Boston-Worcester Concert Reviews: 12/13/08

Photo by Tim Bugbee

Hello,
On the road and mobile blogging at the moment but just wanted to drop a quick update.

I guess the Boston show will go down in the tourbook as the "Jackpot" show.

We hit a trifecta -- a hat trick -- a triple play -- 3 first time song performances:
- Cough Up The Bucks - Wall St bailout
- Fuel of the People - alternative energy
- Behind The Wheel - LincVolt love song

We were getting our first live performances of Fuel Line & Light A Candle.

So between the Philly and Boston shows we were also hearing live for the first time for us:
Just Singing A Song
When Worlds Collide
Sea Change

Cortez was simply sublime in it's majesty.

And then Day in a life - a mindblowing & life altering experience.

So in the last 2 days we've had 9 songs that we've never heard live before. It just doesn't get any better to be a Neil fan.

For the doubters of the new songs, we'll just say that sometimes it takes time for them to age and breathe to come into their own. The point being, that pushing ahead into new frontiers is sometimes more inspiring then plowing the same old ground. We like to call it taking a risk. Without risk there is no growth.

And who wouldn't plunk down a few $'s to hear Neil sing @ MSG in NYC -- blocks from Wall St. -- a song about corporate welfare and reckless greed? So we'll cough up the bucks to maybe hear "Cough up the Bucks" again! Afterall, it's only fuckin' money.

So what will Neil have in store for us in NYC tomorrow?

Lastly, there have been so many from the Neil fan communties of Rust, HH, RH, etc that we met up with. Thanks for everyone's encouraging support. It's appreciated.

But a special shout-out to Kathy, Summer of Love & Karen, Love & Affection for letting Thrasher crash on their couches. Love you guys!

We'll try and have more later but we need to hit the road. Got fuel to burn.

Thrasher

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Neil Young will be performing tonight at DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts.

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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Philadelphia Concert Reviews: 12/12/08

Cover photo by Joel Bernstein
Philadelphia Spectrum on either January 26 or 27, 1973

The album cover for the unreleased (on CD) "Time Fades Away" was taken at the Philadelphia Spectrum on the 1973 tour.

The Philadelphia Spectrum will be torn down next year to make way for the latest in trendy entertainment centers, but not before Neil Young plays a final concert tonight.

We're totally pumped up about this, have our GA floor tix in hand and are set for a road trip.

So bring a long stem rose to the concert and after the show, gather in front of the stage and we'll try and re-create the TFA album cover -- the holy grail of all Neil Young albums.

We'll be at McFadden's at Citizen's Bank Park, across Pattison Ave. from the Spectrum for the pre & post-show gathering.

The night is destined to be special with a full moon on the rise and a jumpin' tune. See you on the rail!

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Neil Young will be performing tonight at The Wachovia Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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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Ragged Glory Never Sleeps: Toronto Concert Review

From http://www.AltCountryTab.ca a concert review of Neil Young @ Toronto's Air Canada Centre, December 4, 2008 by Jules:

Ragged Glory Never Sleeps

Neil Young was in both his hard-rocking and acoustic folksinger modes on the first of two sold out shows at the Air Canada Centre. Fueled from last year’s successful Chrome Dreams Continental tour, where his shows started with an acoustic set, followed by a short intermission, and finishing with an electric set, tonight’s show was Crazy Horse-like from beginning to end, the intermission scrapped liked rusted metal.

Wearing a black paint-spattered jacket, white t-shirt and blue jeans, Neil took to an identical Massey Hall stage (of last December), a stage littered with standing lights, a wooden Indian to the left side and an old neon marquee filled with letters hanging above. This was vintage Neil, in that trance-like state, swaying back and forth. A rousing applause greeted Neil and his noisy Gibson Les Paul as he opened with “Love and Only Love” from 1990’s remarkable Ragged Glory. The music was absolutely exhilarating and you can see the intensity in the face of this ageless music icon as he continued with “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)”. With Young rocking back and forth and fans singing along to this classic, he purposely stuttered the line about it being better to burn out than to "fa-fa-fade away".

