Concert Reviews of Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Sydney, AUS - Mar 10, 2013
True thing “@schtang: No one rocks like Neil Young & Crazy Horse.love those big artistic Fender stage amps twitter.com/Schtang/status…”
— DuncanNRoss (@DuncanNRoss) March 10, 2013
Neil young and crazy horse lived up to and surpassed all expectations . Amazing !
— Paul Hewitt (@HewyinSydney) March 10, 2013
From Neil Young delivers rock, laughs, at Sydney Entertainment Centre | thetelegraph.com.au by Kathy McCabe:
Yet to witness Young and his beloved collaborators in Crazy Horse have a transcendent musical conversation at the Sydney Entertainment Centre last night was the greatest affirmation of its stamina.
They set the scene with the bizarre and entertaining opening which fans have come to expect.
Uncle Neil had Old Black on fire with the horse at Syd Entertainment Centre last night @neilyoung@pearljam
— Brad Graham (@BradButchGraham) March 10, 2013
So Neil Young was pretty amazing last night. His voice is still in tact after all these years. Nice to spend that time with my Dad too.
— Monique McCall (@AzureandGold) March 10, 2013
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Neil Young & Crazy Horse will be performing tonight at Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, Australia.
Got a report? Drop us a comment below.
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: 3/10/2013 05:13:00 AM
39 comments
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39 Comments:
Magnificent show in Sydney tonight.
Saw the Perth show last week and tonight was even better.
Neil and the boys in a great mood>
Same main set list as Perth with Prisoners of Rick n Roll and Opera Star for the encore.
Loved it
I saw Neil Young in 1985 and the Greendale concert in 2003 and both concerts were brilliant but his Sydney concert tonight was SO disappointing! Completely self indulgent with song endings going on and on and on. It was just like one big long jam with no regard for the audience! Some will say so what, he's great enough can do whatever he wants, but I feel totally ripped off.
Oops...!
What a great couple for an encore.
Prisoners of Rock 'n Roll
Opera Star
Prisoners and opera star!
Fantastic show tonight.
Saw Perth last week and Sydney was a better show. Neil and the Horse really seemd to be enjoying themselves.
Same main setlist as Perth, with Prisoners of RnR and Opera Star as the encores.
BLISTERING
For all you doubters, this set list would be a huge disappointment. For the thrashers out there, this would have been pretty freaking cool - an encore based on Life and Re-actor.
anyways, this journey must find a way back to north america if this is a trend :)
Heres the set list from Sydney report this morning on setlist.fm:
Love and Only Love
Powderfinger
Born in Ontario
Walk Like a Giant
Hole in the Sky
Heart of Gold
(acoustic solo)
Twisted Road
(acoustic solo)
Singer Without a Song
(Neil plays piano)
Ramada Inn
Cinnamon Girl
Fuckin' Up
Mr. Soul
(Buffalo Springfield song)
Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)
Encore:
Prisoners of Rock 'n' Roll
Opera Star
too bad for you if you feel ripped off, its crazy fookin horse ffs!!!
i would have happily traded places with you with Prisoners of Rock and Roll and Opera Star as encore!!!
Thanks for sharing your comments on the Sydney show, not much news came out of the Hunter Valley
Neil and Crazy Horse are too cool and select to play to wine sippers at day on the green it baffles me why?
guess we brace ourselves for more complaints from clueless concert goers who cant appreciate
http://youtu.be/0hiF49dBOLQ
Footage of the new song theres a whole in the sky, from the brilliant Sydney Concert
http://youtu.be/0hiF49dBOLQ
You tube video of the new song performed at Sydney; brilliant concert.
This was the worst concert I have ever attended.
He was self indulgent and just plain boring.
This was my last night in Sydney with my daughter and we were really upset and annoyed.
We could have done something much more I treating.
My husband was a great Neil young fan indeed we had lyrics from Neil young at his memorial service last year.
I don't think I will ever listen to his music again.thoroughly awful night.
How does he get away with it.
The audience were not clapping and the whole section where people were standing were like statues.
I don't think he would notice because he was so caught in himself.
I never thought I would write such a thing as a fan for forty years
Joy
France
Neil and the Horse were stunning -- so engaging and connection -- what a show! The set list was so well balanced -- the new, Horse classics and a few lovely surprises. No one can surprise and thrill like Neil, year after year, decade after decade.
Wow! Far out! It sure is true when he says "It's all just one long song". The Sydney show rocked. From the opening Love and Only Love to the closing Opera Star, this was Neil and the Horse at their rockin' best, and boy were they loving every minute of it. The Drones primed us for the night with a great short gig, then on they came! I was grinning like the proverbial. Neil did a bit of chatter, but I don't want much of that - he speaks through his songs and I want to hear that. Loved the slower tempo acoustic set, especially Hole in the Sky and Singer without a Song, with the lost singer wandering the stage with her guitar case. This was rock at its best, Neil and the Horse at its finest, and I want more. Wow!! I was hanging out just in the hope he'd do She's Always dancing, the best for me on PP. But I wasn't pouting .. no chance :-))))))) Rock on Neil and the Horse.
