September 27 2018 – Tour announcement, interview and ticket contest all rolled in one.
We are huge Fleetwood Mac fans! We have seen the band on many occasions including this front row center experience from the most coveted seat in the rockdom. So ya, we love Fleetwood Mac.
Well, that statement is generally true but not so much this year as the Fleetwood Mac drama will be without its leading man Lindsey Buckingham. Fleetwood Mac will be visiting Toronto on November 5th it will cost you anywhere from $127 to sit behind the stage by the roof of the Scotiabank Arena or $2380 for a second row center seat, according to official prices from our beloved Ticket(scam)Master as of today (remember no Buckingham). We were very happy to hear that our friends from the same company as Brit Floyd will be satisfying our Mac thirst with what will surely be an amazing experience. Rumours of Fleetwood Mac will be playing Rumours in its entirety as well a selection of Mac classics.
Below you will find the North American tour announcement, an interview with Allan Cosgrove the show’s creative director and drummer, and last but not least a contest for a pair of tickets for the band’s Hamilton Ontario show on October 21st.
Here is some info from the press release:
Rumours of Fleetwood Mac, the world’s finest tribute to Fleetwood Mac, returns to the stage in 2018 with a brand new show celebrating 40 years of the iconic Rumours album.
Encompassing nearly five decades of legendary music and channeling the spirit of Fleetwood Mac at their very best, Rumours of Fleetwood Mac offer a unique opportunity for fans, both old and new, to rediscover the songs and performances that have ensured Fleetwood Mac’s place as one of the most loved bands of all time.
Personally endorsed by Fleetwood Mac founding member, Mick Fleetwood, Rumours of Fleetwood Mac is the ultimate tribute to one of rock and roll’s most remarkable groups.
“An extraordinary emotive performance of Fleetwood Mac” – MICK FLEETWOOD
“A stunning and incredibly accurate snapshot of the World’s first Super Group” – SUNDAY TIMES
“They do Fleetwood Mac better than Fleetwood Mac.” – MAIL ON SUNDAY
Tour dates:
2018
Tue 16 Oct Burlington VT Flynn Center
Wed 17 Oct Lynn MA Memorial Auditorium
Fri 19 Oct Hampton Beach NH Casino Ballroom
Sat 20 Oct Montreal QC Corona Theatre
Sun 21 Oct Hamilton ON FirstOntario Concert Hall
Tue 23 Oct Erie PA Warner Theatre
Wed 24 Oct Syracuse NY The Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theater
Thu 25 Oct Rochester NY Auditorium Theatre
Fri 26 Oct Huntington NY The Paramount
Sat 27 Oct Buffalo NY UB Center for the Arts
Tue 30 Oct Durham NC Performing Arts Centre
Thu 1 Nov Jacksonville FL Florida Theatre
Fri 2 Nov Crystal River FL Rock Crusher Canyon Pavilion & Amphitheater
Sat 3 Nov Fort Myers FL Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall
Mon 5 Nov Pensacola FL Saenger Theatre
Wed 7 Nov South Bend IN Morris Center
Thu 8 Nov Cincinnati OH Taft Theatre
Fri 9 Nov Tuscarawas OH Performing Arts Center
Sat 10 Nov Warren OH Packard Music Hall
Q&A with Allan Cosgrove – Creative Director and Drummer of Rumours of Fleetwood Mac
T-Mak World: Allan please tell us about the concept behind the show?
The idea for the show came to fruition after seeing a soundstage performance for Warner Bros in 1997 called The Dance. Fleetwood Mac had been off the radar for some years so to see the original Rumours line-up fall together again was going to be something really special. There had been *‘rumours of Fleetwood Mac’ reforming for many years so after watching that magical show, epiphany time! What a great idea it would be to seek out the right musicians and produce a concert show performing the classic hits of Fleetwood Mac. The back catalogue was phenomenal, which as you may know started way back in the UK in 1967 with Peter Green. We also conjured up a name *‘Rumours of Fleetwood Mac’.
T-Mak World: We have seen Brit Floyd many times and they have a huge following here. This means that Rumours of Fleetwood Mac will have excellent production value I am sure. What can we expect?
