CONCERT REVIEW: Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Arrowhead Pond,
Anaheim, Calif.
- Paul Andersen
Supergroup is a label that is too often bandied about by pop music critics to describe bands that don't really qualify for the term. Occasionally, though, there are times when it is the only description possible. When speaking of the sporadic union of David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young, it is a term defined.
One of the amazing things to consider is the fact that over the course of the last 30 plus years, the foursome have released a grand total of only five albums, a number that includes a greatest hits collection and a live concert set. In reality, their latest album, Looking Forward, released this past October on the Reprise label, is only their third set of new material, their first since '88s American Dream. It is just proof that when these four artists get together, it is indeed a rare occasion.
The trio of Crosby, Stills and Nash has long been a staple on the concert trail, but the addition of Young, Stills' partner in the legendary Buffalo Springfield, is one that has been officially missing from the concert stage since '74. When news that the four were going to tour in support of the new disc broke, it was met with glee from longtime fans.
The group's show at Anaheim's Arrowhead Pond, the second of two Southern California dates, was much more than a nostalgia fest, which probably would have sufficed for many fans. Instead, it showcased a band that has drawn together some wonderful new material, which they generously shared, playing nine of the album's twelve tunes.
Interlaced throughout the show, the new tunes provided the impetus for the tour, giving proof that this band still has something important to contribute to the world of music. Songs like Crosby's "Stand and Be Counted," Nash's "Someday Soon" and Young's title song are as good as anything the group has done in the past, which is saying quite a lot.
The remainder of the thirty-song, three-hour-plus show was a body of work that still sounds as wonderful now as it did all those years ago. A mix of songs drawn from the Woodstock era when the group was laying the groundwork for the Eagles and other Southern California bands to come, along with some staples from Young's solo career and a pair of Stills classics, including perhaps the archetypal protest song from the '60s, "For What It's Worth," the group gave an incendiary performance that should be a case study for musicians who too many times just go through the motions on stage.
So far on the tour, many reviewers have focused chiefly on Young's contributions to the show, virtually dismissing the work of the other three. They have also called into question the amount of nostalgia generated onstage, and the fact that, except for Young's "Rocking in the Free World," there is nothing representing the years between the band's last tour and the new album.
I'd like to rebut those points. It is true that Young is playing with a fire and a playfulness that is nothing short of amazing, but don't discount the guitar dueling that he has once again generated with Stills, something that goes back to their days together in the Buffalo Springfield. Though Stills might not be as animated a performer as the bounding-across-the-stage Young, nevertheless his fretwork and passionate playing were equal highlights of the show. And it is true that he doesn't hit the higher notes vocally that he once did, but Stills is crafty enough to realize his limits, and play within them.
The revelation that I came away with was the contributions by Crosby and Nash. For all of Crosby's trials and tribulations that he has been through over the past, including the recent revelations of his 'parental contributions' to Melissa Etheridge, it was Crosby who provided many of the show's highlights. His version of "Almost Cut My Hair," which has never been a particular favorite song of mine, turned into a passionate affirmation of life. And Nash, whose harmonies with Crosby have always been one of the sweetest sounds in rock, has seemingly frozen in time when it comes to his voice. Of the four, his singing has emerged the most unscathed by the passage of time.
As for the nostalgia factor, the past has always been a place for plundering in the world of pop music. The list of artists who have remained mired in the past is an extensive one. Instead, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young have chosen, like the album says, to also look forward, to generate something for the past yet to come. The nostalgia they invoked in Anaheim was one of joyous celebration as they looked back to their roots. The fact that it skipped past a 25-year gap became incidental, but also reflective of their sometime-stormy history.
It will be interesting to see if any of the current generation of bands ages as gracefully as these four old timers have. Regardless of how you view it, they struck a resounding blow for the geezers of the world.
Thanks, guys.
