A new live album captures the energy and excitement of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's early days as a band. Released in 2023, 'Live at Fillmore East, 1969' documents two sets played by the quartet on September 20, 1969, at the legendary New York City venue. The album features a mix of acoustic and electric songs, including classics like 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes', 'Helplessly Hoping', and 'Down by the River'. In a recent interview, band members Stephen Stills and David Crosby reflected on the recording and their early experiences as a band.
On September 20, 1969, Crosby , Stills , Nash & Young performed the fourth of four concerts over two nights at the Fillmore East in New York City. A month earlier, the quartet had played the now-legendary Woodstock festival - their set began at approximately 3 a.m. - which itself was just the band's second gig following its live debut the previous evening at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre.
Superstardom was on the horizon for this rock supergroup that combined former members of the Byrds (Crosby), the Hollies (Nash) and Buffalo Springfield (Stills and Young). 'Déjà Vu,' the first album by CSNY following a 1969 LP credited to Crosby, Stills & Nash, would top the Billboard 200 in May 1970 on its way to a Grammy nomination for album of the year and eventual sales of more than 7 million copies. That night at the Fillmore, though, the band was still figuring itself out. A new concert album captures the moment: 'Live at Fillmore East, 1969' documents the two sets CSNY played on September 20 - one acoustic, one electric - comprising 17 songs, including 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes' and 'Helplessly Hoping,' both from 'Crosby, Stills & Nash,' and '4 + 20' and 'Our House,' both of which would end up on 'Déjà Vu'; there's also a ripping 16-minute version of 'Down by the River,' from Young's 'Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere,' which had come out that May. Weeks before Nash, 83, and Stills, 80, performed together at last month's FireAid benefit concert, the two gathered on a Zoom call - Nash from 'yet another hotel room' before a tour stop in St. Louis, Stills from 'my extremely messy office-slash-bedroom' in Los Angeles - to discuss the live album, Joni Mitchell's return to the stage and their memories of Crosby, who died in 2023. Stephen, you famously said onstage at Woodstock that you guys were 'scared s—' because the festival was only the band's second time before an audience. I wondered whether that was still the case a month later at the Fillmore. Stills: Scared s— was gone by, I’d say, bar 16 of the first song at Woodstock. Nash: We did pretty good there. I’ve not actually seen the entire 'Woodstock' movie — I’ve seen Sebastian and Richie Havens — but we did pretty well. When we started the suite, it sounded fabulous to me. Wait, you’ve never seen all of 'Woodstock'? That seems insane. Nash: You know, Woodstock has taken on this incredible myth in the years since, and I understand why — it was an incredible gathering. But it’s gotten larger and larger and larger, the myth of it all. Stills: Quite frankly, Coachella is just as big now, so it’s like: So what? It was just the first time all the hippies of the world got together. You’d argue that the myth is now out of proportion with the event itself. Nash: We’re still talking about it. Stills: See? Do you remember playing the specific Fillmore show documented on this new live album? Stills: I have no specific memory of the show, but hearing the tape took me right back. We were a brand-new band just learning to play together electric. We were playing insufferably loud, which made it all the more surprising how good the singing was. Was insufferable the goal for the electric set? Stills: It was the trend — everyone played incredibly loud back then. The Hollies didn’t. Nash: That’s true. Stills: But big stacks of Marshalls were all the rage. I tortured my bandmates enough with those. Nash: When we made , we kind of realized that it was coming out at a time of Led Zeppelin and Hendrix and stuff. We thought that the acoustic-y feel to our first record would sneak its way through. And it did. Stephen, you said the music takes you right back. Does hearing it make you think about the relationships in the band? The culture at the time? Stills: This record reminds me of where we were maturity-wise. Graham was the seasoned bro, and David and I had had a stab at it. The Byrds had more more success — everybody had more success than the Buffalo Springfield — but we were as yet unformed. As for the culture, it’s like suddenly we were the spokesmen for it, which led to some disastrous things. A reporter sticks his microphone in your face and says, “So how are you going to change the world?” It got a little messy. But we lived. In 2014, you guys released 'CSNY 1974,' which documented a tour of stadiums the band played that summer. Looking back, which were better shows: the stadium gigs or those at theaters like the Fillmore? Nash: I prefer more intimate settings — when you can see their eyes and you can see that they’re appreciating it. Stills: The question is answered by the quality of the singing, and the quality of the singing in this concert is what made it for me, because we had our blend. By the time of that stadium tour, we were all moved to separate mics and there was lots of oversinging and overexcitement because you’re selling so big. Right before the Fillmore, you did seven nights at the Greek Theatre in L.A. Nobody does that anymore. Nash: Nobody has Joni Mitchell opening for them either
Crosby Stills Nash & Young CSNY Live At Fillmore East 1969 Fillmore East Woodstock Déjà Vu Stephen Stills David Crosby Rock Music
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