NOTE TO CONCERT-GOERS: Two different tribute bands currently use the name Our House. This is the one headed by Steve Postell.

The Sawtelle Supper Room at The Bull Run Restaurant was packed with 300 music fans. As usual in this intimate venue, we all ate well, first. Then we were treated to several hours of terrific music and musicianship. Given the supreme talent on the stage before us, we should not have been surprised that we were treated to a great performance.

Veteran guitarist Steve Postell put this group together. Let's first review the credits. Steve used to perform with David Crosby. He learned all of David's unusual guitar tunings and crazy chords from the songwriter himself, after David realized that his age and his health were slowing his own fingers down. They were planning a tour, when David passed away in 2023. Postell can easily finesse the haunting background of the song "Guinevere." Lead guitarist Jeff Pevar toured with Crosby and Nash. As a result, he also learned all of Stephen Stills' parts, so that he could fill them in for the duo. Pevar can drop a fierce rendition of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," seemingly at a moment's notice. Lead singer Kipp Lennon has been in a variety of groups, and he sang on one of Crosby's solo albums. (His older sisters used to make regular appearances on The Lawrence Welk Show.) Keyboardist and singer Theresa James, bassist Mike Visceglia and drummer Clint de Ganon have also spent their lives performing as professional musicians.

These folks KNOW. And it SHOWS.

The set list that they assembled was a work of art. It featured every song on the CSN&Y So Far album from 1974, which we often consider to be their "greatest hits" release. The mix also showcased the songwriting talents of all four members of the original band. Among the songs we heard tonight were Crosby's "Deja vu" and "Almost Cut My Hair," Stills' "You Don't Have to Cry" and "Love the One You're With," Nash's "Teach Your Children" and (of course) "Our House," and Young's "Helpless" and "Southern Man."

At the same time, the selections featured the musicianship of the six individuals on the stage. Everyone had a chance to shine. The highlights came through the lead guitars of Postell and Pevar. Witnessing them trade licks in songs like "Almost Cut My Hair" was well worth TWICE the price of admission. At times, it seemed as though the six-string mastery drew the focus away from the signature four-part vocals. Which was not necessarily a bad thing, either. After all, all four of the original band members played guitar.

Postell and his colleagues assumed -- and I think, rightly so -- that they were playing to an intelligent audience in terms of this music and the people and times that it represents. They felt no need to introduce the songs by name, since we pretty much knew each one by hearing just the first few notes or chords. The only exception Postell made to this guideline came in the first half of the show, when the group gave us "Bluebird," a tune written by Stills and recorded when he and Neil Young were with Buffalo Springfield. Otherwise, we were all in very familiar territory. So much so, that when we heard the opening notes of "Woodstock" and realized that it was to be the last song of the evening, Lennon told us that it was the ONLY song of the concert that was NOT written by Crosby, Stills, Nash or Young. "Instead," he said, "it was written by...." He pointed to the crowd for the answer, and many of us yelled in response, "JONI MITCHELL!" Yes, we were in familiar territory.

After a few minutes of raucous applause from the now-standing crowd, the group returned with the most appropriate encore possible. "Find the Cost of Freedom" segued right into "Ohio." These veteran musicians sent us home with a solid message: that songs written more than 50 years ago can still speak to us. They can still move us. They can still be relevant to the events of today.

Tonight, we heard great music. We sang along with the soundtrack of our past. We heard personal stories. We learned about the music and the people who originated it. We were granted insights that we couldn't get from anyone else. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the accompanying slideshow that the group uses in larger venues, featuring images by well-known celebrity photographer Henry Diltz. Maybe, next time.

Over the decades, I saw Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in a variety of combinations, and in a bunch of concerts. Some of those encounters remain special in my memory. (Crosby once signed my torn concert ticket and shook my hand, over the top of a chain-link fence behind the stage.) This performance will remain special in another way. It was the finest tribute indeed. And I had a chance to shake hands with Postell and to thank him after the show. I sure hope he and his friends continue to share this performance with other eager audiences. People deserve to hear it.