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Story and Photos by Matt Schwenke With the legendary line-up of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young back together for the first time since 2002, the supergroup's Freedom of Speech Tour stop at Marcus Amphitheatre mixed classic tunes charged with a new anti-war fervor, and, for the most part, let the music do the talking.Setting the tone with a giant American flag draped at the back of the stage and with the opener "Flags of Freedom," giant flags representing various countries were rotated in at the back of the stage during the song while images of soldiers and scenes of war were intermittently shown on the big screens throughout the rest of the night.  Showing there has been nothing lost in the vocal department, the group
was spot on in the airy "Long Time Gone" where David Crosby's voice shone among the
well-executed harmonies. While Graham Nash's lead vocals on "Military Madness" were
also worth mention, it was Neil Young's shredding guitar solo that lit the fire in
the song steeped in anti-Bush sentiment-- to which the crowd loudly applauded.
Though Young's "Living With War," a tune from his latest solo release of the same
title, sacrificed much in the way of music to get it's message across, "Restless
Consumer" was especially compelling with Young's rant-like section on modern
society stirring the crowd. In another tune from life outside CSNY, Stills and Nash's
"Wounded World" featured a bluesy strut and ended with Stephen Stills making his
guitar scream in spectacular fashion-- at numerous points in the show, Stills made
his presence known with fiery guitar solos. Crosby's "Almost Cut My Hair," with
Stills and Young going crazy on guitar, and Stills' "Carry On" were other notables
in the first set, as well as the classic "Deja Vu" from the group's first album
together.Mixing up the arrangement in the second set, Young's solo performance of "Only Love Can Break Your Heart," while on piano was simplistically beautiful while Crosby and Nash's wispy vocals on "Guinevere" were ultimately haunting. Young's gritty guitar spoke volumes on "Roger and Out" and featured Crosby and Nash joining in on vocals near the end. Giving a voice to the voiceless without saying a word, the song "Carry Me" struck deep as an oversized mic with a yellow ribbon was placed at the front of the stage and the faces of every American soldier killed in Iraq and Afghanistan were displayed on the screens. Keeping the intensity up, "Southern Cross," "Impeach," "For What It's Worth," and "Ohio" were all electrifying before the crowd sing-along in "What Are Their Names," which echoed a refrain of "peace for mankind." In perhaps the only song that could've have followed up the band's thirty-plus song set with night-ending energy, "Rockin In the Free World" did the trick with the band leaving the stage only after Young tore apart his guitar in impassioned solos and stood smiling with strings splayed every which way. |
| Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young setlist 9/6/06: | |
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Flags of Freedom Carry On Wooden Ships Long Time Gone Military Madness After the Garden Living With War Restless Consumer Shock and Awe Wounded World\ Almost Cut My Hair Immigration Man Families Deja Vu |
2nd Set: Helplessly Our House Only Love Can Break Your Heart Guinevere Milky Way Treetop Flyer Roger and Out Southbound Train Old Man Trouble Carry Me Teach Your Children Southern Cross Find the Cost Impeach For What It's Worth Chicago Ohio What Are Their Names? Rockin In the Free World |
 Neil Young |
 Grahm Nash |
 Steven Stills |
 Neil Young & David Crosby |
 David Crosby |