Brisbane, AUS Concert Reviews: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, 3/7/13
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Neil Young & Crazy Horse will be performing tonight at Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia.
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Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates and Chronological Grid, Recording Summary, Statistics and Extras.
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Labels: australia, concert, crazy horse, neil young, reviews
by thrasher@PermaLink: 3/07/2013 04:55:00 AM
50 comments
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50 Comments:
OPERA STAR!!! neil, ya fuckin' bastard...i wish you would have played that on the us tour.
The last time Neil and the horse played Opera Star in the U.S. was:
1987-08-13, Pacific Amphitheater, Costa Mesa, California, USA
(according to Sugar Mountain).
This is one of my all-time favorite Neil songs.
Matthew L - please come back to me! I so miss your blumpkins early in the morning after eating burritos the night before!
Slight correction to Matthew L., the date you cite was the second to last time. According to Sugar Mtn, the last time NY and CH played Opera Star was 2001, 6-21, Sportpaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Bottom line though, it's a great song and I hope he keeps it out for the fans down under!!!
Thanks,
Ray
what's next: southern pacific??
actually, I think that that song would fit in perfectly as the song immediately following walk like a giant...the ghostly giant calls that end WLAG move nicely into the steam engine sounds on the reactor version...
Damm I'm old...
Wow - that's weird - I was actually hoping he might surprise us and play something off re.ac.tor or Life in Sydney on Sunday (mo.tor cit.y would do me).
have they played prisoners yet this tour??
signed guy too lazy to search set lists...
A great night! Can barely hear anything this morning. The whole thing was something else, everyone including the band were having the time of their lives, especially Poncho! It's so obvious that Neil is having a blast playing with these guys. How about the funky breakdown in F*!#in' Up? and I think I lost count of the number of amazing solos in WLIAG (how about the feedback/flashback storm at the end?). If my memory serves me correctly he actually played an electric version of My My Hey Hey and not HHMM. Neil definitely doesn't leave anything in the tank.
Waited 35 years to see Neil Young and it was SO worth the wait. The Grandfather of Grunge is a Giant. Thanks guys you rocked Brisbane last night
Anonymous @ 3:31:
God how I'd love to have heard "Southern Pacific" played on this tour...
What a great song.
For me Cinnamon Girl has to be the best.
"Opera Star" !?!?!?! I want "Surfer Joe & Moe The Sleaze" or "T-Bone" for fuck's sake !!!
-- Eric in sunny FLA
My ears hurt - we, along with many others left early due to the unrecognisable cacophony of this concert. Toilet room comments incuded "this is the crappiest" "is this really Neil Young??"
Support band was amazing - thanks...
Neil - get that scowl off ya face and play something we can recognise and interact with your audience a little more - it isn't just about you jamin wit ya mates!!
Anonymous @6.03:
Genuine question; considering Neil Young's last two albums and the fact that this tour was billed as "Neil Young and Crazy Horse", what were you expecting?
Also, did you do any research before you purchased your ticket?
I'd genuinely like to hear some feedback from those who are saying they were somehow "wronged " here.
I share the views with anonymous........sooooo disappointed. Paid big money to take my ten year old to his first big concert to see his idol. Just felt as if we were watching an out of control egomaniac have a big old wank right there on stage. So sad when artists totally disregard the very people who have supported their careers and have bought every album. (my zuma lp still one of my fave possessions). Hurting a bit today.
Well Neil, if that's the best you can do, don't bother comin' back.
We paid good money to see you indulge in a self absorbed jam session.
Tell me Neil, how long does the finish of a song have to go before it becomes boring. Hey, there is no point in asking you, you obviously don't have a clue.
Yeah, you had big amps, big sound and to qoute one of your songs, a big "Fuck up".
People, this is Neil with CRAZY HORSE....
Don't complain about the sound level, that's what it is about:
"It's All One Song!"
