Neil Young Concert Reviews - Fox Theatre Atlanta, GA - May 29, 2010

From Bluffton Today - She says ... Neil Young’s tunes bring back old memories by Annelore Harrell:

And we sat down and listened.

Expecting acoustic, we were instead presented with a fullblown electric concert. After five decades of performing, his voice and playing style are stronger than ever. I have never been to a rock concert before where the audience claps and yells like mad, then abruptly sits down in eager anticipation of the next song.

Once in awhile, someone would break out with a yell, but this was a theater full of Neil Young fans who wanted to hear whatever he wanted to share and that meant being quiet. For the next hour and a half, with an intermission too brief to grab a beer, from his White Falcon Gretsch to the Les Paul “Old Black,” he played one guitar after another, did a stint on a funky vintage pump organ and another on a piano sitting stage left.

We sat, listened, stood and clapped and sat again, having no idea of what song he was going to do next. We didn’t care. He gifted us with seven new songs that no doubt will become classics. I sat through “Help,” “Ohio,” and “Cinnamon Girl,” and all of the old songs, remembering those times.

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Neil Young will be performing tonight at the Fox Theatre Atlanta, GA. Special guest Bert Jansch will open concert.

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

Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates. Also, see Song Grid Chart.

Also, see Neil Young's "Twisted Road" Concert Tour Reviews and the right, middle sidebar for continuous real time RSS feed updates.

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Neil Young Concert Review of the Moment: Louisville, KY May 26, 2010

Photo Gallery by Ryan Armbrust - The Palace | Metromix Louisville

The Neil Young Concert Review of the Moment is from Louisville, KY on May 26, 2010 by Rubard:

I too was at last night's show at the Palace in Louisville, my hometown and current place of residence.

It was only my 3rd Neil show and just my first time seeing him solo. The first time was with Crazy Horse (my favorite), and the other time was with his electric band (3rd favorite). After the show last night I too heard people bitching about several things: the price of the show, the length of the show, too many new songs, not enough classics, the encore, not enough jamming, not being able to take beer into the venue and even Neil's lack of banter. Some of those gripes are valid imo.

But, this isn't Crazy Horse people. It wasn't a raucous rock show, and it wasn't billed that way. This was Neil Young, solo, an artist who we're lucky to still have with us, someone who we're fortunate to have still wanting to write songs that mean something and which evoke feelings which you can't just recreate on a whim. I thought last night was truly magical. Neil plays whatever the hell he wants, and anyone who went into last night expecting a greatest hits show and leaving upset or shortchanged, is not only uninformed, but also denying themselves a treasured experience. This was a legend, playing in one of the most beautiful theatres in the country, in perhaps one of his final tours.

Sure, his fingers don't move as fast as they used to and he fumbled some notes, but his voice still tickles the soul (mine at least) and his music transcends generations. It is what it is. You either bitch about things such as the fact that the encore left something to be desired, or you realize that you saw one of the most prolific songwriters in history, singing music that comes from his heart. Yes, I would have loved to have traded 3 classics or so for some of those new songs, but how are you gonna deny the man his art, when he has already given so much?

How many artists really open their hearts such as Neil does with a song such as Sign of Love. That song really moved me. The new and the old did. Tell Me Why almost brought my 30 year old body to tears, and Helpless made me question how I could have ever considered not being there. Yes, I hold Neil somewhat on a pedestal and it's hard to bash him, but I can also speak truths.

I wish he would have stayed on acoustic the whole night. I wish I could have had a beer to enjoy while I listened to a very innaresting version of Cortez, one of my favorite Neil songs. I wish the show would have been 30 minutes longer. I wish we would have gotten that Heart of Gold at the end.

But, you know what?

We're not allowed to write the rules. We're just along for the ride. Thankfully I was able to board the bus last night. I hope it's not the last time.

Thank you Neil for another memory that I will treasure forever.

Thanks Rubard!

Also, see more Neil Young Concert Reviews from Louisville, KY on May 26, 201.

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.

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Dennis Hopper: 1936 - 2010

Dennis Hopper: 1936 - 2010

Dennis Hopper, a collaborator with Neil Young on the Human Highway film, passed away today. He was 74.


Dennis Hopper interview on the 1991 Weld Tour and filming Human Highway.

According to Dean Stockwell, Hopper encouraged Stockwell to produce the screenplay of "After The Goldrush". A film of "After The Goldrush" was never made. But Neil Young did release an album and song by that name, that went on to become quite well known.

Bye Dennis. You were such an easy rider....


BBC documentary film on the career of actor-director-writer Dennis Hopper.

More on the brilliant -- yet troubled -- life of Dennis Hopper and Dennis Hopper's strange, brilliant career - R.I.P. - Salon.com.


Neil Young and Dennis Hopper
On the set of Human Highway, 1st July 1978 (c) Caterine MILLENNIUM

Merci Purple Words on a Grey Background!


Buffalo Springfield
Photo by Dennis Hopper

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Concert Review of the Moment: Neil Young in Washington, DC, May 24, 2010

The Neil Young Concert Review of the Moment is from Washington, DC, May 24, 2010 by Jeff Taylor, Neil Young Tribute.

