"CSNY
gains in energy what it loses in skills"
By MICHAEL EVANS, special to The Oregonian
MUSIC REVIEW
Friday, February 4, 2000
Wednesday night's CSNY2K show at the Rose Garden arena may not have been up to, say,
the level of CSNY1970, but it wasn't half bad.
Actually, it was shockingly good.
With CSNY -- better known as classic rock icons David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham
Nash and Neil Young -- on their first tour together in more than 25 years, one could've
expected this bunch of fiftysomethings do as little work as possible. Perhaps a standard
issue 90-minute performance heavy on nostalgia and light on anything that might appear
relevant to the pop music landscape of the 21st century .
While the evening was front-loaded with more than its fair share of golden oldies, this
veritable all-star team of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers proved unwilling to rest
completely on its laurels, serving up a spirited three-hour, 30-song show that thrilled
the near-sellout crowd.
Split into three segments -- two electric and one acoustic -- the show featured
material from all corners of their careers. The music ranged from solo tunes to collective
works, with an emphasis on songs from the recently released "Looking Forward,"
the first CSNY disc since 1988.
Considering the internal squabbles that quashed previous reunion attempts, CSNY
appeared refreshingly at ease on stage. Backed by super sidemen Jim Keltner (drums) and
Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass), the foursome launched into a chunky rendition of
"Carry On," the lead track from their debut album "Deja Vu," shortly
after 8 p.m.
Although their famed harmonies no longer soar like they did back in the group's Vietnam
War-era heyday, CSNY more than made up for the toll time (and other factors) have taken on
their skills by raising the energy level. If they couldn't hit a note the way they used
to, they hit whatever note they could harder.
Celebrating his 58th birthday Wednesday, former Hollies mainstay Nash appeared fully
recovered after breaking both his legs in a boating mishap late last year, lending buoyant
lead vocals to "Our House" and "Teach Your Children." No stranger to
health problems himself, ex-Byrd Crosby (he of a 1994 liver transplant) held his own
admirably despite his once-tremendous skills being just a fraction of what they once were.
One-time Buffalo Springfield bandmates Stills and Young were counted on to provide the
show's guitar firepower, and they delivered. Their six-string interplay was rarely less
than inspired, trading searing solos on such tear gas-tinged protest tunes as "For
What It's Worth" and "Ohio."
If there was a weak spot in the evening, it was that the majority of new songs fell
flat. While it was admirable for them to commit almost one-third of their set to
"Looking Forward," looking back, they should've brought stuff to the studio that
could have stood up next to the cream of the CSNY canon.
