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 Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Neil Young and David Crosby have some together time last night at the ACC. |
TORONTO - Crosby, Stills and Nash always have been about keeping Young.
The harmonies of David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash still provide a nostalgic if increasingly gravelly and breathless backdrop.
But obviously it's Canadian Neil Young who gives the four-man combo known as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young whatever edge it has left, and that was the case again last night at the Air Canada Centre.
Clad in an Australian-style hat, Young was very much the man in charge, whether he was wailing on his black Gibson guitar or cutting the night air with his harmonica. As he stomped around the stage floor -- which had a large copy of the U.S. Constitution projected onto it -- he seemed to be urging his bandmates into some form of modest motion.
CSNY configured its Freedom Of Speech '06 tour to battle a common enemy: Namely, United States President George W. Bush, who last night was referred to by Crosby as a "chimpanzee." So this isn't a throwback tour per se, since songs from Young's recent less-than-subtle CD Living With War are prominently featured.
There was no opening act and the concert was split into two halves, with an intermission. Much of the stylishly late Toronto crowd still was making their way to their seats when things started promptly at 7:45 p.m.
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CSNY opened with Young's Flags Of Freedom, as flags of various countries materialized behind the band. Other new and well-received Young tunes included After The Garden, The Restless Consumer and Shock And Awe.
There was an odd occurrence toward the end of the first half, when CSNY got lost and had to stop not once, but twice, during Stills' Feed The People.
The foursome found more of a comfort zone in the second half, which featured a higher percentage of golden oldies.
A piano appeared for the purposes of Nash's Our House, the hippie anthem he wrote about his cohabitation with Canadian songstress Joni Mitchell.
One of the highlights was Nash's lush Milky Way Tonight. Young introduced the song by saying it was one of his favourites, but added, "I'm not a reviewer."
The politics returned with the theatrical raising of a giant microphone adorned with a yellow ribbon, just prior to Young's Let's Impeach The President. The Bush-bashing found receptive ears last night, but obviously it's more cutting-edge when performed south of the border.
CSNY played for almost three hours, closing the main set with Young's Rockin' In The Free World and choosing the Mitchell-penned Woodstock for the one-song encore.
After the group gathered for the standard deep bow, Young cracked up his bandmates by grabbing his back in mock old-coot style and limping off the stage.
Crosby, Stills and Nash certainly don't look anything like they did on the day back in the late 1960s when Mama Cass Elliott conspired to get them together for an impromptu sing-along at her home in Laurel Canyon. Young joined later, and he's the one who has changed the least in the past four decades, both physically and, arguably, artistically.
Given the current state of the world, the re-emergence of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young is a mixed blessing, and that has nothing to do with their slightly ragged performance last night. Whether you welcome their return or just wish they'd shut up, there's no denying CSNY's music is at its most relevant in tumultuous times.
Barring a sudden and unexpected end to the war in Iraq, CSNY will play the ACC again tonight.