Bridgeport, CT: Neil Young & Crazy Horse Concert Reviews - 12/4/12
Neil Young & Crazy Horse will be performing tonight at Bridgeport, CT – Webster Bank at Harbor Yard.
Doors at 6:30, Everest at 7:30, Patti Smith at 8:05 and Neil Young at 9pm.
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Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Don't Be Denied!
Labels: concert, crazy horse, neil young, review, tour
by thrasher@PermaLink: 12/04/2012 09:49:00 PM
27 comments
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27 Comments:
The Loner says:
Hey Hey My My - Crazy Horse will never die - they will burn out - but go very very happy based on last night's performance in Bridgeport - the most happy I have ever seen Neil on stage, Long may the horse run free
Love and peace to all
Neil lying on the floor during Fuckin' Up
http://youtu.be/r8jIEIboffM?hd=1
enjoyed the link fkin up much more fun than than the toronto version i saw. Real down to earth R&R. fck everyone else, there just a bunch of F-ups
Long may you and the horse run
Awesome,great show smell the horse! Cinnamon girl so hot
Neil was steady rock but many of the riffs were the same over and over; acustics were terrible and so loud you could hardly understand the lyrics. Many left early. maybe i'm getting old but wanted some more blasts from the past. will always love neil.
We were on the floor this time after sitting in Boston last week. GA is the place. If anything, the overall audience was an even greater age mix. Seemed to be a full range from 20s to 30s to 40s to 50s and over on the floor. I was dead center, perhaps 30 feet back. Toward the end there was a lot of pogo-ing, from what were clearly much younger people, and I think that's something the boys on stage were clearly aware of and getting off on it. No gentle toe tapping, for sure. Their mood, if anything was possibly even a bit more buoyant than Boston. Lots of smiles, lots of mugging and gesturing. During the wild extended "F@#kin' UP" NY pointed to someone, said "You're a f@$k up!" and mocked and pantomimed their smartphone use. His getting on his knees and then prone on the floor was even more pronounced and theatrical.
Something the band did (at the end of "Hey Hey"?) that I didn't notice at Boston was a chest thumping monkey/ape "ooga ooga" thing that the crowd picked up and repeated back. Pretty funny...did they do this anywhere else? Should become a tradition...
Lots of rhythmic audience clapping during "Ramada Inn." I detected a slight shift in Ralph's beat- almost a subtle bosa nova thing, which I think is what really gets the clapping going. The audience knows this song now- I hope it enters the canon, as it has such a great and deep groove. The other thing is, it is perfectly timed. It is neither too long nor too short. It has a distinct arc of lyrical segments set between the melodic guitar work. This isn't jamming; it is a deliberate, distinct structure with room for improvisation, but contained within its boundaries.
All thoughout the performance I scanned the crowd in the entire arena. I did not see any unusual exodus after the new and longer songs or at any other time; just the usual movement in and out of a venue that size. The place was certainly packed all over, and there was a lot of dancing up in the stands as well as on the floor. Total arena standing ovation at the end, and even greater noise for an encore than in Boston.
BTW, getting to parking at Webster arena is f#@ked up. We arrived with plenty of time, but had to crawl the last few blocks. The cop said that it was a chronic problem. They f@$ked up the planning.
ps ,
I beg to differ with jocar. As a guitarist I pay close attention to NY's playing. He will use riffs to anchor a song, along with the chord structure, but all the other melodic passages are unique within each song, as well as from song to song. He will do similar things, but not the same thing. "Ramada Inn" is a perfect example of this. I think it is a textbook example of how he spins complexity out of simplicity as he will builds the song at different places on the fretboard and through his varied strummming and picking techniques. At the sonic complexities of the different effects combinations he hits and you get a very rich mixture.
I'd agree that I've heard better acoustics, but I blame that on the arena. For instance, Patti Smith's vocals were set too low in the mix. OTOH I thought Neil's vocals were OK, but his guitar was mixed a bit too low. I think in barns like that place the best sound would be back near the soundboard and the worst is probably in the seats along the sides- too much bounced sound and not enough balance.
Neil performance last night was soaring. Saw him at the Global Festival, which had much better sound (among the best I've ever heard), but this was a much weirder experience. True, the echo off the back of the arena was excessive, but I got rid of that on my recording by using directional mikes. It was also a little tinny, less warmth than I usually associate with the Horse. Small complaints, because it was quite an experience. The extended feedback section in Walk was mind blowing, and you knew that because the audience around me (on the side, equal to the board) were swearing and telling Neil to "play something". My kids were confused, and I explained that the audience complaining is just part of a Neil show. Ramada Inn was the highlight, as it is on Psychedelic Pill, in my view. Such a tender song, and such a wonderfully emotional performance, with some added guitar runs during the verses, it was just perfect. I was hoping for a Tonight's the Night or Hurricane or Cortez, but what, you gonna complain about Roll Another Number. Not me friend. Is it just me, or do you get kind of bummed when Neil plays the old stuff? I love it, but the new music is so good, always so good, that it seems like a waste when he pulls out the old song bag. Just a great night.
