The Catskill Chronicle

Crosby, Stills, and Nash at Bethel Woods, August 31, 2010

By Jason Dole with Photos by Leni Santoro

“C’mon, Bethel. Sing!” exhorted David Crosby late in CSN’s August 31 performance at Bethel Woods. Crosby, Stills, and Nash are a vocal group who enjoy a vocal audience. The main thing my mother always told me about her experience at CSN shows (apart from her constant lament that they didn’t sing “Southern Cross” at one 1980s performance) is that everyone sings along.

Folks at Bethel Woods carried on the tradition. “Y’all sing good!” beamed Crosby.

Minus ‘Y,’ For Better & Worse

Overall, it was a night for love songs and nostalgia. The show had its moments of rock, but was a rather mellow affair over all. It reflects something that’s been true about the band for 40 years. As Neil Young and many CSN fans know, when “Sometimes Y” is not with CSN, they have a much more polished sound. That’s just the way it goes.

So without Neil Young, Tuesday’s show was a little less edgy than CSNY’s 2006 visit to Bethel Woods. It was also a lot less political. For me, that made it much more enjoyable. Why? Did I disagree with Young’s sentiments on his “Living With War” album? Did I think CSNY was un-American for touring behind it? Hell no. I was just turned off by the hypocrisy of no-nostalgia Neil ignoring that his anti-war tour was a pure nostalgia fest.

The same goes for many of the fans. Sorry folks. But a lot of you looked ridiculous reliving the rebellious hippy youth that (admit it) you never really had. Remember, it’s hard to be a rebel when you’re sitting in box seats, sipping $9 beers, and thinking about going to an open house for a half-million dollar home from Chapin Estates.

Anyway, as the Monkees said in their now-forgotten late 80s comeback, that was then and this is now. I got over it a long time ago. I went to this CSN show to give these guys the attention that I didn’t give them the last time around.

Back to the Garden

When CSN returns to Bethel, Woodstock is always in the air. I count four definitive, transcendent performances at the original Woodstock festival, and CSNY didn’t reach that pinnacle (for the record, I’m talking about Richie Havens, Santana, Sly Stone, and Jimi). However, my mind associates Woodstock with the songs of CSN more than any other artist.

Their version of “Woodstock,” is a no-brainer, of course. When I hear “Long Time Gone,” I think of rolling farmland in Bethel. When I walk around the original Woodstock site on summer nights, I hear their version of “Wooden Ships.” And when CSN went into “Deja Vu” on Tuesday night, with Crosby singing “I feel like I’ve been here before…” all I thought was “well, no duh.”

Now, you may say to me, “Jason – you make some of those musical associations because of the Woodstock movie.” Well, that doesn’t mean they aren’t legitimate associations. In Pete Fornatele’s excellent book “Back to the Garden” (and maybe also in the Woodstock box set, also released last year), director Mike Wadleigh explains that he purposely chose a lot of CSN music for the movie because of how well it fit. Specifically, he says the close harmonies embody the spirit of togetherness that was such a big part of Woodstock.

These guys know they are part of the legacy. They opened with “Woodstock” on Tuesday night and broke into most of those big numbers (“Ships,” “Long Time Gone,” etc) in the first set.

What’s Up With Stephen Stills?

Look, I could see back in ‘06 that Stills had lost his singing voice. But it seems like he’s lost a little more, too. In recent interviews he seems to be out of it, even slurring a little. I know he had a bout with prostate cancer, but I don’t know if that’s what’s affecting him.

Anyway, Stills has no voice. He works the bottom end of the harmonies, but is buried in the mix. His verses on “Wooden Ships” were handled by Crosby and Nash, and the numbers where he sings lead were kept to a minimum (“Southern Cross,” “Bluebird,” “For What It’s Worth”).

Really, Stills is there to be the axe man, playing whatever electric leads that were called for. Here, too, age has taken a toll on Stills, but not nearly so much as on his voice. I also think his instrumental performance would have been a couple of notches better if his old friend and rival Neil Young had been there to challenge him to a guitar duel. Even so, Stills ripped it up a bunch: trading licks with the Hammond organist, walking his Strat out to the edge of the stage, etc. Stills was his most alive and engaged when he was rocking out.

Where’s That Covers Album?

“Everyone else is here for the old tunes,” said a friend of mine. “I’m here for the new stuff.”

Say what? New stuff? I told him, these guys are a nostalgia act and have been for years. My friend then explained to me that CSN has been working on an album of cover tunes ever since the “Living With War” tour, and that some of those covers would work their way into the set.

The dude was right. CSN played “Norwegian Wood,” “Midnight Rambler,” “Ruby Tuesday,” “Long May You Run” and a “surprise” rendition of the Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes.” This gave Still a chance to rock out again, and to show his sense of humor. There’s no way he was going to do a Townshend-style windmill dive-bomb, but he had crazy fun throwing his arm up, down, backwards in a half-assed homage to the Who.

Most of these covers popped up in the second, longer set. “Ruby Tuesday” was a real standout. I was already wondering why it takes 4 years to record a covers album. The mystery deepened when I heard “Ruby Tuesday.” I thought, “shit, just record this and put it out. It’s fine the way it is.”

1compumagic | September 03, 2010

Ruby Tuesday Crosby Stills and Nash, Bethel Woods (Woodstock) August 31, 201…

The Harmonizer & The Lion

Crosby and Nash did a mini-set in the second half of the show with just the two of them at the front of the stage. Among other things, it included a brief foray into politics with Crosby’s “What Are Their Names” a broad anti-politician salvo. Then Crosby commented on dumping Congress into a landfill before adding “Back to the main theme of the evening – love songs.” This led to a wonderful version of “Guinevere.” I usually skip this song on CD, but in concert it worked some real web-weaving on me. Afterwards, Crosby acknowledged his partner by calling Graham Nash “The best harmonizer in America.”

glassemon | September 01, 2010

Crosby Stills & Nash sing “Guinevere” at Bethel Woods 8/31/10 after commenting on Congress. A great show to end the summer. My apologies for a little shake in the camera…

Crosby did most of the talking and a wispy, white-maned lion’s share of the singing. That is, his hair is wispy, not his voice. He is still the flat-out belter of the group. Some of the brassy, trumpet-like quality of his voice has distilled down into a smoky southern bourbon brew, with a bit of Tennessee reediness thrown in for good measure. At times (like on “Ruby Tuesday”), he reminded me a bit of Willy Nelson.

Crosby’s stand-out performance was “Almost Cut My Hair;” the welcome return to rock after the Crosby-Nash mini set. He nailed that song so well that the standing ovation stretched out into the notoriously I’m-sitting-no-matter-what-ish crowd on the lawn. Crosby knocked it out of the park, and it was by far the strongest single song of the evening.

After that, well… I don’t remember much after that. The show went on and included two encores, but I had heard most of what I came to hear. It was a nice night at Bethel Woods. For the most part, the band and the audience were very old. The perfect combination for a friendly nostalgia fest with old friends and good tunes.