Concert Reviews of the Moment - San Diego, CA, 10/29/08

Calgary, 10-19-08, Photo by Joshua Sawka, Regina Leader-Post

Here are a couple of Concert Reviews of the Moment of Neil Young in San Diego, CA, 10/29/08.

LONG LIVE NEIL YOUNG!!!

Sorry to the fans in L.A. Hope he can re-schedule something.

Neil Young right now is at the top of his game.

Last night was one of THE best shows I have ever attended. The first time I saw him was in 1968 (or maybe it was 1969....it was ths 60's after all) with The Buffalo Springfield and since then I have seen him a dozen times or more times with many different bands. With Crazy Horse, CSN, Friends and Relatives, Booker T and the MG's, solo, and last nights group of musicians. Small venues and large Neil has never disappointed this life long fan. But after attending last nights show I'm convinced he has never been better.He is at the top of his game!

The energy level that comes from the stage is almost life altering. After the concert I couldn't sleep. I would stir constantly and find myself thinking about what I had just experienced. It affects you, a Neil Young concert.

Neil Young has an ability to pass energy on to who ever cares to recieve. You think to yourself, how can this guy maintain this kind energy level through his music, night after night while touring the world. But he does.

This morning I felt energized, even though I hadn't slept much. Energy comes from doing something you are passionate about. Neil Young is passionate about his music. It is obvious at any of his shows. You feel it..physically.

Maybe "Just Singing a Song Can't Change the World" but a career of songs delivered with passion and with the energy level that I experienced, last night can certainly change the people lucky enough to have seen Neil Young at the top of his game!!

LONG LIVE NEIL YOUNG!!

Also, from Anonymous:

Sucks about the LA cancellation but Neil is just keeping true to himself, and he will reschedule just hang in there because no matter how long you wait it is completely well worth it, the San Diego show blew me away. He may be in his 60's but I have never been to a more wonderful concert. There were various instruments, tons of songs, and his guitar notes would just linger... his voice was super strong as well, not as high as back in the day but still beautiful. All the while I couldn't help but be amazed at his musical skills and I had never seen anyone that talented play before, it was great and it was truly rock and roll. He was so humble about it, he just did his thing and it seemed like he blushed when after every song he was getting a standing ovation and I think he didn't talk much because the audience was screaming the ENTIRE show, I mean they never let up it was just that great!

Overall, if that was the one Neil Young show I was blessed to see in my life I would be 100% satisfied with that. If I ever see him again I would love it more, but it was probably my favorite concert I've ever been too. My favorite song would have to be Old Man and he played it and it was beautiful and definite emotional but the song with most energy would have to be keep on rocking in the free world...the lights illuminate the crowd and everyone was into it screaming and cheering and dancing...And for the encoure he came back to cover a Beatles song. This last song he proceeded to break every single string on his guitar but still continued playing. I loved it, I'm still thinking about it friday morning, super powerful and amazing.

Neil Young only enforced my belief ROCK AND ROLL WILL NEVER DIEEEEEEEEE

More on Neil Young in San Diego, CA, 10/29/08 and 2008 Fall North American Tour and Concert Reviews.

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Boo! Happy Halloween!

Boo!

Which reminds us of the monster concert Neil did in Hamilton, Ontario, Oct 31, 1996 with a 24 song set that went for nearly 3 hours. Here's a report from HyperRust: Neil Days In Canada by Mark Klus a.k.a. "Powderfinger".

Happy Halloween!



A very cool pumpkin carving for Halloween. Here's one from Neil fans Kurt & Lisa. Thanks!

Lastly, don't forget, tonight is "Neil Young Night" on BBC Four!

Director of the documentary Ben Whalley and author Barney Hoskyns today discussed the rare interviews and film not previously broadcast.

