When David Crosby died, a Rolling Stone podcaster remarked on how much of a career Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash managed to get out of what was essentially two classic albums (their debut as CSN and Déjà Vu, their first album with Neil Young). Those two records were followed by over 50 years of solo albums - as well as records featuring varying combinations of the members C, S, N and Y. There were some good songs, decent albums, commercial successes but little that was great. 

Catty? Yes. On-point? Yeah, somewhat. Material? Not really. 

In the mid-60s, The Beatles became the first rock act to play stadia. The Rolling Stones ushered in the modern touring business when they returned to the road in 1969. But Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young became the first proper stadium touring act with their 1974 trek across the US and Canada (and a one-nighter in London tacked on for good measure). 

Even as early as 1974, the four had over 20 albums of material to pull a setlist from, if one counts their albums together, solo works as well as their material from predecessor groups like The Hollies, The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. By the time of this show in 1988, that number had doubled just for C, S and N. Plenty of material to build a crowd-pleasing set from. 

I had seen CSN the previous Summer in a much different environment, in-doors at the Hartford Civic Center. I am not sure if it was the novelty of seeing them for the first time or if it was an objectively great show, but I was bowled over at the time and have really great memories of that concert. Over the years I played the hell out of the tape I have of that show. 

I do not remember my in-the-moment impressions of this show, but I do have a memory sense that I was underwhelmed. I think this is one of the first concerts I attended where I noticed in real-time that I was surrounded by the "wine-and-cheese crowd". That said, the show itself was mostly of the greatest hits variety and hit all of the notes it should (even if the singers didn't - zing!), all while including the obligatory bathroom breaks, er, new songs. It was a solidly professional affair.

It is a bit difficult to discuss any show at this location without talking about the venue itself, Lake Compounce Festival Park in Bristol, CT. Lake Compounce opened in 1846(!) and is the oldest continuously-operating amusement park in the United States. With that much history, there are many things to note about the Park: rumors of its haunted history; the 1989 "lip synch incident" that sparked the downfall of Milli Vanilli; and the one thing I knew about and which impacted me deeply at the time, Lake Compounce's notorious traffic!

Carry On:

Listen to this show on YouTube

Rolling Stone Music Now: The Life and Death of David Crosby

Spotlight On Ronnie Schneider, the tour accountant and business manager for the 1969 Rolling Stones tour

"The Oral History of CSNY's 'Doom Tour'" in Rolling Stone

Crosby, Stills, and Nash with the Fabulous Thunderbirds in Hartford, CT, August 29, 1987

Urban Dictionary: Wine and Cheese Liberal

DamnedCT: Lake Compounce Hauntings

Video of Milli Vanilli Lake Compounce Lip-Synching Incident

1988 New York Times piece on Lake Compounce - and its traffic