So, Lindsey Buckingham, your new album is called Gift of Screws?

I saw Lindsey Buckingham last night!

The whole idea of this is still kind of crazy to me. Of course, there are the personal reasons. I have loved this man and his music for over eleven years. I'd even say that he and Fleetwood Mac were the first thing that I put so much effort and interest into following. It's because of Lindsey that my mind was opened to music in a way that I had not yet really known. All of a sudden, I was the girl who loved guitar solos and appreciated more than just the simple pop songs. I was drawn to Lindsey's skill, his craftmanship and technique and dedication to creating what he most wanted to create, even when the result wasn't going to be the most popular. In the playlist of my mind, it is probably songs written by Lindsey Buckingham that have been listened to the most. So the simple fact of being in the same room with this man pretty much blew my mind. He was no longer just a voice that I listened to, or an image that I watched on video, the actual MAN was standing no more than a hundred feet away from me.

Then there's the history of it. In the peak of their career, Fleetwood Mac played to crowds of over 30,000. Their most successful album, Rumours is one of the Top 10 albums of all time and has sold over 25 million copies since it was released. Songs like "Go Your Own Way" and "Rhiannon" and "You Make Loving Fun" have become classic songs that pretty much everyone knows. To be in a room of about 1,000 people watching this man who was so much a part of this history, who wrote some of those songs, who produced those albums, I really still can't believe it. It's hard to describe just how well I know this band and how strange it can be to love a band that was most successful before you were even born. So often during the show, I kept mentally flashing to moments from documentaries I'd seen or bootleg versions of songs I've heard and then look at him and just start laughing. One of my favorite things about seeing my favorite musicians live is being able to experience their music as it happens. For bigger concerts, the simple act of being there is what is so fun, but with the more intimate concerts, it's being able to actually be in the moment with them and being able to do that with Lindsey after all this time was really one of the most amazing things.

The venue itself was a little weird. It was just an exhibition room in the Taj Mahal, not an actual theater, so the chairs were just set up on the floor. At first, the audience seemed like they were not going to be that into it, but as soon as the show started, I was proved otherwise and by the end, even Lindsey kept remarking on what an awesome crowd it was. He's not one who banters much, but by the end of the set and into the encores, he was chatting with the audience closest to the stage, laughing and just seemed to be in a great mood. Love it!

Lindsey is not one who changes up his setlist much and it was obvious a few people in the audience had already seen a few shows because as the house lights went down, people just started screaming "It's gonna be a GREAT DAY!" Which is the song he started with! Love the song and it was a great song to open the show with. Next was my favorite song from the new album, "Love Runs Deeper". I almost wish he had played it a little later because I LOVE the song and especially the guitar solo at the end and I wish I had been a little more warmed up before it came along, but it sounded HOT.

My favorite song of the night, without a doubt, was "Big Love". I don't think I MOVED. When I wasn't grinning like an idiot, my mouth was hanging open. I can listen to this song all I want, nothing compares to seeing it live. It was exhilirating and mesmerzing and I kind of wanted to jump ten feet into the air when it ended. I also really loved "Never Going Back Again", it's been a favorite of mine for basically as long as I've known it existed and it was so amazing to hear in person. I also just love that he still gives the songs from Rumours than much love!

At one point, I think before "Shut Us Down", Lindsey started talking about the difference between being in a group like Fleetwood Mac and the successes that come along with that, and then having a solo career that is received in such a different way. I think he's struggled with those differences for a long time, his solo work has never been as commercially successful as I'm sure he'd like it to be, even though he always receives critical praise. Hearing him talk about it, and mention how having the kind of solo career he has now has him playing smaller venues for audiences that really do know his solo work, was really nice. He seems to have finally found a balance between the two, and as he often mentions, I'm sure the stability of his family life has helped that along. He seems so happy and satisfied and it's really nice to see him that way, knowing that it hasn't always been the case.

By the time we got a little more than halfway through the set, I had managed to move up a few rows and over to the other side of the aisle, where I had a better view. Even so, I had the idea in mind that if anyone started going toward the front of the stage, I would do the same and as "I'm So Afraid" heated up and Lindsey started soloing, the migration began and I jumped on it. I ended up standing in the aisle, equal with the second row. I was surrounded by people who looked about as excited as I felt, which was about ready to burst and trying really hard not to scream "Holy shit, this is SO AWESOME!" Seriously, the amount of giddiness and glee surrounding me made the whole thing even more exciting, especially with Lindsey SO close.

It was the perfect time to be up front because the next song was "Go Your Own Way"! So freaking awesome! I have more versions of this song on my ipod than any other song, it's Lindsey's best known song and the whole thing just kicked ass. He came along the lip of the stage, letting people reach out and strum his guitar, really getting in our faces and gaaah, it was crazy. So much fun!

That was the last song, but of course, they came back out for encores. First off was "Second Hand News", then "Don't Look Down", which yay for the Out of the Cradle love! He introduced the the band, Brett (love!) introduced him, they all bowed, then they did "Treason", which is a song I don't really love off of the new album, but found myself appreciating quite a bit last night. After that, Lindsey closed it out by himself, doing "Time Precious Time", which I love and was amazing to watch live. Just being able to watch his fingers on the guitar, so awesome.

I'm really happy I have the opportunity to see him again next weekend. I feel like leading up to this, it seemed so unreal that this was about to happen that I didn't get as excited about it as I could have. The dude is awesome. That is the bottom line. I'm so impressed with him, so happy that seeing him in person is all I ever thought it would be, and so happy for him that he is still doing this. And of course, I'm beyond glad I had the chance to see finally see him!