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CSNY "Freedom Of Speech" Tour 2006...

Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 5:52 pm
by stevef
War Supporter
Graham Nash is glad to be singing songs from Neil Young's new Living With War album on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's current tour, even if some fans are staying away in protest. "There's no way we would go out there if we didn't completely support what [Young] was saying," says Nash. "Neil has touched a nerve here. He's saying what a lot of people wished they could say."


from SFGate.com--

Sunday, July 16, 2006

POP QUIZ: GRAHAM NASH OF CSNY

by Aidin Vaziri

The worst thing about war is all the old hippies it draws out of the woodwork. But one group most people will actually be happy to see back in action this summer is the original longhair quartet, Crosby, Stills, Nash and sometimes Young. Stepping out behind Neil Young's politically charged new album, "Living With War," the group is pulling out all its classic protest songs and some that are just plain pleasant to hear on a sunny day. But how are the four men who didn't tour between 1974 and 2000 going to get along on their third trek together in six years? We got Graham Nash on the phone from the band's Burbank rehearsal space and asked him. CSNY plays July 25 at Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord.

Q: Before the band got together for its first reunion tour, you broke both your legs in a boating accident. Are you planning on hitting the high seas anytime soon?

A: No, no. I'm not going to do that.

Q: No skydiving?

A: No. Did that, but can't do that before a tour.

Q: What about ultimate fighting?

A: Ah, no. No extreme sports.

Q: Do you think you will just stay in bed until the tour starts?

A: A little bit more than that. There's a lot of work to do.

Q: You somehow managed to avoid the stomach bug that downed David Crosby earlier this week.

A: So far, yes. He was actually quite sick at rehearsal yesterday.

Q: And he showed up anyway. It takes real dedication to vomit on your old bandmates.

A: A true friend will be vomited on.

Q: How are things going otherwise?

A: Remarkably well. We did our fourth day of rehearsals yesterday and we've already got 30 songs down, so things are looking very good.

Q: With all the material among the four of you, how do you possibly settle on a set list without killing each other?

A: Well, we've been doing it for so long, you know, we're past the point of wanting to kill each other. We used to do that in the '60s.

Q: Does everyone have to cater to Neil's crazy whims because he's the moneymaker?

A: It's not a question of catering to Neil. It's a question of balancing everything. I mean, part of the reason I'm sure Neil likes to do CSNY is because he stops being Neil Young for a second and he's one member -- although one very powerful member -- of the four of us. He doesn't step in the shadows, but he's not on harmony every time, he's not singing every single song like he does at a Neil Young concert. I think he enjoys being a member of a band occasionally.

Q: When was the last time you guys had an argument?

A: Monday.

Q: Over what?

A: Well, you'll have to find that out.

Q: I think I already know. Is it because David Crosby wanted a bucket of KFC?

A: No, we have that covered. We have our own catering.

Q: Are there songs you can get away with not playing anymore, like "Our House," or would people riot?

A: We didn't play it for the entire last year, but we're going to do it this time. We're not going to do "Carry On" this year. We just don't want to do it. We come up with a set list of what we all feel like doing, we hammer it together and then it all falls into place.

Q: What do you think of Neil's new songs like "Let's Impeach the President"?

A: There's no way we would go out there if we didn't completely support what he was saying. Neil has touched a nerve here. He's saying what a lot of people wished they could say.

Q: I heard people are already protesting the tour.

A: They are, but I would rather not concentrate on that. We're going to do what we do, and there are going to be people who completely agree with us and are thrilled to be there, and there are people who are not going to be so thrilled. There are people who happen to think Bush is a great president. I happen to think they're out of their minds. But that's my opinion.

Q: At least they're protesting the songs and not the fact that you're back on the road.

A: Right.

