Bridgeport, CT - 12/4/12
Photo by Dave S. | Facebook
(Click photo to enlarge)
There was an interesting moment during the Neil Young and Crazy Horse concert in Bridgeport, CT earlier this month.
Apparently some folks near the stage were texting during the concert and Neil took a few moments to come over and mock them. Here's how Dave S. on Facebook recalls the incident during the song "F*!#in' Up":
Here is the deal.So there you have it. See for yourself below. starts at 04:35
We were standing stage right at the front of the stage. The 2 women were texting on their iphones for a bunch of the show, one was doing it much more than the other. I was wearing my Hartford Whaler jersey and at one point I got the odd feeling that Neil was looking at the jersey so I held it up for him to see, he smiled and rolled his eyes and laughed, then he smirked and shrugged his head.
I was confused and also kinda thinking I may be halucinating this whole thing due to the atonal feedback that was coming out of the amps but, I was not. He continues to give me a look and then I realize the women in front of me and on the side are both texting with their heads down in their phones. He was annoyed.
Neil now drops what he is doing and walks towards her and just starts mocking her pretending to text and move images on his invisible smart phone. The mocking went on for seriously about a minute. Enough time for me to turn to my pal Chad and say he is messing with her, Chad agreed and said wholy $$$%%. I then took a few pics while this is going on.
I then leaned over to the women and said, Neil is talking to you. She ignored me and kept texting with her head down, 10 seconds later I said, "HEY, look up, Neil is talking to you", she looked at him and he had this amazing fierce look while he still mocked her. He had both evil eyes right on her pupils and it was as the song was saying completely "Fuc*ed Up".
She then realized what was happening, got pissed and mouthed to him "your a Fu%ken As$hole". He did not respond but then walked over to the other guys and riffed vocally on the whole thing for about the next 7 minutes of the song. The woman kept turning to her friend saying, I called him a etc etc etc. Well, the song finally ends and Neil slyly grabs a big old glass bottle of fancy Voss water off the drum riser, walks in our direction and with quite the angry face (like that Johnny Cash face in that famous picture where he is flipping the bird) throws a big old fat stream of water right at her.
He actually hit a few friends of mine but did get some on his target. She turned to her friend and again said, "what a fu#ken As$hole" and they stormed outta there.
Neil looked over and was looking for his new pals, our eyes met again, I waved my thumb to say they had cleared out, he smiled. Yup, that happened. Here is a pic of the women texting while Neil was mocking her.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse perform Fuckin Up at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT on December 4, 2012
When Neil Young is playing, you shut the f* up (and don't text)!!!
Ha ha ha haaa!!! That is so awesome.
ReplyDeleteNeil is the man. Texting during shows is obnoxious. It's almost as bad as texting in a movie theater.
I can't believe she called him an asshole. Had it been me, I'd be glad for the attention from Neil whether it was positive or negative.
Throwing water at her is classic. Absolutely classic. Neil and his cajones. Gotta love 'em.
excellent
ReplyDeletetop marks to Neil....
does anyone know the full story about an 98 blue notes show when a heckler is summoned on stage, given some cash / tkt refund and sent on his merry way ?
or any other great "i got blasted by Neil " incidents
what are the top 10 tellings-off issued?
good story. of course, in the world of concert blastings, I think Dave Grohl wins with his concert stopping "hey mother f%!kers" blasts and famous "na na na na na, you don't fight at my show you A-hole....whos that whos that..its that fucking guy in the stipped shirt right there...hey Mother F*!ker, look at me, look at me...get the F out of my show...
ReplyDeleteif you haven't seen it, just youtube it..
