Crosby and Nash Tickets

The Sage Gateshead
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
9th October 2011

Country Rock Legends in Newcastle

by wendavey on 6th March 2013 14:36

Crosby & Nash opened their set with a soaraway version of the Byrds’ classic “Eight Miles High”. It set the tone for a splendid mix of both electric and acoustic material that not only showcased their own material but that of others too. The problem with being so venerable, and with such a huge back catalogue to draw from is choosing what to leave in and leave out of your set. As Nash said, “If we played all the songs we know we’ll be here till next Tuesday”. Happily, the mix of songs tonight was excellent with a particularly strong first half performance that included “Used To Be A King”, “Long Time Gone” (which saw guitarist Shane Fontayne temporarily channelling Hank Marvin as he managed to include the riff from “Apache” into his guitar break much to the delight of both Crosby and Nash), “Marrakesh Express”, “Almost Cut My Hair”, “Our House”, “Deja Vu” and “Just A Song Before I Go”, the latter written to win a bet when Nash was challenged to write a song in the ninety minutes he had to kill before leave home to go on tour.

Highlight’s of the second half of the evening included a beautiful version of “Cathedral”, “Military Madness”, “Wooden Ships” and the final song of the evening “Teach Your Children” which inevitably turned into an audience sing-along. The band turned in a performance of over two and a half hours and yet it seemed over in a flash. One of the highlights of the evening was the between songs chat between Crosby and Nash. The good natured joshing between the long time friends was evidence of their deep friendship and love towards each other.

Although, as you might expect, there were plenty of protest songs thrown in throughout the night such as “Don’t Dig Here” (anti-nuclear), “In Your Name” (anti-war), “To The Last Whale” (anti-whaling) and “They Want It All” (anti-corporate greed) the songs were delivered with a passion and honesty that brushed aside any concerns of being sermonised at.