Crosby Stills and Nash - Battle Creek Michigan Review

[SteveSly]

Saw CSN Saturday night at Firekeepers Casino in Battle Creek Michigan Saturday night. Other than show length it was a very good show and a lot of fun. Unfortunately, as is almost always the case at Casino venues what is normally a 2 hour plus show, was cut down to 90 minutes. At one point in the show David Crosby addressed the audience saying that they had additional music to play, but “the casino wants you back at the machines.”. I have very mixed feelings on casino gigs. On the one hand they bring in acts to the area that might not normally play in a small city like Battle Creek, and they also typically provide nice venues in which to see the artists, but I hate the fact that I don’t think I have ever seen a casino show go more than 90 minutes (typically there are no opening acts either). Anyway…….regarding the show itself, I thought they did a great job for 3 guys in their 70’s. Crosby’s voice is truly amazing and has held up remarkably well considering all of the health and lifestyle issues he has had over the years. Nash still sounds pretty good for the most part. Still’s voice has suffered the most which was really noticeable on some of the harmonies and lead vocals on songs like “Southern Cross”. Unfortunately not being able to sing it very well takes a lot of power away from one of my all time favorite songs. Still’s can still play the hell out of a guitar though and was featured throughout the night. Vocally he can still do a pretty good job on more bluesy type material such as “Treetop Flyer” which was as set highlight. The backing band was all top of the line, with the backup guitarist being particularly impressive playing many of Neil Young’s guitar parts during the jams. David Crosby’s son was one of the backup players on keyboards. When Nash and Crosby duet together their voices can still cause the hair on your arms to stick up. All in all if you are on the fence about seeing them at this advanced age, I would say they can still bring it.

Here is the set list that I remember. These are not necessarily in order, and there may be a song or two I am missing:

CARRY ON
LONG TIME GONE
SOUTHERN CROSS
DÉJÀ VU
TO THE LAST WHALE
TREETOP FLYER
GUINNEVERE
HELPLESSLY HOPING
JUST A SONG BEFORE I GO
OUR HOUSE
ALMOST CUT MY HAIR
WOODEN SHIPS

ENCORE:
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN

[the winter tree]

Speaking of 60's icons, I saw Paul Kantner perform with Jefferson Starship in Vermont this past Friday. I was very blown away by the singing of David Frieberg. I had no idea he had such a great voice. And he's 75 years old. It was cool to see a living legend like Paul, especially as "Blows Against the Empire" has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid.