Concert Reviews: Neil Young & Crazy Horse - London, Ontario, Oct. 6
Neil Young & Crazy Horse will be performing tonight at the John Labatt Centre, London, Ontario, Canada.
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Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Don't Be Denied!
Labels: 2012, canada, concert, crazy horse, neil young, ontario, review, tour
by thrasher@PermaLink: 10/06/2012 09:18:00 PM
48 comments
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48 Comments:
Awesome show, Neil and the Horse were rockin'. Opened with Oh Canada which was obviously well received. Mr. Soul for the encore was a nice surprise. Neil is sounding and playing as good as I've ever heard him.
Mr Soul and Roll Another Number! Awesome. Can't wait to see the horse in Pittsburgh
Awesome show last night Neil and Crazy Horse rocked the house ....the only negative thing that could be said was for the people that wouldn't let the fans enjoy the show when did happen that you had to sit down at a concert and not rock to the music shame on them for having the young fans who were not obnoxious just standing up removed by the police
Are we the only ones who were very disappointed? It was a steep down-hill after the opening Oh Canada! While we appreciated Neil's musical experimentation we would have enjoyed hearing a few more of his songs we know and love.
Awesome show. Nice to see Neil and the remaining Crazy Horse members together. You could tell they were enjoying each other’s company. Not the perfectly polished performance that is expected in this day and age but a showcase of true musicianship. Neil and the Horse could win over any crowd. If you have never seen Neil with CH you don’t really know Neil…
TC
going to his show tommorow night in cleveland,cant wait!!!
10:49 anon: why don't you go trolling somewhere else. Warning to all trolls: we see you, we smell you, we can hear you....
I agree, any NYCH concert that starts with a 20 yr old classic off his best album, and is followed by one of his most popular songs on his entire album - which together fill the first 15 minutes - is indeed a steep decline....
My biggest complaint would have been the absence of new material and the inclusion of old tired out songs like cin girl and mr soul (lol).
Thrasher: is there no chance of killing off the trolls?
Terrific tour... Rustic ...loud non stop..feedback...severing old black ... A throw back tour with the horse new stuff... Fantastic ... hail Neil ... 66 going on 26
Brian C. ( a Neil follower for the past 37 years)
Loved it. Fantastic show again (saw the Windsor show too). Mr. Soul and Roll Another Number were definite surprises. What a treat to see the boys playing so well and having so much fun. Lots of smiles on stage.
Only drawback was the douchebag behind us who was letting out this shrill whistle through the entire concert. Shut the fuck up!
A very good show in London and after the first three shows, hard to pick one above better than the others,
its not a competition, all had some highs over other shows
WLAG tremendous in London.....enhance your deft Dinosaur dancing at the end of the song Neil !
Ramada Inn is a real winner, great tempo and playing, strong song, playing, choruses and hooks
both songs have great choruses really enhanced by Billy Ralphs and Poncho extra vocals and whistles
London had some great sparring between Neil and Poncho esp during a gonzo-tastic Fuckin'up with Neil screaming at Poncho that his guitar wasnt "f'd up " great vibes, for which the only sensible thing to do was for Poncho to kick Billy
the hope is they will be braver, challenege a bit more with song selection.....get that Country Home back out there, startle us with a rip roaringly paced HitchHiker that i dream of the Horse doing, park Powderfinger and aim for one rarity an night to keep the crowds and the Horse on their toes
To Anonymous 10:49,
For the record, what are "a few more of his songs we know and love."? What percentage of those songs could he have used to make the show more to your liking? And why should Neil Young tailor his performance to YOUR expectations? Do you think he is psychic and considers YOUR wants and needs? You paid to see him. He didn't pay you for your opinion.
Which of his "experimentations" left you "disappointed"? and why? Was it the volume? The melodic structure? The narrative content? Too much distortion? A displeasing chord sequence? Too much A minor? How much should the jams be truncated? By what standard do you make these criticisms?
Did you think an appearance with Crazy Horse meant an evening of gentle acoustic music?
Don't just come on here to bleat. Be constructive and clear with your criticism.
Not that it matters, but at least you wouldn't sound so lame with your vague and kind of pathetic sounding complaints. Why did you go in the first place? You don't seem to be more than just a very casual listener. Were your tickets free?
Damn, those troll newspaper reviewers were out again, too. From the London Free Press:
"The grunge and garage noise did take up much more of the two hours than Young fans who like their Neil sweet and lyrical could enjoy.
"At least one unhappy camper, noticing this critic's notepad, said the review should say how 'horrible' it was.
"Noise does annoy. Horrible? No.
"Even the most extended crunch time to take us out of Walk Like A Giant could be defended as the soundtrack for an environmental disaster movie. Yes, Crazy Horse went on and on making noises like dinosaurs on their last stomp while a lab-coated roadie helped plastic bags and newspapers blow across the stage.
"Young's message with the post-Giant noise may be that if we don't clean up our environment act, this will be the miserable end awaiting us. Okay, point made. It did go on and on and on."
Review as a whole is very positive, though the ill-prepared critic obviously was clueless about the "Psychedelic Pill" concept: http://www.lfpress.com/2012/10/06/neil-young-and-crazy-horse-playing-at-budwiser-gardens-in-london
what a great show, neil just gets better as he gets older, the band was on fire and really looked to get into the show,
WLAG will become a classic ( to bad some people cant see that before the masses have to tell you)
to say it went down hill after the national anthem, where were you? or what werre you expecting a hockey game?
after this show I will make the trip to Kitchener in November to see Neil and the horse again,,
thanks Neil for coming to London and playing music, and not doing a greatest hits has been tour like alot of other bands,
Keep marching to the beat of your own drum. !!!!!!
Oh, and by the way, Thrash, is there no chance of killing off those who use juvenile name-calling to decry others who disagree with them?
Hey Zuma Breath & your buddy Troll, you are the most righteous-sounding dbags I've maybe have ever heard on these pages. Let me guess, Neil's dumps always smell like a beautiful flower and his turds are gold in color and have a nice ribbon around them like a fancy cigar too. Sadly, it's buffoons like you two that keep this site from what it should be. There's plenty of validity to what people are saying. Hate to break it to you _sswipes, but Neil doesn't give a s_it about you either. There's alot same old, same old with Mr. Young right now. An eight year wait for what should be unforgettable and he and the Horse give us been there, done that. They've been entirely forgettable to date. Something I never thought I'd say about Neil—predictable. This from someone who's had enough after four shows. btw, do I think Neil's great, yea.
I love this place. Thank you, Thrasher, for attracting such a lively crowd.
I'm really glad that Neil and the Horse are doing the long giant footsteps departure in WLAG.
It reminds me of the divergence in Pink Floyd's echoes. I mean, it has a completely different vibe, but it's the same kind of beautiful self-indulgent exploration, and both have these repeating noises that go on for a long time.
You could say it's self-indulgent, but somehow I don't think people minded when Floyd performed Echoes live.
Could it be that the giant footsteps are these huge, angry, reverberating, low frequency, pounding thuds?
Maybe people just think it's not pretty; they want to hear something sweet sounding, and here's the band hammering out these enormous, relentless, violent, exploding pulses of sound for 5 minutes or so.
But even that's only like 5 minutes long, and it's not like the rest of the show isn't filled with soaring beauty and wonderful expressions, so you'd think people wouldn't focus so much on it all things considered.
I don't know, it's an enigma to me. People zoom in on one thing and obsess about it. And even though they play a whole bunch of "songs we know and love", if they don't hear the one or two they were really hoping to hear, they blame it on the new material and/or the 5 minute sonic nuclear bombardment at the end of Walk Like a Giant.
I understand feeling disappointed, though. I've often wished a band would play a certain song and then felt a bit denied when they didn't.
I saw Built to Spill some time back, and I was the idiot yelling out "Play Car!", and they didn't play Car, probably because of me, which is a shame, but oh well, it was still an awesome show!