I'm 56 and taking my 20 year old son to the Melbourne Plenary concert. As quoted from Brian Wise from Off the Record news:
"The Plenary (expect him to blow the roof off this)."
http://www.offtherecord.com.au/features/default,id,33939.aspx
Stay at home and watch the Silver and Gold video if you want solo on acoustic guitar & piano.
Anonymous @ 6:33 or Tamsin; perhaps you can answer my question:
"Did you have a look at any reviews before you bought a ticket?
That's exactly what we thought we also left early after waitng for something recognizable. I have never been rude enough to leave early but this was just terrible very dissapointed.
This comment has been removed by the author.
If no positive reviews can be found here, read this:
http://www.watoday.com.au/entertainment/music/neil-young-confounds-expectations-20130308-2fpb4.html
For those who left early, you were a victim of the commercial radio advertising playing the old favourites. Plenty of footage on YouTube of the previous concerts of what to expect.
Melbourne gets 3 shows & Sydney has 2. We’re waiting in anticipation for the experience of the HORSE.
I was at the Adelaide concert and thought it was absolutely fantastic. Agree with Phill @03:00.. did you do research before you bought your ticket?
Anyway everybody knows Queensland is stuck in 1972 and they probably think Heart of Gold is a new song. I'd ignore most of these comments.
"dazz4 said...Anyway everybody knows Queensland is stuck in 1972"
I second that motion...
But I liked 1972!
Waited 26 years to see him again because I went to sleep last time wish I had gone to sleep this time.
"I had gone to sleep this time"
I wish you'd go to sleep now...
Stop whining.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse.
Saw the concert in Perth and it was fantastic. The concert was not a best of,it is his new work with Crazy Horse. If you want a best of smoke a few reefer's and go back to the 60's and 70's.
I think there were quite a few people who had been smoking something. And had it been billed correctly I would not have bothered. It was simply Neil Young and Crazy Horse. Nothing was said about what ever this was. There should have been a bit of a mix of old and new It's not right to cater to just one group of fans.
What’s not billed correctly?
http://www.frontiertouring.com/neilyoung (Info)
The March 2013 shows promise to showcase both new material from their recently released album ‘Psychedelic Pill’ (out now through Warner) and the classic hits that helped make Neil Young a household name. Without a doubt the critical acclaim surrounding the tour dates so far illustrates just how Neil Young continues to pull massive crowds five decades into his impressive career.
"Had it been billed correctly...". "Nothing was said about what ever this was"
What does this mean Lee? It was billed as Neil Young and Crazy Horse. Do you expect Neil to seek your approval of the set list?
For god's sake 5 minutes of googling would have shown you what this tour was.
"It's not right to cater to just one group of fans??? It's Neil Young's music, I think he's earned the right to do whatever he wants with it
Stop whinging.
So long as you enjoyed it that's all that matters then have a nice day.
i don't think the negative comments re queensland - people are people and some people just forget that what makes an artist truly great is their ability to continually grow, experiment,re-define themselves and in the process remain relevant to the times in which they live...that neil young has managed to achieve this is evidenced by the extraordinarily diverse age range at last night's brisbane concert...as for old guys getting off on themselves, for my money, there is no better experience than hearing music played by musicians that are actually using their music to communicate with each other - when they are enjoying themselves, the music comes together in a way that can rarely be conveyed in recorded versions. Last night blew me away - i laughed, i have to admit i was also moved to tears, neil and crazy horse took me on a wild ride through my nostalgic past without being sentimental - then on into the world in which we live today, one where discord and harshness abounds - what an awe inspiring experience. May I never grow so old that i am unable to follow or acknowledge another's journey - this was music at its best - raw,occasionally humorous (why do i keep fucking up), acerbically political, and eternally relevant. This was worth every penny and so well worth the wait!
Perhaps the hundred who were leaving early agree with me you don't have too but like you I am entitled to an opinion if you believe this to be whindging then that too is your opinion.
Lee - it WAS a mix of old and new - of the 15 songs in Brissie I count 9 off older albums?
Seeing all these comments from unhappy people here and on other sites makes me wonder if Neil heard/read some of the comments too and that's why he played Opera Star?
