INTERVIEW: Neil Young's "Honor The Treaties" Tour | Q with Jian Ghomeshi | CBC Radio

As we've been reporting over the past week, huge amounts of controversy over Neil Young's "Honor The Treaties" tour and related press conferences.

Regardless of your position on the Alberta Tar Sands environmental impacts and First nations peoples, all across Canada there's consensus that Neil Young's comments have finally started a long delayed national dialogue.

In an interview with Jian Ghomeshi, Neil comments on his impressions of the Alberta Tar Sands operations and his comparison of Fort McMurray to Hiroshima. "I always felt that Canada was a different place, where the values were different and where we cherish the natural surroundings that we're in. But my visit to Alberta changed a lot of that for me," Young says while defending his right to speak freely take political stands.

---

---

TUNE IN NOW: Thrasher's Wheat Radio

Thrasher's Wheat Radio
Tune in on WBKM.org, Saturdays @ 9P EST
Tonight, Saturday, Jan 18 at 9:00 PM EST, (~15 minutes from now) the Thrashers Wheat Radio Hour from WBKM.org will be streaming.

Tonight's edition will feature the latest Neil Young music and news from the "Honor The Treaties" Tour.

Tune in details and podcast info @ Thrashers Wheat Radio Hour.

---

---

Neil Young Concert Reviews: Regina - January 17, 2014

Neil Young's four city concert run to benefit "Honor The Treaties" continues tonight, Friday, Jan 17 at Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Got a report? Drop us a comment below.

Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates and Chronological Grid, Recording Summary, Statistics and Extras.

---

---

Neil Young Concert Reviews: Winnipeg - January 16, 2014

Neil Young's four city concert run to benefit "Honor The Treaties" continues tonight, Thursday, Jan 16 at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Got a report? Drop us a comment below.

Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates and Chronological Grid, Recording Summary, Statistics and Extras.

---

---

NEW Neil Young & Crazy Horse Tour Date: Tel-Aviv, Israel - July 17

Another tour date for Neil Young & Crazy Horse in concert this summer has been announced for July 17 in Yarkon Park in Tel-Aviv,Israel.

Tickets have just gone onsale.

Courtesy of Sugar Mountain, here dates thus far:

2014-07-10, Live At The Marquee, Cork, Ireland
2014-07-12, Hyde Park, London, England
2014-07-17, Yarkon Park, Tel-Aviv, Israel
2014-07-20, Münsterplatz, Ulm, Germany
2014-07-21, Collisioni Festival, Barolo, Italy
2014-07-23, Wiener Stadthalle, Wien, Austria
2014-07-25, Warsteiner Hockeypark, Mönchengladbach, Germany
2014-07-26, Filmnächte am Elbufer, Dresden, Germany
2014-07-28, Zollhafen - Nordmole, Mainz, Germany
2014-08-01, Bergenhus Festning - Koengen, Bergen, Norway
2014-08-05, Lokerse Feesten, Lokeren, Belgium

---

---

Concert Review of the Moment: Neil Young @ Massey Hall, Toronto - January 12, 2014

Neil Young - Massey Hall, Toronto - January 12, 2014
Photo via National Post
(Click photo to enlarge)
The Concert Review of the Moment is from Massey Hall, Toronto - January 12, 2014 by the ever so prolific Anonymous:

Yes, great show at Massey Hall last night. Neil was in really fine fettle both onstage and backstage afterwards – very open, warm and humorous.

The show, as others have noted, was a little shorter – Neil came on about an hour late. Everyone here has talked about how wonderful Neil was in vocally, and I concur. Every now and then he reached down deep and sang very, very strongly – Ohio and especially Southern Man being the best examples. So there seem to have been some very intentional dynamics to his singing.

Neil's comment, noted in a post above, about 'not being able to sleep' was in reference to his writing 'Mellow My Mind' in the middle of the night while enjoying a bout of insomnia. A rather funny story because all of a sudden out of nowhere he just started talking about insomnia in a manner that seemed completely unconnected to anything goin on. Let’s just say that I probably wasn’t the only one in Massey Hall who was wondering ‘Now where in the world do ya think he’s going with this one?’ And then he just picked up the banjo and in about half a sentence resolved it all with typically off-beat humour and shit-eating grin in reference to what he was about to play.

Also, regarding Pocahantus, he mentioned backstage that he’d written a really funny additional verse about Stephen Harper but unfortunately forgot it on stage.