Great show last night in London! The energy and good vibes on stage were apparent from the opening anthem, but really kicked into high gear during "Fuckin' Up". Felt like Poncho and Neil were laughing and talking with each other the whole song -- and what solos by Neil! They rocked that song harder than I thought possible.
Overall, what I was most impressed with was Neil's guitar work. The octave technique he was using on parts of the "Ramada Inn" solo was some of the finest guitar playing I've ever heard by Neil. A completely different sound than what I'm used to hearing from him.
Loved the "Roll Another Number" finale, and can't wait to roll myself on to another stop on the Alchemy tour.
My my, Anonymous at 2:48 certainly woke up in some kind of grumpy mood! Not a very uplifting use of foul language, on a Sunday no less! Keep it klassy!
In case you haven't read these posts, my issue is with those who complain about an experience they voluntarily participated in. There is no way 100% of any audience will enjoy any given show, but I don't understand what is gained by their usually crude and simple minded snits, as they're not enlightening or informing. And I also have to laugh that they somehow consider their pronouncements on what Neil Young should or shouldn't do is of such importance....
......and then have the chutzpah to become irate because most other participants on this forum disagree with their crude comments.
i always like to see the old rockers from wayback and listen to them live, neil needs to understand i came to hear his hits and new stuff and have a great time . i was disapointed in some songs and really enjoyed some. the distortion ending in walk like a giant was too much, he needs to end songs sooner without blasting distortion. i was at the john fogarty concert a few weeks back and left amazed, neil didnt do enough of his hits and realy his show was short..sorry tm
All I can say is that for my own gratification, I cannot wait for NY & CH headlining next Saturday's Austin City Limits Music Fest... I will wade through a hundred mediocre groups in anticipation of Neil and The Horse to headline and make these young'uns sound like they should have learned to play music instead of pressing digital buttons.
Descending from my soap-box, I will just leave all of the fair-weather free-ticket concert attendees and idjits who claim to love NY but all they do is gripe and complain and whine with the following question and final NY quote:
ARE YOU FUCKNUTS FROM AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE ??? Do you trouble-makers even have clue that NY has ALWAYS done just what HE wanted to do, not you fools' commercial bidding?
"So all you critics sit alone
You're no better than me for what you've shown"
PEACE & LOVE
-- Eric
"ARE YOU FUCKNUTS FROM AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE ???"
Amen, brother Eric!
This comment has been removed by the author.
As an old fart who has been listening to Neil Young's various changes in personna since 1969, I would say that the show was 70 % great and 30% filler. The highlights were offset by Neil's self indulgent bombastic never ending endings which were neither creative ( except perhaps for Walks Like a Giant) nor ear pleasing.
Appearing with Crazy Horse, I was not expecting a laid back acoustic show but I would have expected better from someone charging $100 for an average seat.
Los Lobos proved to be an amazing warm up act.
The last 3 shows I saw, Fogerty at JLC, Downey at the Music Hall and Buck 65 in Toronto cost the same as my single ticket for Neil's show. And frankly all 3 blew the doors off Mr Soul for sheer energy, originality and for their ability to give the audience what they wanted while still indulging their own musical experimentations. Neil achieved the latter but left much of his audience out of the equation.
How on earth you can say John Fogerty exhibited more originality when 95% of his show is CCR - Chronicles/Best of from his 60s/70s is beyond me.
And complaining about the ticket price? Give me a break, this is what was listed on the London arena website for prices: "$53.00, $75.00 (GA Only), $83.00, $103.00, $183.00." Plenty of sub-$100 options for you to choose from.
That's nice if Fogerty charges less. He's also nowhere near as influential as Neil Young, and has had nowhere near the creative longevity, and is no longer playing with the band that he was with when the majority of his set was done.