"Some things never change, they stay the way they are."
A comment about how audiences have always had expectations of him that he can't/doesn't want to live up to?
"You were born to rock, you'll never be an opera star"
Could, in this instance, be taken to mean he's not going to pander to the audience and be predictable.
I am also amused by all these people claiming to be fans of Neil and then complaining about the gigs because if you were a true fan of Neil, you would know that he has never pandered to his audience and has only ever done what he wanted.
Isn't it ironic also that there are complaints about the lack of hits...if Powderfinger, Cinnamon Girl, HHMM, Hurricane etc aren't among his greatest hits then what are they????
Anyway I am seeing him next week in Melbourne and I am super excited. I know full well what to expect...which, funnily enough, is the main reason I am so excited.
-Lee in Melbourne
@ El Kirsh - Nice idea, wouldn't surprise me.
@ Alli mac - Quite right, well said!
"He oughta play this or that"
"The people who have bought his albums deserve ..."
Were it Picasso's paintings that made Picasso big or were it the people who bought them?
Should Picasso let other people tell him what his next painting should be about, which colors to use, or maybe even if it had to be a painting or a sculpture?
Would Picasso become even bigger by doing so?
I'm so disappointed to read all these negative comments about the Brisbane concert. For me it was an amazing experience. It's taken me over 40 years (yes, that dates me!) to see Neil Young in concert and it was fantastic - way beyond my expectations.
I'm kind of puzzled that people are internet savvy enough to post comments online and yet seem to have no idea what to expect from a Crazy Horse concert. And not even to have bothered to listen to 'Psychedelic Pill'! (Isn't 'Ramada Inn' a great song?)
It was such a fantastic (well-mixed) wall of sound. The band looked to be having fun. I loved the loud guitar-driven rock, but also the quieter songs mid-set.
'alli mac' expresses things well in her post.
Thanks to Neil Young and Crazy Horse for an incredible evening.
It sounds like some were expecting the Neil Young I saw at Big Day Out a few years ago where he played much more of the classic acoustical songs. But this was Neil with CRAZY HORSE. Did he not play songs I wanted to hear? Yes, quite a few. But I had no delusions on what to expect here. What was played was a good helping of old mixed in with the new. I did thing they were starting to overdo it slightly at the end of GIANTS, but what an awesome song! Well done Neil! you were Neil, and all through the years you could never "expect" any one show or even tour to be what some fans had put in their personal box.
To everyone who left early, all I can say is "You FUCKED UP'! I was glad, however, when the drunk man and woman sitting behind me, slurringly yelling at each other from song one about how this wasn't Neil Young, left after GIANTS.
@unknown 06:47:00
That last story about the drunk couple makes something very clear to me, and at the same time it explains why there are such deep emotions spilled: it's about defining one's identity. It's about WHO IS TO DEFINE WHO NEIL YOUNG IS.
To have the guts to say 'This isn't Neil Young' is just one step further than to say 'This isn't the Neil Young I want Neil Young to be'.
Neil's been there before... Some things never change... they stay the way they are...
had to laugh when 2 people in front of me left during the feedback drenched arty shit neil was playing with at end of third song (a quick check on what him and crazy horse do and you knew it was coming) - but 2 songs later he plays heart of gold, which I assume is the music they came for! powderfinger, cinnamon girl, mmhh, acoustic set in middle - silly punters. Third time I've seen neil in 3 decades, and this was different again. The variety was brilliant - and I actually got into those jams without having smoked or imbibed prior. walked away thinking he has proved he is the ultimate - even though he obviously doesn't care. for those who walked out, Barry Gibb played a few weeks earlier and he was the act you needed to see.
wanted to hear cortez old man needle not 7 min guitar riffs punctuated by synthetic thunder
So you wanted to hear 3 songs randomly plucked from 50 years of music? Good for you.
I can understand some of the disappointment on here, if your not an avid fan then some of the some songs may have been a bit surprising. Very different to 4 years ago.
As for me however, as an avid and keeping track of sugarmtn.org i knew what to expect and my god i loved it.
