An evening of songs & stories with Graham Nash at Liverpool Philharmonic.
The demand for the music of the golden age along with the rock veterans who are still out there delivering it is as high as ever, and the music is just as magical. In the spirit of the re-release of 1973’s Buckingham/Nicks earlier this year, our yearning for a fast track to the sweet harmonies and youthful energy of the bands of the 60s and 70s isn’t going anywhere just yet, and neither are they.
That’s why it comes as no surprise to find an 83 year old Graham Nash at Liverpool’s Royal Philharmonic Hall on a Tuesday night, reminiscing the good times – (getting high on a sailboat in the 70s), playing through a back catalogue of nearly six decades.
When you think of Graham Nash you might think of his early days as a founding member of The Hollies or Crosby Stills & Nash/ CSNY, the supergroup that burgeoned the Laurel Canyon scene in the late 60s. You might have discovered the Blackpool born, two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducteethrough his solo catalogue with his fair share of trademark political rallying songs.
Whichever your familiarity with the ‘northern boy’ it’s safe to say Graham Nash has enjoyed one of the most prolific song-writing careers of multiple generations, which he is slowly unravelling at shows across the UK as part of his More Evenings of Songs & Stories tour.
Moving gracefully into his sixth decade of performing and writing, Nash shows no signs of fatigue at Liverpool’s fitting grand Hall. Remaining seated for the candlelit show Nash’s clear alto voice and timeless songs resonate with ease.
If you bought tickets to this particular tour for the setlist nostalgia, then you’re just as likely buying in for the stories too. Who doesn’t want to hear what Crosby, Stills & Nash got up to in the 60s & 70s? This was a time when there was enough money in the bank that the magic in the studios could follow the bands on their extensive and expensive tours. The lyrics in their songs were fleeting visions into their dreamlike reality. Friendships, affairs, politics and sailing boats.
Nash invited his long-time friend Peter Asher along as a special guest to open the show, and his anecdotes were as valuable a rare Beatles demo. The 81-year-old reminisces how Paul McCartney took the family guest bedroom across the hall for a few years when they were younger as Paul was dating Asher’s sister Jane. A period during which Peter heard many songs come together (a little too quickly, the songwriter in him admits), such as World Without Love, of which we were played a rare expert of the early demo.
Asher’s emotional rendition of the 1970 classic You’ve Got A Friend was preceded with fond memories of when he heard Carole King play the song for the first time backstage at the Troubadour before opening for James Taylor. Asher was so moved, he tells us, that he asked Carole if he could have the song for James. Luckily, she agreed resulting in two commercially successful versions of the timeless ballad.
Graham Nash makes two things clear early in his set. He wants to be here making music for us, and even though he’s sang the songs a million times, he will sing with the same passion as when he wrote them. A passion which saw a romance of the ages between two sweethearts of Laurel Canyon, Graham and Joni Mitchell. Simple Man and I Used To be a King from Nash’s 1971 debut record Songs for Beginners, both penned after his breakup with Joni, and the 1970 CSNY classic Our House all made it onto the set, as Nash touchingly reminisces the latter’s tribute to a domestic day out for two considerably famous but somewhat normal people on a cold, rainy morning which resulted in a new vase and a cosy fire. An “ordinary moment that turned magical” as he puts it.
Nash’s choice of life excerpts flowed with friendly conversation. His handling between story and song both seamless and relaxed. His song choices spanned a generous career with The Hollies’ Bus Stop, backed with haunting piano from long-time Crosby, Stills & Nash collaborator Todd Caldwell, and CSNY’s Immigration Man, inspired after Graham was denied entry back into the states after a CSNY tour date in Vancouver. He laughs about it now…
It’s enough to make a singer break out in a sweat being asked to step into the harmonies of Crosby, Stills & Nash. But the of voices of Nash’s younger bandmates
Adam Minkoff and Zach Djanikian melting together cut through the room like glass, re-blossoming a magical sound that could only come from those beautiful, long-standing melodies.
“I must admit, I miss David Crosby” states Nash in contrast to just wrapping up crowd favourite, Love The One You’re With, dedicated to Stephen Stills.
The words ring out like a bell as the room remembers the harmony king almost two years after his death. As Nash happily recalls a boat trip in Fort Lauderdale in which the duo smoked a “fair” bit, taking the afternoon sail journey time from a few hours to nine weeks, Crosby’s remarkably distinctive voice fills the room with a haunting clip of 1980’s To the Last Whale….. An unprecedented sheen of melancholy making time stand still. A testament to the weight of the bands influence as a group and individually.
“I don’t know anyone that wrote songs like David” – Nash admits.
Apparently, the gift was stored within Nash too, however, as he admits Just A Song Before I Go was written after a break in Hawaii when a ‘drug-dealer’ friend urged the singer to write a song in just that effort, going on to become one of the bands best-selling tracks. The ‘77 hit was a welcomed choppy break in the set for the band who shared slick solos.
A double encore of CSNY’s riff-heavy version of Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock and harmony-deluxe Suite Judy Blue Eyes gets the hall on their feet as Nash’s wistful stories and jovial songs leave us all feeling rather charmed.