Neil Young was illuminated all night long. It was like having a trouble light hanging from the underside of his aging two-tonne Lincoln hood, casting a light down on him, His Electric Band in the shadows. It was after “Spirit Road” that Neil would say “How you doing Toronto. Thanks for being here. It’s nice to be here.” before continuing with “Cortez The Killer” and singing “And I know she’s living there / And she loves me to this day” as he turned his head back, smiling at his wife Pegi.

The mellower side of Neil would bring loud cheers, especially with the first sounds of his harmonica, singing “Everybody’s goin’ out and havin’ fun / I’m a fool for stayin’ home and havin’ none,” in his morose version of Don Gibson’s “Oh, Lonesome Me”, a song he first performed in the thick haze of cigarette smoke at the Bohemian Embassy coffee house in the ’60s. Sitting at a pipe organ at the back of the stage, Neil’s harmonica would start off “Mother Earth” before continuing on the keys. Now, alone on stage with his acoustic, “The Needle And The Damage Done” sounded exactly like it first appeared on 1972’s Harvest. The band would return, and a new song, “Light A Candle” would be played, before finishing with “Unknown Legend”, “Heart Of Gold” (with everyone singing along) and “Old Man” (Neil on acoustic and longtime roadie Larry Cragg on banjo).

The night would end in absolute mayhem with “Rockin' In The Free World” and a feedback-heavy cover of the Beatles’ “A Day In The Life” that concluded with Young ripping all the strings of his famous Old Black.

Thanks Jules!

More on Neil Young in Toronto, Ontario Concert Reviews: 12/4 & 5/08.

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The quiet and the damage done: Tongue Tied Lightning

From National Post "The quiet and the damage done: Being tongue-tied with Neil Young is something I may not live down" by Jian Ghomeshi:

"Last Friday I met Neil Young. It was a disaster. Not for him. He probably doesn't even remember meeting me. At least, let's hope he doesn't. If he does remember, Neil might recall it as an encounter with a mute. An awkward mute. An awkward smiling mute, inexplicably introduced to him as a broadcaster. I had so much to say to Neil. And given this outstanding opportunity, I seized the moment by saying ... nothing. I choked like the 2006 Ottawa Senators. Or the 2007 Ottawa Senators. Or the 2008 ... anyway, you get the idea. Not good. Disaster."

More on Neil Young in Toronto, Ontario Concert Reviews: 12/4 & 5/08.

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For Young's fans, Archives awaits...and awaits... : NoDepression.com

From NoDepression.com a very interesting article by Paul Cantin on the Neil Young Archives:

Obsessives typically don't play well together. Whether on the battlefield, the football gridiron or a backyard drinking party, when two hard-headed, determined, focused types come into conflict, like the old songs says, something's gotta give.

A similar musical tilt has been playing out in recent weeks, although the antagonists may surprise you.

In this corner, a fervid, loyal, vocal sector of Neil Young's fan base.

In the other corner, Neil Young.

Now if you hop over to the NoDepression.com article, regular readers will find some very interesting sourcing going on here which came as a bit of a surprise. Particularly, after we had been seeing some strange requests and observations coming our way.

So check out NoDepression.com's take on the bewildering spectacle that we call The Archives.

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Chicago/Rosemont, IL Concert Reviews: 12/9/08

Photo by Tom Cruze Sun-Times

From :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: "No one can gripe at this version of Young" by Jim DeRogatis:

"And, thanks to both the passion of the performances (I've never seen Young deliver more fiery guitar outside of his legendary garage band Crazy Horse) and his refusal ever to solely pander to expectations (the more-than-two-hour show also included a hefty chunk of still-unrecorded new material), it never seemed a bit like nostalgia or witnessing anything other than a musician still at the peak of his creative powers."

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Neil Young will be performing tonight at Allstate Arena, Rosemont/Chicago, Illinois.

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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"Love And Only Love" on YouTube: Detroit, 12/7/ 2008.

Neil Young performs "Love And Only Love" at the Palace of Auburn Hills on December 7, 2008.

Thanks bboris92!

Also, see Neil Young in Detroit/Auburn Hills, Michigan Concert Reviews: 12/7/08.