The highlight i think for me was Fuckin' Up.. and more specifically the extended ending with the band trying to get the crowd involved - although not as much as they hoped. They were trying to get the crowd to sing 'you're just a fuck up' at the same time as the lights flashing.. only some of the crowd on the floor were getting into it. I was screaming my lungs out in my section... unfortunately no one joined in.
My other 2 favourites of the night i think were Cinnamon Girl and Love & Only Love.
Overall, i loved it. He is one of my favs and seeing Neil Young with Crazy Horse is definitely an experience. They're getting on in years but by god they are still hard rockin mother fuckers!!!
Will not ever miss a Neil Young concert no matter what he's playing.
To anonymous @17.00
So, he did in fact play lots of old songs, just not the ones you wanted to hear? How is he ever going to please anyone if you are going to be that fussy, given how large his back-catalog is?
Personally I would like to hear something like 'Violent Side' off Landing on Water, not holding my breath mind ... and will take what he gives tomorrow night.
Well mate if you didnt want to hear 7 minute guitar solos you went to the wrong gig. That is what Neil and the horse have down for decades. Oh and BTW cortez is a 7 MINUTE GUITAR SOLO!!!!! Classic gig. Also if you did your research you would of realised that Walk like a giant was played at every show in 2012. What did you expect Harvest played through 6 times?
in 85 neil toured oz - 2 sets, one with INternational Harvesters, one with crazy horse - dozens of "hits". Came back with the horse in 89 - freedom album, and more than a dozen "hits". Then showcased greendale in around 2002, (east coast only), but toured 3 years ago with all the hits. This time a great new album, with half a dozen hits. The whingers who think coz they bought harvest & rust in the 70s they made him a star, are kidding themselves. The real fans are the ones who have 50 plus albums over 4 decades, plus countless live boots,and understand the difference in what to expect when he goes on tour with the horse, solo,or with the nashville boys.If you have only harvest, rust & harvest moon, you aint no real fan, and he aint playin for you, he plays for US - the REAL FANS. Go see the who or the stones next time whingers!!!!!
Here is Opera Star from the 3/7 Brisbane,Australia show. Thanks to Roel from Rust Radio. http://www.rustradio.org/mp3/ny2013-03-07-opera_star.mp3 Keep On Rockin' Soldier Steve
I'm 60 and went to the Adelaide gig expecting to hear hard rocking songs like Powderfinger and Cinnamon Girl. What I didn't expect to hear was two new songs (that I'd never heard before) that blew me away.Ramada Inn and Walk like a Giant were just awesome. Anybody who didn't like this concert obviously knows nothing about Neil's work with Crazy Horse.
Brisbane, Australia, 7th March 2013. This was the perfect Neil Young concert. I know a few people who have wished he had played less of The Pill and more oldies, but hey, Neil never does that. At 67, Neil walked the talk of a giant. This for me Giant is the new Hurricane. The Pill will go down as one of the classics. This was a concert for the true Neil fans, weaving through a majestic career - no, a majestic life.
It had the feel of a farewell concert, and for those of us down-under who only get a concert tour every 4 or 5 years, this may well be the last time we see him. The reminders of the past; the giant mic, Fender amps and covers from Rust, the Indian pole, etc and most of all the music gave the impression of a lifetime’s work rolled into a few hours of live music. But even touches like heart of Gold were perhaps a link back to the controversy of his early hit and subsequent refusal to play it live. What a trip
If it is the last time I get to see Neil live, I’ll still be a happy man.
Just read through some of these hilarious comments. Tamsin and anon, who describe the concert as "self absorbed jam session","out of control egomaniac have a big old wank", "unrecognisable cacophony", etc. Congratulations, you are finally beginning to understand Neil Young.
Does the line "I was raised by the praise of a fan who said I upset her" mean anything to you? He sang it at the concert.....
For all you Aussies wankers, do your research before going to a Neil Young concert.
You can out the setlist very easy, if you want to listen to his slow stuff, stay HOME.
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