Cincinnati, OH Concert Reports - Neil Young + Promise of the Real, July 11, 2015
Neil Young + Promise of the Real will be performing tonight, July 11, 2015, on the Rebel Content Tour at Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH.
Got a report? Drop us a comment below.
Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates and Chronological Grid, Recording Summary, Statistics and Extras.
Also, see Neil Young + Promise of the Real 2015 Concert Tour Dates for reviews, photos, videos and more.
Labels: concert, neil young, reviews, tour
by thrasher@PermaLink: 7/13/2015 10:58:00 PM
21 comments
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I attended last nights performance and can say that it was truely one of Neil's most blistering sets to date. Promise of the Real we're spot on even as Neil shredded old black until she was out of tune and had to be replaced. An emotional version of "Ohio" was sombering but Neil brought everybody back to life with one of the best versions of Love And Only Love that I can remember. I was blown away by the energy that this new band exuded. A spectacular performance!
I wonder why there was such a short set compared to the other shows thus far??
Riverbend Music Center has a strict 11 PM curfew due to local noise ordinance. The fine is severe enough that nearly all touring acts end "on time."
FYI the Cincinnati show just went up on rustradio.org
..and a review...
http://musicalbox.bloginky.com/2015/07/14/in-performance-neil-young-promise-of-the-new/
Here is my review of the show, forgive me for its length.
July 13th. The big day had finally come. After waiting for months, anticipation growing, the day was finally here. At 17, I would see my first concert, and even more importantly, I would also see Neil Young and Promise Of The Real. My dad (a fellow fan) and I made the trek to Cincinnati in the morning. We listened to Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere on the way, and after eating at the Boathouse, the Precinct, and visiting the Newport Aquarium to pass the time, the moment had come, and we arrived at the Riverbend.
We filed in amongst many other fans, and I purchased two of the t-shirts, both adorned with tractors and anti-GMO symbols. It felt strange when I sat down dead center in Row F; "Am I really gonna be this close?" I wondered in awe (Ticketmaster is a living, breathing entity. It cannot be manipulated, and sometimes grants mercy, as with us). After the roadies tuned everything up, Band Of Horses came out and played a short set. Their performance was very good, but they were very loud, and my virgin ears were not quite ready for that level of sound, so I put in some earplugs. Thankfully, I could still hear pretty well. After a thank you to the audience, BoH left the stage, and introduced another man (forgive me, I don't remember his name). The man was a Native American, and spoke of how Rio Tinto and John McCain are mining on their land (reservations, I think), and had us join in a moment of Native American song. After all of this, he thanked Neil for having him here, and finished his speech.
"This is it. The big man is coming" I thought to myself, suddenly feeling very stiff. The roadies did their job, and the women in farming clothes came out, sprinkling seeds all over the stage. At this point, I had taken out my earplugs, and they would remain in my pocket for the rest of the show. As the women began to part to the side of the stage, I saw a familiar black hat glide behind the equipment, and sit down behind the piano. A choir of cheers erupted from the audience. In the distance, I heard the faint sound of the opening chords of After The Gold Rush ring out, but there was a problem with the sound. Suddenly, like a beacon from a lighthouse in a violent storm, Neil faded into earshot. The crowd went wild as he sang the first lyrics, and though I may have just been imagining this, there was a moment where he looked up from the shadow cast by his hat, and I swear, I saw a glint in his eye, and we briefly made eye contact. I'm sure everyone at a concert has had this experience, and I felt paralyzed. It just seemed so strange that he was actually up there and so close. I wasn't just watching a movie anymore, this was it.
After an excellent performance, Neil switched over to his well-worn D-28 (Hank, I believe). More cheers greeted a wise sounding Heart of Gold. "It's these expressions, I try to give" Neil sang, modifying the lyrics, and changing the meaning of the song somewhat significantly, at least in my mind.
Neil switched over to his other D-28, and briefly had an issue plugging it in, where the electronics weren't responding properly. After this quick malfunction, he began playing Old Man. Though it was played in a whole step down, that didn't make a difference. I could only think to myself that his voice seemed so strong tonight, it was mind-boggling!
Testing his harmonica, Neil strode over to his old pump organ, and played a beautiful, wistful version of Mother Earth. His message was really starting to become clear here, and this would continue throughout the show.