Image

Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 5:55 pm
by stevef
Here's one of the recent set lists from the CSNY show in Ottawa:

Set 1

1. FLAGS OF FREEDOM
2. WOODEN SHIPS
3. LONG TIME GONE
4. MILITARY MADNESS
5. WOUNDED WORLD
6. AFTER THE GARDEN
7. LIVING WITH WAR
8. THE RESTLESS CONSUMER
9. SHOCK AND AWE
10. THEY WANT IT ALL
11. FEED THE PEOPLE
12. IMMIGRATION MAN
13. FAMILIES

Set 2

14. HELPLESSLY HOPING
15. OUR HOUSE
16. ONLY LOVE CAN BREAK YOUR HEART
17. MILKY WAY TONIGHT
18. GUINNEVERE
19. CARRY ME
20. TREETOP FLYER
21. ROGER AND OUT
22. SOUTHBOUND TRAIN
23. OLD MAN TROUBLE
24. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN
25. SOUTHERN CROSS
26. FIND THE COST OF FREEDOM
27. HENDRIX
28. LET'S IMPEACH THE PRESIDENT
29. FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH
30. CHICAGO
31. OHIO
32. WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES
33. ROCKIN' IN THE FREE WORLD

Encore 1

34. WOODSTOCK
35. DEJA VU

Image

Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 4:50 am
by stevef
A Review:

I saw CSNY at the outdoor Verizon here in Irvine on July 30 and I wholeheartedly agree about them. But... I wouldn't say the setlist was all that balanced. Neil easily does have twice as many tracks, most of it coming from playing the majority of Living With War... which with Neil's LWW supporting players (Ben Keith, Spooner Oldham, Rick Rosas, and Chad Cromwell) and CSN's backing vocals, this album really kicks it LIVE! Oh, the trumpet player was there too, sometimes with smoke fog effects... but make no mistake, this new Neil album *rules* the show along with some arresting and relevant video footage. But the political agenda was maintained and confined to the *songs*, there was little or no political ranting going on... and with 35 songs over 3 1/2 hours plus to cover, I believe everyone was grateful it was still a CSNY *show* after all.

Everyone was in fine form this night on a beautiful summer evening at the beach. David and Graham's vocals were especially fine this night. Graham was beautiful on "Milky Way Tonight" (but sadly the only song from that awesome Crosby*Nash CD). And C&N's trademark harmony vocals blended perfectly on Neil's classic "Only Love Can Break Your Heart". Though Stills played as many of his own tunes as Nash or Crosby, his singing output was a bit of a mixed bag... but he sounded better IMO than he has in recent years. Stephen's vocals were more or less confined to occasional singing on the others' tunes (he doesn't even sing on "Wooden Ships"... Nash does his part), but his guitar was razor sharp all-night and he supplied many many fine guitar leads ("Carry On"), and along with Neil, there was some ample guitar dueling as well. Neil was especially sharp this night and his Living with War was played with fire and conviction. Neil also furnished some fine electric guitar support to Crosby's "Almost Cut My Hair" and some nice acoustic support with Stills on "Tree Top Flyer" (one of Stephen's highlights of the evening) and "Find The Cost Of Freedom" (a crowd favorite highlight). The CSNY four vocals on this track were sublime... near-perfect. Wow! They just smoked this song! I don't know if I have ever heard them sing any better... certainly not in the last six years anyway.

On the past few CSNY tours, the sound mix was plagued by the confining indoor acoustics and distortion. These guys like to rock very LOUD, so if you see them... hopefully it will be at an outdoor show where the guitars, sound and mix can really breathe! This outdoor show was a HUGE difference from the previous 2 or 3 CSNY shows I've seen since CSNY2K!!!

The best thing I can say about this show was that there was a FIRE that was lit in *all* of them... and the outdoor sound was as good as I have ever heard at a CSNY show (and this is going back over many CSNY shows and years). Neil Young always seems to bring out the best in the other three, and this was more than evident at this Irvine show. The other three had plenty of attention but all eyes seemed to be focused on Neil - he really commanded this show and rocked the shit out of it... his "Ohio" and set-closing "Rocking In The Free World" were never played with more forceful vocals and raw guitar power... the guy was an absolute fucking monster!
Along with the fever-pitch climax of "Woodstock", everyone was pretty much spent with the 3 1/2 hours plus...