They seemed to agree that Young’s up there with Dylan as a songwriter, singer, musician and performer. They said he’s ‘less cerebral, more instinctual’ than Bob. They spoke about Neil matching the intensity and danger of the Rolling Stones with the lyricism of Dylan. He’s able to do ‘loud and intense’ and also ‘soft, quiet and tender’ - absolutely brilliantly.

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LincVolt Webcast This Morning

There will be a live webcast from the Lincvolt Garage today.

Scheduled guests for today's show are Lincvolt, Neil Young, Johnathan Goodwin, Paul Perrone and Ari Yallon.

Show begins around 10:30am PST and runs throughout the day.



Join the Lincvolt crew in a live chat at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/live-from-the-lincvolt-garage .

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CANCELED - Tonight's Los Angeles Concert

Neil Young has canceled tonight's Oct. 30 Los Angeles/Inglewood Forum concert.

Neil Young has called off his concert scheduled for Thursday night at the Forum in Inglewood rather than ask his fans to cross a picket line that the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees said they would set up at the arena, which has a long history of labor disputes with IATSE.

"I am extremely disappointed to have to choose between satisfying my fans or backing my brothers and sisters of the IATSE," Young said in a statement issued late tonight (Wednesday) from San Diego, where he was performing on his way to L.A.

"I will miss playing in Los Angeles and apologize to my fans for the inconvenience this has caused," Young's statement said. Young and his wife, Pegi, are honorary lifetime members of IATSE.

The L.A. show will be rescheduled for next year, according to his publicist. Those holding tickets to the Forum show may get refunds at the point of purchase.

I'm proud to be a union man
I make those meetings when I can, yeah
I pay my dues ahead of time
When the benefits come I'm last in line, yeah.

I'm proud to be a union man.

-"UNION MAN" from Hawks And Doves (1980) - Human Highway Lyrics Database

More on the labor dispute, union busting, and religious greed on Justice at the FORUM.

Also, see Neil Young 2008 Fall North American Tour and Concert Reviews.

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San Diego, CA Concert Reports

Neil Young will be performing tonight at Cox Arena - San Diego State University, San Diego, California.

Got a report? Drop a comment below. No registration required.

Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates. Also, see Grid Chart on Rust Radio.

Also, see Neil Young 2008 Fall North American Tour and Concert Reviews and the right, middle sidebar for continuous real time RSS feed updates.

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2008 Bridge School Concert Highlights

2008 Bridge School Concert Highlights Part 1


Part 2

Excerpts from the 22nd annual Bridge School Concerts at Shoreline Amphitheater.

Support the school by downloading songs from the Bridge School Collection on iTunes. Visit www.bridgeschool.org for more info.

Thanks BridgeSchooler!

Also, see photos and reviews of Bridge School 22nd Annual Benefit Concert.

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Archives Volume 1 Pre-Order on Amazon, Seriously

Folks know that we've all been following The Neil Young Archives saga for many, many years.

Rumors float by. News comes and goes. Fans give up hope. Some pray for its release before their demise.

We all got pretty excited earlier this year with the announcement at the Sun JavaOne Conference Keynote with Neil Young.

So the latest is that the Neil Young Archives Volume 1 (1963 - 1972) 10 Disc Blue-Ray can now be pre-ordered on Amazon.com. (And if enough folks buy it here, Thrasher's Wheat will be able to actually hire someone to deal with our mailbox! Just kidding... about the hiring not the pre-order.)

Blu-Ray version list Price is $431.99 and Amazon.com has it for $301.99 (includes FREE with Super Saver Shipping, which helps a bit!!!). There is also a regular DVD version on Amazon for $240.99.

This title will be released on January 27, 2009.

(NOTE: It has been reported that Amazon pre-orders do not actually charge your credit card until the item ships. So if you're worried about a pre-order of the Archives never coming or canceled or delayed (and who wouldn't?!) then you will not have funds debuted).

Running time listed at 1,200 minutes -- 20 hours! But no track listing as of yet. But here's an approximate guess.

