CS&N go for three-peat at Aladdin

Spencer Patterson

Friday, May 30, 2003 | 9:45 a.m.

Las Vegans who missed Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on their recent visits in 2000 and 2002 have another chance to catch the quartet in 2003. But this time, it will mean attending separate shows.

Returning to their more familiar trio configuration, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash play the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts on Saturday night at 8.

The concert kicks off an extended U.S. tour that continues through mid-September.

Young, an on-again, off-again member of the band, is back on his own after contributing to a new CSN&Y album in 1999 and participating in several subsequent tours. He plays The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel on July 26 with longtime backing band Crazy Horse.

Saturday's show will mark Crosby, Stills & Nash's first show at the Aladdin. Frequent Vegas performers since the mid-1990s, the folk-rock trio has previously played Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand Garden Arena and The Joint.

Over the past 35 years, Crosby, 61, Nash, 61, and Stills, 58, have recorded some of American music's most enduring anthems, including "Teach Your Children," "Our House" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes."

Who: Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Where: Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts.

When: 8 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets: $40-$65.

Call: 785-5000.

Opening act: None.

Personnel: David Crosby (vocals, guitar), Graham Nash (vocals, piano), Stephen Stills (vocals, guitar).

Additional musicians: David Santos (bass), Mike Finnigan (keyboard), Joe Vitale (drums).

Latest release: "Looking Forward" (Reprise, 1999).

Album feedback: " 'Looking Forward,' their first album since 1988's 'American Dream,' seems uninterested in perpetuating CSNY's status as pop icons. With the exception of three Neil Young songs ... the record pursues a happily tossed-off, first-take vibe." (Rolling Stone, *** 1/2); "Maybe they sensed this was their last shot, but their resurrection was nowhere near as embarrassing as it could have been, nor as desperately trendy as old-timer David Bowie's attempts to get down with Web-loving kids." (Entertainment Weekly, B).

Essential releases: "Crosby, Stills & Nash" (1969); "Deja Vu" (1970); "So Far" (1974).

What to expect: A hits-heavy, two-set affair -- broken by a 15-minute intermission -- with a smattering of deeper album cuts such as Nash's "Cathedral" and Stills' "Dark Star." The trio generally returns for a pair of short encores.

Recent set list: Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, Fla., April 30: (Set I) "Carry On"/"Questions," "Wild Tales," "Marrakesh Express," "The Lee Shore," "Deja Vu," "Military Madness," "Wasted on the Way," "Wounded World," "Dirty Little Secret," "Almost Cut My Hair," "Southern Cross." (Set II) "Cathedral," "In My Dreams," "Feed the People," "Lost Another One," "Ole Man Trouble," "Guinnevere," "Half Your Angels," "Our House," "Dark Star," "Wooden Ships." (Encore) "America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)," "Woodstock," "Teach Your Children." (from official site crosbystillsnash.com).

Tour feedback: "To be sure, CSN's 90-minute performance wasn't as exciting as their performances with Neil Young last year. Without him, CSN could never shift into fourth gear ... Ultimately it was the spirit and the nostalgic songs that carried the evening. Seldom do you see Rock and Roll Hall of Famers who are so playful and spontaneous in concert." (Minneapolis Star-Tribune).

Previous Las Vegas appearances: Sept. 7, 1984 (Caesars Palace); Sept. 8, 1984 (Caesars Palace); July 5, 1985 (Thomas & Mack); Dec. 1, 1995 (Hard Rock); Aug. 13, 1996 (Hard Rock); Feb. 28, 1997 (Caesars Palace); March 1, 1997 (Caesars Palace); March 2, 1997 (Caesars Palace); March 20, 1998 (Caesars Palace); March 21, 1998 (Caesars Palace); March 22, 1998 (Caesars Palace); Feb. 25, 1999 (Caesars Palace); Feb. 26, 1999 (Caesars Palace); Feb. 27, 1999 (Caesars Palace); Feb. 19, 2000 (MGM Grand); March 29, 2002 (MGM Grand). (from fansite hempelpai.com).

Says Crosby: "It's always up to Neil. He's the biggest bear. Neil is bigger by himself than the three of us put together, and we know that. The four of us are stronger even than Neil by himself, and he knows that, too. But he's the one that pretty defines when stuff happens." (Las Vegas Sun interview, 2002).