I was farther back on the floor and saw his pantomime, but I didn't connect the water throwing to it. Beautiful! WTF is some nitwit like that going down in front anyways? I'll bet she didn't arrive when the doors opened, but probably shoved her way down there later so she could text her friends "OMG I'm down in the FRONT row at some concert OMG I'm wasted and I don't know where I am I thought this was Neil Diamond or a rave or something! OMG Now the old guy I thought was Neil Diamond is being REALLY rude! TO ME! OMG he's such a f%$kin a-hole! I'm so outta here now and I'm going to Facebook everyone and tell them that this concert was such a drag- no beats and that "E" that guy sold me at the 7-11 must have been cat tranquilizers 'cuz all it's doing is keeping me from going out of my head from the meth I snorted before the show. Traci, pick me up and let's go to Tami's trailer and do some of that blow she got from Macie. Hurry up gilr, luv, Staci!
ReplyDeleteI was at one of the Greendale shows, St. Patricks Day, Radio City Music Hall, NYC. Between songs, Neil is narrating the story. Some drunken tool is rambling on. Neil stops the show and yells out "Hey asshole, shut the fuck up" (or something very similar). The crowd loved it.
ReplyDeleteI also have a live recording where some jackass throws a bottle up at the stage. Neil stops the show, yells out to turn the lights up, I wanna see whoever threw that bottle at me .... you almost hit me in the head.... If your so tough, why don't you come up here and do something about it! I'm just trying to play some music for these good people etc.... Then he launches in to Down by the River.
Cleveland Music Hall, 1991? solo.
ReplyDeleteNeil is playing on a stool on the edge of the stage. 2 ladies are sitting at a small table right in front of him.He stops in the first verse of a song and asks one of them "if she is going talk through hole show.I have a lot of money & can pay you to leave.Normally i wouldn't care but your right in my face."
Blue Notes was not 98, at least 10 years earlier.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut3sYoH9ikM starts at 04:35
ReplyDeleteHope that ends up in the "Alchemy" film, if there is one...
ReplyDeleteHere is the legendary scene on youtube!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3o-lUeDgQ&
enjoy - and smile with Neil!
This might be a good opportunity to post this again, just because it´s that good.
ReplyDeleteClassic Jeff Tweedy rant about people talking during concerts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew3AOlbJXos
You gotta love Neil!
ReplyDeleteWish he would do another album with the guys from Pearl Jam.
It never ceases to amaze me that people pay a lot of money to attend a concert and then pay no attention to what's going on. Leave the tickets to people who want to be there.
ReplyDeleteDicks. Go Neil...
Love Jeff Tweedy's comments: "You go to a concert to be a part of it"
Greendale concert, Rosemont Theater outside Chicago: guy yelling out for same old classics while Neil is introducing a song. Neil stops strumming his guitar and yells out, "Fuck you, shut up!"
ReplyDeleteFox Theater, Detroit. Neil at the grand piano beginning Such A Women, and various drunks throughout the place talking and yelling out for, you guessed it, the same old ones. Neil stands up from the piano, and starts a sarcastic rant about how it was just too much to expect that he could play a new quiet song, and then says with dripping sarcasm, "Here's one you know", and proceeds to play the single most sarcastic and unfeeling thing I've ever heard from him, Heart Of Gold. He wasn't really mad it seemed to me, just really disappointed he couldn't do what he wanted.
This is also the concert where the girl sitting next to me couldn't stop talking for the first 15 minutes of the show. It was all I could do to not turn to her and say something. I'm sitting there thinking, you're talking about how you almost didn't make it here, and how glad you're here, and now your missing everything because your talking??!!
But I have to say, with 35 some concerts seen over the years, these are by far and away the exceptions. For the most part, the audiences have been great. But I'm glad Neil takes a stand now and then.
A Friend Of Yours
Fax it to me man. I never owned a cell phone yet. So these F's are deserving of being called out, as are the bores talking all night. I'm glad Neil calls it out sometimes, and glad I haven't been there to hear it so far.
ReplyDeleteand on a completely different note - thrasher, please start a new thread on this one - Rolling Stone just published its best of 2012....drum roll please....