First time I’ve seen Dianna Krall. She opened with a powerful version of Dylan’s ‘Every Grain Of Sand’, complete with soulful gospel piano, followed by another powerful version of ‘Don’t Fence Me In’ . . . and it just went from there. At one point she went off on a rather amusing short monologue about how she used to play his songs in Nanaimo, British Columbia as a young girl, and now here she was playing his piano. She then completed the thought by saying that she ‘just might have to steal Neil’s piano’. And her piano playing – much of it was literally like a virtuouso who’d just been let out of a lunatic asylum. Some of it rapturously beautiful, and other of it like a cascading collision of multiple key signatures and styles. Very, very expressive – particularly on one of Tom Waits’ delightfully mad tunes that she did. She also did tunes by Warren Zevon and Randy Newman. Overall she seems like a real character – a smokey-voiced chanteuse who was just as offbeat and quirky, if not moreso, than Neil and his musings. Not too hard on the eyes either.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is just how incredibly beautiful, incantational and hypnotic the traditional music by Chippewa drum/singing circle was – we got to listen to a little piece of the long ages with that. Much of the drumming/ singing was accompanied by a fairly shocking and heartbreaking large screen video about the Athabaska Tar Sands by Greenpeace. Also, twice the Chippewa ‘Mother’ – whose name I never caught – spoke very gracefully about their cause, and expressed deep gratitude to Neil and also ‘Mother’ Diana Krall for their support. One other thing, Neil’s brother Bob told me a little about the media blitz Neil was doing and would continue to do in order to to get under the skin and up the nose of Harper Inc. and the oil Titans. The plan is to repeatedly draw as much public attention to the issue as possible for each of the four shows.

It will be interesting to see what kind of reception the ‘Honor The Treaties’ roadshow gets in the fair city of Calgary (BTW – small nit, but Bob also noted how the person who did all the ‘Honor The Treaties’ collateral – including a huge fabric poster as the stage backdrop – unfortunately used the U.S. English spelling of “Honor” – it’s “Honour” up in these parts)

The concert as a whole, within the context of that entire experience – NOT TO MENTION NEIL PLAYING ONE GEM AFTER ANOTHER SOLO IN THAT UNBELIEVABLY RIVETING WAY THAT SO DEEPLY AND DISARMINGLY AFFECTS THE EMOTIONS AND UNLOCKS ALL KINDS OF COMPLEX MEMORIES AND FEELINGS – was one of the best I’ve been to. The overall vibe of everyone in Massey Hall was wonderful.

. . . which reminds of two other things: First, at one point Neil talked about Massey Hall – in a way reminiscent of what he said in the Heart Of Gold DVD about the Ryman Theatre – and about how he hopes the old Hall survives (hidden stained glass windows and all it) in the face of yet more of encroaching . . . er . . . so-called ‘development’. And second, Gordon Lightfoot – no stranger to Massey Hall – was backstage and he’s looking very healthy these days.

That’s it in the proverbial nutshell . . .

Thanks Anonymous! Nice review. Good to see you've tempered your emotions of late. ;) Maybe adopt a handle next time?

Also, see more on Neil Young @ Massey Hall, Toronto - January 12, 2014.

---

---

Neil Young's "Honor The Treaties" Press Conference

Neil Young
"Honor The Treaties" Press Conference
Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada - Jan 12, 2014
(Click photo to enlarge)
Neil Young's "Honor The Treaties" press conference at Massey Hall in Toronto appears to have have finally caught the attention of Canadians, including the Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Young's comments were particularly harsh for Prime Minister Harper calling his administration "hypocritical" and ignoring science for corporate profits.

Neil Young blasts oilsands expansion, launches fundraising tour - Toronto - CBC News:

"Canada is trading integrity for money," said the environmentally engaged 68-year-old rocker. "That's what's happening under the current leadership in Canada, which is a very poor imitation of the George Bush administration in the United States and is lagging behind on the world stage. It's an embarrassment to any Canadians."

"I want my grandchildren to grow up and look up and see a blue sky and have dreams that their grandchildren are going to do great things," he added later. "And I don't see that today in Canada. I see a government just completely out of control.

"Money is number one. Integrity isn't even on the map."

Young spoke before Sunday's Massey Hall concert which will benefit the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Legal Fund.

Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation & Neil Young  (CHRIS YOUNG FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL)  Young was joined by Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and went on to say about the Alberta Tar Sands devastation which he has compared to Hiroshima, Japan:

"The name Canada's based on a First Nations word. The word Ottawa's based on a First Nations word, Ontario's based on a First Nations word, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec — these are all First Nations words. This is where Canada came from.

We made a deal with these people. We are breaking our promise. We are killing these people. The blood of these people will be on modern Canada's hands. I drove around the tarsands in my electric car viewing and experiencing this unbelievable smell and toxicity in my throat — my eyes were burning," he recalled. "That started 25 miles away from the tarsands. When I was in Fort Mac, it got more intense.

