It Does Not Suck To Be David Crosby

"Boy, it does not suck to be here."


These words were uttered by David Crosby early in his set yesterday on a comfortable Sunday evening at Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center Out of Doors in New York City. And who could blame him? As documented in the recently released David Crosby: Remember My Name, Crosby has diabetes, a transplanted liver and eight stents in his heart following several heart attacks. Crosby is grateful to be alive and wants to make the most of his time he has left so long as his body doesn't betray him. Back in June, Crosby fell ill during a performance in Beverly, Massachusetts and cancelled a performance scheduled for the following night in Bar Harbor, Maine. Under the circumstances, Crosby cannot take anything for granted.


Naturally, he would have liked to have spent that time collaborating with his old mates in in The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash (or Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) but he is persona non grata. While ex-Byrds band mate Roger McGuinn disputed Crosby's assertion that he hated him McGuinn also flatly turned down Crosby's offer of a Byrds reunion. So Crosby must make his music with others. Fortunately for Crosby there are no shortage of people who want to make music with him. In this respect, it does not suck to be David Crosby.


The evening began with Anaïs Mitchell, the Tony Award winning composer Hadestown. Her credentials notwithstanding, Mitchell reminded me of a lot of the female folk singers who I used to see at the open mike night at Club Passim in Cambridge, Massachusetts who try to sound like Joni Mitchell or Ani DiFranco with one song indistinguishable from the other. To her credit, Mitchell realized that much of the crowd was not there to see her and took it in good humor. Upon hearing a smattering of applause after playing "Young Man in America" she quipped, "Thanks to the both of you." The 38-year old Vermont native would earn her largest applause before playing "Why We Build The Wall" noting it had nothing to do with President Trump. "Not everything is about him."


This evening was about David Crosby and his friends. For all his myriad of health problems, Crosby, who turns 78 on Wednesday, still possesses a commanding voice which cannot be said of many of his contemporaries who have ostracized him. During most concerts, performers will give brief acknowledgment to their supporting players. Mitchell only identified her guitarist by his first name. Crosby, on the other hand, spoke at length about his collaborators. The only other time I've seen an artist speak volumes about his collaborators was Rod Argent of The Zombies.


Crosby spoke about David Gilmour of Pink Floyd told him he was going to steal away his drummer Steve DiStanislao and did. With regard to bass player Mai Leisz, Crosby described how Jackson Browne band members Bob Glaud and Greg Leisz discovered her playing on the streets of Amsterdam (it was actually Stockholm). Leisz subsequently fell in love with the Estonian born bassist nearly forty years his junior and married her earlier this year. Crosby described keyboardist James Raymond as his greatest collaborator. Raymond is also Crosby's son with whom he reunited in 1997 and formed CPR along with guitarist Jeff Pevar whose presence was strongly felt during the show. Crosby also referred to Raymond as an asshole. My Dad was a bit taken aback by this, but I reminded him that Crosby often describes himself as an asshole.


Crosby turned the spotlight to Canadian born keyboardist and vocalist Michelle Willis as they played her composition "Janet" who she assured us wasn't a person, but rather a concept. The concept gave Crosby and his friends a chance to shine individually particularly Pevar.


While Crosby did his best to look to the future making no reference to the forthcoming 50th anniversary of Woodstock, the significantly septuagenarian crowd understandably responded most strongly to classic CSN/CSNY material like "Long Time Gone", "Déja Vu", "Wooden Ships" and "Ohio" as well as The Byrds' "Eight Miles High" penned by Gene Clark. Half a century after they were recorded these songs still resonate and will resonate long after Crosby is gone. But as long as Crosby is still here it is well worth it to see and hear him.