Graham Nash @ Entertainment Centre Theatre, Adelaide 13/3/2024
Despite being eighty two years old, I still expected Graham Nash to be pretty good … I didn’t anticipate him being outstanding! He had sixty years of music to choose from with songs from The Hollies, Crosby Still & Nash (CSN), Crosby Still Nash & Young (CSNY) and his solo career. His musicians were impressive throughout the night with Zak Djanikian on guitar, acoustic, bass, mandolin, sax and a stint on drums; Adam Minkoff on drums, bass and guitar; and long-time friend from The Hollies, Todd Caldwell on keyboards.
A really nice touch was kicking off with the CSN song Wasted On The Way where the lyrics probably resonated with his personal life to an extent. We were then taken on a journey where many of their early travels gave rise to memorable tracks such as Marrakesh Express. I found it most interesting to learn the background to many of the songs which enabled me to listen to the lyrics with a totally different perspective than in the past.
Military Madness was a song he wrote about his feelings when his father went to fight in World War II, but is still so relevant today. He wrote I Used To Be King about Joni Mitchell… after they broke up! The Hollies hit Bus Stop came from a fifteen-year old kid down the road. Immigrant Man was written when CSNY were returning to the USA from Canada, but Nash was the only one who wasn’t permitted entry back! There was a touching tribute to his late friend David Crosby with Critical Mass being performed in darkness , then morphing into Wind On The Water about the plight of whales – with Adam’s haunting guitar sounding just like the cries of the whale.
The crowd were involved in the chorus of Steven Stills’ Love The One You’re With just before the break. Graham started the second set with solo performances of Simple Man on piano and harmonica. He then explained how, on tour, Steven summoned him to his room where he entered with a whole heart, but left with a broken one after hearing 4 + 20. At this time Steven had been having troubled times so Graham wrote Wounded Bird to let his friend know he had his back.
CSNY loved the music but hated the travel, their sentiments being demonstrated in Taken At All. We were then treated to a new song from his latest album which is a collaboration with Todd Caldwell. He said we really need to be making an effort for our children and grandchildren to leave the world in a better state so they can honestly say: we gave them A Better Life.
More stories followed! Taking a break from recording, Graham hired a driver, purchased some potent “supplements” then went to Stonehenge and, still hallucinating, Winchester Cathedral and found himself standing on the tomb of a soldier killed in 1799 on Graham’s birthdate. This episode resulted in Cathedral. Also while on a short break in Hawaii, a small-time drug dealer bet him $500 he couldn’t write a song before he went to the airport, resulting in Just A Song Before I Go. Some thirty to forty years later a girl gave him an envelope which he thrust in his back pocket, later discovering it was the $500 he had never been paid!
The second set ended with more audience participation with Our House. The encore started, without them even leaving the stage, with the protest song Find The Cost Of Freedom, respecting those in Gaza and Ukraine – the Acapella harmonies were flawless and mesmerising. The crowd were involved again with the CSNY classic Teach Your Children before finishing with Chicago and Neil Young’s protest song Ohio.
It was definitely a concert I shall remember for a long time. Given his age, I don’t know if he will ever be back … but I really hope so! As mentioned at the start, Graham Nash was outstanding.
Live Review By John Glennie