Crosby, Still, & Nash at Bethel Woods (Site of Woodstock), July 5, 2014 - Concert Review

Yes, another Woodstock 45th anniversary concert!

This time, it was to see Crosby, Stills, & Nash perform at the Bethel Woods venue.

We arrived a few minutes before CS&N took the stage, and it was packed! Far more packed than it had been for Santana! We had suspected as much, since there had been quite a bit of traffic leading up to it. Perhaps it was because this was a Saturday? Or, maybe CS&N are that much more of a draw than Santana?

Can't say for sure. But one thing was that, like with Santana, the day was absolutely beautiful weather-wise! You could not ask for a nicer day, and we felt lucky, since Hurricane Andrew had passed through just the day before.

Graham Nash even joked about that a little minutes into the show, recalling the Woodstock by saying "If we try very hard, maybe we can stop this rain!!", before saying, that was from yesterday. Yesterday, literally, because of the hurricane that had passed through. But more importantly, yesterday figuratively, remembering the biggest concert event that had taken place here decades ago.

The band opened with the iconic Carry On/Questions, followed by a pretty groovy version of  Marrakesh Express, one of the songs that the band performed at Woodstock all those years ago. They would also perform two other tracks that they had done during their historic appearance at Woodstock: Helplessly Hoping and Guinnevere.  

The band waxed political a few times during the show. Stephen Stills spoke a few times before individual songs of his, and he spoke about how this is an election year, and the importance of getting out there to vote, so that we can "empty the clown car". He reminded everyone that one such clown, Eric Cantor, had already been dumped. Also, before Treetop Flyer, a solo piece that he did without Crosby or Nash there, he joked about the days when "Mexican medical supplies" used to be smuggled into the country, and then began on the legalization of pot. He spoke about how his own governor, Rubio, was opposed to it, claiming that nothing would get done if everyone were stoned all of the time. But Stills dismissed this, saying "Nothing would change", using Colorado as an example.

Also, Graham Nash spoke a bit on politics at times, particularly in Military Madness, which he dedicated to Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and all of the other prominent players of the Iraq War, before mentioning that they should be in jail. Also, in introducing Burning for the Buddha, he began recalling the shock value of a photograph from the Vietnam War that all the newspapers and magazines had printed of a Buddhist protester who had set himself on fire to protest what was going on there. He mentioned that over one hundred Buddhist priests had set themselves on fire in protest of the treatment of Tibetans by the occupying Chinese in Tibet.

Dave Crosby also spoke a bit (although less than the other two). The main thing that I remember was when he responded to someone up front apparently having requested a Neil Young song, and advising the guy that he might want to cut down on all of the acid that he was taking, maybe cut it down to just the weekends. When you're getting advised by Dave Crosby to cut down on the drugs, you know you're in rough shape!

One surprise (and yes, disappointment), was that they did not play "Wooden Ships", which was always one of my favorites from them, and which would have had particular significance on this day, given the significance of the history of this band at this place, with that having been one of the most iconic and memorable tracks from the Woodstock soundtrack!

Also,my brother reminded me, it was surprising that they did (not original to them, as it is a Joni Mitchell cover - although still one of the songs that they are most known for). I would also not have minded American Dream, the one song that I remember specifically from this band dating back to my own high school days!

But, overall, a solid concert (although I really would have wanted them to play Wooden Ships, and was expecting it!). They had an intermission in the middle, but they played for around two and a half hours, which is pretty good!

And as I have mentioned before in previous blog entries, I really enjoy this venue, except for a couple of things. While the historical value of this particular site cannot be overstated, the traffic situation, both before and after concerts, is quite burdensome and problematic. It took us a long time to get there this time around, and we did not leave until well after 11:30pm, going on midnight, well over an hour after the show ended! And not by choice, mind you! I guess that the roads are not built for such crowds as we saw on this night, but it seems like maybe, they could do something, somehow, to improve this a little bit.

Also, the security was rather bullyish towards the end in their attempt to get people out of there. I was in the bathroom, when I saw a security guy telling everyone there that it was time to go, and he even knocked on the side wall of someone trying to take a dump, and telling the poor guy inside that he had to leave! That was going a little extreme, if you ask me, and was unnecessary.

One cool thing after the show: we got to meet some old hippies, one of whom had actually been to the original Woodstock! He talked a bit about that experience, saying essentially how memorable it was, and just the great spirit of the event, that it felt truly special. He recalled how his group had left the site at some point to go to a nearby town (he actually mentioned Liberty, although that may, or may not, have been influenced by my mentioning that we had used to live briefly in Liberty), and that the police had blocked all the roads of access back to Woodstock, and rejected their attempts to come back. But his girlfriend went over and spoke with the police officer, and within a minute or so, they were allowed in. She had told them that she was a nurse, and knew that nurses would be needed there.

This old hippie couple were very enthusiastic about a Woodstock reunion that occurs every year at what is called Yasgur Road. It is run by the owners who took over the original Yasgur family property where the Woodstock festival was held in 1969. He said that it was the closest thing to "being there" and experiencing the original feel of Woodstock, and recommended that we check it out. In case you were interested, I thought that it would be appropriate to share that link here:

Yasgur Road Reunion 2014

http://www.songkick.com/festivals/1065153/id/20833923-yasgur-road-reunion-2014

Here is the set list from last night's show (according to http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/crosby-stills-and-nash/2014/bethel-woods-center-for-the-arts-bethel-ny-7bc1f63c.html):

Set 1: 
Carry On/Questions  (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cover) 

Marrakesh Express  

I Used to Be a King  (Graham Nash song) 

Southern Cross  Lay Me Down  (Crosby & Nash cover) 

Just a Song Before I Go  Back Home  (Graham Nash song) (with The Weight excerpt) 

Don't Want Lies  (The Rides cover) Déjà Vu  (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cover) 

Bluebird  (Buffalo Springfield cover) 

Set 2: 

Helplessly Hoping  Here For You  (Graham Nash song) (Nash duet with background guitar) 

Girl from the North Country  (Bob Dylan cover) (Stills solo) 

Guinnevere  (Crosby and Nash duet) Time I Have  (David Crosby song) (without Stills) 

So Begins the Task  (Manassas cover) 

Treetop Flyer  (Stephen Stills song) (without Crosby and Nash) 

Military Madness  (Graham Nash song) 

Cathedral  

Burning for the Buddha  

Our House  (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cover) 

For What It's Worth  (Buffalo Springfield cover) 

Love the One You're With  (Stephen Stills song) 

Encore: 

Teach Your Children  (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cover)