The Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 1969 and 1970 concert tours were two separate tours that covered North America, and Europe, before the band broke up for the first time.
History
First tour The first tour starting in 1969 and finishing with three dates in Europe in January 1970, was the first Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tour. The tour was notable for performing at many of the era's major festivals including their second ever gig, a one-hour show at the Woodstock Festival in the early morning of August 18, 1969, which was a baptism by fire for the group. The crowd of industry friends looking on from offstage was intimidating and prompted Stills to say, "This is the second time we've ever played in front of people, man. We're scared shitless." Their appearance at the festival and in the subsequent movie Woodstock, boosted the visibility of the quartet tremendously. Footage from two performances from the Big Sur Folk Festival (held on the grounds of the Esalen Institute on September 13–14, 1969) appears in the movie Celebration at Big Sur. They also appeared at the violence-plagued Altamont Free Concert on December 6, 1969, alongside Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers and the headlining Rolling Stones. At the band's request, their performance was not included in the subsequent film Gimme Shelter (1970). During this tour they also appeared on the television show This Is Tom Jones, performing "You Don't Have To Cry" and with Tom Jones, "Long Time Gone". They also appeared on the television show The Music Scene performing "Down By The River".
After a break for Christmas they finished this tour with three dates in Europe, attending the Royal Albert Hall, was a who's who of British rock musicians including Paul McCartney, Donovan and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.
During time off in the first tour and in between the two tours, the band recorded and released their second studio album and their first as the quartet with Neil Young on board, Déjà Vu.
Second tour The 1970 tour got off to a rocky start, in consultation with other band members, Stills fired Reeves from the group shortly before the beginning of their second American tour in April 1970 "because [he] suddenly decided he was an Apache witch doctor." He further opined that "[Reeves] freaked too much on the bass and no one could keep up because [he] did not play one rhythm the same… he could play bass imaginatively, but he has to be predictable as well," while "Greg also wanted to sing some of his songs on the CSN&Y show, which I thought was ludicrous, only because the songs weren't great. We'll sing any song if it's great, but not just because it happens to be written by our bass player." He was replaced by Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels, a homeless Jamaican musician recently discovered by Stills at Island Records' London studios. Shortly thereafter, Taylor (who frequently clashed with Young over the band's tempos during the first tour and Déjà Vu sessions) was also dismissed when Young threatened to leave the group following the first performance of the tour at the Denver Coliseum on May 12, 1970. Notwithstanding these previous tensions, Taylor would later assert that his dismissal stemmed from a flirtation with Young's first wife (Topanga Canyon restaurateur Susan Acevedo) amid renewed conflict between Stills and Young in the aftermath of Reeves' firing. Shortly thereafter, drummer John Barbata (formerly of The Turtles) was hired for the remainder of the tour and associated recordings.
As the 23-show tour progressed, the tenuous nature of the partnership was strained by Stills' alcohol and cocaine abuse and perceived megalomania, culminating in an extended solo set not countenanced by the other band members at the Fillmore East when he was informed that Bob Dylan was in the audience. In this turbulent atmosphere, Crosby, Nash and Young decided to fire Stills during a two-night stint at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre in July 1970. Following his reinstatement, the tour ended as scheduled in Bloomington, Minnesota on July 9, 1970; however, the group broke up immediately thereafter. Concert recordings from dates at the Fillmore East, and The Forum in June 1970 and at the Auditorium Theater in July 1970 were assembled by Nash, and produced the 1971 double album 4 Way Street, which topped the charts during a 42-week stay. Although they would continue to collaborate in various and largely ephemeral permutations, the four members would not come back together in earnest until their 1974 reunion tour.
Personnel David Crosby — vocals, guitars Stephen Stills — vocals, guitars, keyboards Graham Nash — vocals, guitars, organ Neil Young — vocals, guitars, keyboards Greg Reeves — bass first tour Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels – bass second tour Dallas Taylor — drums first tour and May 12 Johnny Barbata — drums second tour except May 12
Tour setlist A typical set list for the first tour included the following, although there were substitutions, variations and order switches throughout the tour.