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Up Close in Toronto - Review & Photos: 12/4 & 5/08

Photo by Frank Yang .: chromewaves v7.5

Toronto's premier concert blogger over on Chromewaves, Frank Yang took some great shots from the pit and brings us some top notch reporting of Neil Young, Wilco and Everest at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on December 4 & 5:

It’s impossible to fully articulate how huge Neil Young is for me. Besides having been one of my very favourite artists from the very start of my “musical awakening” some 17 years ago, it’s also not an exaggeration to say that if I were to draw a single common thread through all the bands I love or the styles of music they play, it would be him. Some may owe larger debts than others, but whether they dwell in the folkier end of the spectrum or the noisy, one way or another, they’re in the shadow of Neil.

So when the man comes home for a show - yes, he began his career up in Winnipeg but the man’s birth certificate says “Toronto” - it’s going to be a special occasion. And when he does so with one of your very favourite bands in the world as support, as he did this time with Wilco, then the phrase “must-see” just seems woefully inadequate.

Frank & Neil

Awesome report Frank! Way cool on hanging with Neil. Rock on bro.

See more photos by Frank Yang and his full review.

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New Song: "Light a Candle"

Light a Candle - Toronto 12/4/08 debut

Light a Candle

Instead of cursing in the darkness,
light a candle for where were goin,
there’s something ahead, worth fighting for,

when the light of time is on us, you will see our moment come,
and the living sole inside will carry on,

It’s a chance to give new meaning to every move we make,
In the cavern, in the cave, where we’ve come from

Instrumental

When the light of dawn is on us,
we will see what we can be,
and the ancient ones will sleep the music sleep?/??

In the hallways of the ages, on the road to history,
What we do now will always be with us.

It’s a chance to give new meaning to every move we make,
In the caverns in the caves where we’ve gone wrong

Instrumental

Instead of cursing in the darkness,
Light a candle for where were going,
There’s something ahead, worth lookin for,

When the light of time is on us,
We will see our moment come,
And the living sole inside will carry on,

Light a candle in the darkness,
So that others might see it,
Light a candle in the darkness, when you go,

Instrumental

Light a candle in the darkness so others might see ahead,
Light a candle in the darkness when you go.


Thanks BSM & Gerry P!

Lyric corrections are welcome. Drop a comment below.

More on Neil Young in Toronto, Ontario Concert Reviews: 12/4 & 5/08.

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Detroit/Auburn Hills, Michigan Concert Reviews: 12/7/08

From Oakland Press By GARY GRAFF:

Young came out the gunslinger, with "Love and Only Love" setting both a lyrical and instrumental tone as he crouched low over his black Les Paul, playing guitar solos like spraying so much electric buckshot around the stage. And after making highly critical remarks of the Detroit auto industry, Young -- who was briefly signed to Motown in the mid-'60s with his band the Mynah Birds -- appeared anxious to affirm his ultimate solidarity; in "Hey Hey, My My" (Into the Black)" he changed the lyric to "Detroit City will never die," and he also shouted "Motor City!" repeatedly during "Rockin' in the Free World."

Thanks Pretty Pegi!


Neil Young will be performing tonight at Palace Of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills/Detroit, Michigan.

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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Photo Gallery of Neil Young in Toronto on December 4, 2008

Photo by Frank Yang .: chromewaves v7.5

Totally awesome photo gallery by Frank Yang on Chromewaves of Neil Young @ Air Canada Centre, Toronto on December 4, 2008.

Thanks Frank! Looking forward to your review and blog on meeting Neil backstage.

In the meantime, over on It's Not The Band I Hate, It's Their Fans by Bob:

"Well it turns out that my prediction that Friday night's Neil Young show at the ACC would be the concert event of the year was 100% accurate as both Neil and Wilco put on a show that will go down in the annals of personal concert going history as nothing short of legendary.

Although he was quite far away from me, the unmistakable frame of Mr. Young was obvious, and as he wailed away to Love And Only Love on, what I believe was his classic Les Paul, I knew that this night was going to be special. Prior to this show, I only half understood why the term 'Godfather of Grunge' had been appointed to him. However, seeing him rock out all hunched over while his guitar made that familiar high pitched whirr that will forever be associated with only this one man made it obvious to me as to how he has been able to influence an entire generation of plaid wearing angsters. The level of hard rockin' euphoria continued to escalate with each passing song, culminating in Cortez The Killer and Cinnamon Girl, which had even the people in my crappy section plugging in their air guitars and putting on a little performance of their own. Cortez The Killer was the best performance of the night in my opinion; chill inducing to say the least."