I arrived at Constitution Hall four hours early to visit with other Rusties at the Exchange Saloon on G Street in DC before Neil's solo concert on May 24, 2010. Although I met a bunch of cool Neil fans and wanted to hang out with them longer than I did, I was itching to get to the Hall to see if I could spot and actually meet Neil. I came prepared for such an occasion. I brought with me a cool 13x19 poster of Neil in his early days and three of my Neil Young Tribute tee-shirts for Neil to autograph should I have the chance to actually meet my “master”.

Glenn and I went around the back of the Hall around 5:30pm and spotted Neil’s 18 wheeler and tour bus. His bus was very cool indeed. On the top of his bus it looked to me like he had a 50’s Buick Roadmaster Sedan front end and two of the same tops welded onto to the top of his bus.

It was about 8:30pm and lo and behold the bus door opens and there he was, big as life. I handed him my 13x19 poster and he autographed it for me. After he autographed my poster, he slowly walked to the back door leading to the stage never stopping for anyone else. Those twenty seconds of meeting Neil were surreal!

Me and my band mates immediately took off to get inside to try and catch the remaining of Bert’s performance. We made it inside and caught his last two songs. Bert was fantastic and I wish I could have seen his entire show.

During the intermission after Bert Jansch’s show I walked right up to the stage to check out Neil’s “toys”. Being a musician myself and being in a tribute band to Neil Young I examined everything to detail. I can just tell you that Neil has got some great toys that any musician would love to play with.

Around 9:20pm the lights went down and out walks Neil. There was no introduction from anyone, just a huge applause. Just like when I met him outside, he walked in very slow, did not speak a word, sat down in his chair, picked up his Martin guitar and started playing “My My, Hey Hey”. Of course, I was in awe hearing him play “My My”. After “My My”, Neil went right into “Tell Me Why”. Again I was blown away with the loud but clear and outstanding sound of Neil’s voice and acoustic guitar.

One of my buddies somehow found a way to sneak in a video camera and he captured the entire show except he forgot to hit the record button for the first two songs. Bummer right?

The third song Neil did was “Helpless” with his Martin and harmonica. He played it perfect and used some chords I’ll be using from now on. After “Helpless”, Neil got up from his chair and walked over near his upright piano and picked a guitar I did not recognize. I think it was a small body Martin or Gibson acoustic. He played this guitar for the next three songs (which are all brand new) called “You Never Call”, “Peaceful Valley” and “Love And War”. The lyrics for “You Never Call” seemed like they were written about/for his dad. Neil stood up playing “You Never Call” and sat back down to play “Peaceful Valley” and “Love And War”. You could hear a pin drop in the audience while he played these three new heart felt songs. I loved all three of them.

I was in awe when Neil strapped on his Gibson Les Paul (Old Black) and started jamming on “Down By The River”. I’ve never seen anyone including Neil play “DBTR” solo with an electric guitar. It was loud as hell, distorted to the max and his bottom end notes punched right into my chest but his vocals were crystal clear. Unbelievably cool as hell!

After “DBTR” and still wearing Old Black, Neil played “Hitchhiker”. This was quite the treat for me since I’ve been working on this song acoustically. He had what seemed to be a piano pedal where he would stomp down on low notes for a very big bottom end sound. From all of the electric solo songs he performed, I liked “Hitchhiker” the best.

Out comes Neil’s Gretsch White Falcon! The audience was yelling out requests and Neil just responded by tipping his head and taking a drink of water from his harmonica table before starting “Ohio” on his White Falcon. The audience went nuts over his solo electric version of “Ohio”. He ended “Ohio” with a long stream of feedback while standing directly in front of one of his Fender Tweed amps. I love this shit!

Then, as expected, Neil played another new song, “Sign Of Love” with his White Falcon. Neil’s White Falcon had a bunch of phase shifting or flanging which gave his electric guitar sounds and a feeling of a spaceship “landing on water”.

Its keyboard time now for Neil. After rockin’ out on “Sign Of Love”, he walked over to his upright piano and for the first time he actually spoke to the audience. He started talking about little people, tiny little folks, little kiddy’s regardless of who they belong to. He began playing yet again another new song called “Leia”. The song has a theatrical story telling “feeling” as if he was writing a song with Carry Snodgrass. This song is without a doubt my favorite song he did the entire night. I’ll be learning this tune and performing it as soon as possible.

Again, Neil slowly got up and walked over to his pump organ which was on a two foot tall riser. He blew a few notes on his around-the-neck harmonica while sitting down and pumping his organ with his feet. I knew he was going to play “After The Gold Rush”. Man was I right and he played it flawlessly. It sounded as though I was listening to sounds from heaven on top of a Ferris wheel. Neil walked to the front of the stage, made a prayer hand and bowed to the audience, again never speaking a word.

Much to my surprise, Neil went to his White and Red Grand Piano and like an angel he began singing “I Believe In You”. This had to be the most emotional song he performed all night. He played the piano and sung it perfectly with his eyes closed and head rising up as if there was no one in the same room with him, just him and that grand piano. I felt like I was in his living room.

Neil nonchalantly walked back over to get his White Falcon and someone in the audience yelled out Powderfinger and Neil acknowledged his request by shaking his head up and down but never speaking a word. He did not play Powderfinger, he played another new song called “Rumblin’” which was a mellow tune played electrically and again with the phasing and flanging like “Sign Of Love”.

