Neil Young Concert Reviews - Austin, TX, June 5, 2010
Neil Young will be performing tonight at the Bass Performance Hall Austin, TX. Special guest Bert Jansch will open concert.
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Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates. Also, see Song Grid Chart.
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by thrasher@PermaLink: 6/05/2010 11:41:00 PM
27 comments
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27 Comments:
Same show as 6/2 Nashville and Houston. Cortez was perfect!
Fantastic show, but the crowd was beyond obnoxious.
Great show, great songs. Neat bass guitar effects during the electric guitar songs, but overpowered the vocals; disappointed that the vocals really needed to to come up in volume especially on the electric stuff, which were numerous. Also, Neil did not talk to the audience the entire 90 minute set.
A truly revelatory night: inspired, brave, dark, and deep.
Neil has reached a new peak in performance and writing. The new songs are sublime, the classics renewed. The sound of both acoustic and electric guitars was hypnotic, raw, and breathtakingly beautiful. Neil's voice has never been more effective in its soul wrenching clarity.
All you critics can sit alone (and always do). I, for one, am a believer.
Ryan
Austin, Texas
Neil's voice and guitar have never sounded better! Wow he offers up the best he can in every single song, period. Wish he had said more to us, but wasn't to be. Cortez the Killer and Old Man were the highlights for me!
I have seen Neil many times in many different venues but last night in Austin was the worst. Starting with the crowd which looked like the wanted to attend an opera instead of a rock icons' show- when he sang "You Never Call" there were people in the audience who thought he was trying to be funny (have to admit I couldn't figure out if he was serious, either). There was absolutely NO interaction with the audience. He didn't say a word beyond the lyrics to his songs. I'll be honest- it looked like he would have rather been anywhere than there last night. Sad.
Interesting varity of experiences above. I personally enjoyed it. True dat:
1 - He didn't talk to the audience (which I prefer as well). However in recent years, I've kind of gotten used to many of my favorite acts skipping the conversation, and letting their music do the talking. I felt Neil did that...
2 - It was an interesting mix of an audience. However, that's to be expected in Austin...
3 - The audience members were loud. However, what I find obnoxious is when people yell the song they want to hear (annoying for sure), and then of course someone yells back to shut up. I honestly only heard that occurr a few times. Most of the yelling was innocent enough (perhaps too silly/goofy) - and Neil seemed to enjoy it. My seats were very close to the stage, and I've never seen Neil smile so much - and I too have seen him many times. He honestly looked comfortable and happy (as much as Neil can look happy...), and I think Neil appreciates Austin.
I'm a huge NY fan, but my favorite is seeing him on stage by himself doing acoustic/solo. My favorite concert was his solo/acoustic '99 tour, Silver & Gold. This wasn't quite as good as that, but I'd definitely put it in the same category. I felt the emotion and sincerity in each song he played, and was moved and pleased with the concert.
Chris Coz
The Austin show was terrific. The stage was nearly gothic, spartan. The backdrop lighting was masterful.
This was not a concert; it was a play. He stayed in character throughout, John the Baptist seemed to wring his soul out, urging the audience to wake up and feel the rumbling beneath their feet. It would have been strange for him to chitchat, like an actor dropping character between scenes.
You Never Call was eventually haunting; but it was fairly difficult to not at least grin over Young's wryness in the first few verses. His delivery was ironic.
His new music is his best yet. I hope the world responds to what he's asking us to do... :-)
I must agree...lots of different experiences at the same concert.
Overall I thought it was one of the best ever! I haven't been to a million shows, but I've seen him with Crazy Horse, Greendale, and with CSN...and I saw his last Solo tour.
Yes, I had a couple of jerks behind me talking during a song or two... but the music finally shut them up without me making a scene.
Obnoxious crowd? Not the whole crowd (Neil seemed very tolerant, thankfully): the "wine sippers" were out in force (that opera crowd Anonymous referred to...), and then the regular drunks yelling out songs- but the best moment of the idiocy was when a woman called out, "Neil Young you're the love of my life." yeah. :o\ very cheesy... but with perfect comedic timing a guy echoed the sentiment saying, "Mine too". He said it like he'd just been given permission to reveal it- that was hysterically funny to me.