And the sold-out crowd ate it all up... thankful again to have seen the four of these guys having so much FUN onstage together. Surely, a great night!

This is *the* CSNY tour to see... definitely not to be missed by neither the hardcore or casual fan!

July 30, 2006
Irvine, CA: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

Set 1

FLAGS OF FREEDOM (Young)
CARRY ON (Stills)
WOODEN SHIPS (Crosby & Stills)
LONG TIME GONE (Crosby)
MILITARY MADNESS
AFTER THE GARDEN (Young)
LIVING WITH WAR (Young)
THE RESTLESS CONSUMER (Young)
SHOCK AND AWE (Young)
WOUNDED WORLD (Stills)
ALMOST CUT MY HAIR (Crosby)
IMMIGRATION MAN (Nash)
FAMILIES (Young)
DEJA VU (Crosby)

Set 2

HELPLESSLY HOPING (Stills)
OUR HOUSE (Nash)
ONLY LOVE CAN BREAK YOUR HEART (Young)
GUINNIVERE (Crosby)
MILKY WAY TONIGHT (Nash)
TREETOP FLYER (Stills)
ROGER AND OUT (Young)
SOUTHBOUND TRAIN (Nash)
OLD MAN TROUBLE (Stills)
CARRY ME (Crosby)
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN (Nash)
SOUTHERN CROSS (Stills)
FIND THE COST OF FREEDOM (Stills)
(Hendrix - "Star Spangled Banner")
LET’S IMPEACH THE PRESIDENT (Young)
FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH (Stills)
CHICAGO (Nash)
OHIO (Young)
WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES (Crosby)
ROCKING IN THE FREE WORLD (Young)

Encore

WOODSTOCK (Joni Mitchell)

Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 4:27 pm
by njwiv
As I posted over on ICE, it was by far the best of the 3 recent CSNY tours, in my opinion. Whatever your politics, the tour has really energized all four of them. Much to my delight and surprise, the setlist has wonderful balance among the members, especially when one considers the predominance of LIVING WITH WAR:

Neil lead vocals: 11
Stephen lead vocals: 9
David lead vocals: 7
Graham lead vocals: 7

Jay

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:14 am
by stevef
Here's an interesting interview with Neil Young that recently appeared on RollingStone.com--

Neil also offers up some details on the upcoming Archives boxset...

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/ ... _interview

from Rollingstone.com--



In the Van With Neil Young: An Exclusive Interview


The anchor of CSNY talks about the solo record, the new tour and what might be next


BY ANDY GREENE


Rolling Stone caught up with Neil Young in St. Paul, Minnesota.


I was impressed with how well the new songs came off live -- the crowd really liked them. Do you get that sense from the stage?

On the stage, I'm mostly so into what I'm doing that I don't really realize what the crowd is up to, but I can hear them at the end, and each song, they seem to react more and more to, and there are some that they're kind of shocked at, like when we do "Families," and they see all of those soldiers over there and they see some of the images that go with it, it reminds them of what the songs are about. The songs are important songs, even though they're just folk songs. They're no big deal, but they're just talking about things that some people feel. When they hear what you say, what they think, it just frees them up, it's like someone having a voice for them.

"Find the Cost of Freedom" was very powerful. I have rarely heard a crowd so still and quiet.

It's the real deal, it's not about entertainment. This is what's so funny about what's going on today. People make a record, I make a whole album about this war, and some people are still stupid enough to say that I just did it for the money because I'm an old fart. They're out of touch. It's not about the entertainment business, it's about a fucking war that people are getting killed in. Musicians, you can only ignore things for so long, and things that people say start soaking in on you, and it just reflects everything you hear on the street. There's nothing new in any of this.

I think that of all the upsetting things going on, not letting us see the caskets. . .

