Photos by Lefort

We had the great fortune to catch Buffalo Springfield at the Santa Barbara Bowl last Wednesday.  A year ago no one would have predicted that Neil Young, Richie Furay and Stephen Stills would re-group and grace us with a reunion tour from a band that had dis-banded a scant 43 (!) years ago.  For what it’s worth, it was well worth the wait.  The songs and delivery of the band roundly resonated in the hallowed grounds of the Bowl.  The only expectation of ours not met by the band was when they failed to play their best song, Neil Young’s  Expecting to Fly. Check out the full set-list from the show way below.  Also below is a video of the band performing Mr. Soul at Bonnaroo.

Photo by Lefort

Opening up was the American-treasure-trove of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, who performed their usual musical magic (in full Nudie-suit regalia) despite the nattering and inattention of the ADD crowd, which failed to heed Buffalo Springfield’s own warning that Gillian and David might not “be back till later on, if [they] do come back at all.”  Pay attention folks: you might at any point be in the presence of greatness without realizing it.  Better to adhere to the admonition of the Talking Heads:  “Don’t you miss it, don’t you miss it; some ‘a you people just about missed it!”  On June 28th, the duo will release its phenomenal new album, “The Harrow & the Harvest,” under the Gillian Welch moniker (after an eight-year wait), which you can read about and pre-order HERE .

For a flavor of the Bowl show, check out Buffalo Springfield’s performance of Mr. Soul at Bonnaroo last Saturday.

Buffalo Springfield setlist from the June 8th Bowl show: