"CSN&Y
looking forward and look back"
TIMOTHY FINN - The Kansas City Star
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Kemper Arena
Date: 01/27/00 00:01
Wednesday, Jan. 26
Audience: 13,500 (approx.)
CSN&Y looking forward and look back The first song, "Carry On,"
sounded slightly ragged, and when they cut off its coda, I figured the show, just the
second of a three-month tour, might be full of shortcuts and compromises.
Then Neil Young dove into "Southern Man" as if Jesse Helms were in the house,
and from then until the end, nearly three hours later (including a 20-minute break), Young
and his famous buddies -- David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash -- sounded as if
they'd been doing live shows regularly since the time they got to Woodstock.
OK, maybe their timing wasn't always perfect and their voices aren't what they used to
be, but this crowd wasn't in a picky mood. The name of the tour is "CSNY2K," and
the name of the new album is "Looking Forward," but the show was one long, happy
ride into a long-gone past.
Some of the new songs fit right in with the old ones, especially Young's
"Slowpoke" and "Looking Forward," but none of those packed the
emotional wallop of the older stuff, like "Cinnamon Girl," "Woodstock"
or "Love the One You're With."
Given some of the obstacles these guys have faced, this tour, their first in more than
25 years, is a small miracle in itself: Nash has pins and plates in both legs, the
consequence of a boating accident; Stills, like many rock stars his age, is dealing with
some hearing loss; and Crosby -- well, he must be rock 'n' roll's first, self-proclaimed
and highly celebrated vital-organ recipient/sperm donor. (He taketh and he giveth away,
eh?)
His biological link to Melissa Etheridge's children, by the way, brought a small clutch
of hatemongers out to the grounds of Kemper Arena. Teach your children well, indeed, Rev.
Phelps.
All four guys delivered several strong moments (Crosby sounded especially strong on
"Guinevere" and "Almost Cut My Hair"), but Young was by far the
group's most magnetic and energetic performer. He also provided the most rapturous moment
of the evening: a spine-tingling, elegiac rendition of "After the Gold Rush."
Young, no doubt, also brought out the younger people in the crowd, those in Pantera and
Soundgarden T-shirts. I'm guessing some of them probably don't fully understand the import
of songs like "Ohio" and "For What It's Worth." Then again, I'd also
bet a big part of the Woodstock Nation doesn't know what a striped djellabah is either
(it's a loose-fitting hooded gown), but that didn't stop them from singing along to
"Marrakesh Express."
The 31-song set list, of course, was loaded with new songs, but give the guys credit
for packing the end of the show with oldies and favorites (plus a couple of rounds of
Harry Carey singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during a short set change):
"Southern Cross," "Mr. Soul" and "Rockin' in the Free World"
closed the second set.
And for encores: first a funked-up acoustic version of "Love the One You're
With" and then, finally and appropriately, a Stills-Young classic, "Long May You
Run."
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