STEPHEN STILLS - Rock Log 102111

The Mohegan Sun has scheduled some heavy hitters this weekend to celebrate the casino’s 15^th Anniversary.  Among them was Rock ‘N Roll legend Stephen Stills who took the stage on Friday night to entertain a packed Wolf Den.  When I say legend, I mean legend....For those familiar but not well versed in Stephen Stills, consider this – He has twice been entered into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame for his work with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young as well as for Buffalo Springfield.  He also ranks 28^th on the list of Rolling Stones’ Greatest Guitarists of All Time.  And perhaps lesser known, but most importantly and very near and dear to me, he is a fellow prostate cancer survivor.

NK and I arrived late and were 10 deep stage right (still with a decent view) as the clock approached 8:00 – you could feel the excitement in the air as the middle-aged crowd’s anticipation of the concert was building.  Then déjà vu.  Circle back to RockLog 092411 for the Zombies.  What the....an opening act...Again!!  Please stop the madness. Some unknown guy, bless his heart - a 29 year old war vet, come on stage and acoustically performed for 30 minutes of slow paced, run of the mill guitar tunes.   All I can say is thank God Vick wasn’t there, because I’m sure we would have witnessed a guy in his late 40s having a full blown tantrum complete with plenty of stomping, pouting and foaming at the mouth. 

Fast forward to showtime and the reason we went.  A much slimmed down Stephen Stills (lost 40 lbs) came on stage at 8:45 and played for 75 minutes.  We weren’t expecting much more as you have to remember this guy is now 66 years old.  There is no doubt Stephen Stills is a guitar genius – he seemed to have a different guitar for every song and man can he play.  His voice, on the other hand, showed glimpses of his age, but overall he did a great job.  He knocked out several solo songs, both acoustically and with his band and then dropped in some CSN&Y and a Buffalo Springfield tune.

While Stills has been on his own for a while now, the concert had a Rice Krispies feel to it...it was good, but it was Snap without the Krackel and Pop.    You can eat a whole bowl of Snap and that will satisfy, but when you add Krackel & Pop that will gratify.  While musically on target this show lacked the amazing harmonies of a Crosby Stills & Nash concert.  I suppose that’s nitpicking but as blogger, I’m entitled.

Still, for me, the highlights were those CSN tunes “Southern Cross” & “Love the One You’re With” and his show-ending Buffalo Springfield song “What It’s Worth”.  Hearing these classic tunes made putting up with the hordes of people and the opening act a worthwhile show.

Pass the milk....it’s on to Dierks.

Randall