After his new tune “Rumblin’”, he switched again to his Old Black Les Paul. I heard a bunch of crunching distortion and recognized within the first five seconds that I was in for the treat of my life, “Cortez The Killer” solo and electric! I have to tell you that I felt like Neil was playing that song just for me. How did he know that I loved that song so much?!

Neil kept his Old Black on and began playing “Cinnamon Girl”. While doing his signature bouncing moves on stage he jammed out on Cinnamon girl as if Crazy Horse was there jamming right along with him. He even played the one-note lead parts at the end. Very cool.

Neil left the stage and again never speaking a word. He sort of tipped his hat to the screaming audience before slowly walking off stage.

It only took Neil a few minutes before he came back on stage for his encore. He came back wearing his White Falcon again. This time he actually spoke to the audience saying, “Thank you, appreciate it. Thanks for coming out. You never know what’s going to happen...”. Again, loud distortion and another new song that I’ll be learning to end our show with, “Walk With Me”. It was very obvious to me that he wrote this new tune to speak directly to his loving fans. He did some very cool vocal techniques. He walked over to one of his Fender Tweeds and sang into his harmonica mics. It reminded me of his Trans and Arc days.

After a standing ovation Neil simply bowed his head, waved goodbye and walked off the stage never speaking a word. I hurried to get back outside to see if I could catch him again. It only took me about two minutes to get outside where Neil’s bus was parked and when I got there, his bus was just pulling away from the curb. Neil must have been in a hurry.

Meeting Neil for the first time and witnessing his solo show was an extreme highlight of my life as I’m sure it was for every “Real Neil” fan that came out to witness this fantastic performance. My favorite Neil material is his solo acoustic songs. Although I would have loved to have caught one of his more intimate solo acoustic shows, I have to tell you that I fell in love all over again with Neil as he performed his new solo electric show.

Jeff Taylor, Neil Young Tribute

Thanks Jeff!


Neil Young’s “You Never Call”, Washington DC Constitution Hall, May 24, 2010

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 more Neil Young's "Twisted Road" Concert Tour Reviews.

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Comment of the Moment: Does The Twisted Road Tour Compare With TTN or TFA Tours?

The reaction to Neil Young's Twisted Road Tour is fascinating to say the least.

While the Tonight's The Night and Time fades Away tours of the '70's were pre-internet -- of course -- the current tour's reaction is happening in real-time so as if almost to run ahead of actual reality, in that there are those who know what to expect.

There are also some strong similarities with the 2003 Greendale tour. Audiences couldn't handle the challenges of Greendale. Greendale caused controversy amongst fans. Opinions were divided over whether Greendale was profound or stupid.

Nevertheless -- even in this hyper digitalized age we live in -- some folks are completely baffled by the tour as we described in the blog Does The Twisted Road Tour Compare With TTN or TFA Tours?

So here's just one of the many reactions to the current tour from Dan:

I'm still hoping to get to a show on this tour, but the way I'm thinking about it, its about more than whether the show hits the spot or not ... you have to view it within the context of Neil's history of twists and turns...

being at a show that resembles the vibe of TFA or TTN is in its own right a valuable experience ... the '07 tour was unique in reviving the Harvest material 30 years later, in parallel with the Archives volume one project ... now maybe he's on to volume two and with the untimely death of LA it sounds like Neil's back in that darker place, the place that produced the ditch trilogy, which remains a mysterious, prolific, raw period.

One thing that shouldn't surprise anyone is that Neil changes like the seasons, like clockwork, and ya never know which direction he'll pivot in but you can be sure it will be deeply heartfelt, and significant. To be on the Neil journey means to live with the true up and downs that he's feeling, to experience the joy and sadness, the light and darkness ...

I'm a life long fan but when I saw him at the MSG shows in '08 I didn't love the new car songs so much but so what, Neil wouldn't be prolific if he wasn't courageous enough to throw stuff out there and see how it plays ... I have yet to listen to Fork even once but I know with virtual certainty one day I'll find myself listening to it and I'll discover it and its greatness and get where he was coming from ... I find that's been the case with virtually all his material ...

I can't always get myself to the place he's at, and he's usually ahead of me, but at some point It will click and when it does its incredibly satisfying. I think what perplexes many of us is why fans are surprised by the fact Neil is out there doing something different ... hasn't he always done that? Isn't that what keeps him fresh, real, magical?

I think the concept and expectation that every show, every tour, every album be great in the same way as the prior one is so clearly not reality, not possible ... Neil's trip is deeper than that, its more real, and its predictable in its unpredictability ... on that basis nobody should be surprised, or frankly disappointed, this is Neil doing what he's always done and what he'll always do and the fans accused of making excuses for Neil aren't so much suggesting they love everything about him and his music as much, I think, as they love him unconditionally and have learned to trust him and let him lead them on this lifetime journey of emotional exploration and the mature person I think realizes that life is not static, homogeneous, constant, the richness comes from contrast, variation, change, it ebbs and flows ...

look at all this in the context of a decade or two and its easier to appreciate that Neil's once again laying down something profound ... all that said, I would say better to see a show that's disappointing than to be in my shoes wondering if I'll even have the chance to see him on this twisted road ...