Suddenly, gas was sprayed across the stage. A few men in hazmat suits walked about, obliterating the seeds with pesticides. The lights dimmed, and out of the haze, Neil was suddenly not alone: Lukas Nelson and Corey McCormick stood to his left, Micah Nelson to his right, and behind him, Anthony Logerfo and Tato Melgar. The ever-iconic intro to Out On The Weekend began playing, and I became ecstatic. It was absolutely stunning, one of the highlights of the show. Micah seemed to be channeling his inner Jimmy Page, dragging a bow across his strings. He and Lukas seemed to be simulating Ben's steel parts, and were doing a fine job of it. Micah proved to be a versatile rhythm player, who added an extra layer to all of the songs that were played. Serene and sad as always, the song continued to unfold. Promise Of The Real gave it their all on backing vocals, and they sounded great. The crowd joined Neil, and we sang along gleefully.
Neil switched harmonicas, and thanked the crowd for coming. He wisecracked that "Mother nature is cooperating with us for the time being", alluding to the severe storms that had just hit earlier. He sprung effortlessly into Unknown Legend. "Somewhere on a desert highway, she rides a Harley-Davidson,
her long blonde hair flying in the wind" Neil sang, and once again, the audience joined, some humorously pointing towards the stage on the "Harley-Davidson" line.
Continuing into the second Harvest Moon song of the night, Neil whipped out From Hank To Hendrix. His voice was still in fine shape. The singalong potential was brilliant, and the lyrics were more relevant than ever.
The first new song of the night, Neil began playing Wolf Moon. Though it had seemed somewhat sterile on the album, here, it rang with an honest beauty, and impressed the audience. The song is just so pleasant, there was nothing you could do other than enjoy it.
Suddenly, everything seemed to freeze. Did I just see a technician bring out the White Falcon? Neil pulled the strap over his shoulder, and began strumming three familiar chords. Suddenly, it exploded into Words, and the audience, appropriately, was overjoyed. The song was as intense as always, and violent flurries of electric guitar burst through the air around me. Neil converged on Lukas, and they formed the classic "Crazy Horse huddle" and they began soloing aggressively. Lukas is really starting to impress me. Very good guitarist.
https://youtu.be/fyvyvCtRuGo
Neil stepped up to the mic, and gave a speech about four students, who were "actively engaged" and "stood up to the government". Everyone knew what this meant. The Riverbend was splintered by the erupting grit of Ohio, which quickly grew in power like the roots of a willow tree. The performance really hit home with me. Though I did not ever live to experience the slaying of those students (I wasn't even close, a few decades off), I live right down the road from Kent State, tucked between Akron and Cleveland. The song was incredibly emotionally charged, and I began chanting the lyrics with everyone else, many of whom were (obviously) fellow Ohioans. I felt my blood boil in a way it never has, and I felt like I was a part of the music, living this nightmare. What an experience.
https://youtu.be/v-c1ystqv8c
Man, I needed a break after that last song. In a rumble of guitar, a chorus of whistles pierced the air, and A Rock Star Bucks A Coffee Shop was underway. Here, I realized the song was EXTREMELY catchy, and the song's chorus (Monnnn-Sannnnn-Tooooo) was irresistible. I quickly found myself singing along (by the way, I'm never the type to sing along).
Next, Neil played People Want To Hear About Love. Another song from Monsanto Years, I found it to really shine live as well. The riff almost reminds me of Country Home, but the song differs greatly otherwise. Monsanto Years is really starting to grow on me.
Without word, Neil and POTR lunged into a searing version of Down By The River. On the way to the show, I listened to Down By The River with Crazy Horse from the Fillmore East 1970, and I dare say this performance trumped it. My jaw dropped to the floor when Lukas just cut loose. His soloing had a strange quality in that he would grab for the high frets of his sharp looking Strat, with natural finish, and just shred away. He's more of a technical player than Neil. Not only that, but it was just so loud, I had never heard anything like it. All of this gave it a very ethereal quality. Lukas is turning out to be one of the best guitarists I've ever seen. Some people have observed that Lukas can potentially fill the late, great Danny Whitten's shoes, and I can see it! Down By The River just kept ascending and ascending, reaching heights I didn't think were possible. The chorus shook the Riverbend every time, and then the soloing recommenced. One of the most exhilarating moments of the night.
I had been looking forward to this one. With a streak of juvenile energy, the band tore into Working Man. One of my favorites off Monsanto Years, the song charges forward with an energy and melody much akin to Time Fades Away. I found myself clapping along and swaying to the music as Neil continued his crusade to tarnish the name of Monsanto. Neil threw his harmonica off stage without a care as to where it went. I wonder who got it. Right around here, one man who sat near us leaned over to me, and yelled "You're very lucky to be here! It's really good for you that you're here!" I laughed, and could only agree. All in all, a very fun song with a serious message.
