Fleetwood Mac debuted their new Lindsey-Buckingham-less lineup today on Ellen. Reportedly due to “scheduling conflicts” over the band’s 2018 tour, Buckingham parted ways with Fleetwood Mac in April (and not for the first time). The seemingly displeased singer-songwriter is now planning on touring solo during the same time frame as the new Mac lineup, which features Neil Finn (Crowded House, Split Enz) on vocals and guitar and big-hat aficionado Mike Campbell, of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fame, on lead guitar.
On Ellen, the new Mac ran through the beloved Rumours ensemble number “The Chain” and their silky-smooth Mirage hit “Gypsy,” which highlights Stevie Nicks. The sound of the band, with its newfound dual guitar interplay, has an appealingly full quality, though it doesn’t look like anyone is having too much fun onstage. The possible exception: Nicks, who gesticulates playfully and beams throughout “Gypsy” (the better of the two performances) and Campbell, who very apparently just loves to wail.
Do the sparks fly implicitly between Nicks and Neil Finn when they stare at each other across the stage, with the same bittersweet alchemy of Nicks and Buckingham in the golden days? Of course not, but it might actually be less uncomfortable than watching Nicks and Buckingham’s attempts to recreate that over the course of the past couple of decades, when it’s been unclear if they even speak to one another without the help of personal assistants.
Fleetwood Mac’s tour begins on October 3 in Tulsa. Watch the new Fleetwood Mac in action below.