Yes, the show is part of the CMP roster alongside our sister show Brit Floyd. Production values for our shows are always high and attention to musical detail very important. Our particular show mantra ‘It’s about their music’. A prerequisite of stepping on the RFM stage, from a musician’s point of view, is to understand you’re representing the original artists through every note and you’ve got hold true to their spirit. We’re really fortunate in this regard; we have a fantastic group of people in our show, musicians, crew and production staff, all lifelong MAC fans and we all have a love their music.
For the actual performance, yes, we’ve had to put the production hours in. On this particular tour we’ll be performing the Rumours album in it entirety, note for note and in track order, just like putting the vinyl on a deck and playing it. So we’ve had many hours of studio time breaking the tracks down and really listing in hard. The Rumours album, like many albums of the day, was multi layered with some great parts that just have to be played out live. Then add to this the signature three part harmonies of Nick’s, McVie & Buckingham and you better get on your game. As a group of musicians and friends it’s been a bit of a journey prepping and rehearsing the show but we think we’ve landed close by our goals and we always endeavour to hit it right for our audiences nightly.
So we think we have two great sets to play. In the first half we perform the Rumours album and in the second half we slip back in time and open with a few classics from the Peter Green blues era. We then play out with a bank raid set of classic MAC. So expect Rhiannon, Everywhere, Sara, Little Lies to name but a few…
T-Mak World: What is the most fun song to play and why?
Answering this from a drummer’s perspective so it has to be TUSK. Its tribal it’s mesmerising its crazy and I get to do a solo! To quote Mick…
I’m playing floor toms, and I overdubbed a lot of American Indian wood tribal drums. It’s a whole hodgepodge of Kleenex boxes, drums, weird stuff, slapping of lamb chops and things. I got a big leg of lamb in there somewhere – I’m hitting it with a spatula. — Mick Fleetwood
RFM production team always looking for good quality meats (chops and legs) and Kleenex boxes on day of gigs!
T-Mak World: Haha, I will see if we can bring you over some Ontario lamb! Quick – top three rock bands of all time in your opinion?
Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac
Beatles: I was born in Liverpool in the 1960’s and brought up listening to all things Beatles. Didn’t actually get to see them live at the Cavern because I was too young to get in. In the mid 1980’s I held down the drum seat with a band called the Merseybeats, they were a big part of the Merseybeat scene right alongside the Beatles. I actually got to tour and meet with many of the 60”s era artists from both the UK and US. A real blast and privilege.
Led Zeppelin: So after a lifetime of 60’s Beatle mania a friend at school, who called for me each day, carried a record in one morning in 1975, that record was Physical Graffiti. Later on that day at lunchtime she played me ‘Kashmir’… the drummer John Bonham, and what a band. Been a fan from that very day. Rock on John B… What a great loss.
Fleetwood Mac: So yes, and why wouldn’t they be. Fleetwood Mac set out back in 1967 and I started hearing them around 1974. Remember, this would have been ‘Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac’ and it was this first MAC line-up that introduced me to UK blues. It wasn’t until one crazy weekend party night some years later in 1977 that I got to hear the album Rumours. It was such a marked change from everything I knew and sounded totally awesome. Played it ever since as a sonic reference to ‘something captured in time’. I’ve labelled it this because the production still stands up today (*Ken Caillat) and is spellbinding in sound. Also the vinyl oozes out emotion. The songs, as we now know, are messages of anger, breakup and future happiness. What a classic album and all these years later here I am playing the album… literally.
T-Mak World: Excellent choices and pretty much the standards we love, somehow we need to get Floyd on your list (perhaps a tie with someone can sneak them in!) We can’t wait to check out the show in Canada, what can you tell us about audience reaction you expect here?