Just one more comment (on a comment):
Joy from France wrote:
The audience were not clapping and the whole section where people were standing were like statues.
I reply:
Bullshit.
I grew up listening to and enjoying Neil and his music, sharing it with my daughter as she grew up. I was so excited to finally see the music created in person. To be honest, my first thought when I bought the tickets was I hope he plays all the oldies, but to see the band enjoying themselves and witness their truly gifted imagination and how they feed off each other was even more memorable. Each song they played was played as for the first time. I can listen to a cd any day if I want to hear Harvest Moon. Last night we witnessed creative artists who allowed us into their world. Thank you Neil and Crazy Horse from Cindy and Lauren!
Of all the tours Neil has brought to Australia since 1985 this one may be the best.He appears more engaged and "on" than previous shows and they were great too.Voice strong,sound high quality and staging great.If you didn't buy and get to know Psychedelic Pill before you went you were wasting your money and most of the complainers are in that category.However the encore was a mess.Prisoners Of Rock and Roll was fun (even though Neil appeared to be showing Poncho the chord changes during the song) but Opera Star was a disaster (and I like the song).It sped up,slowed down and Billy and Ralph were lost for most of the song.They need to learn these old obscurities before they play them in front of people!Overall great show
Sydney 2013-03-10 - Crazy Horse at their finest
Last night I (53 years) and my 20-year-old son got to experience the horse at their absolute finest. Yes thats right, at their absolute finest! This experience left me in no doubt that the horse are at the top of their game right now; raw, rowdy, grungy guitar-based primal stomp music. The muse is still flowing, my foot is still tapping, even after a few hours sleep. Still in awe how they do it. If you're a horse fan it don't get any better than this I can assure you.
I was a little concerned before going re some of the comments about the concert and the extended endings & huddles etc, but I was more than impressed and it was above all expectations, far far above. These guys were on fire; they threw everything they had into the performance and they were having so much fun. We were right on the rail (front row GA) in front of Poncho. What a gentleman he is, gave me the finger and I gave it back twice as hard. He was in party mode and loving it, he was singing along to the songs even though he was far from the microphone. You could see and feel he loved them and doing his thing. Who would think they are all 60+ years. It was really great to see them interacting and how they interplay the guitar bits and to see them play their new stuff, artists doing what’s closest to them at the time. And we got to hear a new song performed prior to most of the world, what a treat. And the piano song (Singer without a song), none of us have really heard that before, how sweet it was. Neil provided one acoustic staple old fave in heart of gold, but it was then back to the new and how great they are, twisted road what a tale. The concert had a range of emotions, power and drama. Ramada Inn, what a classic this will become, and the analog time warp classics of Cinnamon Girl and Mr Soul, how solid and powerful were they.
And I reckon Neil & Poncho interacted with the crowd more than I have seen before, they were both humorous, gesturing with the crowd and joking with each other. And the horse huddles were not too much, this is how they interplay and to experience how they work it with each other was really a treat. Maybe you need to be down front to really appreciate all this, and to actually see and feel how they play together. Hey, but that's where rock n roll is, in the mosh (not so moshy with all the oldies), but not to be sitting back in some far-away stand where you can’t really feel the muse and see what the band is doing. Its all part of the experience; seeing and feeling how they interact. Neil’s voice was great and the harmonies from Billy and Poncho, wow much better than expected. Much, much better. And the guys are looking good too! And it was good to actually see Ralph on stage after he crawled out from behind those drums, felt him all night though.
And the encore, Prisoners & Opera Star – how unexpected was that, what a treat to hear some hidden gems (even with some nuances and the odd bit of slop) from some mostly forgotten about albums (or not even known albums by the non-horse lovers). They pulled no punches here. Thumped it out till the final note came down. Clearly they were loving it and we the horse-lovers right at the front loved every second as well.
Whatever substances these guys are not on now, feed em more of it! Hopefully the horse will capture the magic they have at present and get some of their new songs recorded (am sure Neil has a bucket load stashed away in that brain of his). Can’t wait for the next album, preorder now as it will be a cracker. No doubts here, No fading away here, And it surely ain’t over. Long live the horse. Keep fuckn’ up guys!
Thank you guys, I can die happy. Bloody fantastic Sydney show!
I've seen them each time they have been here, and this was the best yet.
Neil and The Horse - just awesome.
There is NOTHING like the Horse in full flight.
