CONCERT PREVIEW
Crosby, Stills & Nash
8 p.m. Saturday. $52-$92. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 1-855-285-8499, www.foxtheatre.org.
The immortal quote that “after a nuclear holocaust, all that will be left are cockroaches and Cher” might need an addendum.
It seems David Crosby is just as indestructible.
The iconic folk singer-songwriter with the grandfatherly mustache has survived drug addiction, prison time and, 20 years ago, a liver transplant. He has hepatitis C and diabetes.
Shortly after a pleasant chat last month about his new solo album, “Croz,” and the current Crosby, Stills & Nash tour, Crosby was hospitalized for a heart procedure.
That setback — a cardiac catheterization and angiogram that likely prevented a heart attack — forced the postponement of the remainder of his solo tour until April.
But the first weekend of March, a hearty-looking Crosby took the stage in Richmond, Va., with bandmates Stephen Stills and Graham Nash to kick off a monthlong tour with a 25-song set that included such gems as “Southern Cross,” “Teach Your Children,” “Our House” and a sprinkle of solo songs from the trio.
CSN, which is backed by five additional musicians onstage, heads to the Fox Theatre on Saturday. The band also recently announced that it’ll return for another round of U.S. dates in July.
During our pre-heart procedure interview, the 72-year-old Crosby said from his California home that he was feeling “GREAT!” – not just “great” – and was routinely exercising and eating healthily.
He was also audibly happy, especially when discussing “Croz,” his first solo album in 20 years. It was released at the end of January.
Crosby co-wrote the album with James Raymond, the son he put up for adoption in the 1960s and reunited with in the late ’90s.
“I mostly write by myself, but with James, I have a very close connection. I guess it’s genetic. We kind of know where the other one is going, and there is a very good chemistry there,” Crosby said. “It’s just an incredible gift to work with him. He’s such a talented cat.”
“Croz” took about two years to assemble, with the recording taking place in Raymond’s garage while his dad dozed on the couch in between sessions.
“The album worked because of the generosity of our friends … they would come and play for free,” Crosby said, adding that despite what the public might assume about a rock star’s bank account, his isn’t exactly overflowing. “I just didn’t save. I blew it.”
While Crosby isn’t a huge fan of touring for extended periods — “I don’t like being away from my family or being alone in a hotel room or eating every meal in a restaurant,” he said — he endures because of the music.
The hits, of course, are well-placed throughout CSN’s set, but Crosby and his comrades will frequently add or subtract some musical shadings to keep things fresh for themselves.
“We’ll take some chances. Nash and I might sing something differently just for the fun of it. If you do the songs the same every night, that’s pretty tough,” Crosby said.
In Nash’s book, “Wild Tales: A Rock & Roll Life,” released last fall, the British component of CSN refers to Crosby as his closest friend. It’s a description Crosby doesn’t discount.
“He and I sing together like a couple of old fighter pilots. We kind of know each other amazingly,” Crosby said.
There’s a different kind of love for the erstwhile Neil Young, who is currently working on another album and book as well as helping develop Pono, a high-resolution digital music download service and music player set to debut in October. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that CSNY is extinct. Or maybe it is. No one is ever quite sure, it seems.
“It’s difficult to know. He already told us once that he was going to (be back with us) and changed his mind, and now he’s making noises that he wants to do it again,” Crosby said. “God bless Neil. I love him and I love working with him because he so completely wants to push the edge, but he’s a very mercurial guy. I can’t count on him, but I do love to play with him.”
