Comment of the Moment: Understanding Neil Young's Music

The Neil Young Comment of the Moment is actually more of a novel. And more like comment of the year.

It was inspired by the oh so heartwarming story of Matthew and Melinda which folks seemed really touched by.

And here's another Neil story of his music being the soundtrack of life by Mr. Henry:

I've been a great fan of Neil for over 40 years, starting with Buffalo Springfield when I was 12 years old. His music provided the soundtrack for many of my early adventures, love and learning. During those younger years, I almost saw him perform a number of times (CSNY, solo, w/ Stephen Stills, w/ the Horse) but seemed to keep missing him.

In late summer 1983, I saw Neil for the first time. He was playing at Tanglewood and my date was a woman I had just started seeing. This was only her second large concert; the first was a Marvin Gaye performance a couple weeks before, which I also took her to. That was one of Marvin's final concerts.

We got to Tanglewood w/out tickets and went to get lawn seats which were $10 each (oh the good old days!). While in line, a guy asked if I needed a couple tickets, saying "You definitely want to buy these". I took his advice and was glad I did: the seats were 4th row center on the left aisle.

Neil played three sets that night, each about 45 minutes long and with a short intermission between. There was a large TV on stage and there were "news reports" between the sets. One of these was a short interview with Neil earlier in the day while he walked the grounds of Tanglewood.

Each set was incredible. The first one was acoustic solo; second one was electronic solo (w/ songs from Trans included); third set was with The Shocking Pinks and everyone was in full costume. What a great show! We stayed in the area and went back the next day to wander the grounds. While walking around, I found a stash bag that some unfortunate fan must have lost the night before...one more sign of good fortune (at least for me).

After this show, I made every effort to see Neil each time he toured. My girlfriend and I married the next year in December, and we continued to see Neil's concerts. These included the great tours w/ the Horse in '85 and '86 when I was telling anyone who'd listen "Neil Young is the King of Rock and Roll". We saw him with The Blue Notes in '88 (and got to experience Ordinary People for the first time live). Right after that show, we went to San Francisco and stayed with my best friend while wandering the coast up and down for almost three weeks...the best vacation of my younger years.

Our first child was conceived right after this and our daughter was born in the summer of '89. When I picked her up with her mom and drove them home from the hospital, the cassette player was all set. The first song this beautiful two day old heard (at least from me) was Cowgirl in the Sand, followed by the rest of EKTIN.
END PART #1

Continue to Mr Henry's Neil story Part #2 and scroll down for additional Parts.

Thanks Mr. Henry. You get it.

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