"A voice entwined in stormwinds blowing
Guitars endure in tortured flight"
In my 60's, been to hundreds of concerts, what can I say. This morning my ears are still bleeding, body still vibrating, that was the best goddam show I've ever had the privelege to attend. Joan, get a life love before you get a wheelchair. We were in the presence of greatest, just hope I live long enough to see the great man again.
Neil summed it up in Sydney with "Prisoners of Rock 'n' Roll"
I'll be at the Plenary on Wednesday for Neil and "Crazy Horse", their first Melbourne concert for an "Intimate, up close show".
It'll be interesting, can't wait for the experience "where music lives..."
People tell us
that we play too loud
But they don't know
what our music's about
We never listen
to the record company man
They try to change us
and ruin our band.
That's why we don't wanna be good
That's why we don't wanna be good
We're prisoners of rock and roll.
When were jammin'
in our old garage
The girls come over
and it sure gets hot
We don't wanna be watered down
Takin' orders
from record company clowns.
That's why we don't wanna be good
That's why we don't wanna be good
We're prisoners of rock and roll.
We're prisoners of rock and roll.
I wonder if Neil's inclusion of Opera Star in Sydney (and Brisbane) is some kind of nod to the world-famous Sydney Opera House.
Karl
First off - don't listen to the anonymous posts - I doubt they were even there - Neil and the boys were great, interaction with the crowd was brilliant - and I reckon 99% of the people there (and there were a LOT there) had a blast.
Second - a big shout out to the other Thrasher's Tragics I met - amazing that we ended up sitting next to one another.
Third - thanks to whoever it is on Neil's team reading these comments (or is that you Neil?). I nearly fell over backwards when he played Prisoners during the encore after a couple of us here had asked for it in some posts last week. I felt he was talking to me personally when he said 'This one is specially for you' when he introed it.
Next - I have NEVER heard such amazing versions of Powderfinger and Cinnamon Girl.
I have been a fan since around 1970 and this is the first time I have managed to catch a live show, well worth the 600k round trip.
OK - gotta unpack - will be back later with more impressions, but just want to add my wife, who is not a fan, had a great time and anyone who claims to be a fan and not liking these shows is flat out lying.
Oh, and it was My My, Hey Hey and not Hey Hey, My My in the setlist up top.
Firstly I attended both sydney concerts at the Winery and the Ent centre and stood in the pit.Having Neil standing above me with only 10 feet of air between me and Neil stredding was an experience that I thought would never be a reality.Sure it was loud but that's the Horse ,song selection excellent ,the connection between the musicans and the genuine enjoyment and passion as well as the skill made this whole experience and absolute bucket list achievement and I left totally satisfied and wodering if the next night could possibly match it,but hey the ent centre was easily the greatest rock n roll experience of my life,that covers all the concerts I seen since 1968 and believe me there are alot.The sight of the whole Rust Never Sleeps stage setting with the huge speakers ,the white coated techs running around.The horse coming out and standing to our national anthem ,then hugging eachother before picking up the guitars and tearing into Love to Burn.The theate of the whole show,the special effects with the Woodstock rain,Neil putting his hand into the speaker to twist out the sound,the apology for playing Cinnamon Girl too fast and saying that he just fucks up and then going into that song and even then changing that song from the night before,awesome.The on stage chatter made the show real and genuine.I felt like I was at the Cow Palace.These guys are the real reason why rock n roll will never die,the spirit of youth flows out of then.It's like watching a movie on a small screen TV and then seeing it on Max theatre screen,overwhelming and you feel part of it.Then getting the double songs in the encore before they finish and take the standing ovation with the joy on their faces of presenting an incredible show and again interacting with the crowd
Absolute mind bending surreal affirmation of what rock nroll is all about
I was a Neil youn fan till I saw the worst concert I have ever seen !! Totally into himself and his band !! He should have jammed in his garage !! Only sang a few of his hits, the audience never danced once. !! I think he played guitar 90 times longer than he sang !! He would have been better off playing all his old hits !! I spoke to 50 people in hunter valley and not one person enjoyed it!! We walked out half way through as did many many others !! Only positive feedback was his voice is still great but his song choice made for a disaster !! Plse let other artists learn from this!! Play what yr fans come to see not what u feel like playing
After reading some of these negative reviews, there's a few things I want to express.
I see NY like a musical Shaman.
He uses the music and the Horse as a way to take a journey to other worlds. When you go to the concert, you are invited to jump on the Horse, and ride out with them.
If you are lucky, and open to such things, you will journey far, and have an amazing ,timeless ride.
If you can't get up on that horse, it's quite natural that you might feel somehow cheated, and angry. After all, you know something happened, or so it seems for others that were there, but you yourself felt nothing, and have only emptiness. You missed your ride out of the ordinary. That sucks for you.