My son, who has cerebral palsy, has lung damage, (so) he was wearing a mask to keep the toxic things in the air out of his lungs and make it easy for him to have lungs after he left. It looked very big and very impressive. Extremely well-organized. A lot of people were working — hard-working people, who I respect. That was one of 50 sites. The one we saw was the cleanest one. It's the best-looking one. It's the poster child.

And it's one of the ugliest things I've ever seen.

It's the greediest, most destructive and disrespectful demonstration of just something run amok that you could ever see. There's no way to describe it, so I described it as Hiroshima, which was basically pretty mellow compared to what's going on out there. I still stand by what I said about Fort Mac and the way it looks. Not because the houses in Fort Mac look like Hiroshima, but because Fort Mac stands for 50 sites, the name Fort Mac stands for diseases that these First Nations people are getting, pollution, everything that's happening there.

This oil is all going to China. It's not for Canada, it's not for the United States, it's not ours. It belongs to the oil companies. And Canada's government is making this happen. It's truly a disaster to anyone with an environmental conscience.

Empty chairs with name tags for Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver, and Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Bernard Valcourt, who were invited to attend Jason MacDonald, a spokesman from the Prime Minister's Office said:

"Even the lifestyle of a rock star relies, to some degree, on the resources developed by thousands of hard-working Canadians every day," Jason MacDonald said in a statement. Our government recognizes the importance of developing resources responsibly and sustainably and we will continue to ensure that Canada's environmental laws and regulations are rigorous."

All of this said, Canadians were overwhelming supportive of Neil Young's stand Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Legal Fund. From CBC readers, listeners rally behind Neil Young on oilsands - Your Community:

"Bravo, Neil, for fighting for a safe future for us all," said gohonestly.

Alexander Lavallary: Nice to see a famous non-aboriginal say the treaties need to be honored a day ago

"Good for you, Neil. It's a total disgrace what is happening in the Alberta oilsands. It's time to fight back. Our government of the day cares little about our environment. It's all about the almighty dollar. Time for a change," said Cookie1.

David Ogilvie: It is about time a high profile Canadian entertainer stood up for what is right. There have been a few over the years, but now we need everybody standing up for the First Nations, and the environment.

Kevin Aubie: Canadians have never had any say in TarSands development.We've been marginalized as citizens.ThankU Neil Young 4 giving us a voice

Other CBC.ca readers in the comments dismissed such arguments as ad hominem attacks and "Attacking the person - and not the issue - is a very old tactic. Everyone knows that Neil Young despises the spotlight, and gives rare interviews. Instead of sitting back, which he could easily do, he's speaking up. I feel so proud of Neil's passionate defence of the natural environment," said CdnWmn.

"Why do all the weak thinkers believe Mr. Young is a hypocrite just because he, like 99% of us, uses oil and gas in some form? He is just being critical of the perceived flagrant abuse of the environment and Native Lands by the oil consortium," said Rickieroo.

"The truth never gets old. The truth never goes out of fashion. The truth is always cool. Neil Young is a highly acclaimed artist bestowed with the Order of Canada who has been telling us the truth for over 50 years in very satisfying ways, earning our trust, respect and admiration," said Gutcheck.

"The focus here is not that we use oil, it is how the oil is produced, who is getting the profits and who are sustaining the losses. I like what Neil said, Canada has exchanged integrity for money," said Sophie Joe.

And the last word on Neil Young on being political in this clip from interview with Jian Ghomeshi, Neil talks about where one should draw the line between being an artist and being an activist, or whether there should be a line at all. Extended Neil Young criticizes Alberta oil sands development, Harper government

Alberta Tar Sands

---

UPDATE: From POLL: What do you think of Neil Young’s anti-oilsands campaign? | Globalnews.ca:

“Our issue is not whether the natural resource sector is a fundamental part of the country,” Young said Monday in a statement. “Our issue is with the government breaking treaties with the First Nation and plundering the natural resources the First Nation has rights to under the treaties.” The government also said it “recognizes the importance of developing resources responsibly and sustainably and we will continue to ensure that Canada’s environmental laws and regulations are rigorous.” Young shot back: “When people say one thing and do another, it is hypocrisy. Our Canadian environmental laws don’t matter if they are broken.” The Toronto-born singer also took note of the PMO’s comment that “even the lifestyle of a rock star relies, to some degree, on the resources developed by thousands of hard-working Canadians every day.” Young countered: “If rock stars need oil is an official response, how does that affect the treaties Mr. Harper’s government of Canada is breaking? Of course, rock stars don’t need oil. I drove my electric car from California to the Tar sands and on to Washington DC without using any oil at all and I’m a rock star. My car’s generator runs on biomass, one of several future fuels Canada should be developing for the Post Fossil Fuel Age. This age of renewable fuels could save our grandchildren from the ravages of Climate related disasters spawned by the Fossil Fuel Age; but we have to get started.”