So amped after the show did not get go bed until 3.00am. Great night (and early morning). Tried to figure out the highlights but frankly a waste of time too many for me - I guess I'm a fu ck up!!
We need a live album release of this tour please Neil
Great Comment from Zuma Band. I'm saving the paragraph about Ramada Inn...you hit it perfectly!
I too was up until 3.
And I agree that finding a highlight in this show is futile because it was so consistently stunning.
-- iust teeth rattling and soul stirring.
It was an amazing once in a lifetime show. And I have seen many great NY shows. This was epic.
I just feel so lucky to have heard a concert on this tour.
What a blessing to have this great man and musician and this one-and-only band and have them together again.
All things must pass, but right now I say savor the blessings.
Insanely good show from start to finish. jocar I have no idea how you could love Neil and complain about that show. One of the best shows I have ever seen. The horse in their absolute prime.
Great show last night in Bridgeport. Patti gave us an altered set from her shows last week. She was remembering the death of a brother on this day, as well as the birth of her mother in this town. "This was her favorite song!", Patti shouted triumphantly as the band ripped it's way through a feisty version of "Rock N Roll Nigger". The crowd was left cheering, suitably warmed up for the arrival of Crazy Horse.
"Love and Only Love" as the consistent set opener sets the tone of the night beautifully, and they hit it hard as ever last night, leading up to a powerful version of "Powderfinger". Neil seemed to take extra solos last night, perhaps to make up for the overlooked 3rd verse at their Boston show. He was ripping it up for sure, but always finding his way back to the melody in perfect time. Every solo was great, especially "Ramada Inn", a set highlight of this entire tour. Their fade-outs last night were just about perfect too me. "Walk Like a Giant", "Cinnammon Girl" and "Fuckin' Up" all ended after long squalls of feedback with an amazing climax, not overdrawn but perfectly satisfying. He mocked cell phone usage rather hysterically from the stage during the latter, cuz we're just F-ups! An encore of "Roll Another Number" gave me just what I needed to walk away with a grin nearly a mile wide. Shakey Films had a sign up saying there was filming happening in the floor area, for an as yet untitled project. Here's hoping for a tour documentary, as well as a 2nd American leg of the Alchemy Tour in 2013. Thanks Neil, thanks Crazy Horse. Special thanks go to Thrasher and three cool cats from Ontario. Paul, Riley and Paul's son Derek. Their generosity helped get me out to Bridgeport last night. Thanks guys!
I decided on Saturday to buy a G/A standing room only ticket for Neil in Bridgeport CT. After the nite they had in Boston, and the reviews for the next 4 shows I couldn't leave it alone. Since making it all the way from Maine to DC for my Dylan/Knofler trilogy a week earlier, Bridgeton CT on a Tuesday nite
seemed like a piece of cake. Things were a little slow at the office and I was yawning, ended up getting out and on the road at about 1PM.
I rolled into "Bridgepit" at about 4:30. Scoped the neighborhood and ended up parking in a metered spot about 2 blocks from Websters and went into the only restaurant in sight, what seemed to be a hopping little joint that catered to the pre-concert crowd. The place was busy, but it turns out it's a real posh Italian dining establishment. I grabbed the only seat at the Bar and took a look at the menu. Turns out the two guys on the left were from Jersey.
They've been following Neil for about 4 nights.
"We're on tour with Neil, I've seen every tour since the 70's my family just has to get it, they know this is what I do."
Well since I had seen the Boston show the week before, I knew what I was here for, and so we were all duly ecstatic.
I ordered the chicken Francais and hit the powder room, the Bartender was funny and coined the phrase "Bridgepit" for his hometown, just as the woman in my office had described it, after she described the traffic I was going to hit
when I reached Rt 95. The meal came in about 5 minutes and it was a plate filled with food that melted in your mouth and could have fed 3 people.
Even if you have no other reason to be in Bridgeport, the restaurant is worth a visit, sorry don't have the name but it's 2 blocks from the doors to the arena.
