I threw my bag in the back of Biggie’s car and said, “Where are we staying?” “Oh, I guess I wasn’t clear, we aren’t staying. We’re driving back tonight.” ''So we are driving 3½ hours to see Lindsey Buckinham and driving straight home, on a Tuesday night?” “Yup.” 

When I got the invitation I just assumed it was a guy’s night away sort of thing but turns out it was just another Biggie rock n roll death march. That’s cool. I’ve done hundreds with Watershed and nobody can knock out drives like the big man. Besides, I was honestly surprised how excited I was to see Lindsey Buckingham. I was glad he made it happen. 

I don’t know where I stand with Fleetwood Mac. I’m a fan. But upon reflection I’m mostly a fan of Lindsey and his production. Rumors is their best album, but Tusk is my favorite. It’s just so… eccentric. Lindsey vowed not to make Rumors, part 2 and he didn’t disappoint. Tusk was considered a commercial failure, but it is by far their most interesting record. Without that project Fleetwood Mac might be remembered as a band slightly bigger than America but smaller than Crosby, Stills and Nash. Pretty boring. 

And yes, for the purposes of this story I am leaving out the pre-Lindsey Mac history with Peter Green and the others. 

As for his solo records, except for Out of the Cradle, which used to spin relentlessly at a restaurant I worked at when I was younger, I just listened to this and that. I never really drilled down. That’s why setlistfm.com is such an amazing tool to get prepared for a show. I checked out what Lindsey had been playing recently and put a Spotify playlist together. I was so glad I did. Some artists look at what gets the most streams on Spotify and build a set around those with a couple deep tracks thrown in for the hard core fans. It appears Lindsey does the opposite. When he plays solo, he plays what he thinks you should hear, not what you want to hear. 

I suppose that statement alone sums up Lindsey Buckingham. And why I admire him so much. 

On the drive over we listened to my pre-show mix, a Lindsey interview on WTF, and a Rivals episode on Lindsey and Stevie Nicks. We drove through Pittsburgh and kept going east and eventually wound up in some sketchy neighborhood with folks just sitting on their porches petting their dogs. For a moment I thought we might have put in the wrong address until we saw a big tour bus parked outside what looked like an English Manor high on a hill. Turns out we were at the Carnegie Library Music Hall of Homestead. 

Obviously, when you have sold as many records as Lindsey you pick your venue and it was a pretty awesome setting.  We had to scramble to find a pre-show watering hole but eventually partied with some secretaries and we split a bloomin’ onion. Like I said, there was nothing around the venue. The House of Blues it wasn’t. 

The small theater was intimate and they had set up the Library to serve drinks and all proceeds went to benefit the Library. The bartenders were the librarians.  It’s the smartest I ever felt drinking draft beer from a plastic cup. 

As I’ve said before, I’m not concert reviewer kinda guy but here are a couple observations:

Lindsey is so freaking musical. Watching him play guitar and sing is like a magic trick. His voice sounded amazing. But back to guitar: you can’t prove he is not the best player on the planet. I swear if Prince were alive and sitting with Biggie and I he would have turned to us and said, “Can you believe this fucking guy?” I just sat with my jaw agape watching him and his four-piece band run the set.

It should also be noted that for a 71-year old guy who recently went through both a heart attack AND a divorce, he looked great. Or put another way, living well is the best revenge on Stevie Nicks. I bet Lindsey stays in amazing shape just to spite his ex-lover/bandmate. I mean Fleetwood Mac was looking a little worn-out in the cheesy video for “Big Love” and it was released in…. wait for it…. 1987! (I should point out I am not taking sides in the Stevie v Lindsey rivalry. I wish them both well and hope to see them perform together again one day.)

And here is Lindsey doing his mind-blowing version of the same song on this tour THIRTY FOUR YEARS later. 

And he played this song. Gives you an appreciation for whatever planet Lindsey lives on. I suspect the guys in his band are pretty good too.

I think the intro to his single “Trouble” says a lot about his musicality. What is he doing? This shouldn’t work but I love it. So weird. And dig the young Lindsey.

His latest record is titled Lindsey Buckingham. I bought a copy last week and it’s excellent. So far this is my favorite tune.

I think this clip sets up the Tusk vibe pretty well. Lindsey bringing the quirky rock n roll to the party. In related news: I’m told cocaine is a helluva drug.

If you want a great look at Lindsey working in the studio with Fleetwood Mac check out the documentary Destiny Rules. I LOVE this clip of Stevie and him discussing lyrics. Skip ahead to 3:30. It’s worth it. I couldn’t figure out how to just start it there myself.

A DEEP DIVE