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Buffalo Springfield 2011 Fall Tour Confirmed

Neil Young and Buffalo Springfield confirm 2011 fall tour plans

By Robert Rheubottom, Canada Music Examiner
June 4th, 2011 12:47 pm ET

Buffalo Springfield alumni including Canadian legendary singer/songwriter Neil Young have confirmed they will tour in the fall after completing a handful of California gigs this month in preparation for playing Bonnaroo Music Festival.

The news was confirmed yesterday by bandmember Richie Furay who revealed the band will hit the road in September.

“There will be a fall tour — September, October, November,” Furay told Billboard.com. “We have a bunch of cities for the fall that we’re looking at right now to just logically put together.”

Surviving Springfield members Furay, Young, and Young’s Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmate Stephen Stills reunited for the 1st time in 42 years to play Young’s annual Bridge School Benefit last October.

The members enjoyed it so much, they got together this again this summer, and kicked off their pre-Bonnaroo warm up appearance with 2 shows at the Fox Theatre in Oakland, CA on June 1 & 2 (6/1/11 – 6/2/11).
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The “For What It’s Worth” hitmakers will play Los Angeles on June 4 & 5 as well as Santa Barbara on June 7 & 8 before performing at Bonnaroo on June 11.

Along with a full set list a Springfield songs, the band has been encoring with Young’s 1989 anthem “Rocking in the Free World.”

No word on what U.S. or Canadian stops Buffalo Springfield might make on the fall tour. A vinyl box set of the group’s 3 albums, titled “Buffalo Springfield Complete” will be released soon.

Did you know? A full Buffalo Springfield reunion is no longer a possibility due to the October 2004 death of bassist Bruce Palmer, and the January 2009 death of drummer Dewey Martin. Along with Neil Young, Palmer and Martin were Canadians.

Continue reading on Examiner.com Neil Young and Buffalo Springfield confirm 2011 fall tour plans – Canada Music | Examiner.com
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see moar tour dates on BNB…

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The Buffalo video list

here an incomplete video list of the current Buffalo Springfield shows:

It looks like at least 2 videographers did the BS 6/1/11 show.  Looks like one from the floor, one from the balcony. ENJOY!

I Am A Child
http://youtu.be/s6fkoyx8FSs
http://youtu.be/NPZW8a3y8nA

Kind Woman
http://youtu.be/_nmESfhrVMQ

Hot Dusty Roads
http://http://youtu.be/t8PHm4OA3qE

Go And Say Goodbye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li077gNaW9s

RITFW…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li077gNaW9s

Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing
http://youtu.be/cxw-E65p7wg

Larry says:

It seems that “dakind2” got some great audience video from 6/2/11 although the sound could be better.

Broken Arrow…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh0EFHyxbys

Mr Soul
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31FdbMrhkTc

Bluebird (electric Neil on Old Black; Stills on a Strat)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6fsYaahQkY

Somewhere out there a multi-cam video is probably being edited right now.
PS- To go with his goatee and glasses, where’s Stills’ beret?

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Buffalo Springfield – 01.06.11 Konzertreview

Peter from Belgium reports from the field:

Where to start!

I came over to San Francisco with tickets for tonights show in Oakland, and Saturdays show at The Wiltern in LA… Wednesday morning it was raining so I stayed a bit longer on the internet… and stumbled across a site selling off some tickets for the show that evening!

As some of you who follow me on Facebook will already know, I was able to purchase a seat for $17, plus charges! OK, I was up in the nose bleeds, but I was there!

The entertainment started at the pre-show meet, attended by around 30 Rusties and Shorers, amongst them ‘Lost Dog’ who I met for the first (and only) time, at the Neil Young show in Gent, Belgium in 2001!

After a few beers and some food, we headed of to The Fox Theatre, what a beautiful venue! Gillian Weich open the show, accompanied as ever by Dave Rawlings. She did a great job, but anticipation was already building for the main event!

