We went to see Fleetwood Mac perform in Toyota Center in 2003 and thought they were terrific. Hard to imagine a standout among this amazing and even legendary group of performers but there he was. Lindsey Buckingham was that evening’s all star. He was so explosive, so full of boundless energy that I thought Reliant Energy had him hardwired right up on the stage!

Now fast forward to 2011 on a rainy (finally!) Sunday night at Verizon Theatre. The show was billed as “An Evening with Lindsey Buckingham”. Maybe this should have been the tip off. We clearly were looking for something promising “An Evening with Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham”.

In between songs Lindsey explained what we were already discovering. Fleetwood Mac was the Big Machine and he was the Little Machine, underlining this by stating ‘I like it on the fringe’. Lindsey also let the audience know that he had recently come out with a new solo CD, “Seeds We Sow”, and was touring to promote it.

Got it, accept it, and on some level support the concept. It was just such a contrast to what we had experienced in 2003 that we struggled to let it go and embrace this new version that felt a little like ‘Lindsey Lite’. His superb guitar work was still evident, but even that seemed subdued.

He played one or two of the old Fleetwood Mac songs and it appeared we were not alone in our ‘growing pains’. The audience seemed to come alive, everyone on their feet, eager to embrace what we’d known and loved. His longevity in this business, along with all his former band mates, is testimony to his great talent. Guess we and all his loyal fans will just have to trust this part of his journey, move on, lesson learned.