ReplyDeletePP - 10th best album of the year
But it gets better....attention Henry...
Ramada Inn - 5th best song of 2012!!! Yup, the 17 minute song that myself and Henry have been bragging about for months (best guitar song ever) received its due rewards today. Maybe the writers at RS come to TW from time to time :)
Oh Lordy! I wouldn't want THOSE EYES glaring at me in anger!!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I remember this well, I was front row, you couldn't miss it. Neil standing there pretending to text... pointing at this person, and pretended to text again...it was a long, hilarious minute. I swear I've never seen Neil having so much fun on stage. Then he and the band basically pointed at us one at a time, in the front and mouthed "You're Just a fuck up!" Poncho and Billy followed suit. It was also great to see Neil rolling around on the floor and playing Old Black with his teeth. Great show!
ReplyDeleteTomCrac, I was at that same show Radio City, St Patrick's Day... someone kept yelling out Heart of Gold or Cinnamon Girl and Neil just stops dead and yells "SHUT UP ASSHOLE!" and everyone went nuts. And Neil says "Yeah, see the crowd is with me" lol
I was there, I saw it and knew exactly what he was doing. Thanks for posting the whole story and the bit about the water! RUDE PEOPLE GO HOME!
ReplyDeleteOn a similar note, my husband and I had to leave a concert in Ithaca that was one of Levon Helm's last because the person in the seat next to us was holding his phone up recording, shining the thing in our eyes, texting etc and when we asked him to knock it off, he told us to F ourselves and then poured beer on my husband. A scuffle followed and security would not intervene with the phone use so we left. He had more rights than we did it seemed.
Aberdeen, 2009 - during Harvest Moon, some a##hole whistled the whole way through. The people around him were annoyed, and so was Neil. (I later found out the guy got thrown out for it)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, after Harvest Moon, Neil gives a speech to us/the guy about how some men just can't handle a quiet, sensitive song. He says something like "Look what happened to this guy..." or "You'll end up like this guy...", then launches into Down By The River, LOUD!!
Funny stuff. When people are walking in front of me texting and stopping at the store, I often hit the back of their heels with my cart. The women are shocked and hurt so, I apologize like it was an accident. I've tapped a few people with my bumper that were texting in the way in parking lots. The girlfriend almost dies when I do it. I let her read this story and told her, It's not just me.
ReplyDeleteHere's what Neil said in Aberdeen 2009:
ReplyDeleteAfter Harvest Moon:
The ones who can’t handle listening to something sensitive and make a big display of themselves are generally inadequate in some way. Useally they end up going off and doing something really bad. Only they know about. Thank God for that. Maybe he knows... She knows.
Introducing Down By The River:
Here’s a song for you there, pal. Hope you don’t do what this guy did. You’re stupid enough to.
thank you for the extra anecdotes
ReplyDeleteamusing to read...one extra i can throw in the mix....1995 August at the Jerusalem show, in front of the stage in the pit were armed security guards...maybe six or so in a row. Stage was high and i was surprised Neil could see them. cant remember what had happened that lead Neil walking on at encore to then throw his drink off edge of stage onto them commenting about it being some "typical friendly welcome" or such like. a bit mad considering these teenage guards were armed
I have been a Neil Young fan for years, bought the records attended stadium shows. I liked the way he has carried himself in his latter years with Bridge, other benefit shows and staying true to his art.
ReplyDeleteA little disappointed he went through the effort of pointing these people out of the crowd and spraying folks with water. I don't own a cell phone and do find people texting anoying but that is the way people comunicate these days. I don't know but maybe they were checking in with their baby sitters or comunicating with handicapped family member(s) who cannot get out to see the concert.
More then likely they were a couple of A holes but I am sure if you ask some of Neil's friends and associates they will tell you he can be an A Hole. Not sure what would have happned to these two if they dumped water on Mr. Young because they felt he was not putting out 100% on stage. I guess there is a difference between an A Hole with money/fame then one with neither.
