CONCERT: Neil Young, Dallas, TX - Thursday, April 17, 2014 - Show #1

Neil Young
Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center - Dallas, TX
Photos by Brad Loper/Staff photographer

Setlist (from comments below):
1. From Hank To Hendrix
2. On The Way Home
3. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
4. Love In Mind
NO Philadelphia
5. Mellow My Mind
NO Reason to Believe
6. ARE U READY FOR COUNTRY
7. Someday
8. Changes
9. Harvest
10. Old Man
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NO Goin Back
12. POCAHANTAS 12 String!
13. A Man Needs A Maid
14. Ohio
15. Southern Man
16. Mr. Soul
17. If You Could Read My Mind
Argue with over zealous fan
18. Harvest Moon
19. RED RIVER VALLEY harmonica
19. After The Gold Rush
20. Heart Of Gold
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21. Thrasher

From dallasnews.com by Robert Wilonsky:

I would love to share with you the story Neil Young told Thursday night about his Martin D-28, which once belonged to Hank Williams and shared the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center stage with him on what was for the most part a very special night. But I can’t, because Young wasn’t allowed the opportunity to share the tale. He tried. He held “Hank” in his hands and began recalling that trip to Nashville, when, from the balcony, to Young’s left, a man began shouting: “Play it! Play it!” At which point the 68-year-old who’s been making music since high school reminded the crowd that no one tells Neil Young what to do.

“I don’t think I’m gonna play it,” he said. Beneath his black wide-brimmed hat, he grinned a little. But you could tell: He was not pleased. The heckling continued, because this is just what some people do: spend hundreds of dollars to see their heroes, only to steal their spotlight.

“What, do I work?” Young said, the good humor now completely gone from his voice. “Is this a job? I’m trying to recall the last time I did something expressly because someone told me to do it.” The rest of the crowd cheered, almost as though it were trying to distract Young or jolt him back into the jovial mood he’d been in moments earlier, following a version of “Mr. Soul” played on a pump organ. Instead he just played the next song: “Harvest Moon,” one of the more beautiful entries in a canon filled with tenderhearted melodies. But Young strummed the guitar a little harder than usual, and didn’t so much sing its simple, sentimental lyrics (“When we were lovers/I loved you with all my heart”) as he did spit them out.

And when it was done, even Young seemed taken aback by the performance. “Funny — that song is not supposed to be angry,” he said, almost to himself. “There was a little anger in that one.” Then, glaring toward the balcony, he said to his heckler, “You get what you demand.”

When Neil Young is Playing, You Shut the Fuck Up

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Dallas Rustfest - Thursday at 4:00pm
http://www.jorgestexmex.com/

Neil Young performs solo concert at Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, Texas, tonight, Thursday, April 17 & Friday, 18, 2014.

Got a report? Drop us a comment below.

Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates and Chronological Grid, Recording Summary, Statistics and Extras.

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More Thoughts on The Return of “Thrasher” by Neil Young After 36 Year Absence

Neil Young
Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, 04/02/2014
Photo by Jeff Allen
(Click photo to enlarge)

For some, the return of “Thrasher” into Neil Young's setlist after a 36 year absence rivals the rarity of the impending ‘Blood Moon’ Full Lunar Eclipse Tetrad during a Cardinal Grand Cross in The Chinese Year Of The Wood Horse .

So naturally, much chatter among Neil Young fans about the reemergence of “Thrasher” during Neil Young's solo run Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, CA. The song “Thrasher” by Neil Young was last performed in concert 36 years ago in 1978 on the Rust Never Sleeps tour.

So why now? Was there any particular motivation of Neil to perform this rarity in 2014 in Los Angeles?

Just before performing the “Thrasher” encore on the 3rd night in Los Angeles (April 1), Neil Young said:

"This song, uh, you know, I did it, I haven't done it that much in my life, because, at a very vulnerable moment I read something about it. Just like the worst fucking review I've ever read. So, for all you reviewers, if you feel like your words don't mean anything, you're probably right. In that case.. in that case, they were damaging. So, anyway, we uh .. I think I got this uh.. I think this is the one here, I hope so.."

(Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/roel-van-dijk/bad-trasher-review-rant-neil Thanks Roel!)

So just what review from the past caused Neil to ditch “Thrasher”?

It does not appear to have been a review in a major publication at the time after surveying coverage in Rolling Stone, TIME, New York Times, etc. All reviews were very positive of the tour, album and film with none referencing “Thrasher” negatively.

From comment on Comment of the Moment: Thoughts on “Thrasher” by Pieceofcdap:

@Matthew: he might be refering to the infamous Time Magazine review of 1978, which compared Young's and Bob Dylan's shows that year. Reviewer praised Young but thrashed Dylan, then on his Elvis-inspired Budokan-tour, which seems to have upset Young very much. According to Cameron Crowe in Rolling Stone ("The Last American Hero", feb. 8, 1979) he thought it was "irresponsible journalism" and "Disco attitude". Might make sense, since he obviously never played Thrasher again, until now.

Roel van Dijk on Rusties | Facebook speculates:

I think there is a good chance that review is in Archives Volume II. I suspect they came across the review while going through the material for the next Archives, and Neil decided to try the song again. Just guessing here.

And since when did Neil Young ever care about reviews? We found this to be quite puzzling especially given the earlier AMBULANCE BLUES and with the lyrics “So all you critics sit alone ”.

Neil in book "Shakey" by Jimmy McDonough on reviews
(Thanks Ralf!)

As for the timing of "very vulnerable moment", Richard B. hypothesizes that in the summer of 1979, when both the Rust Never Sleeps album and film were released, Neil and Pegi were coming to terms with Ben's illness.

Our thoughts? Well, for us at the moment, the significance of Neil Young playing “Thrasher” for the 1st time in 36 years is that the song was directed at all of the PONO doubters out there.

So will PONO be vindicated similar to Young's solo career without CSN? In the immortal lyrics of Young's most "Dylanesque magnum opus":

But me I'm not stopping there,
Got my own row left to hoe
Just another line in the field of time
When the thrashers comes, I'll be stuck in the sun
Like the dinosaurs in shrines
But I'll know the time has come
To give what's mine.

TONIGHT's THE NIGHT!
‘Blood Moon’ Full Lunar Eclipse Tetrad during a Cardinal Grand Cross in The Chinese Year Of The Wood Horse
(Click photo to enlarge)

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NEW DATE: Monte-Carlo - Neil Young and Crazy Horse on August 7th

Neil Young and Crazy Horse will be in concert in Monaco for the Monte-Carlo Sporting Summer Festival, Thursday, 7th August 2014.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse Concert - Thursday 7 August 2014

Monte-Carlo Sporting Summer Festival 2014 

Salle des Etoiles, Sporting Monte-Carlo

 

Show: 80 € per person

Doors open: 19.30

Show: 20.30

 

***Proper attire and jacket required***

Children must be at least 7 years old and accompanied by their parents

Valet parking

 

For more information, please consult the official website of the Monte-Carlo Sporting Summer Festival.

Here's the Europe tour dates for Neil Young and Crazy Horse thus far:



2014-07-07, Laugardalshöllin, Reykjavík, Iceland

2014-07-10, Live At The Marquee, Cork, Ireland

2014-07-12, Hyde Park, London, England

2014-07-13, Echo Arena, Liverpool, England

2014-07-15, KüçükÇiftlik Park, Istanbul, Turkey

2014-07-17, Yarkon Park, Tel-Aviv, Israel

2014-07-20, Münsterplatz, Ulm, Germany

2014-07-21, Collisioni Festival, Barolo, Italy

2014-07-23, Wiener Stadthalle, Wien, Austria

2014-07-25, Warsteiner Hockeypark, Mönchengladbach, Germany

2014-07-26, Filmnächte am Elbufer, Dresden, Germany

2014-07-28, Zollhafen - Nordmole, Mainz, Germany

2014-07-30, København Forum, København, Denmark

2014-08-01, Bergenhus Festning - Koengen, Bergen, Norway

2014-08-05, Lokerse Feesten, Lokeren, Belgium

2014-08-08, Foire aux Vins de Colmar, Colmar, France



Thanks Tom on Sugar Mountain!