Dan

Thanks Dan!

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 more Neil Young's "Twisted Road" Concert Tour Reviews.

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Neil Young Concert Reviews - Knoxville, TN, May 27, 2010

"Down by the River" by Neil Young, Knoxville, TN, May 27, 2010

A rather unusual affair in Knoxville last night.

From Knoxville.com | Neil Young draws crowd at Knoxville show despite high ticket prices : Music : Knoxville.com by Wayne Bledsoe:

When music legend Neil Young performed a solo show Thursday night for the first time in Knoxville, the crowds came out.

A few were dismayed by the high ticket prices ($224, $124, $94 and $74), but even the man protesting the show carrying a sign that included the words “Ordinary people can only hear words … between the lines of greed” (all words from Young songs) for its message, wasn’t entirely angry.

“I’ve listened to and loved Neil Young forever, but I feel like the prices are outrageous,” said Bernard Shuck. “With the average wage scale in Knoxville, ordinary people who want to see Neil Young cannot possibly see him at these prices.”

Shuck wanted to make sure people understood that he was only protesting the prices, not the content of the show. In fact, he wanted to make sure that people know how much he loves Young’s music.

“Neil Young has kept me going at times when I had little else; he buoyed me up,” he said.

Ted Heinig, vice president of concerts for AC Entertainment, which promoted the show at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium, said the company had tried to make several different ticket prices so that more fans could attend the show.

Traditionally, artists give concert promoters a price that they are willing to play for, and then the promoters must figure out how to price the tickets to meet that guarantee.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see Neil Young in your hometown,” said Heinig.

Daniel Federer of Maryville sprung for the $124 tickets and didn’t feel cheated.

“I’m just glad to be here to see an American icon, and I’ll be looking forward to seeing the rest of the crew in September,” said Federer, nodding to a poster announcing the Crosby, Stills and Nash upcoming performance in Knoxville.

Cathy and Jim Zarchin of Knoxville had both seen Young several times in other cities and didn’t think the price was an issue.

“He’s in that pantheon when you think of all that great music from 1968 to ’72 — The Beatles, The Band, Springsteen,” said Jim Zarchin.

“The thing I like about Neil Young is he’s stayed consistent, relevant and passionate.”

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Neil Young will be performing tonight at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium Knoxville, TN. Special guest Bert Jansch will open concert.

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

Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates. Also, see Song Grid Chart.

Also, see Neil Young's "Twisted Road" Concert Tour Reviews and the right, middle sidebar for continuous real time RSS feed updates.

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Does The Twisted Road Tour Compare With TTN or TFA Tours?

"I said solo...they said acoustic" T-Shirt
Photo by Simpson!

We suppose that we'll never truly figure out Neil Young. And we'll certainly never understand many of our fellow Neil fans, either.

Some of the audience backlash to the Twisted Road Tour is almost truly beyond a parody.

Sure folks paid big bucks for the concerts. And not to diminish their expectations or valid reactions.

But some of this outrage about going to a Neil Young concert and not getting what you expected is beyond laughable. It's absurd. It's like David Geffen suing Young in the 1980's for "not making characteristic Neil Young albums".

Here's some typical anonymous outrage from last night's Neil Young concert in Louisville:

The coments [sic] on this site rarely represent what 99% of Neil young fans think.Having gone to over 100 shows and talking with folks afrter [sic] the shows and before shows when multiple shows are performed in one city,I realize how far from reality this site is. The site should be called , among other things, excusesforneil.com the shows are too short and most people leaving the show are pissed and rightfuly [sic] so...... but here, everyone acts like they don't want to offend Neil Young and say what needs to be said.There is no acceptable excuse for charging such outragous [sic] prices and playing 90 minutes, including a one new song encore.

No apologies here, my friend.

In our review of the tour thus far -- Expecting to See Neil Young (or Man Without A Net) -- we evoked an image of "Man On A Wire", a documentary film of a trapeze artist who walks a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center, in New York City in 1974. And somehow that image reminded us of Neil Young up there.



Up on the stage. Alone. Without a net. Trying to stay balanced. Sometimes leaning left, sometimes to the right. A tension of whether he might slip. And fall.

We alluded to the similarities to the TTN & TFA tours and audience backlash. And we did a reality check from someone who actually attended some TTN and TFA concerts. Don "Ride My Llama" in Sacramento, CA (between he and his wife Jan have logged over 300+ NY concerts) agreed with our premise that there are similarities with Twisted Road tour and those 1970 tours that left most in the audience completely bewildered by what they experienced.

While TR tour is certainly no where on par with the TTN and TFA tours, Don "Ride My Llama" also agreed the TR tour is probably as close as many of us will ever get to the experience and vibe of those fated and legendary '70's tours.

So here's a relevant comment on the current situation quoted from biography Shakey on the 1992 acoustic tour:

NEIL YOUNG: “It was good for me to realize how completely fuckin' out of touch with the audience I was. I went out there and played all new stuff - songs that really meant somethin' to me - and they were still lookin' at fifteen, twenty years ago, even though they were teenagers. These young people who wanted me to do my hits. Wanted me to do Ragged Glory, wanted me to do 'RITFW'. They wanted me to get out there, get real intense. They didn't understand that I don't always do that.