With the ability to have people listen to your messages world wide I always expect bigger things from his actions and music. I suppose Neil would be the first to say he is just like you and I, and he is.
Lighten up Neil, you know none of this really matters.
- 40 Something and Cranky
Worst fan I ever saw was at a Stills-Young concert (yes, that aborted tour). The guy was on some kind of downer and just before the lights went down this idiot started lighting and throwing cherry bombs.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to say that security hustled his ass out of the venue with little delay. As for me, I was ducking - when you say 'cherry bomb' put the accent on the second word.
Joel Grant (Seattle - saw the great show at Key Arena on 11/10)
Yeah, the 3/17/03 NYC Radio City Music Hall show Greendale tour, I'm listening to that show today, right after Leave The Driving about the 41:35 minute mark, Neil says shut up asshole and the crowd guess loud, Neil says look at that the audience is with me and goes on to play Carmichael.Also the Tampa show 6/03 their is a shut up asshole moment during the Greendale songs.The 4/24/99 Philadelphia show is labeled as The Shut Up Asshole show.If i think of any more shows i will post them.
ReplyDeleteI posted comments on this and another thread that were never published. What happened to them? (It may actually be my fault or not the site's fault, since I was using another device at the time; that could have screwed things up.)
ReplyDeleteSounds like these Crazy Horse shows can get a little wild. As long as no one's getting hurt... I wish I had the means to see one of these shows. I bet the Psychedelic Pill songs are wicked live. But it's not happening at this point. I still cherish my time seeing Neil live in Philly in April 2011, last leg of the Le Noise tour. It was the end of April and would have been right before the Massey Hall show ("Journeys"). Great solo show with a good audience. I also ended up with pretty good seating, after a bit of an episode dealing with the ticket people--but that's not relevant.
ReplyDeleteI had a nirvana moment when I realized I was actually seeing Neil Young live, playing Tell Me Why-- a staple of his solo acoustic shows and one that I love, After the Goldrush being possibly my favorite Neil Young album. Tell Me Why was the second song, after opening with Hey Hey, My My. We also got Cinnamon Girl, After the Goldrush (pump organ, with a timely lyrical revision putting Mother Nature in the 21st century rather than the 1970s), and Down by the River. He also played Leia and You Never Call, which haven't surfaced on an album since. I was glad to be able to hear them. Leia is sweet and at first I was a little disappointed that You Never Call didn't show up on the track list for Pill, but now that I know the album, I'm at at all sure it would have fit. Given that Neil did include on the album For the Love of Man, which I think is about thirty years old or close to it, suggests that he'll get around to it whenever he sees fit.
On another note, I agree with Neil about men who can't deal with quiet, sensitive songs. It's a shame he got booed for those songs during the Harvest Moon tours, especially because Such a Woman really is a beautiful song in my opinion. The Dreaming Man Archives album turned me on to some of the HM material. It works so well unadorned that I have to wonder why the studio versions have so much junk thrown on them. It seems like Neil, for a guy who isn't necessarily a pianist, comes out with some of his most beautiful melodies on the piano. I think Solider shows some exquisite emotional playing, and another good example is Out of Control from CSNY's Looking Forward. What a gorgeous song. Ahem. Tangent alert! Sorry. Blocking out my thoughts. Off to the forest church--or I would be if it weren't 1:00 in the morning and raining cats and dogs here.
Anyway, clearly Neil doesn't mess around and I respect that. At the same time, there are excesses. I just hope, for instance, that those who enjoy nudging texters' bumpers are careful not to cause an accident and add to the perils of the roads these days.
funny story..! However, not sure how cool it is to throw water on fan(s), who at the end of the day, DO have the right to text, daydream, or do whatever that isn't disrupting others' view of the show. I wonder if, for instance Kanye West threw water on a texting fan if so many people would cheer it on? Just a thought. Otherwise, Neil is amazing and the band still rocks
ReplyDeleteHe spent too much time focusing on that dingbat, albeit, an excellent 14+ minutes of jamming. Bummed I didn't get to see the water toss on the vid!