What made this so unique, for me at least, was the knowledge that no one had any idea what songs they would play, and of course no idea of what order either! Unlike recent C&N, CS&N, CSN&Y and NY shows, where it has become fairly predictable at times. So it was fair to assume we’d get some of the songs Stills and Young have been singing in recent years, such as Rock and Roll Woman, Bluebird, Mr.Sould, Expecting to Fly and FWIW. We weren’t disaappointed, although Expecting to Fly didn’t appear in the set, the other 4 did!

The stage set up was interesting too, from where I was sat it appeared that Richie Furay’s mic stand was clearly in front of those for Stills and Young. Indeed one of my impressions from the evening was Young standing back a little and letting his two old buddies have the limelight, Young of course had the last word, but I’ll come to that in a minute!

So they opened, surprisingly in my opinion, with ‘On The Way Home’, with Furay out front on lead vocals… then they moved into what I thought they’d open with, Stills, ‘Rock and Roll Woman…’ done this time in the ‘Buffalo Springfield’ style and finishing in about 4 minutes, unlike the Stills solo version with the extended guitar break. I’m not even going to try and remember the whole set list, you’ll find hat elswhere I’m sure!

They played just about every well known Springfield song, Young was in fine form, cracking jokes on stage… such as “we’re the Buffalo Springfield, we’re from the past!” and a comment, which I didn’t catch all of but was along the lines “we haven’t worked for 43 years… can you believe that? 43 years!”.

My personal highlights, ‘R & R Woman’, ‘Nowdays Clancy can’t even sing’, a really rocking version of ‘Mr Soul’, and too many others to recall, everyone a gem though! They completed the set with an extended rocking version of ‘Bluebird’.

Then came for me, the not only the surprise of the evening, but the undoubted highlight!

The first song of the encore was a stunning rendition of ‘Broken Arrow’…

This was the song that first brought NY to my notice, guess I never thought I’d see it played live! Even with the idiots in the audience screaming through the quiet parts, this song still moved me! Then we had ‘For what it’s worth’, finally shutting up the stupid woman behind me who’d been screaming for it since the start of the concert! They ended a 90+ minute set with the great Buffalo Springfield song (not), ‘Rocking in the free world’!

A strange choice and sadly out of place here, but as I said in the beginning, NY likes to have the last word! What was interesting on this version was that Young let Stills take lead… so during one of the extended guitar breaks that puntuated the 7+ minute version, we had Stills at the very front of the stage in the spotlight, giving it his all, whilst Young and Furay stayed back neat the drum riser, seemingly content to let Stills loose!

After around 95 minutes and three encores, they left to a standing ovation, well deserved in my opinion… a really original show, with the slight exception of ‘Rocking in the free world’ at the end… I think I’d have preferred it if they’d squeezed a couple of other Springfield tunes in the middle of the set, and maybe finished with Mr Soul… but hey for $17, who am I to complain!!!

Tonight it’s more of the same, but from my expensive seat near the stage… will try to write in again tomorrow if there’s any significant changes to the set.

All in all a great evening, made more so by the Rusties and Shorers at the
pre-show! Will try to upload some photos later, there are a few on my Facebook page for those of you who are friends of mine there!

Peter

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Concert Review: USA Today, June 2, 2011

BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD REUNITES FOR FIRST TOUR SINCE 1968
By Marco R. della Cava, USA Today, June 2, 2011

OAKLAND, Calif. — His imposing frame cloaked in a fringed leather jacket and wispy hair secured under a Panama hat, Neil Young smirked at the microphone as he summarized the vibe. “We’re Buffalo Springfield,” he announced to the packed Fox Theater crowd, “and we’re from the past.”

But Young wasn’t entirely correct. Wednesday’s concert, which kicked off the band’s first tour since it disbanded in 1968, proved to be far more than a mere greatest hits revival as it showcased the musical journeys of its three surviving members through a tight, 18-song set that ranged from mellow to monstrous. Meanwhile, the smell of marijuana wafted through the ornate 1920s theater with golden walls and large statues that look like cat Buddhas.

