Online Exclusive: Lindsey Buckingham Rocks New York's Town Hall

Lindsey Buckingham wears many hats, and he displayed them all during his stand at New York's intimate Town Hall last night. Throughout the ninety-minute set, the former Fleetwood Mac frontman morphed from one persona to another, whispering about the pangs of cult status during "Not Too Late," bopping through the family-man ballad "It Was You" (both culled from his stripped-down new solo disc Under the Skin), howling and prowling the stage during "Tusk," or quietly strumming the meditative "Go Insane." Amid such schizophrenic hijinks, you could walk away wondering who this man really.

No matter. The boisterous crowd let it be known this was exactly the Buckingham they paid to see, calling out for solo and Mac obscurities (particularly those from Tusk ) throughout the show. Offering a "We haven't really worked it up" disclaimer, Buckingham rewarded the faithful with a sublime encore reading of the ballad "Save Me a Place," complete with the Brian Wilson-style harmonies he worked out with his backing trio right there on the spot.

While Buckingham seemed comfortable with that guard-down spontaneity, the studied perfectionist did rear his head. (This is, after all, the meticulous sonic architect who presided over three-day piano tuning sessions during Fleetwood Mac's indulgent Seventies heyday.)

During a stormy "Big Love," Buckingham watched his fingers intently, carefully measuring each breath. He wrung perfect silence from the crowd for his "You don't know what it means to win" breakdown on the peaceful, easy "Never Going Back Again." Even something as playful as the sunny highway shuffle "Holiday Road" was done to the letter, right down to the enthusiastic dog barks. "I maintained my dignity there, right?" he asked the crowd after an authentic fit of growls, woofs and snarls.

Whichever incarnation Buckingham decides to inhabit onstage, one thing's for certain: he's out there, man.

Catch Lindsey Buckingham at one of the following dates...