Comment of the Moment: Comparing The Twisted Road Tour With TTN or TFA Tours

The Neil Young Comment of the Moment is from the thread Does The Twisted Road Tour Compare With TTN or TFA Tours? by ShittyHorse:

Listen, I said it before on my comment after the Oakdale show.....this IS the closest thing to Tonight's The Night that we've seen in a while.

The parallels are there...people came hearing what THEY wanted, people came expecting something totally different than what they got, the songs are real...this time the songs came, (and I hope there is more) The songs are reflective, moody, at times dark. I think the reason Neil is now doing the Hitchhiker is because it is personal, looking back over his life. It seems when someone close to Neil passes, it causes him reflect on his own past, his life and his own mortality... Don’t be Denied, for example, was after Danny had died. Tonight’s the Night was the culmination of Whitten and Berry’s deaths.

The question of whether or not the audience got what they wanted is irrelevant, and thats not defending or making excuses for Neil, it simply does not matter. Do you know what art is? Art is creation and creation is personal. No one can tell an artist what to do because that is not art. Neil does what he does for himself, always has, that’s why we love him. Since when did Neil do exactly what his audience wanted? If that was the case he would have made Harvest over and over again.

I'll never understand the obsession with going to a concert to hear what you want to hear. Just because Neil has been around a while now doesn’t make him a walking jukebox- you buy a ticket he plays your set list? Neil does what his art dictates- this is the essence of what he does, what makes him an artist. Some advice; if you like an artist and you want to check him or her out live, go with no expectations because it’s not YOUR show- you’re just going to check out what the artist is up to that day, you’re a audience to what is on display and that is all. You're watching an exibit. If you disagree then you need to ask yourself if you really like this artist or if you just like a song or two. If that’s the case, save your money, stay home and listen to the tunes you like.

What can be greater than that for you? Make your own set list! Thank god Neil doesn’t do what you want because if he did you'd then say he's washed up, selling out and cashing in on his greatest hits. Maybe Neil felt, perhaps rightfully so that a show of solo electric music shouldn’t go on for three hours. Whatever the case- this tour is what Neil is up to now. This is the art that he’s creating. His motivation is not ticket sales….his motivation is creation, the moment, getting off.

I’m sure Neil would like it if you got off too but if not, too bad but don’t bring down someone else. Go to the show if you want, or stay home. Love it or hate it, it’s up to you but don’t complain he didn’t do what you wanted because it’s not about you, it’s about Neil, it about the artist. The only thing you have to ask yourself, and come to grips with is, are you really a Neil fan? Or do you just like Harvest? Or Everybody knows this is Nowhere?

I would think this is common sense with regards to art. Did Picasso take requests? How could he? Picasso did what flowed out of him. Neil Young is the Picasso of Rock n’ Roll. The show I saw on this tour was so inspiring to me. I was awestruck after. Sure I wished it would’ve gone on, and yeah there were songs I would have liked to have heard but I understand that it’s not about me. I’m an audience. Neil is the artist.

ROCK ON NEIL!

Thanks Shitty Horse!

For more reactions, see Expecting to See Neil Young (or Man Without A Net) and Does The Twisted Road Tour Compare With TTN or TFA Tours?.

Also, see Neil Young's "Twisted Road" Concert Tour Reviews.

---