The Pic above was taken at a recent HOB concert.

The song was Bluebird, but there were so many

that were beyond belief, he is now in my top ten.

I.                   Overview

1. Date:  April 15^th, 2010   Tax day!  Time: 8-pm
2. No warm-up band, Stephen started at 8:15pm
3. Four pieces to start. Bass, Drums, Keyboard, Stills (lead).  They added a rhythm guitarist later.
4. Guitars  – Started with his famous Gretsch White Falcon.  Interesting he had two copies of every guitar.  Even though he played 3-4 songs with each model in a row, he still changed guitars each song.  His tech tuned the duplicate while performed.

Most concerts I write about won’t be so specific when it comes to detail.  This one was recent, which is why.  It has to be considered in my top ten of all time because of the impact it had on me.   Some of the songs were just huge in my younger years.   Stillls  performed such songs as “Southern Cross” – Manassas ,  “Bluebird” – Buffalo Springfield, “Woodstock” – CSN.  These were all huge for me.  Manassas was always one of my favorite albums growing up, still is.  To summarize, Stills is an artful performer.  His voice is impeccable and highly stylized.  People make a big deal about Neil Young, but often they miss how powerful and beautiful Stephen Stills is.  Second, Stills is a flat out incredible guitarist.  Just as Jimi Hendrix was not the fastest, Stephen isn’t either.  He is just incredibly musical.  He performs beautiful melodies  and he creates wonderful solos that are distinguished, stylized and really enhance the song.   His touch, intonation and feel really come though.  He gives it 100%, always!  In modern rock and roll, soloing is too often about ripping some ultra fast lick.  It about the guitarist making an ego statement, more than performing a an integral melody or chord progression that really fits.   Stephen Stills guitar playing is pure art and combined with his incredible vocals, the net result is hard to put into words.  You just have to experience it.  It is a bit weird to make this comparison, but I saw Lindsay Buckingham a few years back in Boulder, CO.  He, like Stills is awesome!  As great as he was with Fleetwood Mac, he is equally great solo and I think you have a greater appreciation of what he contributed to Fleetwood Mac when you see him solo.   Lindsay Buckingham is brilliant, by far and away the most talented performer in Fleetwood Mac and I will probably write a separate piece about him.

I did see a magical CSNY performance at Red Rocks in Morrison, CO a few years back.  It was awesome for me that my daughter could experience it with me.  She has an appreciation for music too.    To say that I would put Stephen Still in the same category as the entire CSNY group should speak volumes here.