Love abounded at The Holland Center on Friday, Aug. 9. It’s nothing less than the legendary Graham Nash expected from his concert in Omaha, one of several amazing shows in an evening that included performances around the city by Lee Brice, the Flaming Lips, and more.
Nash, the songwriter behind “Love is the Reason,” brought together people from Omaha and beyond. “We live in the Kansas City area, and this is the closest he’s playing,” said Liz Davis, who came with friends.
Some in the crowd were seeing Nash for the first time, while others had attended several of his concerts.
Local musician Gunnar Guenette of Sailing in Soup brought his sister to Nash’s latest local concert, reciprocating a gift from more than 45 years ago.
“(In) 1978 Graham came here the first time and played…the Music Hall. I have the ticket stub,” said Gunnar, whose son is named “Graham” in honor of Nash. “I was a kid, a teenager. My older sister [Lorin] liked him and brought me to his concert.”
Those in attendance came hoping for an uplifting, peaceful, evening, and Nash provided that and more.
“I don’t know about you all, but I’m in a much better mood these last three weeks,” Nash said, referencing politics as he came onstage.
He then took the audience from American politics to Morocco, recalling the story of how he followed the footsteps of many free spirits before him and got on a train from Casablanca to Marrakesh. That trip resulted in Nash writing the first song he sang that evening, “Marrakesh Express.”
He also spoke of the situation in the Middle East, noting “Humanity’s really crazy,” before singing, “Military Madness (is Killing My Country).” He played “Cathedral,” noting that he had been inspired by a trip at his native England where he had taken LSD and ended up noticing that he was standing the grave of a soldier who was born on the same day as him hundreds of years prior. “Oh, Camille” came with the story of how the song was written for the leader of Vietnam Vets Against the War.
But politics were only one part of the stories he told that evening. In between taking the crowd to places where soldiers lay dead or dying, where people sat in prisons and raised their voices in protest, Nash told stories and sang songs of love. These are all reasons why the crowd in attendance came to hear the illustrious singer-songwriter.
“My daughter, when she was little, we used to put on this music, and we’d just dance and dance,” said Omahan Marcia Cady.
“Bus Stop,” a sweet love song from Nash’s days with The Hollies, pleased the crowd in attendance, and the first set ended with bandmate Stephen Still’s memorable “Love the One You’re With,” with Nash encouraging the crowd to sing with him.
The second set continued with songs of humanity, politics, and love, opening with “Simple Man,” and ending on a crowd-favorite, a song he wrote for Joni Mitchell titled “Our House.”
Throughout the entire two-hour show, the 82-year-old singer maintained a clear, high tenor voice, creating haunting vocals in “Carry Me” as well as passion in “Better Days.”
Although Nash mentioned via an interview with Omaha Magazine last week, “Frankly, (the band) is kicking my ass,” it appeared the band (Todd Caldwell on keyboards and vocals; Adam Minkoff on bass, drums, guitars, and vocals; and Zach Djanikian on guitars, mandolin, drums, and vocals) kept up with the energetic Nash.
The evening ended with several encores. Graham started the additional songs by telling a story of another legendary musician he happened to know. Jerry Garcia, who passed away on Aug. 9, 1995, had played pedal steel guitar on a song in the recording session for the 1970 album by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. In payment, Nash gave Garcia a Fender Stratocaster that became well-known as the “Alligator” guitar for the alligator sticker that Garcia adhered to it.
The song featuring Garcia, “Teach Your Children,” was Nash’s first encore, and he dedicated it to his friend before going back to the political “Cost of Freedom,” “We Can Change the World,” and looking to the band to ask if they were OK to play one more song before ending on “Ohio.”
With the last notes, Nash disappeared from the stage, but the mark he left on the concertgoers, both that night, and throughout their lives, was palpable, as friends old and new hugged, shed tears, and mentioned the joy and peace these two hours brought them before heading into the madness of post-concert Omaha.