And just like that, they catapult into what is likely the best song off of Monsanto Years: Big Box. The song runs with a serious Restless Consumer vibe. It is incredibly foreboding with the haunting chorus "Too big to fail, too rich for jail", followed by a riff that I find very similar to Pushed It Over The End, handled perfectly by Lukas.
It is here that I need to mention the other members. Corey McCormick is a fine bassist with great stage presence. He almost reminds me of Billy Talbot in that sense (I'll stop with the Horse comparisons): he jumps around the stage, bangs his head to the music (doesn't have the rubber band neck like Talbot, though!), and by the end, sweat was pouring from his snapback cap. Anthony Logerfo is a very high energy drummer. He could hold the beat fantastically, and made the venue shake with his fills. Tato Melgar seemed content to avoid the limelight. He sat to the left of Logerfo, and provided flourishes of percussion on his bongos, as well as other embellishments. The whole band is incredibly qualified, and deserve their position next to Neil, for sure.
To the pleasure of the crowd, Neil plowed through a jubilant version of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Sounding great as always, he sang with a smile on his face the lyrics he knows so well by now. My only criticism is that the backing vocals here (the la-la-las) seemed a little scrambled, but the audience filled in enough for it to get by without much of an issue at all. Another old classic that we all enjoyed as much as Neil and the band.
The title track of Monsanto Years was the next song to be played. In my opinion, this is the only MY track that kind of dragged along. Overbearing at times, the aggressive nature of the song made me a little uncomfortable, even amidst the other MY songs. However, that's not to say it wasn't punctuated by moments of brilliance, riffs and solos thrown at the audience by Lukas.
Drastically lightening the mood, Neil performed the captivating If I Don't Know. Borrowing an old term from Jimmy Page, this song seems to utilize a lot of "light and shade". Lyrics that projected imagery of nature and its leafy touch gave way to morbid descriptions of dams and other threats, as the chords created a vertigo inducing sensation of falling down a bottomless pit, tumbling towards oblivion. One of the best songs from MY.
The other shows seemed to draw a bit from Ragged Glory, and finally Neil assaults the audience with a crushing version of Love And Only Love. The song announced its presence with a savage eruption of frenzied soloing. At this point in the show, I now realized I was being concussed by the sound, and to be honest, I didn't care. The soloing was very strange, though. It became so loud, that I felt it like lightening. Like streaks of electricity shooting jaggedly though the Riverbend and my ears, my cochleae felt like they caved in. It was an indescribable sensation, and the electricity metaphor is the best I can possibly do. The song signaled a rave up by the band. Lukas threw off his hat, and began swinging his head wildly, his hair flying every which way. He even pulled a Hendrix, and started playing with his teeth, creating mass hysteria in the audience. Finally, after the band pulled a ton of false endings, they finished the last song of the set. The band grouped together, took a bow, and walked off.
Of course, the audience didn't stop cheering. "What will he play?" I wondered. Ideas bounced around in my head. Danger Bird? Revolution Blues? Thrasher? When he returned to the stage, the audience continued its roars, and Neil, with true honesty in his voice, thanked Cincinnati, as well as everyone for attending. The band set up, and fired into the immortal classic, Cinnamon Girl. The song was perfect, right down to the iconic one note solo. As Neil reaches the final coda, he steps towards the audience and raises his arms, prompting everyone to do so as well, an ocean of shaking hands. After one last blast from the band, they all lower their instruments. For the last time of the night, they bow out, and wave as the band exits the stage, and the lights dim, and then come back up, revealing an empty stage.
https://youtu.be/jhpl7F4wACU
The performances of all the members were outstanding. Everyone had a moment to shine. Not detracting from anyone's performance, especially Neil's, I must say that Lukas was a real standout. He had a giant's shoes to fill, yet somehow he did it, and then some. I would give anything to see these guys play together again.
Driving back home with my dad, the one
thing I can hear in my head, aside from the ringing of my ears, is that man whose words really stuck with me. I was really lucky to be there. Not just that, but I'm very lucky to be a Neil Young as well. Nothing could have rivaled what I saw yesterday. I finally fulfilled my dream of seeing one of my heroes live. This day will forever be ingrained in my mind.