I couldn't hang out for a beer, cause I had to make the 3 hour drive home after the show, and I needed to get to the line and bond with the 'rusties" so I could find my place at the front of the stage. About 5:30 I made it to the line and waited anxiously while the dance of security and wristbands unfolded before the hardcore fans ran to the rail, I walked. I knew I wasn't going to need to lean on the barrier and bear my face and soul to Neil from that vantage point.
For me getting to this show was about the sound, and about letting it take my body and my mind with it, one might even say take my soul to a place of communion.
Nevertheless I found my spot standing behind a couple of short "Rust List" girls on the center of the rail. We stood un-emotional through Everest, the true believers conserving their energy for the main event. Trying not to move too much in response to the decent effort the younger band was putting forth as our "whistle" wetting team. Kind of a bummer for them.
I remember the energy and the crowd being more wound up and pumped in Boston, even for these guys. Finally Patti came on stage, and although I had a great seat in Boston, it was wild to be this close to her.
The energy in Bridgeport was a bit more mellow all around. In Boston the entire stadium was on it's feet for the whole concert. Patti’s set included. She was on fire that night. Tuesday she was mellowed, but she found her footing and gave it the complete monty for "People have the Power" ‘Pissin in the River” and “Rock and Roll Nigger” no Gloria which I missed , but she had some special moments to share, announcing to the crowd that her Mom was actually born in 1920 in Bridgeport CT, and that the date Dec 4th, was the anniversary of her brother's passing and dedicated “Beneath the Southern Cross” to him,
“This one’s for you Toddy” and you sensed it was for him as well at the end when she says “Cross over girl, cross over boy”
Patti's voice is powerful and the band ensued into a fantastic guitar jam with Patti and her counterpart on acoustic and the younger guys on electric. I think it was during Pissin' in a River. She closed with the classic R & R Nigger “her Mom's favorite” and held her electric guitar upright before the microphone to deem it:
"The weapon of my generation, and one of the best ever to use this weapon is Neil Young, so this is for you Neil"
Patti slid her pick across the electric in a rampant jam and finally tore all the strings in a symbolic crescendo of protest performance. Once or twice after a song she said thank you to the crowd and announced the next song.
Her voice is so feminine and soft once she comes back to being a person to address the crowd instead of a living female legend of psychedelic/punk rock.
I was trying so hard not to drink alcohol since I was going to have such a long drive home after the show, but it just wasn't going to work.
I'm not a huge drinker, but I really needed one beer to get the mood flowing for my excitement at seeing Neil Young live for the second time in my life.
I decided to leave the rail where my friendly neighbors were saving and re-admitting space for those who had been there, so I left and found my way to the concession stand and a draft filled with CT's finest ale. But once I returned to the floor, "Things had changed". The bodies had moved together like a can of sardines and I had to squeeze my way to the front again, it wasn't cool,
and people were concerned about me spilling my beer, I really just wanted to grab my jacket that was hanging on the rail and get the "f" out of there.
Too tight, and I wasn't concerned with making eye contact with the band, If it had been Bob, I'd have never left, but in this case I was going to need to
close my eyes and rock out with a little more dance space. So I got the jacket and got to the less crowded section of the floor.
The sound was better back there anyway. the one great thing about G/A seats is you're free to move about the place. I wandered a little hoping to find my way to the smell that was circling around elusively on the floor. Finally made friends with a dude who looked about 60 and handed me a couple of "bats".
Thanks to that guy if he's listening, this set the stage for an awesome set,
filled with dancing and what turned out to be a really perfect jam session with the horse.
Boston was way more intense, and they didn't get into the whole "doubters and fuck up" dialogue that took place in Beantown. The energy was higher in Boston from the crowd and fed back through the band with the most intense and far out electric guitar jam I've ever witnessed. It didn't happen that way in Bridgeport,
but what did happen was a perfection in the most accomplished rock and roll form that exists, in my opinion, Neil Young live with Crazy Horse.
The jams were long and fun and impeccable and I danced with my eyes closed and sometimes open.
I had to move around to try and get closer, to try and
get away from the "talkers". To try and get a better view of Neil wailing on his guitar. And because of this at one point I ended up down the aisle that was on the opposite side of the rail that was containing the crowd in front of the stage but to the right side. I found this to be a great spot until the security told me I needed an all access pass to stand there and I had to move.
So it would seem, I needed to slide inside that barrier and move closer to the front this way, just trying to get a spot I could see better from.
I found myself down toward the front, all the way right of stage against the side rail when I realized that beside the stage, in that aisle I had just been shooed out of and between a handful of security folks, but right next to the side rail in front of me stood a woman in a dark men's suitcoat with long wildly flowing hair staring up at Neil watching next to the rest of the crowd held in by a metal gate.
