CSN, ZZ TOP CONCERTS A legendary day for rock

By DEBORA SHAULIS
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
This weekend won't be just about rock 'n' roll. It could be history in the making.
It's not every day that a legendary band performs in our region. So when was the last time two marquee groups gave separate concerts here on the same day?
Scott Kennedy, program director and morning show host on WYFM Radio 102.9, can't think of anything that compares to Sunday. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Crosby, Stills & amp; Nash will perform at the Canfield Fair, while headliners ZZ Top and Ted Nugent play at the "Yankee Lake Jam" in Brookfield.
"It is an historic day," says Kennedy, who grew up in Sharon. He has seen some big acts on local stages -- including Yes, before the group's popularity grew, at Struthers Fieldhouse and Bruce Springsteen in an acoustic set at Stambaugh Auditorium -- "but on one particular day at two outdoor venues, I don't think it's ever happened."
Y-103, a classic rock station, is promoting both shows. Kennedy said he and midday host Lynn Davis will be at the fair, and afternoon drive-time DJ Smokin' Bill Cannon will join morning show personalities Terry Chase and Mr. Sports at Yankee Lake.
These may be rock concerts, but they're very different shows, Kennedy said.
Meaningful songs
David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash made their vocal harmonizing debut in 1969 -- a few months before appearing at the famous Woodstock music festival -- with an eponymous album. They penned songs that were sometimes political, sometimes personal, but always genuine, including "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" (for Judy Collins) and "Long Time Gone."
After Neil Young joined the group in 1970, the foursome recorded "Ohio," which was their reaction to the shooting of four Kent State University students by National Guard members at an antiwar demonstration.
Young has come and gone several times to pursue solo work, but Crosby, Stills and Nash have carried on, selling more than 5 million records, creating hits such as "Just A Song Before I Go" and maintaining a sizable, dedicated following.
"I think it's an audience that likes actual songs that are about something," the outspoken Crosby, 62, recently told a Kansas City Star reporter. "I think a lot of them are starved for songs like that. And there's no lack of subject matter these days. We're having pretty hard times in the States. It's similar to the McCarthy era: We've got a very ham-handed group of people running the country who have no tolerance for dissent."
All-day event
Meanwhile, ZZ Top and Nugent are calling their outing "The Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers Tour."
It'll be an all-day affair at Yankee Lake, which promoter Dominic Baragona of Mid-America Events has used in recent summers to recreate rock festivals of days gone by. Three local acts -- Fuzz, Left End and The Benders -- also will perform. ZZ Top will close the show, with its set likely to start around 8 p.m., Baragona said.
ZZ Top began creating its blues-inflenced rock in 1970. Success lifted the trio of Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard and Dusty Hill from Texas beer halls to nationwide stages. Long beards and vintage Fords became part of their identity, thanks to frequent appearances on MTV, as did a long list of fun-loving, sometimes tongue-in-cheek songs: "Legs," "Tush," "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Velcro Fly" and more. A new album, titled "Mescalaro," is due in stores Sept. 9.
Nugent came out of the Detroit rock scene, which also has been home to Bob Seger, the Stooges, the MC5 and Mitch Ryder. This "wild man of rock" has been praised for his guitar-playing skills and has used his radio talk show to air his views on gun control (he's against it) and hunting (he wrote a cookbook with his wife called "Kill It and Grill It").
For their part, fans don't seem to be torn between the two acts.
Tickets are moving both for Crosby Stills and Nash's show and the country concert on Monday, featuring Vince Gill and Terri Clark. There will be about 8,000 seats for each show. The fair recently advertised CSN tickets as "going fast."
"Last year was an absolute great year for shows there. I think we're on par for that," said R.J. Kaltenbach, vice president of Klein's Attractions in Palatine, Ill., which books concerts for the fair.
Baragona said about 9,000 tickets have been sold for the Yankee Lake show. He's hoping for 12,000 to 15,000 total.
"Sure, there are people who wish they could go to both" shows, Kennedy said.
How'd it happen?
The dual concerts have raised a few issues, about why this has happened only now and whether it will occur again. Part of the problem, Kennedy said, is the area's proximity to Cleveland and Pittsburgh, frequent tour stops for artists.
Another problem is available concert sites. Yankee Lake has room for concerts, but it's not a full-fledged facility, so a temporary stage must be erected and other equipment brought in for shows, he said. Cafaro Field in Niles and the fairgrounds are being used for concerts, but temporary stages are needed there as well.
If the area had a 5,000-seat venue for concerts, some of the same bands that have been performing at similarly-sized Tower City Amphitheatre in Cleveland and Chevrolet Amphitheatre in Pittsburgh could perform here, Kennedy said.
"Five thousand is sort of a magic number where you can have gold circle seating, charge a little more to bring those kinds of acts in," he said. "To bring them in on a consistent basis when you don't really have that facility is difficult."
If it were up to Kaltenbach, he wouldn't plan a concert at the same time as an established event such as Canfield Fair, he said. While he agrees that these concerts appeal to different audiences, he's waiting to see whether the scheduling will have an impact on either happening.
Baragona said he has been trying to book ZZ Top for about three years. Last November, the band's management contacted him to say ZZ Top was scheduled to perform Aug. 30 near Toronto and asked if he wanted to book a show for Aug. 31. By the time Baragona became aware of the fair board's plans, he had already given ZZ Top a nonrefundable $100,000 deposit.
"It didn't make us happy," Baragona said of competing with the fair. "We have a great relationship with the fair," which is where he promotes a haunted house every fall. "The last thing we want to do is step on their toes."
Baragona also said he advertised the ZZ Top concert in 10 outlying markets, including Cleveland and Pittsburgh, to reduce competition with the fair.
Kennedy is optimistic that both shows will be sellouts if the weather is good. If that happens, the news will reach other bands and their managers. "I think it's a huge message of what this valley is all about," Baragona said.
shaulis@vindy.com