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PONO Now 3rd highest Kickstarter Crowdfunding Campaign Of All Time

PONO Reaches #3 Top Campaign
Kickstarter Campaigns
(Click photo to enlarge)   Neil Young’s PONO Music Kickstarter campaign has become the 3rd highest Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign of all time.

PONO moved ahead of Veronica Mars with 5 days left in their funding project. PONO has now raised over $6,000,000 from over 17,000 backers. Congratulations PONO Team!

From the PONO Team:

Pono means righteous. It is a Hawaiian word, the one, the pureness. On behalf of Pono, we thank you for helping us give music a voice. You have helped to set the stage for a revolution in music listening. Finally, quality enters the listening space so that we can all hear and feel what the artists created, the way they heard and felt it.

This is done when the artist makes the best available, wanting to share it with you. It happens when the artist lets you hear and feel more than what is on your CD or MP3 of any song. CDs and MP3s are derived from the original masters, and now, with the PonoPlayer, you can finally feel the master in all its glory, in its native resolution, CD quality or higher, the way the artist made it, exactly. That’s the beauty of Pono.

It’s been a long time coming. It was not easy getting this far, but you made it happen by supporting Pono’s vision for better listening. We have been working with the labels, with the artists and producers, and we will continue to do that. We go to the source to find the best and bring it to you. Pono wants to preserve the history of music, in all of its beauty and expression, for all time. Forever.

There is a way to do this right, and we are going to do it. We will be sharing how we will do this with you over the next few months, while we build your first ever PonoPlayers. We are going to do some revolutionary things. We will make music available in a way that has never been done, a way that allows for constantly attaining the best listening experience.

Thank you to the artists, the recording companies, big and small, and most of all, thanks to you music lovers for making this happen with your amazing support.

Thanks for listening,

Neil Young & the PonoMusic team.

From Neil Young's Long Fight to Restore the Quality of Music by Seth Fiegerman:

The goal of the campaign wasn't to raise funds but rather to raise awareness by introducing the idea to a broader audience. Hamm says the company did quietly raise funding through traditional means to finance getting the player to prototype stage as well as setting up contracts with the major record labels. PonoMusic had been in talks with about 10 parties for a followup funding round, but he says "they probably wouldn't have been deals we would have liked at that point." Following the success of the Kickstarter campaign, the company is seeing more investor interest. The plan is to do an equity financing round in May or June.

The next step for PonoMusic will be to make good on delivering pre-ordered devices starting in October as well as to build up its content library of high-quality tracks provided by the major and independent labels. Beyond that, the company is evaluating whether and how to innovate with home stereo systems to car systems. The team argues that the Kickstarter campaign is validation that there is a market for high-quality music beyond just a handful of audiophiles.

"I'm gratified by the amount of pledges that we've had," Young says. "It's going to be challenging for us to keep up with the demand for Pono now that we have the ball rolling, but we will do it."

Neil Young
PONO Launch @ SXSW - March 11, 2014
Image: Dustin Finkelstein/Getty Images Entertainment
(Click photo to enlarge)

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Comment of the Moment: Thoughts on “Thrasher”

Neil Young
Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, 04/02/2014
Photo by Jeff Allen
(Click photo to enlarge)

The Comment of the Moment is from Thoughts on “Thrasher”: Neil Young Last Performed 36 Years Ago by setlistthief:

The reemergence of Thrasher reminds us that the best songs are alive and changing. So it is with the 2014 performance.

When Neil first wrote and performed this song he was in his early thirties-a time when most of us finally feel like we're grownups. Indeed, Neil had already seen so much life and death, joy and tragedy up close. Thrasher seems to be a reaction to all that; the CSNY breakup. Danny and Bruce's deaths, the birth of his kids, Carrie, the longing to get away from it all. The song is full of metaphor and imagery like no other NY composition, describing childhood memories, dreams, life and death. Indeed, every line is precious, not a word wasted, following a chronological narrative from young to old. How Neil at a tender young age could write those words and set them to a simple, gorgeously rendered melody true to a traditional folk song structure is beyond astonishing. It is truly unique.