ReplyDeleteWelcome folks from Philzone.org - Philzone Phansite Community Discussion Board: Don't text during a Neil Young concert!
ReplyDeleteMy worst experience with an audience talker: Melbourne Sidney Myer Music Bowl Greendale Tour. Drunken arsehole loudly tells his friend how much he loves "Ragged Glory" during "Like a Hurricane" solo. We all love that album but we know the correct time and place.
ReplyDeleteWorst audience talker experience overall: Bruce Springsteen The Rising Tour Melbourne. For the first hour or so, the two seats next to me are empty except when people incorrectly sit in them. When the proper owners finally turn up, the stupid boyfriend feels the need to tell his girlfriend the background to each song. I told him to shut up.
I am a huge Neil Young fan and still listen to his music on a regular basis. I also do hate when anyone in the audience is disruptive to the performance.
ReplyDeleteBUT, some of this goes too far. I would never text if I was right down front at a concert I wanted to see, and I wouldn't be right down front at a concert I didn't want to see, but how is texting disruptive to anyone, especially the people on stage? Neil is WAY too wrapped up in the behavior of his "fans". I know this from personal experience. I went to see his "Solo" concert at the Tower in Phila about 12 years ago. Nobody was texting back then and Ol' Neil had made some kind of statement at the beginning of the show that obviously turned part of the audience into raving idiots. I (along with at least 50 other people) was late. Maybe by 10 minutes. I'm sorry that I spent decades of my concert going life waiting for a band to come on for usually at least 1/2 hour or more from the time on the ticket. That is not Neil's fault, but I hardly think coming 10 minutes late should be a punishable crime. Keep in mind, I saw 50 people, but I don't know how many more were even later. How do I know there were 50 people? Well Neil told the venue to not let anyone walk in during a song. We were told that as we waited outside the theater in the lobby area until the song was over. I was completely fine with that. I even thought it was kind of cool and thoughtful. But then the song ended and we, the new villains of the night, were ceremoniously marched into the theater with all eyes on our shame of arriving late. And if you think I am exaggerating, one fan even shouted out loud "F***in A**holes!" and I was close enough to him to see the pure rage in his face. Is that Neil's fault, maybe not, but he didn't make a comment about that and say something like "Hey, I didn't want these people to interrupt my song, but they paid to see this show just like you and do not deserve to be screamed at". But he didn't, so I say YES, it was his fault and he was probably in to that guy doing that. Based on all these stories, it appears this is Neil's "thing". Wow, what an insecure person he must be. I never consider myself to be special or even to ever make contact with performers that I admire, but unfortunately for me, I did have an encounter with Mr. Young in a sense and what I found out about him personally makes me not like him.
My point is this. There are plenty of things that concert goers have done in shows that I attended that I WISH were called out by the artists, but texting and arriving a little late are not on the list. If the "offense" can be ignored (and in the case of texting, it certainly can be) then ignore it. If you are there to see the show, it is on YOU to not be distracted by paying so much attention to something that is not disruptive at all. For the musicians on stage to pay attention to someone texting and interrupt the show for all the other fans just to scold someone is just sad and pathetic. Having said that, there are mentions here of Dave Grohl. This incident has NO business being mentioned here. Texting and fighting are two completely different things and the level of disruption in a fight completely justifies Dave's attention to the matter.
I don't get the whole cellphone/texting culture.
ReplyDeleteYou can do that while listening to a recording of Neil Young, but damn! You can't see him LIVE every day!!!!
The guy is a jerk that thinks he the boss of the world . If you pay for a ticket you can txt if you want, he got mad because not all eyes were on him . Hey everybody look at me or else I will throw a fit
ReplyDelete