CSN brings harmonies to Bangor> Two generations savor veteran rockers’ hits

Three talented veteran musicians raised their voices in song Tuesday night. And the people danced.

Crosby, Stills and Nash, bringing their musical catalog of nearly 30 years, drew an enthusiastic crowd to the Bangor Auditorium, the first of two Maine stops for the trio.

Sure, the long hair, bushy beards and tie-dye clothing revealed that there were quite a few in attendence that remembered when the three enjoyed their heyday, back in the late ’60s and early ’70s. But it was the children of that generation who were dancing in the aisles Tuesday.

Crosby, Stills and Nash took the stage 15 minutes late, to the strains of Stephen Stills’ “Love the One You’re With.” The audience followed that opener with the first of many standing ovations.

CSN gave the audience of more than 2,500 the hits they had come to hear, including “Marrakesh Express,” “Wooden Ships” and “Hopelessly Helping.”

But the trio wasn’t content to be just a nostalgia act, as they served up a healthy dose of new material, including David Crosby’s lament to the Doors’ lead singer, “Morrison,” which he had written with his recently discovered son, James Brandon. Graham Nash offered his heart-rending ode to the children killed in the Oklahoma City bombing, “Half Your Angels.”

They also played creative rearrangements of old tunes, including Crosby’s solo tune “Thousand Roads” and Stills’ “49 Reasons.”

Crosby was a droll master of ceremonies. Explaining the band’s pecking order, he said, “Graham Nash wrote all the hits and made all the money. Stephen Stills wrote all the rock ‘n’ roll. I wrote the weird [crap].” The group then launched into “Deja Vu,” complete with pinwheeling psychedelic lights.

Stills provided a blistering lead guitar, with extended solos in most numbers. Gerald Johnson was an exuberant presence on bass, while Michael Finnegan on keyboards and Joe Vitale on drums tossed in enjoyable solos.

The evening slowed down after a 20-minute intermission, as the three musicians did a series of ballads including, surprisingly, the Beatles’ “In My Life.” But then they got people up and dancing again with “Won’t You Please Come to Chicago?” and “Dark Star” before crescendoing to “Southern Cross.”

CSN exited the stage, slightly, before returning to fulfill the crowd’s requests for “Teach Your Children” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” in the encore.

Then they left, leaving the audience wanting more on CSN’s next trip to Bangor.