Neil Young Concert Reviews: Avery Fisher Hall, New York City, NY, April 24 & 25, 2011

Neil Young
Avery Fisher Hall, New York City, NY, April 24, 2011
Photo by Norman Y. Lono

From Live: Neil Young And Bert Jansch Preside Over Avery Fischer Hall - New York Music - Sound of the City By Andy Beta:

Better than: Easter dinner with your two guitar-playing grandfathers.

Critical bias: My favorite Neil Young songs of late are about him wishing he could be a fish ('Will to Love') or wishing he was a robot (see Trans).

Overheard: At a lull between songs: 'Play whatever you want, old man!' (Though it could've also been: 'Play whatever you want.' 'Old Man!')

Random notebook dump: 'Helpless' was accompanied by the gentlest crowd singalong ever heard.

Photo by Brian Harkin

From Neil Young, Playing Solo, at Avery Fisher Hall - Review - NYTimes.com By BEN RATLIFF (who actually writes with true knowledge of guitar playing styles):

“I feel a rumblin’ in her ground,” Neil Young sang, alone onstage at Avery Fisher Hall, playing his Gretsch White Falcon, sounding the low notes of a strummed chord, muting them a little with the heel of his hand. The song was generally about planet earth but could have been specifically about where he stood. As he struck those low notes, the metal fixtures in the room talked back: the exit signs, the lighting plates and possibly the balcony railings all rattled like rivets in a cymbal.

And then the full effect. It wasn’t much to look at. He switched off between his usual instruments, the White Falcon and a black Gibson Les Paul, through two Fender deluxe amplifiers. Playing “Down by the River,” he flipped his guitar’s selector switch up and down between verses and choruses. Occasionally he hit a pedal to engage a slow and subtle phase effect. That was all, or at least all you could see.

The reverb — in the amplifiers, not in the room — took on an extraordinary quality, as if the implied space in the music became a little more real. The sound seemed giant-size but not painful: it didn’t fire at you, it enveloped you. Mr. Young’s shows generally suggest sophisticated thinking about frequencies and pain thresholds, but this was something else again.

Neil Young
Avery Fisher Hall, New York City, NY, April 24, 2011
Photo by Brian Clark

From Rock legend Neil Young played eclectic with NYC show, playing from new CD 'Le Noise,' old classics BY Jim Farber:

Guitar hero, acoustic balladeer, country bumpkin, grunge pioneer, electronic dabbler: Neil Young has played all these roles in his 45 year career. But at Avery Fisher Hall Sunday night - for the first of two sold-out shows - he melded two into something winningly rare.

Appearing alone, as he periodically does, Young roamed between acoustic and electric guitars, as well as piano, pipe organ, and harmonica. But the most interesting pieces found him mashing up two roles he usually keeps apart: solo performer and electric jammer. Some songs that Young might commonly have rendered as full-on band rave-ups with Crazy Horse, like 'Ohio' or 'Cortez The Killer,' he delivered with just a lone, purposely distorted electric guitar.

The cross-pollination mirrors the strategy of his latest CD, 'Le Noise,' an album he created with Daniel Lanois in the produce's home studio. That disc features wall to wall solo pieces doused with electro-feedback, making for an ironic mix of intimacy and amplification.

From Live Report: Neil Young At Lincoln Center by Carter Maness:

The crowd, split between the usual Lincoln Center blazer wearers and these sorts of original fans wearing frayed flannel or concert shirts from the '70s, was reverent throughout the night. It didn't hurt that the stage design reflected the music perfectly. Art deco lamps illuminated the pianos, while a cigar store indian's eyes reflected the venue's Rothko-esque backdrop as it slowly shifted during the set.

Musically, the progression from acoustic numbers to electric classics like 'Cinnamon Girl' and 'Cortez The Killer' was a bit surprising yet ultimately successful. Using a multi-amplifier approach like on Le Noise, Young's low notes boomed with great clarity and his highs were sonically sharp. His voice remains distinct and full. It's inspiring to watch a performer of Young's age and caliber still at the top of his game.

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Neil Young will be performing tonight at Avery Fisher Hall, New York City, New York. Special guest Bert Jansch will open concert.

Got a report? Drop a comment below.

Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates and Chronological Grid, Recording Summary, Statistics and Extras.

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