Concert Reviews of Neil Young:Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, PA, April 30 & May 1, 2011

A review that manages to undermine its thesis with a backhanded compliment of the concert.

From Neil Young intriguing but not life-changing at Tower | Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/02/2011 By Dan DeLuca:

The 17-song set list - which Young has performed with little variation on this tour - mixed acoustic gems such as 'Helpless' and 'I Believe in You' with Le Noise material, plus rampaging warhorses such as 'Down by the River' and 'Cinnamon Girl,' done in the layered, solo electric Le Noise style.

Sounds great, right? It wasn't, quite. At least not by the elevated standards of Young, who seemed crankier than usual. That might have been in response to high-volume audience members who persisted in bellowing out requests long after it was clear he had no intention of granting them. Before doing a jaunty new song called 'Leia' on piano, Young dedicated it to 'the little people, who aren't yelling their asses off.'

The purely acoustic numbers, particularly the opening trio of 'My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue),' 'Tell Me Why,' and 'Helpless,' were sublime. A study in perpetual motion even when seated, his ever-distinctive high tenor piercing the night, Young has no equal when it comes to commanding the attention of a few thousand with just his guitar and voice.

The rest of the show was more problematic.

More of Dan DeLuca's review where we were left scratching our heads at how someone can find a concert "problematic" because it is "not life-changing."

Talk about lofty expectations of "the critics"...

Another take...

From Neil Young Impresses Solo at the Tower | On That Note by Ed Condran:

Young effectively ended the set with the new moving cut ‘Walk With Me.’ However, there were points when Young was utterly transcendent. The gorgeous ‘Helpless,’ ‘My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)’ and ‘Down By the River’ were more than worth the price of admission.

It was just Young and a wall of noise. He alternated from guitar to piano to pipe organ. The eccentric icon appeared to chat with a cigar store Indian, one of the few objects adorning a spare stage set.

The quirky Young proved to be mesmerizing whether stooped over in that familiar manner while jamming away on his guitar or tickling the ivories.

The waves of noise were a reminder, who is truly the Godfather of grunge.

There were moments in which Young and his old warhorses took fans to another place, which felt awfully good.

From CONCERT REVIEW: Neil Young @ Tower Theatre, 4/30 | Philadelphia City Paper | 05/01/2011 by Sam Adams:

Clad in a white linen jacket and Panama hat, Young opened with the Greatest Hits trio of “My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue),” “Tell Me Why” and “Helpless,” but that proved to be something of a (doubtless purposeful) misdirection for a set half composed of lesser-known songs, including six of Le Noise’s eight tracks and the unreleased “Leia” and “You Never Call.” That previous audiences might not have welcomed the approach could be gleaned from the laminated signs posted in the lobby, which read in part, “The artists respectfully request that you refrain from whistling or yelling out during the performance,” which loosely translates as, “I played ‘Cinnamon Girl.’ Now shut the fuck up.”

That didn’t stop one beefy dude from repeatedly yelling “What the fuck?!” as the crowd streamed out after Young’s single encore, but then he’s spent decades perfectly the delicate art of getting classic-rock fans to turn out whether he’s playing the hits or a rock opera about environmental revolution. Saturday’s show might not have been what the audience was expecting — and chances are Sunday’s will be much the same — but those who came with open ears heard Young finding new ways into well-worn classics and forging onward with characteristic eccentricity. At times, the show recalled Young’s defense of his scattershot run of 1980’s releases: “You can call me erratic, but I’ve always been consistent about it — consistently erratic.”

From This time, Neil Young delights his fans - phillyBurbs.com By ED CONDRAN:

Fans were well behaved this time around, at least by Young standards. They were attentive while he showcased tracks from his latest album, 'Le Noise,' a solid collection inspired by life and loss that alternates between cacophonous rock and softer, folkier numbers.

Young effectively ended the set with the new moving cut 'Walk With Me.' However, there were points when he was utterly transcendent. The gorgeous 'Helpless,' 'My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)' and 'Down By the River' were more than worth the price of admission.

It was just Young and a wall of noise. He alternated from guitar to piano to pipe organ. The eccentric icon appeared to chat with a cigar store Indian, one of the few objects adorning a spare stage set.

The quirky songsmith proved to be mesmerizing whether stooped over in that familiar manner while jamming away on his guitar or tickling the ivories.

The waves of noise were a reminder of who is truly the Godfather of grunge.

There were moments in which Young and his old warhorses took fans to another place, which felt awfully good.

Excellent vibe review on Amused Cynic.

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Neil Young will be performing tonight at Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. 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.

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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Preview of "MusicCares Tribute to Neil Young" BluRay/DVD

Here's the Trailer for "A MusicCares Tribute to Neil Young," out on DVD and Blu-ray on May 31, 2011.


