CSNY!

Agh... I'm tired... but it's a good kind of tired, because last night ROCKED!!! My dad and I went to see Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in concert; the show started at 8:00 and ended at 12. We got home at about 1:30 this morning. It was the longest concert I've ever been to. They played like 35, 40 songs, and they didn't rush through them either. It was in this huge amphitheatre called the White River Gorge, holds about 20 thousand peeps and was packed all the way up to the lawn.
Now let me say this: Crosby, Stills and Nash is pretty good music in my opinion, and it's even better when Young is with them, but they're still not my favorite band. A lot of the songs are just too mellow, almost cultured, for me. Add that to the fact that these guys are all in their 60's now, and you'll understand why I thought it was going to be a sort of laid-back concert.
NO.
Lol! Everything that someone could dislike about the albums does not happen in concert, and the songs are all like ten times better. One, because Steven Stills and Neil Young had dueling guitar solos; two, the music was faster and edgier; three, the songs that Neil Young had recorded on his own were better with the whole band; and four, when you're actually hearing these songs performed, you realize how relevant they are. To quote Stills (talking about the anti-war songs) "The more things change, the more they stay the same." As rowdy rock concert audiences go, last night's audience was tame, but there were a group of wasted people dancing around near the stage. And I was definitely smelling some marijuana a few minutes before the second act.
My favorite songs were probably "Guinnevere," which I've always loved, "Ohio," which is about the shootings at Kent State (before they played it, Neil Young was like, "I'm glad there's no draft yet. I'd hate to have to write this song again"), and "Our House." If you have never listened to CSN or CSNY before, listen to "Our House." It should give you a good idea. Anyway, it was the third or fourth song after intermission. Graham Nash played it on the piano with Crosby on the other end of the stage singing harmony. In the second verse, Nash played the wrong chord, and he went "Aghh!" but kept playing. Then he messed up again, and Crosby was like, "I think we should start this song over!" and then Nash flipped him off and they started over. It doesn't sound that funny with me just telling you about it, but it was hilarious to watch.
Needless to say, I came back from the concert wanting to write songs. But, you know, it was 2 in the morning, and who knows what I would have written about.
TFATF!!
-Ahaneen

Catching Up

Okay! I don't really want to know how long it's been since I last posted. In fact, I'm just posting now because I want you guys to know (if you care) that I am still alive! Right, so let's see... what to post, what to post. I usually post something about a) something I love, b) something I loathe, or c) something marginally hilarious. So I'll just do the combo this time.

1. Something I love: Jon Anderson's music. Or rather, Jon Anderson's complete works. Or rather, Jon Anderson. (If you don't know who he is, listen to the band YES, cuz he was the lead singer. The rest of the band is awesome too.)
2. Something I loathe: Mosquitos!! My parents and I went hiking last weekend, and since I'm a mosquito magnet my back looks like I have the plague. Schuss!
3. Something marginally hilarious: Well, I was about to say Zero Mostel, but he fits into the Quintessence of Hilarity category, not this one. Sorry, Zero. Ok, so now for something marginally hilarious--what do you call a boy floating in the water? BOB!

TFATF!!!
-Ahaneen