(Thanks bh & BNB for all the links!)

---

---

Neil Young Concert Reviews: Toronto - January 12, 2014

Neil Young's four city concert run to benefit "Honor The Treaties" starts tonight, Sunday, Jan 12 at Toronto's Massey Hall.

Got a report? Drop us a comment below.

Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates and Chronological Grid, Recording Summary, Statistics and Extras.

---

---

Etiquette At A Neil Young Concert

When Neil Young is Playing, You Shut the Fuck Up
Over the years, we've blogged on numerous occasions about etiquette at a Neil Young concert.

Sit vs Stand.

Texting.

Smart Phone Etiquette.

Which brings us to last week's run at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The experience was marred for many by the obnoxious behavior of a few at the expense of the many.

Shouted requests. Clapping and singing. Incessant photos and videos and flashes. For the 1st 3 nights of the run this rude, selfish behavior was the norm. But by Friday night the ushers were out in force.

From a comment on Neil Young at Carnegie Hall in New York City - Friday, January 10, 2014 - Show #4 by Alfonz:

Flew in from Austin for the weekend. Fabulous show, fantastic venue. I stayed away from setlists beforehand. Hearing some songs like Someday, Out of My Mind, A Man Needs a Maid, Journey, pump organ Mr Soul, etc. were genuine surprises. Afterwards wished he had played After The Gold Rush and Long May You Run, but that is a minor quibble.

As for security ... good on them. I loved it. You don't need to take a photo. I guarantee it will be grainy, shit and never looked at in the future.

Regarding some comments above ... people do NOT respect a polite message to refrain. The only thing which kind of works is threat of ejection and security enforcement.

And the individual act of a security guard flashing their light at someone to stop ... that one time might be more distracting(to some, not me) than one photo ... but it stops so many more distracting photos being taken.

I hate what phones have done to the concert going performance. If I was an artist I would go one step further ... give people a grace period of the first 2 songs, and then any photo after that and you are immediately ejected with no warning.

As for post #4 anonymous ... I don't think Neil was cranky at all. You paint the wrong picture of his state of mind. I have never seen him talk to the audience as much, he was very jovial and funny, and it was a pleasant surprise ... as he usually just plays all his songs with little/no verbal interaction with the audience. His little spiels in between songs made the show that much more engaging

Thanks Alfonz!

That sums it up pretty well. We're in complete disagreement post #4 anonymous and their sense of entitlement and privilege. Yes, h/she paid a lot of money for their ticket but so did everyone else.

Our opinion is that Neil handled all of the disruption appropriately.

Lastly, before the Friday concert, there was an announcement about cell phones being disrespectful to both the artists and audience. The announcement was met by wide applause.

So just remember, When Neil Young is Playing, You Shut the Fuck Up

---

UPDATE: 1/13/14

From FORBES - A Digital-Life Lesson: How Steve Jobs Almost Ruined Neil Young by Todd Essig:

The simple fact is that the mind can’t be in two places at once. Attention is finite, experience bounded. So-called multi-tasking is at best rapid task shifting. We’re always robbing Peter to pay Paul. It’s like the title of the Firesign Theater album popular in 1970 when Neil Young first played Carnegie Hall, “How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You’re Not Anywhere At All?” When you document rather than fully experience a moment you block your own access to the depths of feeling, memory, and yearning the moment offers. You may think you are augmenting reality. You are not. You are degrading experience. You lose.

When you experience an event through a brightly illuminated screen you are also going to annoy the other people around you. Some people don’t want to be continually distracted by bright rectangular lights prancing around their field of vision. So unless you want to be a selfish jerk, shut it down sometimes.

Finally, there’s respect for the artist. Of course, some “geezer rock” shows really are photo-op celebrations of what once was. Creating a digital monument might actually be the best those moments offer. Nothing wrong with that. I’ve been to some, and will probably go to go to more in the future. But this was not that. This was a real musician (albeit a 68 year old one who has been around for 50+ years) playing real music. The setting announced it: 8 acoustic guitars, a banjo, two pianos, and an old pump organ. Young’s history of unpredictable creativity attested to it. In fact, the only way to miss the creativity of the evening was if you were so busy documenting it that you removed yourself from the actuality of the moment. So, give artists the respect they deserve.

The lesson is this: the next time a program requests you to turn off your phone you might want to actually turn it off. Remember, you, your fellow audience members, and the artists will all be better off if you do.

And if you decide it’s your phone and you’ll do with it whatever you darn well please try to remember that except for your now well-documented bragging rights (“I was there … see!”), you might as well have just stayed home relating to the world through your screens.

Spotted @ CONCERT: Bob Dylan & Neil Young - Hyde Park, London, 12 July 2019

---

---