Posted on 09/05/2006 10:32:32 AM PDT by Chi-townChief
If your favorite uncles dropped in from out of town for a rare visit, you'd probably be surprised if the mood turned somber and they started lecturing you. You'd be downright shocked to find yourself enthralled with the strange turn the evening had taken.
That's probably how most people felt in the packed house at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young raged on for three hours Sunday night. The granddaddy of rock's "supergroups," touring for the third time as a quartet since Neil Young rejoined in 2000 after a 26-year absence, wore its lefty sentiments as a badge of honor during an endless tirade against President Bush and the Iraq war.
Their opinions seemed to strike a unanimous chord. Even in blue-state Illinois, does everyone agree with Young's "Let's Impeach the President" sentiment? Apparently so. No one left. No one protested the blast. No one even shouted out for "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" or "Marrakesh Express," two of the chestnuts that didn't make the cut in the politically charged set.
Young, previously acknowledged by David Crosby as "the 600-pound gorilla" of the group, played eight songs out of the 33-number concert from "Living With War," his blunt new anti-Bush disc. He encouraged sing-along, in the form of a giant video screen that projected the lyrics to "Let's Impeach the President." And he flat-out rocked, playing some blazing guitar licks to punctuate the message.
Indeed, Young came off as a Peter Finch-style mad prophet, railing "Let's impeach the president for lyin' " with a mad-as-hell urgency. His tour mates often formed a semicircle around Young during his guitar solos, their own instruments dipping and swaying in accompaniment, as if bowing to his mastery.
With Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash effectively reduced to sidemen for Young's showcase numbers, the guitarists received solid support, too, from the great songwriter Spooner Oldham on keyboards, Ben Keith on pedal steel and lap steel guitar, along with three holdovers from the "War" sessions: Chad Cromwell on drums, Rick Rosas on bass and Tommy Bray on trumpet.
Young was clearly the focus, yet each member had his moment in the sun. A heartwarmingly resilient Crosby and a relentlessly pleasant Nash provided a welcome counterpoint, both musically and in attitude, with their sweet harmonies. "Guinevere," "Our House" and "Teach Your Children," all delivered with sparse instrumentation, played to CSNY's vaunted vocal strengths.
Stills is perhaps the member of the 60-and-up quartet who most shows his age, sporting a pot belly and struggling to hit notes that were well within his reach during the group's heyday some 35 years ago. If he was the weak link vocally, his gruff tones did provide a nice balance to Young's falsetto. The two old Buffalo Springfield bandmates traded guitar riffs effectively throughout the evening on their classic material, Stills' fluent riffs driving "For What It's Worth" and "Ohio," and Young's wickedly rude blast on "Military Madness" hinting at greater instrumental histrionics to come.
The most poignant moment came during the a cappella "Find the Cost of Freedom," as the mug shots of the GIs killed in the Middle East conflict were projected in rows, a la any high school yearbook. The numbers ticked off one by one, eventually reaching 2,632 -- 110 more than when this leg of the tour started in late June.
After that, Young's show-closing "Rockin' in the Free World" served as a call to arms for the peace army. Earlier a tape of Jimi Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner" provided a segue between "Find the Cost of Freedom" and the raucous "Let's Impeach the President." Young seemed to draw strength from Hendrix's chaotic masterpiece, going wild with feedback and breaking half his strings as he tortured and strangled his guitar.
The group had been closing with "Woodstock" on previous stops, but perhaps they were into OT in Tinley Park. Nevertheless, "Free World" seemed a timely and eloquent final statement. All observations aside about the corporate hypocrisy of rock, CSNY clearly retains the power to move people. Whether this extends beyond the blue states is another matter.
jjohnson@suntimes.com
Drugs make the man.
Not surprising - I live in Chicago and people hate Bush here.
Too bad that CSN&Y has to resort to this; they actually had some good tunes 30 years ago.
These meatheads have been protected for decades by people they cannot stand so that they have been able to reap millions of dollars in the marketplace.
Shame on them.
All they have been able to do, over the years, is to wallow in histrionics and overly sentimental hand wringing.
They believe war never solves anything. That's how stupid C, S, N & Y are.
Once or twice I interviewed Graham Nash in DC. He's a nice enough fellow. At the end of the first interview he asked me "aren't you going to ask me about how crazy David Crosby is?" I answered "nope." I think he was disappointed.
Old hippies with government jobs or professional "activists". The lot would be packed with hybrids and Volvos..Neil Young never fit in with these real musicians, and it is a shame they let him control the show.
"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" was state of the art back in '69 or '70, whenever it was; but most of their stuff, especially after the arrival of Young, was crap.
Hard to imagine anything appearing more fatuous to the kids than the sight of a mob of ageing ex-hippies waxing nostalgic for the old glory days of pot 'n' protests fresh off the commune. A bit like the World War II generation, as kids, watching grandpa and grandma slurp "bootleg hootch" and "cut a rug" in the living room, dancing a creaky Charleston to the strains of the Victrola; or Uncle Ned, Uncle Fred, and Uncle Ted improvise an out-of-tune barbershop melody. Silly, probably; irrelevant, certainly.
Neil Young never found a coattail he wouldn't ride or a trend he wouldn't exploit.
It is pretty amazing that he could do this shit with a straight face after his "Let's Roll" number; but, as you say, it's all about the bucks.
From Lets Roll:
No one has the answer but one thing is true
You got to turn on evil when it's coming after you
You gotta face it down and when it tries to hide
We gotta go in after it and never be denied
----
Yep, ol' Neil does chase the buck!
They're preaching to the choir.
Hmmm...David Crosby? Isn't he the one they had to hook up to an Ejacuvac and electric cattle prod to dribble out enough sperm for Melissa Etheridge's 'wife'? You know, so they could be a hip, lesbian family?
I heard it was touch and go though 'cuz he first just puffed out a little cloud of dust. They eventually pulled out enough wet stuff but they had to turn the 'prod to 2000v.
"Mummy, tell me about my f-a-t-h-e-r..."
I thought of going to see their concert in S.E. Florida a month ago but didn't care to give them my hard earned money to listen to them bitch about my President and country.
So like the Dixie Chicks, screw em.
This country made these a-holes rich as begeebers and still they bitch about it?
"The grandaddy of rock's supergroups"?? Oh, come on now!
I first heard the term used for Cream but they couldn't hold a candle to Sun Records' million dollar quartet.
Neil Young has a voice like someone being held on the floor and poked in the bum with a sharp stick. Politics and he, being a canukistanian, has nothing to do with my dislike of him, I like Utah Philip's, but I still vote straight Republican.
Well I heard Mr. Young sing "Impeach Bush"
Well I heard old Neil put him down
Well I hope Neil Young will remember
An American don't need him around
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