Fleetwood Mac The Dance

Believe the Hype: Feeling Gloomy

There has always been a paradox in the world of post punk: Lyrically, songs from bands like the Smiths, The Cure , Echo & the Bunnymen, etc. are often melancholic and defeatist, but they quite often sport fast tempos and rhythmic grooves that are quite danceable. Not understanding this paradox, though, is simply not understanding music at all. The idea behind the art is that it is taking real-life pain and exorcising its demons through song. In recent years there has been a resurgence in a need for this music in public where everyone can take their headphones off, get on the dancefloor, and let go of their insecurities.

The end result can often be a magical experience, much like what went down at NYC’s Fontana’s this past Saturday.

London’s popular club, O2 Academy Islington has become famous for its weekly dance event called “ Feeling Gloomy ,” a night that specializes in music usually associated with the weird kids in high school. Its main pool of music is rooted in ’80s Brit alternative, but it reaches as far back as ’70s glam rock and extends forward to the Britpop boom of the mid ’90s. Their dance parties have now extended beyond Britain to Berlin and now New York City.

New York’s Feeling Gloomy had their most recent dance party this past Saturday night in the basement of Fontana’s. While for the first hour it seemed like it may just be a night of wallflowers nervously nursing their drinks, everyone seemed to at once click into gear when Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence” came on. While plenty of DJ’s in NY will venture into highlights from this era of music like “99 Luftbalons” and “Take on Me,” Feeling Gloomy goes further, pulling out deep cuts from New Order, Adam & the Ants, Morrissey , the Specials, and some really obscure artists like the Higsons and Monaco.

While one or two stateside artists worked their way into the set, the night was almost strictly British, and while there were songs here and there that worked slightly out of the milieu (Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhere” for one), everything hanged together quite naturally. Other parties of this nature have been making a large comeback recently such as Sway’s Morrissey night or Legion’s Banshees night in Williamsburg. While near-satirical ’80s parties have been done to death in the past few years, there is thankfully an undercurrent of events that can celebrate the music of this period with the irony turned off.

My Top 110 Music Artists, #34 @ Mystic Visions

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The reason I listen to this song so much must be because of Stevie Nicks gasping. Lindsey Buckingham gasps too, but I prefer listening to Stevie gasping. I’m sure some people would rather listen to Lindsey gasping. Hey, I used to have such a crush on Stevie Nicks. Okay?

All attempts at humor aside, this track is definitely a Lindsey Buckingham vehicle, and he does a superb job of performing it solo. Nevertheless, I prefer the versions that include the rest of the band.

Video: Fleetwood Mac – Big Love

My second most played Fleetwood Mac song from the past four years is one that reminds me of that Fleetwood Mac concert so long ago. That concert convinced me that Mick Fleetwood is the world’s best percussionist. Notice that I did not say drummer. That guy can play more than drums. He was hooked up with all sorts of percussion devices, and he was practically playing his body as a percussion instrument. He even had balls on straps hanging down between his legs, and he played them. I’d never seen anything like it before then, and I’ve not seen anything like it since. The man is freaking amazing. None of the YouTube videos for this track show a percussion solo like the one I saw. At the point in the track where he takes his drum solo in the following video, he took several minutes for a solo percussion performance during the live concert I saw. As I recall, the others left the stage while he just took over. Too bad that performance is not on YouTube. You just had to be there.

Video (Live Recording): Fleetwood Mac – Tusk

Right now, Stevie Nicks has a new album out and is touring solo. Lindsey Buckingham has a new album coming out and will be touring solo. Nevertheless, NME has quoted Stevie Nicks as saying that Fleetwood Mac will tour again in 2012 . You know what would be really cool? If Christine McVie toured with them, bringing the definitive Fleetwood Mac ensemble together once more. That would be sweet. Will it happen? It will, at least in my Dreams Some links from Eposic sites to other sites may result in payments to Eposic; such links may result in payments to Eposic only if you click them or make purchases from the sites once you click through to a site from an Eposic site. In particular, Eposic participates in the Amazon, Google, Project Wonderful, and DriveThruRPG affiliate programs.