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Set List Carry On -BREAK- Helplessly Hoping -7th Inning Stretch- Woodstock pottery "CSNY vase" courtesy of fjk (flo) |
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April 19th, 2000 CSNY Tour 2000 Finale The Kiel Centre-St Louis, MO The stage was carefully set once again by Jan, with candles and incense abounding and tonight there was an extra special addition, white lilies. The first person I see on the floor is longtime Philadelphia rock radio personality, WMMR's own "Pierre Robert". He sat directly behind me in the 6th row section 1. Pierre is a longtime friend and fan of CSN-Y, and I have frequently seen him at the shows over the years. This tour I recall seeing him at opening night in Detroit, and at his home shows in Philly at The First Union Centre. They kicked into Carry On... a slow burner... just great... Into the 3rd song in the set (Stand and Be Counted) Graham came out and said "This is the last show of the tour." Stephen then interjected that "no it's not.. it's the first one of the next tour!" There was alot of smiling during the show, from everyone, and Stills and Young played to one another quite a bit. Each and everynite, Preroad Downs just smoked. What a great Nash song. I thought that Graham was under-represented in terms of songs in the set list. There should have been another Nash rocker thrown into the last portion of the shows. ie: "Immigration Man." It seems to me that many people came out of the shows remembering most the finale portion of the show... where the songs hit your heavy and hard..... relentlessly! pounding the rockers out with renewed energy and enthusiasm. A Nash song here was missed. During the course of the show, I became melancholic over the thought that after tonight we would have to put the songs off of Looking Forward to bed. These songs live, really took on a fresh new life, beyond the recorded versions. Everyone who went to the shows, from critics to fans thought that the new material sounded so much better live, and I agree. What is unfortunate is that usually, after a tour behind a particular record, the new tunes get put away and it's very rare we hear them again. Something like Faith in Me is a true keeper and the crowds react really strongly and positively.... a "GET UP OFF YER ASS AND DANCE SONG." Maybe they'll consider keeping it around... Faith in Me in St Louis really got the crowd going. Seems each nite of the tour, different songs were the show-stoppers. But most every nite Almost Cut My Hair tore the house down, and the closing night of the tour was no exception. Stills (on the Flying V), Neil and Croz just tearing it up. To me a key part of the last show was during the rendition of Looking Forward. Neil sang this one to Stephen, looking at him directly, with Stills reciprocating: "Good things happening to you and me... I'm not waiting for times to change..." Neil assuring Stephen.... friends... Woodstock has been outstanding all tour. I particularly love the end jam... the guys just roar and jam freshly on their axes. After the last encore, Nash said he was tired, and introed Duck Dunn as in the "Rock and Roll Hall of Flame". He apologized and corrected himself, "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!" Then CSNY did a few circular group hugs, and then a group bow. The final image on stage that I have in my head is Stills and Young giving each other a big hug. Stills back was to me, and I could see a big grin on Neil's face. That image will stay with me forever. They guys played great and thou a bit shorter set, the show had loads of energy. They omitted: Seen Enough, Out of Control, and Long Time Gone. The crowd was good. The positive energy was thrown back and forth from stage to audience. Glad to see they were all in good spirits and ended the tour very strongly. I can imagine the come down after a tour of this proportion could be huge. With the band so tight, now it seems like a shame not to keep maintaining the energy and channel it into more music, ie: another record, or more shows. The transformation that took place over the course of the tour was CSNY becoming a living breathing unit again, versus Neil Young playing with CSN. Over the eight shows I saw this show, starting with the opener in Detroit; I literally saw this unit get stronger. The glee in seeing them get off on each others songs and playing together.. just a joy. You can't fake that. And the crowds .. got it. In the end no one walked away talking about the ticket prices.. they walked out spent, basking in the joy of witnessing a rare and special musical magic -- and the magic of friendships.. Amen to the glorious road. I am glad they saw the light and brought light to many people during the course of this tour. The history books can be changed now, to rewrite the myth of CSNY - as a reality. God speed my friends. May we all meet again.... long may we all run. Lorraine Kaczorowski |
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Buzz Person, Joyce Richards, Lynn Cohen, and Bill Doisneau "No Shows Left" sign compliments of Cathi aka darkstar13 Kiel Center Marquee by Randy Oleson |
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