Crosby promises great show 

BY BEN EDMONDS
February 4, 2002

When David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash gathered around a "Tonight Show" microphone on September 18 and sang that line from a song old enough to have been in the film "Easy Rider," it was more than a moment of emotionally charged television. On the night Jay Leno returned to the air after Sept. 11, it demonstrated how the times can invest old words with poignant new meaning, as well as the power of music to act as both balm and challenge. 

It was fitting that this message be delivered by old friends Crosby, Stills and Nash, who with Neil Young kick off the 2002 CSN&Y world tour at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Wednesday. 

The first time these refugees from popular '60s bands -- the Byrds (Crosby), Buffalo Springfield (Stills, Young) and Hollies (Nash) -- joined their voices it was obvious they were more than your garden variety supergroup. From "Woodstock" to "Ohio," CSN and sometimes Y seemed to mirror their generation's restless quest for harmony. The angelic sound of their interwoven voices hinted at the best that we could be. 

They could also, as with David Crosby's very public battle with crack cocaine and his resulting prison stretch, sometimes seem to reflect the worst that we could be. Yet they are still standing after more than three decades and, to hear them tell it, more energized than they've ever been. 

"If I told you how good it's been you'd think I was trying to hype you," Crosby enthuses after the final rehearsal at Young's ranch in northern California. He attributes much of this to a dramatically revamped backing band compared to the one on the 2000 tour, which brought all four of them together for the first time in about a quarter century. Duck Dunn returns on bass, but he's brought along associates Booker T. Jones on keyboards and percussionist Steve Potts. Add their Memphis spice to the California confections of CSN&Y and the result, according to Crosby, is mind-blowing. 

"They're so solid and strong internally," he says, "and it just jelled right away with our internal thing. It was the best first two days of rehearsal I've ever had with any group. We were bouncing around the stage like teenagers, we were so happy. It's an unbelievable band." 

This will be reflected in a set list that has also been overhauled. "When we went into rehearsal this time, we reached back for things we hadn't done for a while. Like 'Wooden Ships,' one of our best songs. Or 'Deja Vu', the title song of our best album. Plus we'll have new songs in the set as well. Neil especially has been writing some incredible stuff." 

The reconnection that America experienced to these gentlemen in the wake of the Leno appearance has been a two-way street. "It was an honor that Jay wanted us to be the ones he went back on the air with," says Crosby. " 'Find the Cost of Freedom' has closed our concerts for years, and was an obvious choice. We also did Graham's song about the Oklahoma City bombing, 'Half Your Angels,' which sounds like it was written after 9/11, and the Michael Hedges arrangement of 'My Country 'Tis of Thee.' 

"We knew this music would resonate, and part of our job as artists is to express things for people they can't express for themselves. But none of us was prepared for the depth of emotion with which people have responded." 

This has been especially gratifying because while CSN&Y can be experienced as a warm, fuzzy exercise in boomer nostalgia, that is not all Crosby and his bandmates want you to carry away from their concerts. "Our first job is to entertain you, to rock you, to make you feel good," acknowledges Crosby. "Then we try and make you feel other things: fear, triumph, loneliness, sorrow, elation, love sought, love lost. These are universals, and we mine those veins and allow you to feel those emotions cleanly and strongly." 

Given the volatility of the band's interpersonal relationships over the years, and the fierce independence of its members -- one thinks immediately of Young's audience-shocking endorsement of Ronald Reagan back in the '80s -- you wonder if there is a collective we in CSN&Y at all, or whether the group is a chorus of four separate voices. 

"It's definitely a chorus of four strong voices," Crosby responds, "but we're surprisingly in agreement on crux stuff. The things we espoused in the '60s we still feel very strongly. We believe peace is better than war, we believe that all people are created equal, we believe that our stewardship of the Earth's resources is a serious responsibility, and we believe that this country represents a set of ideas that is the best defense of freedom the world has ever known. We're still unified about all those things, now maybe more than ever."