The tour continues to Los Angeles and Santa Barbara before hitting the Bonnaroo Music Festival June 11.

Opening with a compelling “On The Way Home,” one of the songs that defines this short-lived ’60s hit machine with its lilting harmonies and punchy pop sound, Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay (ably backed by drummer Joe Vitale and bass player Rick Rosas, who replaced the late Dewey Martin and Bruce Palmer) showed that a successful regrouping at last fall’s Bridge School benefit concert was no fluke.

Stills’ high lonesome voice anchored “Rock and Roll Woman,” while Young’s distinctive cry lit up “Burned.” But Furay, who stood center stage, reminded everyone he was the linchpin, his plaintive tone painting songs such as “Kind Woman,” “Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It” and “Sad Memory” with a soulful brush that had women in the largely Baby Boomer crowd doe-eyed.

“We grew up with their music, so to hear it live is just amazing,” said Sheri Barschi, 53, of New York, who convinced her childhood friend Jodi Coren, 54, to leave Miami and rendezvous with her in the Bay Area for this show. “Look at her, she’s dancing like she’s 12.”

Coren stopped long enough to point out she was wearing the same embroidered jeans she sported against her parents’ wishes as a teen. “I wouldn’t have missed this for anything,” she said.

On stage, the motif was far simpler. Beneath a sign bearing the band’s name, Young and company had assembled a few vintage Fender amplifiers and a scruffy upright piano that shone beneath a Tiffany-style lamp. The only nod to extravagance was the trio’s many guitar changes, which included Fender Stratocasters and Flying Vs (Stills), a black Gibson Les Paul (Young’s weapon of choice) and a vast assortment of electrified acoustic guitars (for all three).

One of the most interesting byproducts of seeing Buffalo Springfield in concert is being able to instantly hear why they could not last. Any Furay tune announces his soft-rock future in Poco. Hear Young sing “I Am A Child” and you sense the inevitability of his solo career. And when Stills blasts out “Bluebird,” you know that his melding with David Crosby and Graham Nash (and later Young) was pre-ordained. But mostly, one is amazed at the sheer quality of music from a bunch of guys in their 20s who, for the most part, were in their first band.

Indeed, much of Buffalo Springfield’s success four decades back can be attributed to catchy harmonizing atop astutely constructed chord progressions. But that pop music formula was occasionally chased from the room Wednesday, never more so than when Young thundered through “Mr. Soul,” stomping across the stage like a T. rex who missed dinner. Dueling with Stills while Furay looked on amazed, these men seemed more like boys, grinning wildly as they pushed each other to the sonic edge.

Fun ruled the night, from the frequent smiles to the impromptu quips. Taking his time introducing “Do I Have To,” Young seemed like he was stalling. He smiled, then joked, “Hey, we only know about 10 songs, so we have to really stretch things out.”

The 90-minute show wrapped with a three-song encore featuring Young’s mixed-tempo “Broken Arrow,” Stills’ iconic “For What It’s Worth” and closing with Young’s anthemic post-Springfield tune, “Rockin’ In The Free World.”

Afterward, backstage, a joyful Furay said the show was nothing short of a time machine.
“I felt I was back at (Los Angeles’) Whiskey-a-Go-Go forty-odd years ago, singing to my wife,” he said. “What amazes me is that the songs still hold up so many years later.”
Furay said the trio rehearsed “for a solid week.” For Stills, that was enough. “At a certain point we all felt like, let’s just get out there and do it,” he said.

There were no Whiskey flashbacks for Stills, though. “Nah, back then we were young and small and we just hoped people wouldn’t leave the show,” he said with a laugh.

Nearby, Young, nursing a cold beer, grinned. “Sometimes,” he said, “it’s good to be from the past.”