Here's the preview:


So will The Archives be released before Time Fades Away??? When we started the release TFA petition awhile back it seemed inconceivable. Yet, it might just happen.

Naturally, all this Blu-Ray stuff causes confusion as eddy eccoasked:

I was wonderin'----would any of you know--can you play a blu Ray disc on a regular DVD until one gets a Blu-Ray machine?

Here's an answer:

"All Blu-ray players are backward compatible to play DVDs. The Sony PS3 is considered to be the best BD player and it also has an ethernet port for Internet connection. In addition, the Sony PS3 is continually having updates, which are downloadable from the Internet for free. Many other players don't have this ability and are stuck with whatever firmware ships with the player.

Connecting to the Internet with the Archives Blu-ray set enables the owner to download (for free) new content whenever Neil makes it available. This could be music and video downloads, more archival materials, tour info and special offers.

The regular DVD edition is interactive as much as the Fillmore or Massey Hall DVDS were.

The major differences between the BD and DVD archive editions are that the BD version has 24/192 audio, a HD picture (which means EVERYTHING looks better), the ability to navigate thru the archives while the music plays, Blu-ray style pop up menus and advanced navigation.

Having tested both the DVDs and Blu-ray discs from this set, I can tell you that without a doubt the BD version blows away the DVD in every respect.

Thanks for the clarification Neil! ;)

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Sugar Mountain Website Updated

The Neil Young setlist site Sugar Mountain has been updated with a new look and functionality.

You can now query concerts by Tour, Band, Date, Song, Venue, City, State/Province and Country.

Also, a few vital statistics have been compiled such as the Most Played Neil Young Song:

1. Powderfinger 641
2. Heart Of Gold 598
3. Cinnamon Girl 585
4. After The Gold Rush 528
5. The Needle And The Damage Done 495
6. Old Man 484
7. Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black) 478
8. Like A Hurricane 478
9. Rockin' In The Free World 468
10. Down By The River 448
11. Sugar Mountain 403
12. Cortez The Killer 391
13. Mr. Soul 360
14. Comes A Time 355
15. Helpless 334
16. Ohio 279
17. Southern Man 254
18. Tonight's The Night 247
19. Harvest Moon 231
20. Roll Another Number 228

So if anyone is wonderin' if the 2008 concert tour is a greatest hits tour, of the Top 20 All-Time Most Performed, 9 of the songs are in the current core setlist:

Helpless
Hey Hey, My My
Powderfinger
Cortez The Killer
Cinnamon Girl
The Needle And The Damage Done
Heart Of Gold
Old Man
Rockin' In The Free World

Thanks Tom H.! Looks great!

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Randomly Blogged - Sugar Mountain Preview, MP3 Covers, Nils Lofgren

"Sugar Mountain" Preview Review - Uncut.co.uk

From The Blues are still Blue:
Radiohead covers Neil Young's "On The Beach" [mp3]

NEIL YOUNG Photo Gallery by PHIL REGENDANZ

From rawkblog.blogspot.com:
Elliott Smith - "Harvest Moon" [mp3]
Elliott Smith - "Out on the Weekend" [mp3]

Six Questions (And Then Some) For ... Nils Lofgren

From Largehearted Boy: Daily Downloads :
Drive-By Truckers: 2008-09-14, Gainesville - 'Rockin' in the Free World (Neil Young cover)' [mp3]

From tuck's music journal: Neil Young tribute in Parkersburg, West Virginia:

The final event in the 2008 Americana Music Tribute series is less than two weeks away; Friday, November 7th at 8 pm at the 5th St. Pub, we will be holding a Neil Young tribute. Local musicians will be playing sets of songs from Neil and his various eras/ counterparts. A $5 donation helps support the work of Children's Home Society of WV here in the Parkersburg area with children and families.

Auction for Broken Arrow Magazine back issues on eBay. Additional issues linked from sellers name.

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