Thanks Bob and for h/t of the CW pix! So, how does Frank Y. get these shots??? Incredible.

More on Neil Young in Toronto, Ontario Concert Reviews: 12/4 & 5/08.

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Concert Review of Moment: Ottawa, Ontario, 12/2/08

The Neil Young Concert Review of the Moment is from Ottawa, Ontario on 12/2/08 by Tony C.:

Neil came on around ten past 9 to thunderous applause. And right from the first notes of his magnificent sounding guitar he was brilliant. When for his second song the opening notes of My My, Hey Hey blasted the rafters there was no holding the crowd. Everybody knew why they were here and were just wallowing in the gorgeousness of what Neil has made timeless.

This is a man of 63 who suffered a brain aneurysm in 2005, has had diabetes since childhood and walks with a limp from polio. Yet this is the best I have ever seen him perform and with such energy. His famous never-ending final chords were well represented. Half way through he took a walk up a ramp to a portable pipe organ, seemed to assume a new persona, and sang (with harmonica accompaniment) what I always call #89 in the green hymn book: "As longs the heart". This was Mother Earth (Natural Anthem), with his words replacing the many other versions. Wonderful.

Unlike most big name concerts I have seen in the last decade, Neil's performances and the support from the marvellous musicians including his wife Pegi Young were far better than the versions on disk, adding musical quality, spontaneity, excitement, dynamic range and visual excellence. And so the evening progressed through his acoustic classics from his After the Goldrush era always returning to the seminal rock numbers that he has contributed to the genre that will never die.

And then came the end - or was it. After several minutes of audience roar he came back to do . . . wait for it . . . "A Day in the Life."

I suffered pangs of pleasure as he recreated a masterpiece cover complete with both orchestral build-ups and the final chord that sufficed us for the evening and made us all proud and joyful and happy to be Canadian with him.

- Tony C.

More concert reviews of Neil Young in Ottawa, Ontario.

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The Goofiest Concert Review of All-Time

OK, folks seem to be getting a real kick out of this EdgeGirl YouTube video so we're re-posting by popular demand from the Neil Young in Toronto, Ontario Concert Reviews: 12/4 & 5/08.


And now for something completely different, a YouTube Concert Review?!

Thanks EdgeGirl & Leo!

More on Sit vs Stand: The Never Ending Dilemma.

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Hidden "Hidden" Track on Sugar Mountain

There appears to be a super secret hidden "hidden" track on Sugar Mountain.

In TW comments recently (which lunar_tunes on Rust pointed out), if you pop the CD in your PC, there's a download link for the track "#1 Hit Song Rap".

Of course, the track is so hidden that most folks can't seem to find it. So here's a spoiler tip -- go to Neil Young Download Page.

The rap is quite hilarious and another astonishing premonition of what would come over the next 40 years.

SML seems to be doing pretty well and is still rising to 18 15 14 on Amazon.com Bestsellers (updated hourly).

Here's some of the best of Sugar Mountain reviews that folks are raving about.

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“There’ll Never Be Another Crazy Horse”, says Neil Young

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Neil Young is quoted as saying “There’ll never be another Crazy Horse”.

For many, this news comes like a bullet through the heart.

And the bombshells keep coming. No Archives release in January or February, either.

Instead, we're now getting -- wait for this -- the Crazy Horse & Booker T. and the MGs album "Toast" recorded in 2000. (Thanks ShittyHorse & BSM for correction. Toast tracks were re-recorded w/BTMG for AYP?, we think?)

Check out the full interview in Rolling Stone and come back and let us know what you think. No, what you really think.

Hold back the tears.
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UPDATE: We're catching flack for this post. We took the headline and quote directly from the linked RS article. The quote is subject to interpretation and somewhat ambiguous. Read the full article and take from it what you will. Undoubtedly, there will only ever be one band that is CH, but will Neil ever play with them again? Who knows? As he says, "Maybe". Only time will tell. Are we being disingenuous? We think not.
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