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Concert Review: Oakland Tribune

Review: Buffalo Springfield rides into Oakland

By Jim Harrington
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 06/02/2011 02:55:27 AM PDT

Buffalo Springfield June 1 2011

Don’t tell me you didn’t see this coming.

Buffalo Springfield’s long-awaited reunion at the 24th annual Bridge School Benefit at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View back in October — which marked the legendary 1960s group’s first public performances in 42 years — was simply too good to be a one-off event.

So it really wasn’t that big a surprise when Buffalo Springfield announced earlier this year it was planning to tour for the first time since the band split up in 1968.

Surely the promise of a big payday — a headlining set at Tennessee’s mammoth Bonnaroo festival on June 11 — factored into the decision to fire up the tour buses. But, perhaps naively, I’d like to think it also had something to do with this how meaningful the Buffalo Springfield songbook is to both the musicians and the fans.

That’s the impression I got watching the reunited Springfield — which features original members Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and the Bay Area’s own Neil Young — at the Bridge School. And I got an even stronger sense of that during the group’s performance Wednesday night at Oakland’s Fox Theater, the kickoff of a six-date California tour designed to properly prep Buffalo Springfield for its Bonnaroo set.

Wednesday’s sold-out concert — the first half of a two-night stand at the venue — was superior in many ways to what was witnessed nearly eight months ago at Shoreline. Topping the list, however, was that the band was able to “plug in” at the Fox, instead of having to adhere to the “acoustic only” Bridge School format.

As expected, that change paid huge dividends, providing Stills and Young — both of whom made Rolling Stone magazine’s much-discussed list of “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” — with ample opportunities to light up the frets. Watching these two studs lock horns on the live stage — be it with Buffalo Springfield or with their other signature band, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young — never fails to impress.

The group, which also features Crosby, Stills and Nash drummer Joe Vitale in place of the late Dewey Martin and Young’s regular bassist Rick Rosas filling in for the late Bruce Palmer, sounded quite convincing as it filled the 90-minute show with selections from Buffalo Springfield’s three-album-strong songbook.

The quintet opened with “On the Way Home,” immediately followed with “Rock & Roll Woman,” and then proceeded to play just about every Buffalo Springfield song that a fan would want to hear, as well as a few that could’ve been easily trimmed from the set list.

The voices have changed over the last four decades, with Still’s suffering the most drastic weathering, but that couldn’t stop the wave of nostalgia that swept over the audience, a good portion of which was probably old enough to remember buying 1967’s “Buffalo Springfield Again” when it first came out.

Those seeing Buffalo Springfield for the first time might’ve been shocked to learn that it’s anything but Neil Young and a backing band. Fans, especially those living in the Bay Area, are used to seeing the Wizard of Woodside run the show. But Young, Furay and Stills come across as equals during a Buffalo Springfield concert, which is a very different vibe than what you get when you see Young perform with Crosby, Stills and Nash.

That factors into the reason why Buffalo Springfield is so interesting. The three co-leaders are dynamically different, and they each pull the band in their own directions. Furay, who would go on to form Poco after leaving Buffalo Springfield, favors smooth, sleek country-pop sounds, while Young prefers some rough edges and Stills is just looking for any excuse to blaze.

Buffalo Springfield changes its sound so drastically, moving from Furay softly crooning “Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It” to Young and Stills trading hot licks on “Mr. Soul,” that it’s hard to believe it’s all coming from the same band.

One might wish for more Young — and, indeed, his numbers were the highlights of this show — and a little less Furay. But that would defeat the whole purpose of this reunion, which is to remember what made Buffalo Springfield so intriguing in the first place.

And, boy, did the encore ever serve as a potent reminder. It opened with the fan-favorite “Broken Arrow,” included the all-time great protest anthem “For What It’s Worth,” and ended with a stellar version of Young’s “Keep on Rocking in the Free World.”

One can only hope that the reunited Buffalo Springfield decides to take that last song’s message to heart.

__________________
thanks go to randy s.

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