Holy Crap, I thought, she's right there, and I'm so close I only need to push past 3 people who's back's were leaning on the rail and had no idea who stood right behind them.
I sprang into action and "excused me" 3 times with a slight shove to get past three guys and I was standing with nothing between she and I but that metal gate, face to face.
I put out my hand and reached for hers, looked in her face and gave her a power grasp like the brothers do. Because as I turn 50 on Saturday alone after the death of my partner Mick, I have had to gain strength from my own resolve, my own power, my own knowledge, that like she, I am one of the "boys". I am going to endure, to rock on. And it is because of a woman
like Patti Smith that I have never once since I was a young girl in the 70's felt that there wasn't anything a man could do in this life that I couldn't do too.
I held her hand in that power shake and at first her grasp was delicate and soft but gradually we both squeezed harder and before I let go rocked it back and forth, silently telling each other, "You go Woman!" and then I let go and walked back into the crowd. Not even able to believe it.
The rest of the show was fantastic and really felt like a gift, cause the jams were really good but weren't sending me into the void like Boston and I needed to be a little less drained for the ride home. F#*=kin’ Up was just great, the sound mix was heavier on the bass this evening which isn’t a problem for this song, and the jams were long and delicious. It was so awesome to hear the entire audience singing out “My My Hey Hey, and then again “Hey Hey My My” in unison. After the encore Neil made acknowledgements to some of the real serious dedicated fans hanging on the rail and pounded his chest and then got the whole audience to hoot like an ape man, I think inspired by the cute younger girl with the dramatic eye make-up.
I left the stadium and got in the car. Went the first half hour in silence, then threw in the Ragged Glory CD. that took me all the way to Mass Pike. I got some gas a cup of coffee and road in silence again for a while. Finally I had to put in some Bob. My current best is Street Legal. Bob and I took the rest of the ride, I sang at full voice along with all the classics, Senor is so great, "Let's overturn these tables, disconnect these cables, THIS PLACE DON"T MAKE SENSE TO ME NO MORE!!! Can you tell me what we're waiting for Senor?"
By the time I passed through the Portsmouth NH tolls I was singing "True Love" without any music hitting all the notes, and for a person who can't carry a tune to save her life I was feeling pretty accomplished. Rolled into the house around 3:30AM. Can't say it wasn't worth the drive!
Neil did the whole chest thumping ape/monkey sounds thing in Philadelphia, too! Lol.....a fun memory...
Great extended review from jrc, feels like I'm on a roadtrip with you. Thanks for sharing the experience!
Thanks Mr Henry,
If you weren't doing it,Ii probably
might not have been willing to bore the rest of the listeners with my experience.
here's a link to Patti's official website and her writing which is really good.
http://www.pattismith.net/words.html
I just gotta add this one line that I had in my head last night on the ride home, and to apologize after the fact for being a little too much like the Guy Fletcher blog from Mark Knofler band, and giving you the gastronomics.
here's the part I left out.
That night in Boston, the jam was so intense it was like Neil and the Horse had put us in a time machine
and transported us out to the edge of the universe, A place that we know exists because we were there,
but we can't see it, it's so far out that even Steven Hawking can't see it!
So he actually played everybody knows right (per setlist.fm)? Can't believe no one mentioned...
He didn't play it, He mentioned it
while he was teasing us with old titles. He played Cinnamin Girl
This comment has been removed by the author.
@ jrc-- THANK YOU so much for your incredible account... Just reading it, I felt as if I were there (and not a little envious)... You clearly experienced something very special, and I share your exuberance for having had that sort of "epiphany" (is that too strong a word to use here?)...
ZumaBand, your description was bad-ass as well. The emotional power that "Ramada Inn" stirs up is completely indescribable, but you sure did a swell job.
Thanks many more times to Thrasher for providing us Rusties this outlet to share our feelings and intensely-felt emotions at this living, breathing 9th wonder of the modern world that is this Horse.
PEACE & LOVE
-- Eric in sunny FLA
Here's a writeup with photos I did for the Bridgeport show. Enjoy.
http://www.ct.com/news/advocates/wtxx-neil-young-and-crazy-horse-erupt-into-bridgeports-webster-bank-arena-20121205,0,4402732,full.story
Hey, Eric, and the rest of you Neil nuts. I'm still singing, "Sheeee..."
from dancing barefoot.
As far as Epiphany's go I've been having them for months. but seriously does anyone here not get that I had Patti Smith in a power grasp, cause a friend of mine read the account and didn't get it til I mentioned it again in an e-mail.
Rock on folks.
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