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Chuck A Fireman Naughton's Review
(more reviews coming)
Also See:
The show details.
A Plain Dealer pre-show article.
The Plain Dealer review of the show.
Greetings folks....How Ya Doin'?
I'm just now recovering from the 3rd night of A Fireman's 4-city tour with
CSNY. The following are some random thoughts from the Celveland
3-23-2000 show...
It's difficult not to compare the shows while you experience them... Each is an experience unto itself -- but you find yourself nit-picking on things... For instance: last night Croz's voice was a bit strained... I first picked up on it on the third song, Stand and Be Counted, and then -- to me -- it was confirmed during Almost Cut My Hair. And Guenivere has been performed better -- Croz just didn't have the same edge as he did in Detroit or Pittsburgh. BUT, he pulled it off anyway. If you hadn't experienced an earlier show you'd never know there was a problem. A great pro knows how to play hurt, and Croz is a great pro...
In Detroit the crowd had been buzzing in anticipation of the tour opener, and rode along on the wave from start to finish. In Pittsburgh the crowd seemed a bit subdued until it was pulled into the whirlwind by the band. But in -- well let's just say Cleveland rocks! -- this was one hyped up crowd. That energy worked great during the rockers and the sing-alongs, but was a tad counterproductive during the acoustic set. There's a dozen or so "seagulls" in every crowd...
From my seats in the 11th row center the sound was a bit muddy. But it improved as the show progressed. The setlist was pretty "standard" -- no new tunes. Surprisingly, this fact has not been a disappointment to me, because the band puts it all on line every night.
Highlights for me....
Croz said it was the fourth time they "ever" played that tune together. He seemed quite pleased with it as well. When is mushroom season, anyway...?
Neil was as awesome as ever, working the crowd into a lather at will. But the crowd didn't take the "Be on my side" cue as well as the Pittsburgh audience. Neil tried a fourth time but the response just wasn't there. Pretty hard to top that Pittsburgh performance and vibe.
Just before the song started, Stills said something to Neil. Although I'm no lip reader -- and could be way off base here -- I believe it was "don't do it, no don't do it." At the time I wondered if he was telling Neil not to rip his strings off again. This is really just conjecture on my part. But of course, Neil didn't listen. ("Larry... String up Old Black again, will ya pal? Thanks.") Neil again brought the house down...
During Guenivere, an elderly woman in a bright red outfit stumbled her way through my row to take the empty seat next to mine, and pulled out a notebook. At the time I thought, "how sweet, she must have been an old hippie in the days, and she's keeping track of the setlist, too..." But she only stayed for a couple of songs.
When she left, the woman in front of me (who had seen me taking notes) turned around and asked me if I was working with Jane Scott. Not being from Cleveland, I didn't know what she was talking about. She explained to me who the woman-in-red was (the dean of Cleveland entertainment reporters). Not too long after that, Croz said something like "take that Jane Scott" after they really nailed a tune (maybe Woodstock).
All in all, another most excellent experience... Once more for me in T.O. next week!
Chuck N
A Fireman
(more reviews coming soon... --RE*AC*TOR)