Some only need a few notes, or a chord played in the right way. maybe you got spooked.
Maybe you were up in your head thinking, "I wonder if he'll play this or that song"..just like those that can't be in the moment, but must fiddle with their iphone cameras so they'll remember the moment. The moment became about the camera and was lost.
If you read Neil's book, you might get more insight into his world. He takes a lot of care about set lists. It's not thrown together. He shares so much of himself when he plays.
There are songs I'd love to hear. Of course there are. 'I am the Ocean' for one..so, so many..but, I'm really excited to see what songs NY wants to play. At the Plenary, and at Rod Laver too. I can't wait to go trekkin' way out there with The Horse.
One thing I love about Neil's tours is reading comments from people whining and crying endlessly like petulant children about how Neil and his band were SO INTO THE MUSIC, AND HAD SO MUCH CREATIVE ENERGY that they forgot to pander to a-holes that think they're going to see Neil and the Horse live at the Fillmore East in 1970.
Sorry folks, 1970 was over 40 years ago. As soon as they invent time machines, you can go back and hear Cinnamon Girl. OH WAIT, THEY PLAYED CINNAMON GIRL, NEVER MIND. Okay, I mean Heart of Gold, OH WAIT, THEY PLAYED HEART OF GOLD, NEVER MIND.
Get over yourselves and go see the NKOTB reunion. I hear they're still singing "Hangin' Tough," you'll probably like it.
Anonymous 3/11/2013 06:54:00 AM
I can tell some things from your post.
1. You are not a performing musician
2. You don't care about creative expression
3. You have no idea what it means to stand on a stage and express YOURSELF (no, you're not expressing the audience, you're expressing yourself - see, that's the kicker.)
Sorry that Neil did not bow to your every wishes and pander to your need to hear all his old hits.
OH WAIT, HE DID
Okay, sorry that Neil played lots soulful, expressive, creative guitar solos.
4. You obviously aren't a guitarist.
I agree with Matthew L. Some people just don't get it, Neil, Poncho, Billy & Ralph are musicians expressing themselves on stage. I'm taking my 20YO son tomorrow night to the Plenary so he can learn from these guys about the muse. He plays guitar, drums, bass,& keys and I'm sure he won't post a neg comment.
I first saw Neil in 85 at Festival Hall twice and have been a NY fan since the 70's and no matter what he plays will be a pleasure to hear. Hurricane, Cortez, Vampire & Tonight’s are old favourites of mine, but whatever the set list is, it doesn't matter because it's all good. I want to hear new songs from Psychedelic Pill, bought the vinyl and look forward to Neil’s new PONO format.
A man with vision with the Bridge School, Lyncvolt and let’s not forget the music...
All the doubters wouldn't even know what he's about.
There is more to Neil than Harvest & After the Gold Rush with more than 50 albums recorded.
Why are no videos of Opera Star or Prisoners of Rock n Roll surfacing? Come on Aussies!
I have been pondering the "critics" of this show, and can't help wondering if they are simply too young. In my 60's, I have grown up with Neil Young's music. It has always been there, since his Buffalo Springfield days - through the tears and the happy moments, through the deaths of friends and the births of children, through illness and divorce, through overdose, loneliness and marriage - all the life events that are experienced in a life lived. Constant, yet evolving as we should also be, until the music is something ...... more.
Fantastic show, utterly transcendent. The band had a great time and so did I. Who goes to see Neil Young and Crazy Horse and then complains about him jamming on the guitar?
The critics should realise that the purpose of art is to divide.
-- Glenn
I saw the Horse at the top of their game on Sunday. I'll die happy now, screw the people who complained. The ticket said crazy horse not hippy Neil show
Now in modern world all youngster like pop music & rack & hot styles.. !! So some pop band is now popular in the world, similarly rapper style also hit in children & young generation like
"MattyB" is one of the most poplar rapper star for US children!
Well i think Rock n Roll is the only true music, its nothing for those who don't know what happens when any Rock artist plays live solo, riffs on transposed scales. Electronic and house music ruined all the original ones like Blues, Rock n Roll,Metal, Jazz, Country etc.
But still there are many listeners of Blues, Rock and Metal and proudly i am one of them. Keep Rocking.
Missed the show, really missed to see performing the Opera and Rock n Roll stars.
This is show nice. great sound.
When I saw the first beil young album on my parents console I asked my brother to turn it up! My mom came down and we danced to the whole album! Thanks uncle neil FOR MUSICAL ENERGIES INSPIRATION and joy overflowing!
HEY HEY MY MY. UNCLE NEIL AND THE CRAZY GORSE TEACH EVERYONE TRUE ROCK!
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