Walk on
While we're on the topic of John Fogerty, I also saw him recently in Toronto. I left that show with a feeling of bemusement. The songs are good, but his band has no passion. He had some hired hands as his band, who are clearly just cashing a paycheque and/or padding their resumes. The drummer was playing a big thick "rock" sound, which made the music sound cheap (for lack of a better word). Although John himself was great (singing and guitar playing), I felt like I was seeing nothing more than a technically proficient cover band. Nothing against John Fogerty, but if he would be more careful about who he entrusts with his great music, his shows would be infinitely more special. Neil Young and Crazy Horse have always been the real deal. They play because they love it, period. That translates to the performance, and you couldn't (and shouldn't) ask for anything more from any artist. And to pipe in about the actual show that this news post is about.. I was there, about 10 feet from the band, just left of centre. Amazing show. Ramada Inn was beautiful. I closed my eyes for the whole song. Just me and that music. That sound.
Well said about some of the more 'intangible' aspects of a live performance.
for the people that loved the set list and the show thats wonderful !!!
for those who didnt, Neil doest care never has and never will, and a true Neil fan would know that ,,
but to get a little incite on the man and why he is a legend,, read some of this http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/magazine/neil-young-comes-clean.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
(sigh) I guess now Fogerty has the puppets he apparently wanted Tom Stu and Doug to be...As for Neil, y'all really should go to his show with NO EXPECTATIONS...be grateful Neil is still here...
I am not a troll but somenone who has grown up on a steady musical diet of Neil's music and concerts. The passion is very much present in his music today but the lyrics are embarrassing. I think he's really lost sight of his gift of storytelling using images and symbols. He could maximize lyrics by using images and symbols. That's what pulled you into his songs. Like I said, the passion is still there, but the words he chooses minimizes the experience for me. Dylan will always be the master over lyrics and storytelling. Fogerty will always be master over riffs and licks. When Neil tries to be both. He looks ridiculous. Townshend can do both.
I agree with the last Anonymous (come on, man, sign a bullshit name, for chrissake!). Totally.
Neil's song writing does seem to have gone downhill recently, in terms of lyrics, Maybe it's because he's stopped smoking weed and drinking, I don 't know, but the unimaginative lyrics of, for instance, "Ontario" are downright embarrasing. As Randy Newman once, famously said, about another song: "They just lie there on the page, like a turd." For you beautiful newcomers to this site, compare that to "Don't Be Denied" and you'll notice the difference rightaway. Shocking.
Neil's gift in song writing, I might humbly suggest, has never been literary, like Dylan's, nor would-be literary, like Lou Reed's, but journalistic, like his dad's. Compare "Powderfinger" to "Sad Eyed Lady of the Low Lands", or even "Sweet Jane", and you'll see the difference. Neil Young is a reporter, not a poet.
What's lacking in his newest lyrics, is the imaginative skill of the reporter.
Neil's lyrics had been on a down hill trend this last decade but I think Psychedelic Pill marks a clear trend reversal. He's gotten simpler and more direct in recent years, which is fine, but they were missing something. That something is back. PP itself is wilfully simple in a punk sort of style and I love it. Ramada Inn is direct, unflinching, tangled and passionate. Very visual. Walk Like a Giant is veiled and evocative. Ontario is a kinda cute, fresh heart-on-sleeve tribute and doesn't try to be profound. Twisted Road is a throwaway in my opinion, the least of the newest. He plumbed the lows with Fork, but I see a turnaround. Le Noise was a definite improvement and PP continues the uptrend where the lyrics are sharper and the tunes are alot more tuneful.
I agree with some of the comments on the lyrics, but not in the case of the new songs. Neil has always been simple and direct with his songwriting; that's not a secret. But he has always had the ability and the immense talent to convey the most complicated of feelings with the most simple lines.
"There's more to the picture than meets the eye."
When Le Noise came out, at the time, I thought "Peaceful Valley Boulevard" was the best song Neil had written in a decade with very provocative and affecting lyrics and a melody that haunted me. That song floored me... Of course, then I heard Walk Like A Giant and I thought that was one of his best ever; any era, any genre. I feel like he's on a high similar to that of Freedom/Ragged Glory/Harvest Moon from 20 some odd years ago.
