Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Freedom of Speech Tour

[Xyphir]

I was pretty excited when they annonced this tour a few months ago. There was some ticket shock at first, but we settled on the cheap $70 seats in the 58th row. Some friends of ours got the $150 tickets and were in the 20th row. More power to 'em. That's a lot of scratch to throw down and I wasn't in the spending mood. Nevertheless, I bought three tickets and surprised my mom with the extra since she was going to be visiting that week.

It was the typical lot scene outside in the parking lot. The crowd was more diverse, with ages ranging from people in their 60's to teens. This was only my mom's second concert, and her biggest to date, so I had to explain some things to her like the sweet smell passing through the air. "Yes mom, it's pot. No mom, I don't know where the cops are." I told her they weren't hurting anyone, and that she didn't have to smoke if she didn't want to. The drinkers are the annoying demograhic at shows anyway. We hung in the lot, catching up with friends, grabbing some food until the dust/dirt from the wind chased us into the venue.

It threatened to rain for most of the first set, but the clouds never opened on us. It looked like a torrential downpour happening just south in Morrison. Luckily we were spared from the rain, but not from the wind and the acoustical disaster that it has at Red Rocks. Suddenly, those $150 tickets near the front were looking much better. They opened with a song from the new Neil Young album. If you have not heard of CSNY, and not familiar with them, they are folksy and VERY anti-war. Ironically, it was one of the most patriotic shows I have been to. We had seen CSNY at the MCI Center in DC several years ago, but it wasn't as politcally charged. The first set featured about six songs from the new Neil Young album. The majority of the guitar solos were led by Steven Stills, which I found a bit surprising. As they ended the first set, the announced some acoustic music to start the second set followed by more electric.

The first set stage dressing was inhibited by the wind, but by the second set they seemed to change curtains somewhat smoothly. They all took turns singing slow acoustic songs to start; "Our House", "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", "Milky Way Tonight", and a few others I don't know the names to. They eventually gathered again to sing a few other popular songs ("Southern Cross", "Teach Your Children") before closing with the ever popular "Ohio" and "Rockin' in the Free World". They also tossed in a few new Neil songs, chief among them "Let's Impeach the President" with the lyrics on the big screen. The encore was "Woodstock", which was a bit flat and predictable, but still very good. The "Rockin' in the Free World" was the highlight, with Neil wailing away. I had seen him perform the song before, and it's amazing to see his energy on stage.

Although some of the harmonies were a bit off, CSNY still gave an excellent performance. Neil Young is still the brightest star among the quartet, but they each hold their own. I'm not sure I'd lay down that much to see them again, but it was worth it just to look over at my mom rockin' out and to see the huge smile on her face as the evening ended.