The air was cool and crisp. The crowd was enthusiastic and receptive at the Concert Pub & Grill last Saturday night on Richmond Ave in Houston, TX as bands Nightbird – Stevie Nicks Tribute took the stage for a benefit for the MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital.
Nightbird opened the evening with the Rumours-era classic The Chain. However, the magic started when lead singer Brooke Alyson launched into an enchanting version of Dreams followed by the equally enchanting Silver Springs. Silver Springs was originally slated for thehe Rumours album. However, due to the time allotted on the LP, the song didn’t make the cut. Over time though, it has had a second life in the form of the track’s presence on the Fleetwood Mac reunion album, 1997′s The Dance, as well as the 2001 and 2001 remastered re-releases.
One of the highlights of the evening was lead guitarist’s Adam Walton’s interpretation of I’m So Afraid. It sounds hauntingly great as the version heard on The Dance. Walton’s vocals well capture the fear of the song, which makes it a classic.
Alyson mysteriously disappeared offstage for a bit as the band played on but then reappeared in true Stevie-style for the megahit Stand Back. Alyson shines brightly in her portrayal of the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman.
Nightbird’s faithfulness to the music of Fleetwood Mac shines on their rendition of Tusk, where drummer Jason Phillips gave a searing drum solo. Though they did not have a marching band at their disposal, keyboardist Kelli Thompson showed off her technical expertise of her instrument very nicely on the resounding chorus “don’t say that you love me/just tell me that you want me/ TUSK!”
The band also shows their expert knowledge of Ms. Nicks’ vast musical catalogue when they pulled out a deep track from 1979′s Tusk album called Sisters of the Moon, where bassist Wolff DeLong and drummer Jason Phillips bring out the mystic of the song.
Nightbird’s set came to a beautiful end with their rendition of Rhiannon. Keyboardist Kelli Thompson opened the song with a beautiful piano intro, coupled with the ever-familiar “Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night and wouldn’t you love to love her.” If, like Ms. Nicks, Nightbird wanted to “leave the audience with a kiss” (as Nicks herself said during the encore of her last show in Houston), they left the audience with one enchanting kiss.