From Manitoba, a review of Crospy, Stills, Nash and Young in their current "Freedom Tour" -- or should that be French Tour?

"Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young shuffled onstage of the MTS Centre shortly after 7 p.m. on Friday, June 15 for the fourth show of their "Freedom of Speech '06" tour. A sold-out crowd comprised predominantly (but not exclusively) of balding quasi-hippies was clearly delighted by the performance, or, more specifically, by the presence of local favorite Neil Young — who used to live here, as we will never, ever tire of reminding ourselves.

Young, ever lovable and ever snarling, fresh from being awarded the Order of Manitoba (a ceremony which unceremoniously took place in the Manitoba Moose dressing room), clearly dominated the band both physically and musically: he looked the most comfortable on the stage and the gargantuan set list, when not democratically focused on CSNY songs, was full of rollicking numbers from his recent Living with War album, including opener "Flags of Freedom" and personal favorite "After the Garden."

Young's newest material was also accompanied by video screens featuring assorted Iraq-war imagery: portraits of fallen soldiers, tanks rolling into Fallujah and spoof-CNN-style graphics. For "Impeach the President" the band was backed by video (and audio) of George W. Bush saying, as he tends to do, an assortment of stupid things. Though the presentation wasn't subtle, there was a certain satisfaction to be had in witnessing the outpouring of Young's ire. In light of all this, CSNY classic "Ohio" felt genuinely relevant, though it also led some credence to the belief that without Young, CSN would be a nostalgia act and little else.
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