If he went to a funeral, which he has never done, if he did, they're afraid it would cause more television coverage for the war. I'm pretty sure -- I would even go out on a limb and say that by the time this is printed, that he will finally go to a funeral, because he's slowly starting to do the things that are obvious that he's done that don't make any difference to anything other than people's feelings. Those are the things he can fix. The other things, where he screwed the country out of billions and billions of dollars, and thousands of lives, and ruined our reputation around the world, those things aren't going to change by going to a funeral.

When you first booked this tour, you didn't have those songs yet, right?

No. I felt them.

How quickly did they come to you?

They came in a period of about a week and a half.

Is that the fastest you've done an album?

I don't know. <i>Tonight's the Night</i> was pretty fast. I've done a few fast ones. Quickness has nothing to do with it, it's how into it you are, and how important it is to be good. It's not important to have every note perfect, but it's important to have the message felt, and I like to record a version where I'm singing live. I don't like to overdub. So if I'm delivering and I can see the picture and I can feel like I'm talking to people with my performance, that's it for me. That's all I need, I don't need anything else. If I'm into something a lot, like I was this, then it happens real fast. That doesn't mean I threw it off or anything. It's physically draining and mentally exhausting to do it that fast, but when it's coming, it's a gift. It's all a gift. You can't turn it down. You've got to stay open all the time.

They worked well with Crosby, Stills and Nash, they took the place of the choir, really. I felt that when they translated to stage, they sounded almost better.

Yeah, well, it's live, and I love to hear the choir singing along with us, too. In some cases, in the audience, you can hear the audience singing the songs, and time is going by, and they're getting to know them better. So it's the real thing, real people and their feelings.

How did you put together the show's set list?

We rehearsed for about ten days for the tour. We tried sprinkling my songs throughout the show, and that didn't work, because they disturbed everything. We put them all together, basically, and isolated other ones. Having four in a row here and having the bulk of it done in one place, that took us almost two weeks to discover, that that was the way to do it. We mostly worked on remembering what we were doing and the old songs, you have to practice and remember them.

For a good twenty-five years, you didn't tour with these guys. Why, in the past six years, have you done three of them?

I think it's a time of life where this reuniting with your friends that you had when you were a kid and when you were growing up, it's a big part of life, keeping those relationships going. I like playing with these guys, and I like playing with Crazy Horse. It's all different.

Have you thought at all about what's next?

I really don't know right now. Maybe by the end of the tour I'll have some idea, maybe I won't. I really haven't thought about it. I just wait for it to happen.

You've been off the road for about two years, right?

Yes. The longest I've been off the road since I started touring.

How does it feel to be back in the swing of things?

It feels pretty good. I feel good about the way we're doing it and everything, we still have energy to play. We played a show last night and traveled and still have energy, so I'm grateful for that. I'm enjoying it. I'm having a great time doing it.

How about the boxed set? It's been sixteen years --

Yeah, it's been a long time. It's a lot of music. It's going to come out, and we get closer and closer to having it finished. I'm not exactly sure when it's coming out, but I don't think it's going to be a year from now when it will be out, I think it will be out before then. We have a lot of it finished now.

Will it be chronological?

Yeah, there will be a series of sets. There are four volumes, and each volume has a number of CDs in it. It's a big set, but it's a chronological thing. It's a trip from my first recording up through the most recent ones. That's how we can divide it up.

Where will the first one stop?

The first one stops in 1971 or '72, I think it's '72.

Is there Squires stuff on there?

Yeah, there's four Squires songs. There's a lot of stuff people haven't heard before.

Is there going to be a video component?

Yes. There's a lot of video stuff that's going to be in it. There's going to be a live performance, actually, two live acoustic performances, solo acoustic performances, that are groups of songs, long groups of songs, full sets. And it's kind of interesting to see the early Seventies and late Sixties that way. With this funky old 16-millimeter film and everything.

I've heard about that Fillmore East show from '70 with Crazy Horse -- is that going to be on there?

I believe that's going to be in the first volume. That's a very, very hot little number right there.

I've heard some of the shows, but never with great sound quality.

These are good. These are eight-tracks -- or eight-track multi-track mix downs.

So do you tape every show you do?