They didn't get what they wanted - but I got what I wanted.

Because I went out and did the songs and got in touch with what its like to play and communicate to an audience just with guitar, with songs they don't know that well. That's really where it lives. To get out there with new songs that no one knows and make them known, make them hear them. That's the challenge."

And, here's another reaction from Greg M (A Friend Of Yours):

Here’s the deal.

No one should be surprised, and that anyone is is what’s surprising!

Someone else made a comment along the lines of “Everyone came looking to hear what they wanted, everyone got a little of it, and everyone left a little disappointed. A lot like life itself.” Here I am again commenting that I can’t believe we’re having this discussion again.

Look, I appreciate that different people have different reactions, because everyone is coming from a different place, and that’s totally cool. I also appreciate the notion that Neil is not perfect, and I am totally hip to the possibility that some of the observations people have made may well be alarmingly accurate. But this is what you get. This is Neil, warts and all. This is what you’ve always gotten.

The only difference now is that the ticket prices have made people a little edgy. The true artistry here is that what you see is the real man himself, not a slick act where all the blemishes get air brushed out. He can be the way you’re describing, that’s a part of where the unvarnished truth of the music comes from. You just have to accept this for better or worse. This is not an egomaniac in disdain of his audience- maybe a man unfeelingly being himself despite his audience, granted.

I wish you had seen a two hour show, with no apparent mistakes, a bubbly Neil, and a transcendent musical experience. What you in fact saw was Neil without a net, Neil on a tight wire, Neil in all his imperfect humanity, Neil maybe “mining a shaft for gold that is increasingly hard to find”. But, you should at least admit and begrudgingly appreciate, that he did at least give you the chance to see him, and the chance to be able to say that you heard songs you didn’t like at first, or that were not performed well in their early development, that maybe you later came to really like and appreciate better for their improved versions. Maybe you end up not liking them at all.

It’s all a part of the deal. I’d trade places with you in a heart beat.

Greg M(A Friend Of Yours)

Thanks Greg M.!

Also, see Expecting to See Neil Young (or Man Without A Net).

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

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Knoxville Musicians, Artists, and Writers Comment on Neil Young

Neil Young performs in Knoxville tonight.

A bunch of local Knoxville musicians were asked about their favorite Neil Young albums.

Here's a small sample and check out other opinions on Hey Hey, My My: Knoxville Musicians, Artists, and Writers Comment on Neil Young : Music : Metro Pulse by Eric Dawson, Lee Gardner, Jack Neely, and Coury Turczyn:

“Motion Pictures" - On the Beach (Reprise, 1974)

My favorite Neil Young song?

That depends. Which album? See, the man made albums, all different and with this attitude of I-don’t-care-if-the-critics-get-it-or-you-even-like-it. True Neil fans will argue all night over his best album: Harvest? (Frat boys.) Tonight’s the Night? (Stoners.) After the Gold Rush? (Folkies.) American Stars ’n Bars? (Country rockers.) Time Fades Away? (Really stoners.) Or my favorite, On the Beach. Before I continue, I must say those are my top five albums, and each one has songs or even individual lines that speak to the listener: “It’s a cold bowl of chili when love lets you down,” from “Saddle Up the Palomino” on Stars ’n Bars. Hell, I’ll even drop a needle on Trans (techies) or Everybody’s Rockin’ (’50s rockers) but only once, only once, on Landing on Water. Neil, if you are reading this, regarding that album: WTF?

So it’s the album I owned on 8-track and left on the “endless” setting—the 1974 release On the Beach and the song “Motion Pictures,” a song I still cover, although sometimes I substitute “I hear the valley is doing fine” for the line “I hear the mountains are doing fine.” It painted life on the road (and not in a flattering light) before I even became a road denizen. And it has a message to your friends who chose a “normal” path: “All those people who think they’ve got it made, I wouldn’t buy, sell borrow or trade/anything I have to be like one of them/I’d rather start all over again.” That album is so depressing, even compared to other albums of Neil’s, but it leaves me with this sense of hope. “Newspaper headlines, they just bore me now/I’m deep inside myself but I will get out somehow.” I don’t know if he got out, but he got in me. Damn Canadian. I think of that album every time I’m on the road staring down a hotel television and drifting away for even a moment: “Motion pictures on my TV screen/A home away from home and I’m living in between.”

—Singer/songwriter Scott Miller

More on Hey Hey, My My: Knoxville Musicians, Artists, and Writers Comment on Neil Young : Music : Metro Pulse.

Also, see Neil Young fans favorite albums.

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Neil Young Concert Reviews - Palace Theatre Louisville, KY May 26, 2010

Photo Gallery by Ryan Armbrust - The Palace | Metromix Louisville

From The Musical Box:

Anyone thinking this was an unplugged return to the songsmith’s folkie roots was as mistaken as those who believed the show was going to be a by-the-numbers hits recitation.

Initially, “solo acoustic” was the order of the evening. Young opened the show by tracing back through the ‘70s for fine back-to-back readings of My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue), Tell Me Why and Helpless. But he didn’t stayed glued to the past for long. A trio of new and unreleased tunes, highlighted by the topically autobiographical Love and War and a boatload of bass pedal effects, followed. Then Young flipped the switch again by taking his weatherbeaten Les Paul guitar known as Ol’ Black out for Hitch Hiker (an unreleased gem of drug-hazed redemption that is an outgrowth of the Trans-era relic Like an Inca) and a revision of Down by the River that shifted from choruses of swampy ambience to verses riddled with electric shotgun blasts.

