Five songs that will take tomorrow’s Fleetwood Mac concert from awesome to amazing

Tomorrow night, Fleetwood Mac comes to Philadelphia for its first of two sold-out shows at the Wells Fargo Center. While we cannot wait to witness Lindsey’s guitar acrobatics, Stevie’s poetry and twirls, and Mick and John’s dependable rhythm section, what has us really excited is that keyboardist/singer/songwriter Christine McVie is appearing with them in the area for the first time since 1997. We know they’ll play “Don’t Stop,” “You Make Loving Fun,” “So Afraid,” and I’m sure they’ll tell that story about a Welsh witch. But what else will the band treat us to? Here’s five choices that would make this Fleetwood Mac fan very happy.

“Big Love” from Tango in the Night (1987)

When this song first came out, many saw it to be evidence that the 80’s was ruining the best rock bands.  The studio version of “Big Love” is a lot of synth and breathy vocals provided by Lindsey Buckingham, and the video had a lot of big hair.  In the 90’s when Buckingham went out on tour for his solo album Out of the Cradle, he reworked the song into a rollicking finger picking tune and it’s stayed that way ever since.

“Sisters of the Moon” from Tusk (1979)

Until recently, Tusk was often over-shadowed by Rumours as the best Fleetwood Mac album.  Revisionist history and a generation of musicians who are more drawn to Tusk have brought an increasing number of songs from the album back into the Mac setlist.  “Sisters of the Moon” is a tour de force from Stevie Nicks as this performance from the Mirage Tour shows.

“Eyes of the World” from Mirage (1982)

There are not many songs from Mirage that the band attempts live but “Eyes of the World” has appeared off and on throughout Buckingham’s solo shows as well as Fleetwood Mac tours. Let’s hope they work this banger into their set.

“The Farmer’s Daughter” from Live (1980)

This Beach Boys song is one of the few covers Fleetwood Mac has performed over the years. They played it during The Dance tour and it sounded as good as it did on 1980’s Fleetwood Mac Live. It would make a great encore.

“Why?” from Mystery to Me (1973) / ”Over My Head” from Fleetwood Mac (1975)

2012 saw the passing of both Bob Weston and Bob Welch, two members of Fleetwood Mac during the transition between being a blues band and late 70’s rock juggernaut.  As far as I know, the band has not revisited that period of their career since the tour supporting the so-called “White” Fleetwood Mac album.  While it’s a long shot, it would be nice if Christine gave her epic ballad “Why?” another whirl in remembrance of that period. This performance from the TV show Midnight Special shows that Lindsey and Stevie provide wonderful harmonies to the song and that it fits nicely with the “White” album’s “Over My Head.”

Fleetwood Mac plays two sold-out shows at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday, October 15th, and Wednesday, October 29th; they recently announced a January 24th show at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, and tickets go on sale Monday October 20th at 10 a.m. via LiveNation.