Halfway through the first set at the Crosby, Stills and Nash concert Sunday night at the Toledo Zoo, Graham Nash looked out at the crowd and said, ‘Do you want to sing?’
After an overwhelming majority of the crowd accepted Nash’s challenge, he jokingly responded, ‘We are not going to pay you, you know that, right? Well, Crosby might.’
‘ When the crowd was still laughing from his playful sense of humor, Nash made his way over to a keyboard at the edge of the stage and captivated the crowd with a flawless performance of ‘Our House.’ At 67, Nash can still sing.
The amount of energy he still possesses not only makes a good stage show, but is also inspiring in terms of how an individual can hold onto a passion so dearly for so many years. His consistent and affectionate interaction with the crowd raises his stage presence to a level that few musicians can achieve.
But Nash is not the only member of the band that brings undeniable talent to the table. Although David Crosby and Steven Stills do not have the outgoing stage personality of Nash, they have skills that make the trio a perfect fit. Stills continuously played impressive lead guitar throughout the night, as well as sang classics such as ‘Southern Cross’ and a bluesy version of his former band Buffalo Springfield’s ‘For What It’s Worth.’
Although Crosby played rhythm guitar and sang backing vocals for the majority of the show, his ability to harmonize is absolutely impeccable and his presence alone is satisfying. Whenever Crosby took lead vocals, the crowd erupted in cheers, and he did so during ‘D’eacute;j’agrave; Vu’ and ‘Almost Cut My Hair.’ At the tail end of the first set, Nash gave the crowd a brief riddle by saying, ‘This is a song by some friends of ours.’
Speculations came wildly from the crowd.
‘Beatles,’ one man screamed.
‘The Stones,’ said another.
After allowing the crowd to exercise a couple of guesses Nash broke the mystery, ‘This ones for Garcia,’ referring to the Grateful Dead guitarist/vocalist who died in 1995 and had collaborated with members of CSN on various projects. The second set was loaded with classics including ‘Marrakesh Express’, ‘Military Madness’ and ‘Teach Your Children.’
Although the band’s first performance dates back to the 1969 Woodstock Music and Arts Fair, their passion and ability to play music remains the same. They are able to harmonize vocally and instrumentally in a way that makes them a truly special part of the last 40 years of music. The level of energy, talent and fun that the band incorporates and the crowd thrives off’ makes the 2009 Crosby, Stills and Nash tour a must see.