This tour is a big one for us. We’ve been established back here in the UK for many years, eighteen in fact. We’ve dipped our toes into Europe and had great receptions also. It still amazes us all today the way MAC fans have taken us to their hearts and allow us such a great privilege. We’re hoping to hit it right with you all in the US. We realise there are many levels of these types of shows. Remember our mantra “Its about their music’. We approach every gig as if it was our first. These great songs have been a soundtrack to many people’s lives and actually mean something to them. So their songs are precious. The great thing here is the songs mean so very much to us all on stage as well. We’re dearly hoping to share their music and evoke all your memories. So all this tour 2018, I’ve been playing ‘SARA’ a classic Stevie hit. I know exactly what that song means to me (love lost) and revisit those memories every night I play it. Such is the power of great music that’s been with you for so many years. In answer… Hoping to we take you all back in time to those special memories.
T-Mak World: I am sure you have heard Fleetwood Mac will be starting their world tour in a couple of weeks on October 3rd but without Lindsey Buckingham (who starts his own solo tour on October 7th). We are such huge Buckingham fans that we chose not to go see this iteration of Fleetwood Mac (and their astronomical ticket prices) and will instead see Buckingham in a smaller and more intimate venue. What do you think of Fleetwood Mac touring without Buckingham (or vice versa).
Yes this is a great topical question and rather than a stock waiver answer I’ll be as honest as possible. At first hearing we were all pretty devastated, as THE CHAIN had broken again. I think the clue is in the word ‘again’. This has happened before and I firmly believe this will not be Lindsey’s final exit. He has always been at the heart of this great band and certainly one of the major writing spirits for so many years. He has a lifetime of hits and many great solo albums to his name so that will be some show to see. As for the new Fleetwood Mac, it’s another reincarnation and only time will tell. Time is indeed a great healer that’s how they all made it through. We only get one life here and Fleetwood Mac ‘the band’ has always pushed on through all adversities. So sending our love and best wishes to both Lindsey and Fleetwood Mac and looking forward to a day where once again they hit those harmonies on “Chains … keep us together”
T-Mak World: Speaking of Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood has endorsed the Rumours of Fleetwood Mac show – can you let us know what that means and how that came to happen?
Mick has endorsed the show for many years now and it’s pretty cool to have him introduce the show every night via a video message to the audience. It’s just his last words before I count the band in… “Safe in the hands of our dear dear friends… please give a warm welcome to Rumours of Fleetwood Mac”. Those words set the challenge for us every night. Not an easy task!
It was on a dark and rainy night many years ago in Salisbury UK when a very special lady knocked on our dressing room door and said “darlings I’ve come along to check you out”. That lady was ‘Biddy Fleetwood’, Mick’s beautiful mum, who then graciously sat through our show and watched a very nervous RFM perform the songs that also meant so very much to her. End of gig verdict from Biddy… ‘’Then Play On’’. Biddy became a great friend to us all thereafter and we became her biggest fan.
Whenever playing in Salisbury UK Biddy would attend and it was some years later that she actually coaxed Mick to pop along to the gig. Mick was over on a UK promo tour at the time, how fortuitous. She always warned us that she would get him there! It was the most frightening night of our lives, especially for ME!
End of gig verdict from Mick… “Then Play On”. Mick also took to the kit that night playing the show out over a couple of FM classics to an audience that was left in total disbelief with me firmly on tambourine. He has been fantastic to us over the years and how unbelievable that he should be so.
T-Mak World: That is an absolutely amazing story, man I can’t imagine the rush you guys had when Mick was on stage with you! We will leave you with one deep and highly intelligent question. As the drummer of the band do you also have two balls hanging from strings like Mick?
Another prerequisite to playing in RFM … “you’ve gotta have balls”. Thanks to all at T-Mak from Rumours Of Fleetwood Mac and we’re all looking forward to catching up real soon.
Well folks you made it to the end of this article and we hope it was as enjoyable to read as it was for us to work on it. Contest time!
To celebrate the show Rumours of Fleetwood Mac have given our readers a chance to win a pair of tickets to the Hamilton show on October 21 2018! To enter send an email to contests (at) tmakworld (dot) com and include RUMOURS FM TORONTO in the subject line and tell us your favorite Mac song and your name. Bonus entry for liking the T-Mak World Facebook page! Winner will be selected October 15th.
https://www.rumoursoffleetwoodmac.com/
https://www.facebook.com/rofmofficial/
