Stevie Nicks / Pretenders – Xcel Energy Center – St Paul MN – December 6th 2015

Stevie Nicks brought her 2016 tour to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on December 6, 2016.  Opening for her were The Pretenders, a band that really needs to be seen live to be truly appreciated.

The Pretenders were amazing, pulling in a huge audience.  They sang numerous hits, including the ever popular, “Brass in Pocket”.  Chrissy Hynde also performed “Stop Dragging My Heart Around” with Stevie Nicks, which is such a great song.  It was really cool to hear that performed live.

When Stevie Nicks took the stage, she made show into a Storytellers type set.  For those who don’t remember the VH1 show, bands would play live, and in between each song, tell the story of the song.  It made the show that much more intimate and interesting.  Each song got its own story and set, changing the background and more.  A lot went into it, as the majority of shows don’t change sets per song.  Some standout points of the performance include Stevie Nicks pulling out the original purple scarf from the Belladonna album, letting the audience know that it was silk and chiffon and still in perfect shape.  Another point, for we Minnesotans especially, was her dedication to Prince in the form of the song, “Moonlight”.  The sound for both bands was amazing, as the Xcel Energy Center is known to produce great sound.  Stevie herself sounded by far better than the last two times we saw her.  We saw her twice last year with Fleetwood Mac and her voice has improved greatly since then.

The tour is fantastic in every sense.  Both bands were on their A game, the sound was top notch, and the performances were incredibly noteworthy.