Young never touched an acoustic guitar again for the rest of the evening. He offered one song each on upright piano (the new, childlike Leia), pump organ (a hymn-like After the Gold Rush) and grand piano (a reverb soaked I Believe in You).

The rest was all jarring, glorious electricity that reached its zenith with Cortez the Killer, which grew out of whammy bar induced guitar twang and distortion to reclaim its place as one of Young’s darkest, most riveting peace anthems.

The performance ended with another new song (the seventh of the night), the jagged affirmation Walk With Me. Like most of the other new works, it was a fascinating, ear ringing electric playground of a tune. The older works may have been the crowd pleasers. But songs like Walk With Me are far more reflective of an artist facing, and moving, forward.

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Neil Young will be performing tonight at the Palace Theatre Louisville, KY. Special guest Bert Jansch will open concert.

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

Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates. Also, see Song Grid Chart.

Also, see Neil Young's "Twisted Road" Concert Tour Reviews and the right, middle sidebar for continuous real time RSS feed updates.

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Expecting to See Neil Young (or Man Without A Net)

Neil Young at Constitution Hall
Photo by Tracy Woodward/TWP

It's so hard to make arrangements for yourself when you're expecting to see Neil Young.

About half way through the concert in Washington last night, a scene from the documentary film "Man On A Wire" flickered by in our head.

"Man On A Wire" is a documentary film of a trapeze artist who walks a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center, in New York City in 1974. And somehow that image reminded us of Neil Young up there.



Up on the stage. Alone. Without a net. Trying to stay balanced. Sometimes leaning left, sometimes to the right. A tension of whether he might slip. And fall.

We've now seen both the Worcester and Washington concerts and wanted to share some thoughts. You've seen the setlists already:

- 7 new songs
- 3 or 4 classics re-interpreted solo electric like Down by the River, Cortez the Killer, Cinnamon Girl
- 1 unreleased and monumental "Hitchhiker"
- 8 or so different instruments including 3 pianos
- 1 Ol' Black

(btw, numbers add up to nothing)

Some scattered thoughts.

Acoustic feedback and electric solo. Neil version 64.00 re-inventing himself yet again.

Excellent sound at both Hanover Theater and Constitution Hall. And really loud, too.

In Worcester, Neil was much more talkative. He mentioned how the song Leia came about (some think this may be the "Leia"?), his new hat, listening to Bert Jancsh in Toronto, and a couple other odds and ends. He barely said a word in Washington.

Very nice stage setup with wooden indian, large lamps, pianos, cool colored backdrop. Warm lighting with lots of blues.

Good audiences each night. Very little shouted song requests and it would seem a high degree of audience respect, particularly Worcester.

Cortez the Killer was quite spectacularly sublime in Washington more so than Worcester. Neil seemed to really deliberately draw out almost every note making it seem more dirge like than raucous.

An incredible bass vibration is set off during several songs, particularly the new "Rumblin'" -- which literally causes the building to shake and vibrate. A very other- worldy effect.

The setlist with the new songs is quite remarkable. The tribute song to LA Johnson (1947-2010) "You Never Call" with a mention of Ben is quite heartbreaking when you know the story and context. Obviously, many in the audiences don't know the back story as they chortle and guffaw at lines about back pain, burgers and fries and Red Wing hockey games.

Seriously. Can you imagine how hard it must be to sing a song about a dear friend -- who you have known and worked with nearly your entire professional life -- suddenly dies taking your son to a hockey game?

"You Never Call" really encapsulates the mood and tone of the concerts. The ghost of L.A. fills the room and seems to hover over the stage. There is a foreboding tension in both the air and the audience. While this was not exactly a comparable situation to the Tonight's The Night or Time Fades Away tours when there was considerable bewilderment on the part of audiences, there are some comparisons with the Twisted Road tour.

7 new songs is expecting a lot of your audience. When the lights went up, there were many looks of almost puzzlement. The audience had been challenged and maybe left uncomfortable.

We've often argued that a Neil Young concert is almost like being part of performance artist workshop. As if almost anything could happen.

Over the course of the two concerts, we spoke to a lot of folks before and after and heard quite a range of opinions and expectations. Could probably say a lot about that but will pick up another comment about how your expectations going in often set your experience.

And so it would seem that this tour announced as "solo" turns out to have loud Ol' Black electric feedback?! God forbid.

Following Neil's career is about not setting expectations. It's about expecting the unconventional. When we read comments like this, this and this, we seriously wonder how a "fan" could be puzzled, bewildered or disappointed by a concert. The fact is that's a chance and a risk you take when you're a fan. If you can't handle it, then maybe you don't belong in the room and this is not for you?


"I said solo...they said acoustic" T-Shirt
Thanks Simpson!

The t-shirts in the lobby had the words: "I said solo. They said acoustic." Seldom has a concert t-shirt more succinctly expressed a concert sentiment.

Oh, did we mention he played *7* new songs? And Love and War is really fantastic.

