DAVID CROSBY AT SANTA ANA SHOWS HE’S FINDING HIS WAY

When most people weren’t looking, someone rewrote the David Crosby script, transforming a tragic and disturbing tale into an uplifting story loaded with rooting interest. The person responsible for the rewrite, of course, is Crosby himself.

Only he can determine whether his pharmaceutical and legal troubles will remain part of the plot. But Thursday at the Kono Hawaii in Santa Ana, Crosby played his first Southland show since he was paroled in August from a Texas prison, where he was serving a five-year sentence on drug and weapons charges. And it was a stunning, emotion-packed performance.

Actually, the solo, acoustic show began inauspiciously. Seated, Crosby opened with “In My Dreams,” faltering when he tried to sing the high parts and grimacing when he hit a bad note on his guitar. But the shaky start turned out to be nothing more than shaky nerves.

After “Dreams,” he chatted with the standing-room-only crowd, mostly about serving time (“Hey, rock star, grab this mop. . . .”). From that point on, the mustachioed singer was relaxed and at the top of his game, sounding better than he has on local stages in years.

He injected such passion and indomitable spirit into each song that moldy-but-goody pieces like “Long Time Gone” and “Wooden Ships” seemed remarkably poignant, vital, and fresh.

Even more impressive were some outstanding new songs, including an exquisite one called “Compass.”

“For two or three years before I cleaned up, I couldn’t write anything,” he explained to the audience. But during his prison term he decided to try again, and came up with “Compass.” Then he added, “It’s a song about finding the way.” Clearly a theme Crosby thoroughly understands.

Thursday’s performance supplied encouraging answers to inquiries about David Crosby’s physical and artistic health. But it also raised a question: Why was his Southland comeback concert show held at Kono Hawaii?

After all, the club’s interior is distinguished by beach murals, an outrigger, and lots of bamboo and palm fronds. And the Santa Ana spot is still best known for presenting Hawaiian music by such groups as the Krush and the Society of Seven.

Not the type of venue you would expect Crosby to choose for such a significant show. It turns out the booking stems from a scheduled show that never materialized at the now-defunct Golden Bear.

Crosby was scheduled to perform last November at the Huntington Beach club. But he canceled at the last minute when warrants were issued for him that week in Texas, and he was trying to avoid arrest.

Since then, the Golden Bear was razed and owners Richard and Charles Babiracki have promoted a few shows at Kono Hawaii as Golden Bear Productions. So the way David Crosby viewed the Kono show, according to a Crosby spokesman, was as a “date he had booked before he went to jail . . . but couldn’t do because he was on the lam.”

Richard Babiracki believes that Crosby played Kono Hawaii not only to fulfill his obligation but also to extend his relationship with the Golden Bear. “It is a makeup show, but we’ve had a really good working relationship with David for a long, long time,” Babiracki said Thursday.

“(The Golden Bear) was basically the only place that he would play when he performed solo in Southern California in the past. So I’m certain that David would’ve wanted to play for us anyway.”