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October 16th and 17th 1998
The Stephen Stills Band
The Sands Copa Room Atlantic City NJ
Concert Review
by Lorraine Kaczorowski
*S*=SUPERLATIVE band leader
*T*=TRANSCENDING guitar riffing
*I*=INSPIRED vocals
*L*=LOOSE jamming with his boys
*L*=LAVISH spread of guitars
*S*=STELLAR performance by all
These are the words that define Stephen Stills performances this
past weekend at The Copa Room @ The SANDS Casino in Atlantic City,
NJ. As a veteran Stills concert goer, I find it a rare treat these
days to get to see Stephen perform sans C&N.
One would hope that this years mini-tour has inspired Stephen
to resume his solo career; as well as maintain his tenure with
CSN. There is time and space for both fine bands.
The core and backbone of Stephen's band (and of course the powerhouse
solid big 3 of CSN) (Vitale, Johnson, & Finnigan) has expanded
of late, with guitarist Doug Hamblin and I think, this addition
is a step in the right direction. Having another good leader player
let's Stephen step back a bit from his duties as frontman and
gives him someone to play off of, be inspired by and compete with.
All elements that help Stills push the guitar envelop,
if-you-will.
The blues songs covered; "Death Letter", (which Finnigan covered
back in 1972, on his lp release "Finnigan and Wood"), and "Born
Under a Bad Sign", brought out inspirational jamming by all the
players; real highlights for me.
What was prevalent throughout the show was the use of the Strat
and the rebirth of Stills and the wah wah pedal. That blend created
the unique signature Stills blues crawl; there is nothing like
it! That brought to my mind some of the Manassas era sound.
His mood on stage was bright and the audience open and giving.
Though I thought the overall mood and execution of the 1st nite
was best, Stills shined Saturday, even though he was enduring
some physical discomfort after some emergency dental work done
on his front teeth.
It was a great weekend in AC.
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