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49 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, April 20, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend April 6, 2004 David Crosby rocks and rants as well as ever David Crosby is still cheesed off. A third of a century since "Teach Your Children," the Crosby, Stills and Nash song that galvanized a generation against the Vietnam War, the sweet- voice rocker is still cutting the powers that be no slack whatever. Crosby and his current band, CPR, Monday night hurled barbs at George W. Bush, the Iraq invasion and former Enron CEO and Bush pal Ken Lay in the Medford leg of the band’s Northwest swing (Seattle the next two nights). The political fusillades, along with the occasional rocker, put the upbeat in a mostly laid-back evening dominated by crafty musicianship and tasty vocals. CPR is Crosby, of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash fame, guitarist Jeff Pevar and keyboardist James Raymond, Crosby’s natural son. CPR has been together almost a decade (is that possible?), since the adopted Raymond did a birth record search and discovered in 1995 that the rock legend was his father. The reunion took place shortly before Crosby underwent a liver transplant that saved his life after years of substance abuse. Monday’s show, a pre-season Britt presentation, was marked by tight, CSN-like vocal harmonies, lyrical playing, odd, open-tuning chord structures, and the low-key, quirky personality of Crosby, who often sounded between numbers like your favorite, slightly off-center uncle. The nice, percussion-driven ballad "Through Here Quite Often" set the early tone. Crosby didn’t pick up a guitar until several songs into the set, remarking that, "Many things seem like a good idea at the time." The first set was dominated by ballads with weird tunings and plenty of heart, with Crosby occasionally playing an acoustic guitar and swapping leads with Pevar’s various guitars and Raymond’s keyboards. The first rocker was "They Want it All," a song about the Enron scandal which Crosby introduced as a "p——d-off rocker," which it is (sample lyric: "They always want a president or two/That’s how they get away with what they do"). With Crosby on electric guitar and the volume up, the tune brought life to a show threatening to sag under the weight of the slow stuff. Advertisement "Jesus of Rio," a Graham Nash tune, mixed Pevar’s strings and Raymond’s keyboard textures with Crosby’s voice in a beautiful song about fears and tears and the search for meaning and dignity. It was a nice first set, with some sublime moments in the ballads, but sometimes becoming a bit draggy. The mix at times seemed to lack presence, making Crosby’s high, sweet vocals sometimes hard to understand. The band came out of the gate for the second set with the familar, almost Elizabethan chords of the Crosby chestnut "Guinevere" from CSN’s debut album. The song, with only Crosby, Pevar and Raymond on stage, cast a spell of the ’60s for a minute or two. Then it was back to protest. "If you don’t think war is great way to solve problems, they call you un-American," Crosby said to introduce an idiosyncratic, Michael Hedges-like version of "America" ("My Country ’Tis of Thee"), done straight. But CPR were generally at their best in socially conscious rockers like "American Ghost Town," an anthem about homeless people. "It isn’t funny," Crosby said to the chuckles that greeted his introduction to the tune. And it wasn’t, it was a song about social injustice that took up an unfashionable cause, the plight of the homeless ("Damned if I do/damned if I don’t"). Crobsy has come through about as much as anybody to make it to his 60s, including super stardom, drug addiction, a bust that led to a year in Texas jails before it was overturned, the liver transplant, business reversals, an earthquake and more, with voice and spirit intact. Whether or not he has subdued all his demons, he sounds like a happy man. Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times