MusicCares Tribute to Neil Young [Blu-ray]
(Click to Zoom Cover)

The new DVD/Blu-ray disc captures the 2010 MusiCares gala honoring Young as Person of the Year, and features a stacked roster of artists, including Elvis Costello, Dave Matthews, Wilco, and Lady Antebellum paying tribute to the music legend. Young was honored for his body of work, as well as his philanthropic efforts over the years.

Proceeds from the sales of the DVD/Blu-ray will go to MusiCares, which gives musicians in need financial and medical assistance.


Musicians Dave Matthews, guest, Jason Mraz, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Shawn Colvin and James Taylor onstage at the 2010 MusiCares Person Of The Year Tribute To Neil Young at the Los Angeles Convention Center on January 29, 2010 in Los Angeles, California

A MusiCares Tribute to Neil Young Program Listing:

1. Rockin’ In The Free World – Keith Urban/John Fogerty/Booker T. Jones
2. Only Love Can Break Your Heart – Lady Antebellum
3. The Needle & The Damage Done – Dave Matthews
4. Tell Me Why – Norah Jones
5. Cinnamon Girl – Dierks Bentley/Booker T. Jones
6. Harvest Moon – Josh Groban
7. Ohio – Ben Harper
8. Don’t Let It Bring You Down – Jackson Browne
9. Broken Arrow – Wilco
10. Lotta Love – Jason Mraz/Shawn Colvin
11. (When You’re On) The Losing End – Elvis Costello
12. Heart Of Gold – James Taylor
13. Down By The River – John Mellencamp/T Bone Burnett
14. Human Highway – Crosby, Stills & Nash
15. Helpless – Elton John/Leon Russell/Neko Case/Sheryl Crow

BONUS PERFORMANCES:

16. Mr. Soul – Ozomatli
17. Revolution Blues – Everest


Neil Young
2010 MusiCares Person Of The Year Tribute
Los Angeles Convention Center, January 29, 2010

Pre-order MusicCares Tribute to Neil Young on Amazon.com. Proceeds from the sales of the DVD/Blu-ray will go to MusiCares, which gives musicians in need of financial and medical assistance. (Just a reminder, purchases thru Amazon help support Thrasher's Wheat. Thank you!)





YouTube - Wilco live "Broken Arrow" (Neil Young cover) Feb 9, 2010 Schnitzer Hall, Portland, OR

Also, see Neil Young News: Neil Young Honored As MusiCares Person Of The Year.

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Concert Reviews of Neil Young: Hippodrome, Baltimore, MD, April 27 & 28, 2011

Neil Young - "Walk With Me"
Hippodrome, Baltimore, MD, April 27, 2011
Photo by Thrashette

From Midnight Sun: Take Two: Neil Young at the Hippodrome Theater April 27 - Nightlife: Baltimore’s music, bars, clubs, events and night scene from Erik Maza - baltimoresun.com by Nick Madigan:

Neil Young is determined to prove he can do it alone.

Calmly strolling the stage of Baltimore's Hippodrome as though it were his living room, taking his time to decide what to play next from his vast repertoire and an array of guitars and pianos -- even a pump organ -- Young seemed on Wednesday night to be living his performer's ideal, a musician unencumbered by other musicians, true only to his muse and the vagaries of spontaneous choice.

At 65 years old, and with a five-decade career still going strong, Young long ago earned the right to do whatever he likes. Sometimes, the results are uneven, even startlingly so.

For all his renown as a composer of gentle sensibilities, Young's rock-and-roll has the force of a Sherman tank, all guns firing.

But Young, always self-effacing and painstakingly honest, has never pandered to the desires of anyone, whether acolytes or recording executives, and retains a bemused tolerance for the excesses of the entertainment world and the pressures it brings to others.

Twitter / @Josh Charles

From Midnight Sun: Neil Young at the Hippodrome Theater April 27 - baltimoresun.com by Sam Sessa:

Few musicians have stayed as relevant as long as Young.

Even now, when many of his peers have settled into their umpteenth Greatest Hits tour, Young refuses to give people exactly what they want to hear. He'd rather give them what he wants them to hear. That was the case at the Hippodrome Wednesday night, where Young performed solo on acoustic and electric guitar.

Many audience members were expecting a hit parade or an all-request hour, shouting suggestions at Young, who brushed them off. While he did play a handful of his signature pieces, such as 'Ohio,' 'Helpless' and an excellent 'Cortez the Killer,' much of Young's set was music from his latest album, 'Le Noise' and other newer songs.

Young's dimly lit set, with its wooden Indian and hodgepodge of instruments, recalled a rustic saloon. Spotlights cast four rectangular panels on the dark curtain behind him, giving the impression of a church's stained glass windows at twilight.

Scroll down for reader comments on Midnight Sun: Neil Young at the Hippodrome Theater April 27 - baltimoresun.com.

Photo Gallery: Neil Young performing in Baltimore

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Neil Young will be performing tonight at Hippodrome, Baltimore, Maryland. 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.