(Once again, sorry for the long post!)
Show length was 2:20, compared to 2:30 for Red Rocks 2, 2:40 for Milwaukee, 2:45 for Red Rocks 1 and 3:05 for Lincoln
No way 8 or 9 less songs ,maybe 220 min total with warm up band !!
I guess jones beach will be another short show 11 o'clock curfew there too,why not start show earlier :( does anyone know if bethel woods has curfew ? Great post Kon !!
@ Old rocker Dave - That emotional version of "Ohio" on video above by Genghis was very sombering indeed.
@ MCBueby - good question and looks like we have answer.
@ J Law - thanks. sounds reasonable.
@ The Zuma Band - thanks for links!
@ Genghis Kon - awesome review & video. Thank for sharing. Worthy of a Concert Review of the Moment. Posted @ http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2015/07/concert-review-of-moment-cincinnati-oh.html
@ Babbo B. - thanks for stats! Some get shorter, Some get longer, sooner or later it all gets REAL!
@ Unknown - here's hoping for a curfrew free Jones Beach.
@unknown - re running time, the tape doesn't lie:
Neil Young & Promise of the Real
July 13, 2015
Riverbend Music Center
Cincinnati, Ohio
Source: Sound Professionals CMC-08s->SP-SB10 (no bass roll-off)->Roland R05->
CoolEditPro->CD Wave->TLH
Taper: ironchef
Total time: 139:30
Solo acoustic
01. After the Gold Rush
02. Heart of Gold
03. Old Man
04. Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)
w/Promise of the Real
05. Out on the Weekend
06. Unknown Legend
07. From Hank to Hendrix
08. Wolf Moon
09. Words (Between the Lines of Age)
10. Ohio
11. A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop
12. People Want to Hear About Love
13. Down by the River
14. Workin' Man
15. Big Box
16. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
17. Monsanto Years
18. If I Don't Know
19. Love and Only Love
20. encore break
21. Cinnamon Girl
Notes: We got a shorter show than the previous stops on this new tour, but the show still rocked regardless.
There was a storm on the way, so I think they were trying to squeeze in as much as they could before it hit.
When a show that's about 2 hours and 20 minutes long is considered the short one of the tour, I'll still take it!
DBTR ran 16 minutes, LAOL was 15 - the dropped songs tended to be shorter ones (LMYR, Peace of Mind, Flying On the Ground, Bad Fog, Harvest Moon, Walk On etc)
But you're pretty close saying that the whole show, with warmup, ran 220 minutes, which is 3 hours, 40 minutes - it started at 7:30 and ended at 11, so 3 hours, 30 minutes total (2 hours, 20 minutes of that Neil)
lol I stand corrected !! Thank u I'll be at both shows bethel wood and jones beach !! Hope I get don't be denied !! And walk on !! Since never heard them live !! I'm sure both will be great tho !!
It was my fourth time seeing Neil and it was certainly an amazing show. Just watching what they were doing on the guitars made my fingers hurt.
I'm going to comment more on the Riverbend thing because it was a joke from the start. I'm not sure why Cincinnati had the highest ticket prices of this tour with the lower levels reaching $390. $250, $200, $120 and $70ish for the rest of the pavilion but it seems the $200 ticket prices were pulled back to $150 a few weeks after sale date when it wasn't selling. The $120 tickets were cut to $65 about a week ago.
I've been going to Riverbend for about ten years now and it's true about the 11pm curfew but they can get permission for the show to run over without getting fined. This concert ended at 11:04 last night so more than likely they were find anyways.
Again, the show itself was brilliant but I can't help but wonder how terrific it must have been for 8-9 more songs and another hour being played. Not to mention Harvest Moon and Long May You Run, two of my favorites, were cut from the list. Riverbend, I'm guessing, charges more for tickets because they were hoping to cash in on the out of towners who were in for the All Star Game. Riverbend could have started the show earlier, could have gotten permission to run late or else just came up with something else.
I'm sorry but charging more than any other venue AND forcing them to cut a hour from the show is just bad all around.
Sorry to beat this to death, but people keep bringing it up: The show was not cut short by an hour - it lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes, the average for the first four was 2 hours, 45 minutes (skewed upward by the extra-long 3 hour, 5 minute show in Lincoln). There were extended jams on DBTR and LAOL, and the eight or so usual songs that weren't played were all rather short, around half an hour altogether. Yeah, Lincoln was insane, but by all accounts you folks got a damn good show.
Where can I download this?
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