David Crosby came down from his Santa Ynez ranch to play a very special concert at the Lobero Theater in downtown Santa Barbara, CA. The recently renovated Lobero Theater was the perfect backdrop for what was billed as a warm-up concert for his new mini tour to promote his first solo project in twenty years. The theater, the oldest continuously operating live production venue in California, has removed roughly 40 seats and renovated the remaining with plusher fabric. The bathrooms and central-air system were also upgraded but the original ornate charm of the theater has been kept intact. Another addition to the venue is a larger outside bar with a myriad of local winery and brewery choices and patrons can now bring their drinks into the venue with them. Amidst the celebration of the upgraded Lobero, Crosby, and a team of five seasoned musicians, played two full sets that lasted nearly three hours into the evening.
Although Crosby was born in Los Angeles, he has lived in Santa Barbara since elementary school, attending both Crane Country Day School and Laguna Blanca School in Santa Barbara. He then graduated from Cate School in Carpinteria before going to Santa Barbara City College. By 1960, he dropped out to become a musician and the rest was rock music history. So it was no surprise that the sold out crowd at the Lobero contained many old friends, relatives, and musical collaborators of the beloved rocker. Even with such an intimate and familiar crowd, Crosby began the evening by admitting that the idea of the performance scared him to death. The quip was reminiscent of the Crosby Stills and Nash remarks frozen in time on the historic “Woodstock Live” album, where the band exclaimed they were “scared shitless” before the infamous performance.
Crosby didn’t have to worry about his ongoing stage fright with his hometown crowd that night, as an adulate audience stood on the edge of their seats applauding vigorously after every song on the extended set list. The first set of the night was devoted almost entirely to his new recording “Croz,” which he generously produced for the audience. The Septuagenarian singer began surprisingly strong with crisp clear vocals and harmonies that he had honed since his early days with the Byrds. The back-up musicians not only supplied strong musical skills but on-point harmonies as well, harkening back the early vocals of “C S N and Y.” Of all the members of that iconic rock band known for their harmonies, Crosby has maintained the most pleasing and sharp vocal skills.
The band featured his son James Raymond on keyboards. The story of Raymond and Crosby coming together to be musical collaborators reads almost like a fairytale. When Crosby was deathly ill and awaiting a liver transplant in 1994, he learned that his son, who he hadn’t seen since birth, was looking for him. The two met and discovered that they were both musicians and shared a deep love for music. Their collaboration evolved and the chemistry onstage at the Lobero seemed a bit magical. Much of the new “Croz” album was actually constructed in Raymond’s home studio. The band also featured, Shane Fontayne and Marcus Eaton on guitars, Kevin McCormick on bass and Steve DiStanislao on drums. The band proceeded to play the majority of the eleven tracks on the new album.
Some songs covered familiar ground from the singer’s earlier days, but one song in particular encapsulated the political relevance of Crosby’s music. Back in the heady days of the anti-Vietnam War protests, the “C S N and Y song,” “Ohio,” became an anti-war anthem. A new song on the “Croz” album paints the ugly picture of civilians caught in modern-day warfare in Afghanistan with the same desperate plea for a peaceful coexistence. However, Crosby’s brightest moment in the first set came when he picked up and acoustic guitar and sang a few songs solo in a delicate tone, emitting pure emotive harmonies.
After an intermission full of jovial concert-goers sampling local spirits, the band returned for an extended second set featuring the remaining tracks on the album, some “C S N and Y” classics, and even an inspired version of the Byrds classic “Three Miles High.” Music fans waiting across the country to see the upcoming “Croz” mini tour can rest assured that David and his band are warmed up and ready to play.
Photos by L Paul Mann
