Todd's Reviews

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

 

      Relying on nothing fancy besides their guitars and harmonizing anti-war messages for over three hours, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young at the Sound Advice Amphitheatre on August 8th was simply the best show I’ve seen this year. Tickets to the event ranged from $41 for lawn seating to 171 bucks a pop on the floor. It was truly a magnificent evening as a full moon illuminated the cloudless sky. Preaching about global politics with lyrics, rather than lectures, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young delivered a stimulating mixture of decades’ worth of material.

      “We’ve got 900 songs, 500 of ‘em are Neil's,” David Crosby explained to 13,000 ecstatic spectators, a majority of which were middle-aged, at the “Freedom of Speech Tour.” He went on to dedicate “Long Time Gone” to all the vets in the audience, followed by “Wooden Ships.” The band played both numbers at the original Woodstock in 1969, without Neil. Young stepped up and performed his new anti-Bush album, Living With War, in its entirety. Though quite the showman, the songs were drab compared to the hippie classics.

      Following a 20-minute stage break, the crew returned with some popular classics, including “Helplessly Hoping,” “Our House,” “Guinnevere,” “Southern Cross” and “Teach Your Children.” Neil took a seat at the piano to sing his ballad, “Only Love Can Break Your Heart.” After the five other musicians onstage were introduced, the fellas played the somber political number, “Find the Cost of Freedom.” The video monitor showed a collage of photos of fallen soldiers in Iraq and Arlington National Cemetery, while it counted the U.S. combat fatalities overseas from zero in 2003 to 2,576 as of June of this year. The bottom of the screen displayed a “LWW” logo for Living With War, not unlike the CNN emblem. Jimi Hendrix's “Star Spangled Banner” played while a giant prop microphone with a yellow ribbon sat onstage.

      The ensemble delivered Vietnam-era protest tunes, such as “For What It's Worth” and the Kent State Massacre reminder, “Ohio.” During “Chicago,” Graham Nash sang “Don’t ask George to help you,” referring to Bush, rather than Jack. “Thank God there’s no draft folks,” he expressed as different nations’ flags were projected on the backdrop.

      Utilizing a stripped down approach, Neil took aim at the Commander-in-Chief during “Impeach The President.” Hunched over, the guitarist wailed on his black Les Paul, bending notes with his Tremolo bar while his Tweed Fender Deluxe amplifier was fully cranked. The man was turning the knobs on his amp, the Wizard, with his foot, a device he personally engineered. Neil was raging with distortion as videos of George Bush contradicting himself numerous times were shown while the unpatriotic lyrics were displayed.

      The undisputed highlight of the evening was the band’s 10-minute version of Crazy Horse’s “Rockin' in the Free World.” The yellow ribbons flew in Neil’s face. But nothing stopped the man from doing his job, not even the crazed fan that jumped onstage and grabbed the mic before security ejected the renegade. All four musicians stood front and center leaning on each other’s shoulders before Neil concluded the number with his own version of “The Star Spangled Banner.” There is nothing like watching young Neil going off with his guitar. West Palm experienced Stephen Stills shredded guitar solo during “Woodstock” before the boys departed with several bows. Of course, I was denied “Cinnamon Girl” and “Harvest Moon,” both of which I heard the Godfather of Grunge perform in Sunrise during the quartet’s 2002 jaunt. Nonetheless, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young were simply magnificent.