I sang for justice and I hit a bad chord
But I'll still try to sing about love and war

And the setlist indeed had many songs of love and war. From Heart of Gold to Ohio. From I Believe in You to Cortez the Killer.

So back to Man On A Wire Playing Without A Net.

I'm really not sure if folks realize just how dangerous this is for Neil and what he has been through with the loss of LA.

And so it was with a man on a wire between the two twin towers. One side acoustic. The other electric.

Which way to go?

It was a nearly perfect balancing act between love and war. Electric and acoustic. Hey Hey My My. My My Hey Hey. Into the blue. Out of the black.

As esteemed Rustie Mark Golley reported in Uncut Magazine:

"Black & white, light & dark, life & death... He's counting down to the end in a stark, desperately revealing way.Almost surreal,the shows are heavy, draining, dense, intense and challenging. He's reinventing his own set of wheels. Again...

"Like no shows I've ever seen from Neil...."

It was a night where some in the audience thought it was too loud or not loud enough. Some thought too many new songs, others too few classics. Some came for the folky singer-songwriter, some for the hippie grunge rocker loner. Some wanted to sit and politely, clap & nod while others wanted to stand up and dance & rock out.

And you know what? They were all right. They all got some of what they were expecting. But didn't get everything they wanted. Kinda like life itself. Funny.

Sometimes changing your mind is so hard to do.

Oh yeah, and did we mention that there were seven (7) new songs debuted?


Neil Young at Constitution Hall
Photo by Tracy Woodward/TWP

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For more, Neil Young Concert Reviews of Washington, DC, May 24, 2010. Also, see more Neil Young's "Twisted Road" Concert Tour Reviews.

UPDATE: More reaction to this post @Does The Twisted Road Tour Compare With TTN or TFA Tours?

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Neil Young Concert Reviews - Washington, DC, May 24, 2010

UPDATE: Thrasher's Wheat review now posted: Expecting to See Neil Young (or Man Without A Net)

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From Washington Post: Click Track - In concert: Neil Young at Constitution Hall by David Malitz:

Neil Young's neverending desire to live in the present can be both his most fascinating and frustrating quality. Only a decade into his career he already possessed one of rock's great songbooks yet continued to add to it with a Woody Allen-like regularity. He sang about war in the '70s, went electronic in the early '80s, formed a grunge superpower alliance with Pearl Jam in the '90s and sang about war again in the '00s. He'll play his hits, but you can tell his heart is always with what's next.

"They're all the same. Good vibrations," he said to the audience before his lone encore number. It was a head-scratching statement, especially as it was just one of two times he addressed the crowd, but so was his choice for set closer. "I feel your strength/I feel your faith in me," he sang on "Walk With Me," another debut. But that lyric almost seemed beside the point. It's great to have fans, but it's Young's faith in himself as an artist that will keep him consistently intriguing for as long as he's still at it.

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Neil Young will be performing tonight at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall Washington, DC. Special guest Bert Jansch will open concert.

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

Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates. Also, see Song Grid Chart.

Also, see Neil Young's "Twisted Road" Concert Tour Reviews and the right, middle sidebar for continuous real time RSS feed updates.

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Thus Far: Some Thoughts on Albany and Buffalo Concerts by Neil Young

Here's an early tour report from esteemed Rustie Mark Golley from the UK who wrote to Uncut Magazine's John Mulvey:

"I came over to the US on Sunday," writes Mark, "and show one was Tuesday in Albany, NY.

"A genuinely remarkable show. Maybe not the best Neil show I've seen (I'm in the mid-50s there), but easily the most intense, darkest and weirdest.Seven new songs from his new "Twisted Road" project; an 18-song set(identical but tighter - more subtle - on night two in Buffalo).

"Despite being solo, only three songs were done on one of his acoustic Martins. There's one each for the tack piano, the pump organ and the grand piano. Everything else is on Old Black or the Gretsch White Falcon.

"Extraordinary deconstructions of "Down By The River", "Cinnamon Girl" and "Cortez The Killer". "Ohio" is towering, but it's "Hitchhiker" (rare as hen's teeth and resurrected here in an immense new form), hammered out on the Gibson, that shines like a beacon, the pivotal song which everything else hangs around.

"The new songs are tough to love at first, black to the core (the death of LA Johnson looming large, understandably so) but there are chinks of light. There's some Nash -like whimsy on "Leia", a song which was thought to be about his granddaughter (on night three Neil seemed to suggest otherwise). But the Lanois influence is washed over some new songs with the heaviest of brush strokes.

"(I'm told that, as it stands, the new album will be a solo electric record...I'm guessing that the material I know was recorded at the end of last year and early this year has been put on the back burner. These new songs are really new...)

"Black & white, light & dark, life & death... He's counting down to the end in a stark, desperately revealing way.Almost surreal,the shows are heavy, draining, dense, intense and challenging. He's reinventing his own set of wheels. Again...

"Like no shows I've ever seen from Neil...."

Thanks Mark! Nice to meet you Mark after the Worcester show. See you down the Twisted Road!

Also, see Karen's report on bigOfeature » Blog Archive » NEIL YOUNG’S TWISTED ROAD TOUR: STOPS 1 and 2. Nice job Karen!

