While the highly anti-Bush Young songs were generally received positively, it was the old classics that got the crowd to lean in a bit further.

The abbreviation “CSNY” (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young) became one of the most recognizable names or terms in rock ‘n’ roll, and with good reason. After all, the first CSN record came out in 1969, and the first CSNY record followed a year later.

Ever since their second record “Déjà Vu” hit No. 1 on the charts in the early 1970s, the career and popularity of CSNY fluctuated so frequently and habitually no one ever really knew what was going on. The bulk of their good songs were all made before 1974, and after that the records were so spotty even diehard fans were critical.

On top of all that, Neil Young was in and out of the band literally every few years — oftentimes bailing mid-tour.

With that said, CSNY would not even be on tour if it were not for Young’s most recent anti-war album, “Living with War,” and his desire to find a suitable “backing band.” This is not to say the “other three” were not hugely important at the show on Sept. 6.

CSN ‘not Y’ were in Milwaukee in 2004 at the Riverside Theater, and put on an enjoyable show highlighting all of their hits from their 30-plus-year career. However, when Y ‘Neil Young’ gets thrown into the mix, the stakes change a bit; hence, the location of their most recent Milwaukee show — the Marcus Amphitheater.

Playing to an almost full venue — the grass was spotty and the far ends of the bleachers were not full — CSNY came out to a warm reception put on by a much older crowd. They launched into an electric version of the new Neil Young song “Flags of Freedom.” It must be pointed out that the band performed in the foreground of a giant American Flag — a theme that ran throughout the night and the entire “Freedom of Speech ’06” tour.

The format of the entire first set was fairly basic — and completely electric — one new Neil Young song, followed by old favorites such as “Carry On” and “Wooden Ships.”

While the highly anti-Bush Young songs were generally received positively, it was the old classics that got the crowd to lean in a bit further — standing only occurred in certain areas of the amphitheater during the second set.

After a 20-minute set break — an impressive feat considering most older bands only play one short set — the second set was a more stripped-down acoustic set, and was received better than the heated first set. Going back and forth between group classics (such as “Helplessly Hoping,” “Our House,” and “Déjà Vu,”) two songs were played out of each respective member’s solo catalog. The second set was what everyone had been awaiting.

The second set wrapped up with the most overtly political song Young has ever penned, “Let’s Impeach the President,” and the Vietnam-era classics, “Chicago” and “Ohio.” After an encore featuring the ultimate concert closer — “Rocking in the Free World”— the majority of the middle-aged crowd left satisfied and in high spirits. After all, it is not every day a group of 60-year-olds get up and play to thousands of fans shouting the words to their songs; or is it?

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