To describe himself as a "Leaf floating in a stream" is a very simple line to read on the page. But put it in context with the music, the way the chords are played and that whistle reprise, the stark contrast to the preceding line and, most importantly, the way he SINGS the lines full of pure unadulterated emotion. The feeling of loss and helplessness, and the desire to get back hits me very hard. I cannot speak for everyone, and I no doubt believe there will be many who disagree with me, but these are the feelings I experience when I listen to the great works of Neil's. And I have no doubt that we are witnessing another Great Neil Young time.
I haven't listened to all of the new songs, because I want to experience them the first time at home with with a J and my complete undivided attention, rather than listen to them stream online. But I did watch the Central Park show, so I've heard WLAG, Ontario, and Twisted Road. I would have loved to hear them all live first, but the Vancouver show is after the PP release, so instead, I will devour the album, learn the words and be singing along with him on November 11th.
Just my nickel and dime's worth of an opinion.
Cheers,
T.
PS - I'm dying to hear Roll Another Number! Has been one of my favourite songs of his for a long time. Here's hoping they dust it off and shake it up again in Vancouver!
Tuneful? They're silly half-wit jingles. Commercial crap. This time at the concert I thought I heard the beginning of Angry World -- ya it was a stretch rhyming inferno with eternal but it still worked great -- then got totally bummed over these lame lyrics about a party girl with her shiny dress looking for action. Pretty shallow stuff for the guy who wrote "Cinnamon Girl" and "Cowgirl" while coming out of a deep sleep. Hopefully his best stuff is still ahead of him. God knows you gotta trudge through mud sometimes to get to the wheat.
Walks like a Giant has so much potential musically but the lyrics are lame. I wanna walk like a giant on the land? I wanna buy some eggs from an egg stand. All my friends wanna buy from the THE BIG grocery. But A BIG grocery is a no sir-ee for me. I think it's possible you can run out rabbits. Possible you can run out of rabbits. Possible you can run out of rabbits. From writing too many of the same songs out of habit.
T, you're right, man. I have to say, "Love and War" is a fine song, musically and lyrically. I also stupidly neglected "You Never Call", which is a complete gem. Must be one of the best songs Neil has written over the last years. The subtle blending of wry humour and raw emotion in that song is just great, heartrending stuff. Fortunately for me, Neil himself
also stupidly neglected the song, not putting it out on "Le Noise"...
Still don't understand why.
All the same, I'm not impressed with the stuff he put out since, including "Walk like a giant"... What do you think, is that a song about the fear of losing your mind ("When that big fire comes / burning up all my ideas..")?
Polar opposite of pieceof. You Never Call was a bloody mess. Thank goodness Neil had the sense not to plop it down in the middle of an otherwise good record, like he did with Let's Roll. Other than YNC, Le Noise marks his return from the muck. The Psychedelic Pill stuff is fantastic, much more substantive than Le Noise, with better melodies, in my opinion. And Americana was a great segue, very tuneful. I agree he's on the ascendant. All cylinders seem to be firing. Knock wood he keeps keeping wifie out of it.
Party Girl/PP is my favorite of the new batch. It's punk! It's brilliant! It's supposed to sound kind of stupid and droning. That's it's charm. Duh.
Oh if it's punk that explains the big crapola on the stage. Rock n roll is officially dead. Thank you, Neil. Will someone remember to turn off the lights next time? Don't want to get my hopes up too high.
"You Never Call" a "bloody mess"? That's, let's say, a pretty innaresting comment... please expand, my man! What's so messy about it, except for the "burgerfries all around"?
I think it's a great, melancholy song, with a fine sense of dark humour, the switch to the hockey game and all.. Also, the guitar work is simple but very effective.. sends a chill up and down my, well, you know..
