Graham Nash performed two of his solo albums in their entirety, “Songs for Beginners” and “Wild Tales”, with a full band this past Friday at New York City’s Town Hall. I was tracking the ticket sales for a couple of days and was surprised to see that although reasonably priced, Nash’s show failed to sell out and ticket prices as listed on StubHub were dropping throughout the day right up until showtime. I had purchased my tickets months ago, but for those who passed on the last minute bargains, they missed a fascinating concert performed by a still vibrant artist who provided insightful anecdotes throughout with an excellent backing band in accompaniment.

And, news flash, the self proclaimed hippie abandoned his bare feet on stage policy by wearing shoes for this performance.

The 77 year old Nash played the two great solo albums one after another with a shott intermission in between, “Songs for Beginners” had been performed in its entirety by a variety of artists this past summer at the Newport Folk Festival when the committee had trouble filling a slot on the second stage this year. While the Folk Festival set was good, it could not match the legendary Nash performing the song cycle himself. He referenced that several of the albums songs were inspired by his then former girlfriend Joni Mitchell and he completed the evening’s performance with a few of his better known “hit” songs, “Just a Song Before I Go”, the mind bending trip “Cathedral”, Graham’s “My Way” AKA the timeless “Our House” and ended with CSNY’s “Teach Your Children”.

I am one who does not have to necessarily agree with the politics of an artist to enjoy the music; Nash’s liberal leanings and anti-Trump references did not faze me, and in fact are expected at a Nash concert. Graham Nash has been outspoken and political throughout his entire career so one should expect that his viewpoint and societal commentary will be interspersed with the great music to be enjoyed. With that being said, however, when Mr. Nash introduced “Prison Song” by making a statement that the NYPD “murdered” Eric Garner it made me downright angry, even furious, and put a damper, for me, on the remainder of the performance. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if in this case it is an outrageously wrong and a simplistic portrayal of the extraordinarily unfortunate circumstances culminating in Mr. Garner’s death. As I write this now, last night an NYPD police officer was killed while performing his sworn duty to protect the citizens of New York City. Mr. Garner’s death was most certainly a tragedy but it was not a “murder” as Mr. Nash so boldly and emphatically proclaimed. Graham Nash has enjoyed the protection of the New York City Police Department throughout his long and storied career, I believe he currently resides in New York City, and he indeed has been, and continues to be, a generational voice for many of us, I believe he owes the women and men of this great law enforcement agency a public apology.

And that is my opinion, for what it’s worth.

May God bless the members of the NYPD and all law enforcement officers who help make it possible to enjoy our freedom and endeavors safely.

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