shifted to songs recorded that they couldn’t perform without her in previous concerts. The hits and cheering never stopped.

Nicks’ version of "Rhiannon" in a lower key with a slightly different arrangement didn’t suit my taste. I’m not sure if the arrangement was because of her difficulty in hitting the high notes or was a way to mix it up. As she did at the last Houston concert, Nicks dedicated “Landslide” to a woman in the audience named Rhiannon who had survived a seemingly insurmountable health challenge.

Before launching into "Big Love," Buckingham joked with someone in the front row that “you were not born when we wrote this song.”

After Nicks sang "Seven Wonders," she gave a shout out to American Horror Story: Coven, in which she made a cameo and featured the song earlier this year.

Buckingham, the youngster in the group at age 65, was the only band member who didn’t leave the stage. Before launching into "Big Love," he joked with someone in the front row that “you were not born when we wrote this song.”

Nicks was her usual hippie self with scarves, high heeled boots and flowing clothing reminiscent of the '70s with a long (too long) anecdote about her early days of shopping in a store frequented by Grace Slick and Janice Joplin called The Velvet Underground. She urged young audience members to pursue their dreams and then launched into to an extended “Gypsy.” With “Gold Dust Woman” she donned a gold shawl and twirled as McVie and Buckingham showed their respective keyboard and guitar prowess. The song conjured up an almost psychedelic experience.

Other highlights included Buckingham on “I’m So Afraid” which brought an extended standing ovation after his show-stopping guitar solo and an energized “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow."

The best surprise of the night was the second encore when a baby grand piano was rolled out for McVie’s vulnerable and delicate “Songbird," with Buckingham quietly backing her on guitar.

After the band took their final bow, Mick Fleetwood and Nicks returned (wearing a Christmas decoration on her head) to once again thank the fans, express happiness for having “young” Christine back in the band and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and, as Fleetwood said, “be kind to one another.”

For those who “can’t stop thinking about tomorrow," Fleetwood Mac will be back in Houston March 3, 2015 for another concert.

John McVie, from left, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham.

Photo by Jane Howze

John McVie, from left, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham.

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Movie Review

Daniel Craig shines in Queer, an unapologetic tale of love and loss

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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