This afternoon we are travelling to Cardiff to see the legendary Crosby, Stills and Nash at the Motorpoint Arena. Crosby from the Byrds, Stills from Buffalo Springfield, Nash from the Hollies, one of the very first supergroups and they’re still going strong today.
At one time, I thought I might never see them live, but tonight will represent my fourth CSN show and I have to say as the band edges into their seventies they just get better and better. Yes, there are the signs of wear and tear with Stills’ voice, though certainly not with his stellar guitar playing, and Nash doesn’t always try for the very top notes, but make no mistake they remain a world class band with a brilliant backing band of top musicians.
I am looking forward to hearing the old songs, like Marrakesh Express, Our House, Teach Your Children, Love The One You’re With and, wonderfully, For What It’s Worth, I am greatly looking forward to the new songs all three of them are playing on this tour. For one thing, performing new songs show a band which is still alive and not merely going through the motions. I have been to enough shows like that over the years, with the band running through all the favourites and nothing new, and they’ve been all right. In fact, the nostalgia trip represents a significant part of the live music business these days but in each of the recent shows I have been to, whether it was Toto, the Doobie Brothers or John Fogerty, the new stuff was what I enjoyed as much as anything.
I have a fair idea of what tonight’s setlist will look like, although CSN do switch the order as and when it suits them, causing temporary panic for the engineer at the mixing edge, but it also give the shows an edge. They are still angry too, even though some of the songs date back to the 1960s. Many of the messages and the protests remain the same. As soon as they lose that anger they will no longer be a musical force and perhaps they might not be worth watching.
In a world of instant X Factor fame, class remains permanent. That Crosby, Stills and Nash are still at the top of their game is testament to their enduring talents as singers, songwriters and musicians and as soon as Stills pounds out the opening chords of Carry On, I will be in seventh heaven.