"You Never Call", in my opinion, is not meant to be deadly serious. It does have funny lines...I had never heard it before...and LOVED it- hooted when he mentioned the Red Wings... I know the audience maybe laughed a bit too loud, but they settled down at the mention of his son Ben's name. The serious side of the song became apparent, and even the drunks were silenced.
I shed more than a few tears during the show; "Helpless" and "I Believe in You" get me every time.
It didn't help matters that my favorite concert partner was missing.
How can one impart the magnitude of the experience?
It's like trying to explain the flavor of salt to someone who's never tasted it. You just have to taste it for yourself.
I felt the show last night in Austin was fairly amazing. Who would have ever thought one man with a guitar could make so much noise. The sound was visceral. During "Rumblin'" I could feel my insides vibrating.
Yes, the crowd was somewhat obnoxious, but not as bad as on some of the tapes I've heard over the years. It's funny to me how some people have to open their mouths and let everybody know how stupid they are. The crowd my be somewhat explained by the cost of the tickets as the venue tends to have a lot of the wealthier "wine sippers".
I thought the show itself was fairly incredible. My personal highlights were "Hitchiker" which is now one of the monsters, and "I Believe In You". His voice was so poignant and honest on "Believe". I really liked the stripped down versions of "Down By The River" and "Cortez". Also, the new songs were quite impressive. He's definitely had time to tighten them up since the beginning of the tour. I was especially impressed with "Sign Of Love" and "Love And War". The only one that was still a bit clunky was "You Never Call" which I found quite somber despite the ironic lyrics. Also, can some one please answer this for me? Was the reference in "Never Call" to "Ben is with you", to his son Ben? Did Ben pass away?
Although I've admittedly only seen Neil twelve times, I would put this show third or fourth favorite.
Rob W. from Austin
The concert in Austin was incredible. Neil's voice is still amazingly pure and captivating. Much of the audience was mesmerized, and yes, a few felt the need to fill the awkward silence between songs with silly sentiments for Neil. Personally, I did not find it obnoxious.
His vocals during "I Believe In You" were superb and his performance of "Ohio" was totally resonating.
It was an awesome concert void of fluff and filled with pure, raw talent. Thank You Neil!!!!
Grace - Corpus Christi, TX
"A truly revelatory night: inspired, brave, dark, and deep.
Neil has reached a new peak in performance and writing. The new songs are sublime..."
Please enlighten us more Ryan. What was 'revelatory' about it? And some examples of his new 'writing peak' and 'sublime' lyrics too when you get a chance.
Bravo Ryan!
Thank you!!
Ben did not pass away. I saw him at the Four Seasons after the show in his wheel chair. L.A. Johnson was the one who died. He would bring Ben to the hockey games in San Jose.
Does anyone have a complete play list for the June 5th Bass Hall concert? Please post it here in the comments if you do. Thanks!
For setlists, always check Sugar Mountain.
And you don't have to be 20 either.
Well said Pablo. You Never Call is a shocker. But you can't say that around here, around here one must pretend that even when a song 'appears' to be not so good, it really must be good - because it's Neil, and Neil never writes bad songs. If the lyrics are lame, he did that on purpose. If the setlist is always the same, that's good - it must be some historical, revalatory performance we're seeing. If Neil doesn't utter a single word to the audience, hey - that's great! Must mean he wants to communicate through his songs. And man oh man, those new songs! Sublime! And the tour? As good as TTN or TFA! Why? Ummm...not sure about that one... Because he's playing some songs solo electric? Wow, history making stuff there...
I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Highlights were songs 4 thru 6 in the setlist along with an I Believe in You that sounded as if he was singing it for the first time.
can anyone comment on taking kids to this tour? Wanna take my 6 year old , as she loves the acoustic stuff. anyone see any kids at the show? Comments?
revelatory: of or relating to revelation; serving to reveal something
sublime: inspiring awe; of high moral or intellectual value; elevated in nature or style
For example, see below:
Neil Young, "Love and War" --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3vowpal2EE&feature=player_embedded#!
