It was 2005, and we were at Milwaukee’s Summerfest to see David Crosby lead his own band. I had run to the bathroom before the show. On the way back to join my friends, I saw Crosby heading toward the stage.
He was a little ways off, walking away from where I stood — so I shouted distinctively: “Hey David! How about singing ‘Mind Gardens’ tonight?” As if he were awaiting a cue, his arm immediately went up with middle finger extended.
Crosby didn’t turn; he didn’t break stride. But his quick acknowledgement amused me greatly.
“Mind Gardens” is an odd tune that David Crosby wrote when he was still a member of the Byrds. It clutters the second side of their 1967 album Younger Than Yesterday. From Crosby’s reaction, I guessed he was not all that fond of “Mind Gardens” any longer. I didn’t really want to hear the song; I just wanted to needle him.
His set opened with a hot version of “Wooden Ships,” followed by a couple of tunes from his solo albums that I didn’t know. Then my friend bloodied some guy’s face for throwing beer on him, and we were escorted off the grounds by security. Just a normal evening at Summerfest.
So I don’t know what other tunes David Crosby played that night, but I’m pretty sure “Mind Gardens” wasn’t one of them.
Tom Wilmeth is a freelance writer who lives in Grafton, Wisconsin – former home of the Paramount Records label. He has a podcast called The Vinyl Approach, available on Spotify, and is the author of the book ‘Sound Bites: A Lifetime of Listening,’ a 2016 Muleshoe Press publication found on Amazon.
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