Attended Windsor Ontario show. Im a Crazy Horse Fan. I had predicted weeks prior to the show that people would be walking out, i was saying to my girlfriend after researching the recent setlists on sugar mountain .org, and watching the red rocks youtube footage, i was like "Uh Oh, do people know what Crazy Horse is about?, hmm.. Went solo the night of the show sat in 103 on larry cragg side to watch guitar swaps. When the horse started up i actually started to cry while rocking out 943 now, saw neil 85 harvester show meadowbrook and many times between), i was like, finally im hearing the horse again, I personally didnt move from my seat or look around much at what was going on with the crowd, but the next day reading comments about people walking out i was not suprised, this whole thing reading all these posts just sortve reaffirms beliefs. its so weird man, that people would think that neil was going to play some historical top ten thing. But its kindve like the IT nerds at work, they are baffled by our lack of knowledge of computers, you could compare it with lots of things,
I think people walked out because they expected more then the 4/4 wind up. Maybe we the ild sings because the bew ones this time are frankensteins monster.It's like every single freaking song was 1-2-3-4 and Neil would do his musical intonations that was 100% Neil but good god to get there it was torture. Dudes shouting instead of singing. I could barely hear the basslline. Boring!
first off, fuck john fogerty. that dipshit is still riding high off hits he had 40 years ago. he is a cheeseball of the highest order, and the polar opposite of neil (botox anyone?) second, i'm glad neil and the horse are still out there pissing people off. it should be pretty easy to get up front once the dimwits start walking out. third, walk like a giant is great. maybe not the best lyrics but pretty good. when he says "i want to walk like a giant on the land" to ME it means he wants to do that crazy guitar stomp he does. you know the one...he only does it with the horse.
Is it just me or was Psychedelic Pill in London just "Drive Back", with new lyrics. I think Neil even commented that it was reminiscint of something.
pieceofcrap:
I've listened to "You Never Call", but I should probbaly give it more time again. I haven't heard it since the video was on the net, so I'm going to give that one another shot. It's on the setlist in Journeys right? I'm assuming it is. And "Love and War" was another gem.
As for WLAG at first glance, and even first listen, to me, I thought the lyrics were very matter of fact and very simple. "We were gonna save the world, we were trying to make it better" does not leave much to the imagination. But in this case I just feel like the sum is greater than the parts, and I think it's an amazing song. The way he sings it, you can feel the heartbreak in his voice when he's talking about the failure of the hippies, and the ideals they had.
I think the big fire is his ever growing awareness of age and sickness, and the knowledge of how that took his father. How he wants to fight it so that he can keep walking like a giant. And he's reminded how good it feels, and I think in the end he still wants to walk when he sees those blue eyes (Pegi? Ben? Amber?) shining. Everything for him comes back to his family, and they give him the strength to go out and play these amazing shows and put out these amazing songs. Again, that's my interpretation when I listen to it, that's all. And I don't really want to analyze it to death, because when I listen to songs I love I don't want to think about it, I just enjoy feeling it. And right now I'm feeling WLAG very much.
Can't wait for Nov. 11th!!!!
T.
Another possible piece of the "big fire" reference: http://www.autoblog.com/2010/11/15/neil-youngs-lincvolt-severly-damaged-in-warehouse-fire-w-video/
Saw somebody walkin out during F--n up. Wasn't surprised because the jamming was pretty intense. If you don't know that song you might not be able to handle it - if you do you woudl be pretty happy. Some people can't handle that kind of jamming. Loved the classic tunes. Because I'm not familiar with the new stuff, kind of bopped along to that through tne verses but the jams were pretty freakin explosive. 5 minutes of bashing at end of WLAG was more than enough for me. But as everyone knows - Neil brings the new material. I think another 1/2 hour would've been great. At least London got two closers.
I've got to say that I caught Neil in Calgary on Nov.13th and I am entirely convinced that I caught ol' Neil at his f---'n PRIME! This is NOT a sympathy blog either, this guy blew my ass off for two hours straight!! I have seen him three times now and his guitar playing and vocals were absolutely top notch. Verse by verse...20 minute solos...the whole deal - I was rivoted! And so waz the rest of the Saddledome if you asked me, so I just thought i'd let people know that i certainly did not see the wishy-washy performance he is sometimes accused of providing. Go see it!!!
I hope they will have another concert event this year because I wasn't able to catch up their concert last year.
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