These ones, we're running a digital. I've done a lot of recording and filming of things over the years, just to keep a record. I like to collect things, so I just keep track of it.

Are you thinking of something like Bob Dylan's Bootleg series one day?

That's kind of like what the archives are like, really. It's that kind of a thing. It will be similar to Bob's thing. It's going to be a series of live records -- there are live records over a period of about four years. That's a numbered set that will come out periodically. Some of them will be free; they will be on compilation records where there are new things in them. They're all new things, but some of them are things that have never been on record.

How about the unreleased albums?

Those are all in the archives, and as you chronologically get to that period, if there was a finished album, it will be there, and it will also be possible to listen to the songs in the order they were recorded, so everything in the order it was recorded, that's the way the archive works. You can get to a certain period in time and you see, "Oh, four of these songs were in Homegrown, and that was released a year and a half later," and with the DVD and computers and everything, you can jump around and see how things are connected. It's good, the technology makes it real possible to develop all that. It's almost like a video game of music or something, where you can choose tracks, where they come from in chronology and what albums they were in, even though they're all spread out chronologically. Stuff like that. It's interesting for collectors.

I'm fascinated by your Hank Williams guitar. Can you tell me how you got that?

I bought it from a friend in Nashville. A friend turned me on to this old dude who had it, and I went right down there and I didn't know which one it was, and I tried it all, and I chose that one, and I said, "This is the one I like, I don't know if this is the one." And it was the one so he had it there, and he had several D-28's. But he didn't want anybody to take it if they didn't know what it was. And then I had to buy it. It was a good guitar. It plays really well. I've been using it. I know some people think I shouldn't, because it's Hank Williams' guitar, but I think it's made to play. I get a lot out of it.

Have you given any thought to where it's going next? You sang in the song that "It's just yours for a while.'

I don't know, I don't know where it's going. I hope it's not going too far.

I've heard you say that you were hesitant about working again with Crazy Horse because of the noise onstage and everything. Is that still a concern?

It's one of the concerns, but I don't think that would stop me from working with them. I think it's just that we have to plan on it. There's a lot of physical abuse that happens during those shows, and it's just a matter of how long you can do that. I still love doing it. I'm not going to stop doing it. I love playing with Crazy Horse, they're great. They don't sing like these guys, but they play like -- it brings out a whole other part of me.

Plus: Check out an a review of the St. Paul show and listen to audio interviews with David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash (RealPlayer required).



Posted Jul 28, 2006 1:36 PM

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 8:07 am
by lukpac
How about the boxed set? It's been sixteen years --
Yeah, it's been a long time. It's a lot of music. It's going to come out, and we get closer and closer to having it finished. I'm not exactly sure when it's coming out, but I don't think it's going to be a year from now when it will be out, I think it will be out before then. We have a lot of it finished now.


Everyone, start holding your breath...NOW.

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 11:51 am
by Rspaight
I heard Reprise is going to be doing a cross-promotion of the Young box with Duke Nukem Forever.

Ryan

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:30 pm
by Beatlesfan03
What do you think comes first: Neil's archives or Beatles remasters?

Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 4:17 am
by stevef
Beatlesfan03 wrote:What do you think comes first: Neil's archives or Beatles remasters?



You know... I love Neil but... he's such a pain in the ass sometimes.
I've read countless interviews about him and his Archives box. He keeps saying it almost done, but then he changes his mind about this or that, and the bottom line is... this has been going on endlessly for years. He may never finish the damn thing. And he never mentions exactly when it's coming but he's been hinting sometime next year.
Don't count on it.

It took him a long time to get out the Springfield box (which he botched badly for all his efforts), even longer for four of the *missing six* albums on CD (he didn't botch these as they are nice-sounding HDCDs but... still no Time Fades Away though).

With Neil, it comes when it comes.

Steve


PS. I would bet on the Beatles remasters coming out next year, as at least it has been reported that some of them are "completed". Don't know if that is indeed true, but Neil can't say that.
And if he did, he may change his mind again.