Reviews

Saturday December 10, 2011 @ The Family Arena

Ken Whiteside:

Spent Saturday night at “4 & 20,” a combination of virtuoso St. Louis area musicians who put on a tremendous CSNY tribute before 4000 at Family Arena nestled right next to the Missouri River south of St. Charles.

Scott Nienhaus and John Mondin are guitar gods who traded lead parts on both acoustic and electric, and when they decided to do battle—I haven’t heard anything quite like that live in years. Terry Jones Rogers played rhythm and carried an occasional lead, Paul Graves played a tremendous bass all night. All these gents contribute to great three- and four-part harmony vocals (Carry On and Marrakesh Express, for example) that sounded—well, unnervingly reminiscent to the originals. Let me add that the pitch and tone of Graves’ Neil Young cover vocals are nothing short of amazing.

Mondin, Graves, and keyboardist Bob Werner are usually in the blues-based Mondinband from Alton, IL; they performed at the 2010 Miles Davis Jazz Festival. Rogers & Nienhaus (members of a later Byrds lineup who also played for the late Nicolette Larson) have their own group; drummer Tom Politte, who contributed the occasional harmony vocal, is associated with them.

Mondin displayed copious rock chops on various Strats and a couple of archtops, and Nienhaus’s sharp attack on acoustic 6- and 12-string (Treetop Flyer—wow!) caused me to wonder if Stephen Stills’ long-lost twin brother had wandered into the arena.

Songs in the first set (electric): Dark Star, Long Time Gone, Wooden Ships, Helpless, Loner/Cinnamon Girl medley, Just A Song Before I Go, Cathedral, Teach Your Children.

Songs in the second set (acoustic): You Don’t Have to Cry, On the Way Home, Marrakesh Express, Treetop Flyer, Tell Me Why, Chicago (I mentioned to the fellow seated next to me that Chicago was the anthem of the original Occupy movement, and his twisted-face response was, I beg to differ, these people today don’t have the first clue. My response was, exactly what people our age back then said about us when we were young), Love the One You’re With.

Songs in the final set (very electric!): Immigration Man (with a few bars of Hey Jude in the solo by Mondin), Country Girl, Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, 4 & 20, Carry On, Déjà Vu, Almost Cut My Hair, Southern Man, Southern Cross, and as an encore (as Pat Graves said before he sang, “This seems right since there’s some protest goin’ on”), Ohio.

Twenty-five songs. Over three hours. All the while on a successful mission to help one friend as a "designated driver" (those Diet Pepsis were good!) while missing another (Lorenzo Small, how did it go with Montez Coleman at Jazz at the Bistro?). What a fun evening that hit the spot!