The Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center (PAC) isn’t the type of venue that David Crosby and Graham Nash performed at early in their music careers. But as the shoeless Nash stood beside a long, fairly gray haired Crosby Monday night, fans were taken back to the nostalgic years of the ‘70s.
The crowd, full of current and retired hippies, sporting pony-tails and old band apparel, agreed the duo took the stage last night with the same liveliness they would have all those years ago.
“Crosby, Stills and Nash is one of the greatest bands in the world,” said concert attendee and seasoned fan Stevo Adelberg. “At Woodstock they ripped. They ripped just as good tonight. The acoustics and the way they are with the crowd, they just keep it alive for the music.”
Adelberg was one of the few fans during the evening who stood to sing along and shout his approval. The other concert-goers resisted because standing and picture taking were not permitted inside the venue.
Even if it had to be from their seats, fans still sung along and offered shouts of approval throughout, proving the crowd was loving it. Many were most likely thinking it, but Adelberg said it — that it was the greatest Crosby and Nash concert he had seen in 20 years.
After opening, Nash thanked the crowd for coming out and shelling out the money to buy tickets. And for approximately the next four hours, Crosby and Nash capitalized upon the PAC’s acoustic abilities as they belted out song after song — both old and new.
For concert-goer Sue Cosper, who said she has been a fan since the ‘60s, this was her first time seeing them in concert. The memories the music brought her back to made the show live up to, and even exceed, her expectations.
“I like that nostalgic part of it,” Cosper said. “I enjoyed the reminiscing of those old days.”
Cosper also said the lineup of songs provided the perfect mix of past hits and new songs, a balance that made the evening that much more exciting.
In fact, before Crosby played a new, unreleased song to the crowd Nash jokingly said they were now at the part of the show where Crosby would get nervous. But Crosby didn’t miss a beat as he replied, “I’m nervous my fly isn’t zipped. No, I’m actually nervous because I’m going to sing you a brand new song.”
Crosby, Nash and the other musicians on stage — one of which was Crosby’s son James Raymond — each had a solo opportunity, and the more popular songs were mixed in throughout the show, including “Guinevere,” “Déjà vu” and “Our House.”
Business administration freshman and concert-goer Sherwin Tavana, who said he was introduced to Crosby, Stills and Nash by his dad at a young age, said the pair put on an amazing concert because they “still had it.”
As for the crowd, he said the PAC was a “different setting, but the same exact people, just a few generations later.”
To the delight of this generation, at the end of the show Crosby and Nash left the stage only to return to play a two-song encore, including the song one fan requested early in the show by yelling out “Teach Your Children” — to which Nash replied, “teach your children.”
With such strong chemistry and stage presence, it is hard to believe that last night was the first time in eight years the duo performed in concert together — however, they were short one original band member. The third and final member, Stephen Stills, of Crosby, Stills and Nash was not on stage, but the role he played in the band didn’t go unnoticed while they played songs from their repertoire.
When Crosby, Stills and Nash, known by fans as CSN, formed in the ‘70s, they also saw the presence of an occasional fourth member who added a “Y” to expand their acronym — CSNY — and is more commonly known as singer-songwriter Neil Young. He was not in attendance last night either. However, his name was mentioned later in the night by Nash, who joked that if a stagehand messed up, he would have to go work for Young. He emphasized the joking aspect.
The show was more than just a visit to the ‘70s for some. It was a chance for Crosby and Nash to promote their recently released album “Another Stoney Evening.”
The album was recorded at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles in 1971 and released in 1998. However, this time around, the album was released by Crosby and Nash’s newly formed record label, Blue Castle Records.
In addition to their respective solo careers, both guitar-toting singer-songwriters have contributed to various other musical groups.
Crosby was a founding member of The Byrds and the rock/jazz band Crosby, Pevar and Raymond, which produced a locally produced, limited release album titled “Live at Cuesta College” in 1998. He is also a two-time inductee to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for his work with CSN and The Byrds.
Nash has worked with the British pop/rock group The Hollies, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the latter as well as CSN.