But now the song looks back over a life. In that context, it becomes something else, a chronicle, a memoir. That's what makes it alive.

"But me I'm not stopping there,
Got my own row left to hoe
Just another line in the field of time
When the thrasher comes I'll be stuck in the sun
Like the dinosaurs in shrines
But I'll know the time has come
To give what's mine"

My God. Those words in 2014 mean something completely different than they did in 1978. But the meaning hasn't changed at all, either.

ps - And another thing...we think of Neil Young's songs as intensely personal, but ultimately what he writes is incredibly universal. Who hasn't watched westerns on their mama's TV? Who hasn't watched eagles and vultures soaring in the western sky? Who hasn't wondered how they lost their friends? And how many of us aren't becoming aware of our own mortality?

For me the most poignant line is "I was feelin' like my day had just begun." Sung by a man pushing 70, it serves to remind me how much more I want to accomplish in my life. With all his acccomplishments of the last decade (going back to Greendale) imagine how Neil Young feels.

Thanks setlistthief! Yes, quite eerie and prescient the lyrics of “Thrasher” relative to today's times. Certainly the hallmark of great art -- timeless.

More Thoughts on “Thrasher”: Neil Young Last Performed 36 Years Ago.

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In Memory of The Red Baron: Human Highway Founder Completes Final Upload To Cloud

Dr. Rainer B., AKA “The Baron,” “Baron Rouge” and “Dr. Nusskopf”
Co-Founder of Neil Young Fan Community Human-Highway.org
It is with great sadness that we report on the passing of a dear friend and Neil Young Fan Rainer B., AKA “The Baron,” “Baron Rouge” and “Dr. Nusskopf”, the co-Founder of Neil Young Fan Community Human-Highway.org.

The passing of our long time friend Rainer is quite sad for us. Having known him online virtually for 20 years, we finally met last summer in Berlin when Neil Young & Crazy Horse toured Europe.

To finally meet in person at the Berlin Human Highway/Rust/ Tribute was tremendous — yet all too brief, regrettably. Thrasher’s Wheat website owes a great deal to Rainer for thoughts and technical guidance over the years. Rainer was both an ordinary and not so ordinary person. Too late, too soon, he sleeps with angels.

Dr. Rainer B. & Thrasher's Wheat Radio Crew
June 1, 2013 - Berlin, Germany

Dearest Zumans,

It is with deep, deep grief and profound sorrow beyond measure that I tell you this.
Our beloved list administrator and friend, Rainer, passed away last night after a short but courageous battle .

He did not want to go and he fought his illness with all the strength he had. He said to me: "I have to go
on and it will be a long and hard road. I've always been more like a long-distant walker."

He chose to keep what he was going through private - it was his German way.

He was fine during his trip to America last August but he started to feel unwell at the end of October last year. It was a shock as he had never been sick a day in his life, he said.

He loved his lists and his websites and all of you and believed strongly in his advertisement-free social media platforms he created to discuss all things Neil and whatever else turned up along the Human Highway.

"This is brilliant and beautiful" he always said and he paid for all this himself - including his beloved server "Cortez" that operates from Munich. All so we could continue to have a free, private exchange.

He cherished his once-in-a-lifetime trip to America and meeting some of his Zumans after 17 years.

He supported everything creative and urged people to "Just do it, just do something!" especially young musicians.

He was a brilliant, real Doctor of Physics and was highly respected at his employer the European Patent Office.

He had a zany sense of humor - Dr,Nusskopf - and a sense of wonder about all things in the universe.

I have so much to say and write but I am such a mess right now.

I loved him so much.

In the days to come we can share memories of him and we will put together a page on his websites. I do not know what will happen in the future, but somehow we will stay together.

Sharon

Cortez Server
Neil Young Fan Community Human-Highway.org
Our dearest Red Baron, this code's for you - just another line in the field of time. See you next time up in the Big Cloud.

More tributes and comments on Neil Young Fan Community Human-Highway.org.

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