Some while ago I blogged about seeing Stephen Stills with his band at Shepherds Bush Empire. Well, last year we went to see a good many bands, including Peggy Seeger, The Decemberists (Again), Gillian Welch (twice), and BB King not to mention Squeeze among many, but FINALLY got to see the Grandaddy of them all. Yup, you've guessed it David Crosby and Graham Nash at the Royal Albert Hall. Band members included Crosby's son on keys and a very hot guitar player who appears to be able to effectively imitate SS at will! I've longed to see Crosby for years, but he doesn't some to the UK very often. Spellbound, they played ALL the big hits: Eight miles high, Almost cut my hair, Cathedral, 4x20, Teach your Children, Ohio and most of If Only I Could Remember My Name, to recall but a few. The only thing I missed was The Lee Shore.
Crosby may be 71 and have got into more scrapes than the average marauding army including a stint in jail, the ingestion of more drugs than you could imagine, a liver transplant, serious motorbike and car crashes, revelations of sperm donor offspring and the re-uniting with a son he never knew he had after 30 odd years (see above), but he's still the boss and still has the most amazing voice ever. Obviuosly an added bonus was the harmony singing with and overall contribution to the evening of Graham Nash , but it was Crosby we all went to see.
He is apparently still not totally out of the woods financially as it appears that his schooner "Mayan" (pictured) is up for sale. This is the boat featured on the cover of the CSN album and on the headstock of his signature Martin D18C and which he's owned since the '70's, so if you want a boat with real mojo, this has to be it.
The next tour with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash kicks off in Australia next month so watch the space for a return visit by the man himself. Wild horses and all that. . . . .