I think it depends on the age of the child. I saw several teens in the Austin audience and one kid about nine or ten was two rows behind me in the 12th row. He was asleep at the end of the show. Teenage is probably more appropriate. Also, take a look at the setlists on Sugar Mountain and maybe expose your kid to some of the electric stuff. Of the fifteen guitar songs he played only seven were acoustic, the other eight were electric.
I forgot in my previous comment to note the lighting. All the lighting was localized on stage with various lamps and lights placed around the stage. There were no giant spotlights from on high or banks of lights forty or fifty feet over the stage. The effect was very atmospheric and intimate, as if you were in his living room.
Frankly, I prefer it when he doesn't talk much and just takes care of business. Some of the tapes from early shows when he was extremely chatty are almost interminable.
Rob W., Austin
The concert in Austin was my first opportunity to see Neil live. I am a member of the fifty plus age group and I saw fans ranging in age from young teens to seventy plus years of age. Neil’s music spans the generations and the proof was in attendance Saturday night in Austin.
Unlike one of the previous posters, I did not think that the audience was obnoxious. I heard a few fans shout out requests, but I heard more fans shouting: “Thank you, Neil” and “I love you, Neil”. I felt that the audience let Neil know that he was truly loved and appreciated. I was completely entranced during Neil’s performance. The set list was similar to the other concerts on this tour, a mix of old and new material. I felt that Neil played and sang each song with deep passion and emotion, and it was a pleasure to just watch his movements on stage as he swayed back and forth, creating some of the most beautiful and unique sounds with his various musical instruments. His vocal range is absolutely phenomenal. His performance of “I Believe In You” will forever be ingrained in my memory.
I loved all of the songs that Neil performed and the new material contained some of the most beautiful and haunting melodies. “Cinnamon Girl”, “Down By The River”, and “Cortez” were most definitely crowd pleasers-Powerful Performance. Encore consisted of “Old Man” and “Walk With Me”. Thank you, Neil, for the invitation to walk with you and thank you for coming to Texas. This Fifty Something Fan had the thrill of a lifetime in Austin! Come back soon!
Cheryl
Big Neil Fan in Texas
NYAS #6083
Hey! I was one of the 'wine sippers'! Are we suppose to chug instead?
Anyway- drove to Austin from Lubbock for the show and was not disappointed at all! In fact truth be told I didn't even notice Neil didn't chit chat With such awesome lyrics- who needs talk.
Sound system at Bass was perfect!
Thanks for the wine and music Austin!!
Sharon
Neil is Neil...if you harbor expectations, expect doom.
I am not a 'rustie'...more like metal with water on it, but I believe the arrangements of Ohio and DBTR were very similiar to the ones on Going Back to Canada...in another word: dope.
Matt
@ Anonymous Anonymous 6/07/2010 05:22:00 PM
This is a fan site, not a news wire. If you're looking for non-objective concert reviews, you're in the wrong place.
Returning from Vietnam in 1970, plugged into Neil then. I've seen him in all types of places, from arenas, Gilley's,astroworld,Summitt in Houston. His music means alot to me through the years playing my 1969 Martin D35, and his music. Old man look at my life. Vern Gregory, Houston, June, 2010
My wife and I were at the Austin show on June 5th. We drove 1200 miles from Sedona AZ. just to see Neil in concert. This was my wife's very first Neil show, and my eighth. Of all the shows I've seen from Neil, this was the most personal. Each song sounded as if it had just been written; new and old, the emotions still raw, the pictures still vivid, the moment still fresh. Songs almost too personal to share with strangers.
As always, the sound was beyond perfection, and the audience was completely immersed in each and every note. There were moments when you could have heard a pin drop. The new songs were so personal, so authentic, so raw. We were both completely mesmerized throughout the whole concert.
Our round trip was 2451 miles, we spent close to $2000.00, and did it all in four days. Was it worth it? You better believe it was. Neil Young is a true artist, one totally committed to his craft, and he just keeps getting better with age. His performance at Bass Auditorium in Austin Texas on June 5, 2010 will hold up as one of our most cherished memories. Thanks Neil, for always keeping it real.
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