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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"Cortez the Killer": Neil Young @ Boston, Apr 20th 2011 on YouTube

Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer" in Boston Apr 20th 2011 on YouTube.

Also, see Concert Reviews and Photos of Neil Young - Boston, MA, April 19 & 20, 2011.

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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.

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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Concert Review of the Moment: Neil Young - Providence Rhode Island, April 22, 2011

The Neil Young Concert Review of the Moment is from Providence Rhode Island, April 22, 2011 by the always delightful ShittyHorse:

Seeing Neil Young play live is always an extraordinary couple hours- always.

To have a true music and cultural legend be in the room, doing what he does best- performing his art for you. A Neil show is always an event, a real musical experience- never have I gotten the feeling- after 17 shows that it was simply being 'phoned in'. Knowing the setlist ahead of time, I figured I knew what to expect going in- but I was completely wrong! The songs are just the canvas to which Neil lays down the true creation that evening- the performance. I think we may, as an audience, get too hung up on songs in a strict sense. We want to hear this song or that song, while missing the overall feel and vibe of the evening.

I believe the key to the whole Twisted Road/Le Noise trip may be the nuance- the subtleties going on constantly. The lights on the four panels behind Neil changing colors at specific songs or specific lyrics- such as red when Neil sings 'what a Killlerr' on Cortez or the 'Earth Colors' changing and becoming distorted on Rumbling, the album itself with its small sonic touches of color, also the setlist, the stage setup and the choosing of instruments, etc. I believe many things are completely intentional and thought out as has sort of been Neil's trip going back to Tonight's the Night and Rust Never Sleeps. Small touches, that may have little or a lot of meaning, that when taken all together make for huge artistic expression and experience.

Having seen the Twisted Road on its first leg, about four or five shows in (Wallingford CT) I must say that tonight's show was much more Rockin' and in your face compared to the first, which in comparison seemed much more dark, and slightly mysterious- spooky, which was why I originally liked it to the closest thing to Tonight's the Night. In Wallingford that night, Neil seemed to be exorcising some real demons. In Providence, Neil seemed much more confident in this material and delivered it well. The album has been released, the songs were now aged a bit and road tested with, again, subtle changes throughout.

Neil enters the stage very nonchalantly, without the entrance songs or darkened lights, etc. just steps out- which I love. The audience gave him the welcome he deserves- an eruption of a roaring ovation that went on for a few minutes. Neil sits and strums the opening riff of Hey Hey, My My- the riff that first turned my head around and caught my ears when I put on RNS just by chance because I liked the cover, thus beginning my long road of being a Neil fan. Tonight's rendition was excellent and moving. Tell Me Why and Helpless were both very well done. As a huge fan I was looking forward to the Le Noise material slightly more than the hits and of course Neil doesn't disappoint. You Never Call, this time around seemed much starker and more moving than the first time- (this time he included all the lyrics). The Hitchhiker was PHENOMINAL- he shook that ornate little theater! I love that bass petal he uses- he steps on that thing and the bass literally blasts you in the face and shakes your seat- very disorienting, but in a good way. When Neil just stops cold for one second after 'we had a kid and we split apart' it's breathtaking.

Other highlights were Ohio, Down by the River- on which Neil jammed just slightly more between verses this time out. Leia, I found really poignant perhaps because I have a 15 month old daughter, were that not the case I think I'd still like it as the sort of little ditty that Neil has done throughout his career (Till the Morning Comes, Cripple Creek Ferry). Also an excellent Sign of Love and I Believe in You (a little less echo or reverb on his voice this time out I think). Cinnamon Girl was great, but that's the one song he does I feel doesn't work well solo electric- it just needs that stomp! But then he came back Walk with Me and he hit it right out of the park- more feedback, more passion this time- the meaning, it seemed was not lost on this audience. He left the stage ringing and it was over too quickly.

A great show!

My only complaint is that the seats in the theater were TIGHT! Possibly worse than MSG? Really packed in and it got hot in there. Also the greatest hits crowd are somewhat annoying- but that's the fanatic in me I suppose. Someone was yelling out some really obscure tunes like 'Pressure'- which was funny. I bought a beautiful show program filled with excellent photos and drawings done by Eric Johnson.

Bert Jansch was awesome! What a player! Just be quiet and listen- you'll be amazed at this huge talent!

If you are seeing a show on this tour, go with an open mind and pay attention! I'm really glad Neil decided to go out on the Twisted Road again and look forward to the next thing- whatever it may be.

Thanks Neil.

Thanks SH! Excellent, my friend, as always.

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

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"HitchHiker": Landmark Theater, Richmond, VA, April 17, 2011

The epic "HitchHiker" by Neil Young at Landmark Theater, Richmond, Virginia on April 17, 2011.

Over 6 minutes long, great audio, up close, Neil Rocks on the electric guitar. Previously unreleased '80's song off of the new Le Noise CD.

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

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