More stories from Neil Young's "Twisted Road" Concert Tour Reviews.

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Concert Review of the Moment: Neil Young in Buffalo, NY, May 19, 2010

The Neil Young Concert Review of the Moment is from Buffalo, NY, May 19, 2010 by GEM:

Talk about having your cake & eating it too, well seeing Neil solo was the icing on the cake. The celebration for the cake was being at Shea's in the front row A, orchestra seating, 12 feet from Neil, with my soul mate beside me engulfed in Neils musical world, I love it all, old, new, out of this world tunes, it's all Neil!

Previewing new songs at any concert is a gift Neil chooses to give, its like winning the musical lottery that's amazing, watching Neil speak with his songs & instruments looking us in the eye with my husband next to me. We'll definately attend more concerts, it is always a pleasant surprise...

Neil offers his fans all around unexpected pleasures for sure. What I like about Neil is he's Neil; that is what makes him the successful one of a kind, like no other musician that he is, naturally. It is me, my husband & Neil; always has been & always will be, wouldn't be the same without either one of them in my life, my husband showed me what Neil is all about & 4 concerts later & many hours of Neils songs which I appreciate just as much as the person behind it all & whome I respect.

Thanks For Being Genuine over the years, Thanks For Keeping It Real & Never Losing your Love For Music or the reality of live, love, & the life of the people which you portray in your songs as well as their actions so clearly. One mans emotion touches everyone like a hand of friendship widely extended out to all the world. Neil is a very much enjoyed part of our musical family.

Keep on saving the music of the world Neil, by just being you in your many layers!

Music makes the world go round!

GEM's review was then followed by her husband Woodrow's thoughts:

Last night, my wife "Gem" & I saw Neil at Shea's, my 6th Neil concert. Some thoughts...The new songs are overall, very good, most were emotionally moving, they blended well with the old tunes. I'll need to hear the new ones many more times to be able say too much, but they seemed touched with equal amounts of melancholy, reflection, & pondering but also with optimism, vitality, & vigor. Humour as well, these are all things Neil has put into his songs through all the years.

Hitchhiker was definitely the standout song of the night, Neil showed such passion, and commited himself into that song just like the very best he's ever done. That one song was worth the ticket price alone.

Seeing Neil live & in person is like spending time with one you love, you cherish all of the times, the moments, whatever those times might hold, they're all priceless & one of a kind.

Electric Solo Neil is speachlessly amazing, Neil is able to somehow make his electic guitar combined with his vocals, sound so very close to a whole live band, with such depth of sounds... At times forgetting it eas just Neil up there. You simply have to experience it to really understand. Neil "WAS" the whole band. Nothing missing. Wow! The new album ought to be fabulous. 64 and there's so much more!

Thanks GEM & Woodrow!

More Neil Young Concert Reviews of Buffalo, NY, May 19, 2010.

Also, see more "Twisted Road" Concert Tour Reviews.

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Neil Young Concert Reviews - Wallingford, CT, May 23, 2010

From Neil Young at Oakdale - Courant.com By ERIC R. DANTON:

Rock 'n' roll is neither cathedral nor crypt, but there are moments that call for respectful, if not awestruck, silence.

Neil Young singing "Helpless" should have been one of them, but raucous bellows all too frequently accompanied Young in what was billed as a solo performance Sunday night at Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford.

Solo, maybe, but certainly not acoustic. Although the veteran singer and songwriter made no mention of the cloddish behavior of a few, he did spend a fair bit of his 90 minutes on stage drowning out the catcalls and boozy expressions of esteem by playing an electric guitar that resembled, in tone and volume, several dozen klaxons.

Young devoted a chunk of his set to newer songs, delivering a murder-ballad narrative on "Peaceful Valley" and a meditation on opposites with "Love and War," playing dark, reverberating guitar lines on a charmingly cluttered American Gothic-style stage with guitars and amplifiers in the middle, flanked on three sides by pianos and an organ, with a red-and-white striped banner like bars from the American flag hanging at the back of the stage.

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Neil Young will be performing tonight at the Oakdale Theatre Wallingford, CT. Special guest Bert Jansch will open concert.

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

Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates. Also, see Song Grid Chart.

Also, see Neil Young's "Twisted Road" Concert Tour Reviews and the right, middle sidebar for continuous real time RSS feed updates.

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Photo Gallery: Neil Young - Palace Theatre, Albany - 5/18/10

Neil Young - Palace Theatre, Albany - 5/18/10
Photo Gallery by Meta Nemegi





More of Photo Gallery by Meta Nemegi.

Thanks Meta!

Also, see Neil Young Concert Reviews - Albany, NY, May 18, 2010 and Neil Young's "Twisted Road" Concert Tour Reviews.

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Pre-Concert Gathering for Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall

Hey,

Next Monday, May 24, Neil Young will play DAR Constitution Hall, Washington, DC.

Pre-concert gathering @:

Exchange Saloon
1719 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 · 202.393.4690
http://www.theexchangesaloon.com/

Festivities begin around 5P.

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"Ohio" - Buffalo, NY May 19th 2010 on YouTube

Neil Young, "Ohio" solo. Shea's Performing Arts Center. Buffalo, NY May 19th 2010, Youtube video by phishphun

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