First tour
"Suite: Judy Blues Eyes" (Stills) "Blackbird" (Lennon/McCartney) "Guinevere" (Crosby) "Helplessly Hoping" (Stills) "Lady Of The Island" (Nash) "On The Way Home" (Young) "Black Queen" (Stills) "I've Loved Her So Long" (Young) "You Don't Have To Cry" (Stills) "Pre-Road Downs" (Nash) "Long Time Gone" (Crosby) "Bluebird Revisited" (Stills) "Sea Of Madness" (Young) "Wooden Ships" (Crosby, Stills, Kantner) "Down By The River" (Young)
Second tour A typical set list for the second included the following, although there were substitutions, variations and order switches throughout the tour. The tour always started off with an acoustic set, with "Suite Judy Blue" Eyes opening, then solo/duo sets from Crosby, Nash, Young, then Stills, the songs in the solo spots were continually changing. A ten-minute interval section was taken before the electric set began, opening with "Pre-Road Downs", and generally finishing with "Carry On". They would then return for "Woodstock" and/or an acoustic "Find The Cost Of Freedom" for the encore. "Suite: Judy Blues Eyes" (Stills) "Blackbird" (Lennon/McCartney) "On The Way Home" (Young) "Teach Your Children" (Nash) "Triad" (Crosby) "Guinevere" (Crosby) "Simple Man" (Nash) "Man In The Mirror" (Nash) "Tell Me Why" (Young) "Down By The River" (Young) "49 Bye-Byes/America's Children" (Stills) "Love The One You're With" (Stills) "Pre-Road Downs" (Nash) "Helplessly Hoping" (Stills) "Long Time Gone" (Crosby) "As I Come Of Age" (Stills) "Southern Man" (Young) "Ohio" (Young) "Carry On" (Stills) "Woodstock" (Joni Mitchell) "Find The Cost Of Freedom" (Stills)
First tour dates TourDateCityCountryVenueAugust 16, 1969(2 shows)ChicagoUnited StatesAuditorium TheatreAugust 18, 1969BethelWoodstock festivalAugust 25, 1969Los AngelesGreek TheatreAugust 26, 1969August 27, 1969August 28, 1969August 29, 1969August 30, 1969August 31, 1969September 5, 1969ABC Studios The Music SceneSeptember 6, 1969ABC Studios This Is Tom JonesSeptember 13, 1969Big SurBig Sur Folk FestivalEsalen InstituteSeptember 14, 1969September 19, 1969New York CityFillmore East (4 Shows)September 20, 1969October 11, 1969New HavenNew Haven ArenaNovember 9, 1969Santa BarbaraCampus StadiumNovember 13, 1969San FranciscoWinterland BallroomNovember 14, 1969November 15, 1969November 16, 1969November 22, 1969HonoluluHIC ArenaNovember 26, 1969DenverDenver ColiseumNovember 27, 1969Salt Lake CitySalt PalaceNovember 28, 1969DallasMemorial AuditoriumNovember 29, 1969PhoenixArizona Veterans Memorial ColiseumDecember 5, 1969SacramentoCounties Building – Cal ExpoDecember 6, 1969LivermoreAltamont SpeedwayWestwoodPauley PavilionDecember 11, 1969PittsburghCivic ArenaDecember 12, 1969ClevelandPublic HallDecember 13, 1969ChicagoAuditorium TheatreDecember 14, 1969DetroitMasonic Temple TheaterDecember 17, 1969AlbuquerqueTingley ColiseumDecember 18, 1969HoustonHofheinz PavilionDecember 21, 1969San DiegoBalboa StadiumEuropeJanuary 6, 1970LondonUnited KingdomRoyal Albert HallJanuary 9, 1970StockholmSwedenKonserthusetJanuary 11, 1970CopenhagenDenmarkFalkonercentret
Second tour dates +TourDatesCityCountryVenueMay 12, 1970DenverUnited StatesDenver ColiseumMay 29, 1970BostonBoston GardenMay 30, 1970BaltimoreCivic CenterJune 2, 1970New York CityFillmore EastJune 3, 1970June 4, 1970June 5, 1970June 6, 1970June 7, 1970June 9, 1970ProvidenceRhode Island AuditoriumJune 10, 1970PhiladelphiaThe SpectrumJune 12, 1970DetroitOlympia StadiumJune 16, 1970PortlandMemorial ColiseumJune 17, 1970SeattleSeattle Center ColiseumJune 19, 1970OaklandOakland Coliseum ArenaJune 26, 1970InglewoodThe ForumJune 28, 1970July 1, 1970St. LouisKiel Municipal AuditoriumJuly 3, 1970ClevelandPublic HallJuly 5, 1970ChicagoAuditorium TheatreJuly 6, 1970July 7, 1970MadisonDane County Veterans Memorial ColiseumJuly 9, 1970BloomingtonMetropolitan Sports Center
Extra dates These were extra dates, not part of the main tours, but before the 1974 reunion tour. +DatesCityCountryVenueNotesSeptember 30, 1971New York CityUnited StatesCarnegie HallStephen Stills and Neil Young drop by a Crosby & Nash showOctober 3, 1971BostonBoston Music HallOctober 4, 1971New York CityCarnegie HallOctober 4, 1973San FranciscoWinterland ArenaCrosby, Nash & Young drop by a Stephen Stills Manassas showOctober 7, 1973Crosby & Nash drop by a Stephen Stills Manassas show
References