Mansfield, MA Concert Reports - Neil Young + Promise of the Real, July 22, 2015
Neil Young + Promise of the Real will be performing tonight, July 22, 2015, on the Rebel Content Tour at
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: 7/22/2015 10:38:00 PM
16 comments
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16 Comments:
Had to leave early but one highlight-old man replaced by helpless.
Also he insisted on calling it "great woods"-the original venue name and said "corporations can't steal your past"
No encore tonight, ran out of time, but got a fantastic Cowgirl In The Sand.
Probably because there was still some seating available in the covered part of the venue, we were "upgraded" to much better seats inside the pavilion when we arrived. As I was buying for four I went cheap, so getting inside was a definite improvement, but the "better" audience was in the pit and the front three sections, as they appeared to be standing most of the time.
The deliberate pacing from mellow solo acoustic to acoustic with band to White Falcon and finally the burn of Old Black lets the toe tappers have their fix and also encourages them to leave sooner... good riddance to the Drew Carey look alike in front of us and his girlfriend who wouldn't shut up with their sweet nothings and oblivious nuzzling!
This band really reinforces the historical fact that Neil Young is basically the Ur source of all southern California/Topanga mellow country rock. The Eagles should be sending him royalties. Of course, Glenn Frey would never get within five limousines of the blunt sledgehammer political pounding that this band can also deliver. So there is this very neat and subversive flow to the show, especially as the Monsanto stuff sneaks up and leaves the unsuspecting with cognitive whiplash, until they go back to the very beginning and recall "After The Goldrush." The pull of nostalgia is powerful and it can be difficult to have to be brought back to the present and the future, but that's the unrest and unease that the Monsanto stuff generates. It is 10X better in performance than on record.
POTR is perfect. There's an energy and drive there that really just can't happen with an older band. The audience definitely had a greater age range than the last shows I've seen, either solo or with Crazy Horse. Lucas Nelson is sort of a combination of Steven Stills and Danny Whitten. Like Stills, he brings the bite of a Stratocaster (though the main one he plays has a (mini?)humbucker in the bridge) that plays off the heavier growl of Old Black, and like Stills he and Young trade off each other, while Micah Nelson adds rhythm and varied sonic infill. All this helps take the pressure off of NY's wrist, which, at almost 70, is amazing in that he can still pull off the moves he does-- he just gets a bit more of a break, while the sound remains full and complex.
They actual music started a bit before 9 (it seemed that the seed planting skit went on longer than planned) and concluded at about 11:20. I feel they could have kept going, but the venue has its limit and the audience was pretty well tired, especially as the intense "Cowgirl.." and "Love And Only Love" were almost back to back.
He did change/add the lyrics on a couple of the new songs.
Great show last night Neil gave money's worth for sure with songs like Walk On been going to shows for years and do not think I have heard it live and Words, Cowgirl was awesome. My only negative was I really was looking forward to hearing Everybody Knows this is Nowhere and Cortez the Killer, Don't be Denied, Down by the River and Old Man and Winterlong, Flying on the ground is wrong, Only Love can break your heart. He seemed to vary the shows we got Helpless in our show. Just surprised he ended with Love and only Love and NO encore?
Felt a little cheated with no Cortez or Down by the River at end. I suppose time limited at this venue. Still Neil Young concerts are incredible and loved it otherwise! Wish drunk fool behind me with shut up talked during acoustic set.
Hey there GREAT SET!!
I had a Monsanto T-shirt with the Middle finger that I tossed to Neil, he loved the shirt, danced around with it and showed it to the Willy Boys, then draped it over the drum stand for the SHOW!! what a memory!!
Neil rocks and I'm pissed I havent ventured off for some of these other shows....
SETLIST anyone?
Gotta add more shows Neil!
After the gold rush
Heart of gold
Long may you run
Helpless
Mother Earth
Out on the weekend
Unknown legend
Wolf moon
Says: "Great Woods: No corporation can buy your history"
From Hendrix to Hendrix
Harvest moon
Words
Lookin for a love
Walk on
Cup of coffee
People want to hear about love
Big box
A new day for love?
Cowgirl in the sand
Workin Man?
I don't know?
Love and only love
Corrected Set list for 22 July 2015 at Mansfield, MA
Harvesters plant organic seeds
1. After the Gold Rush [solo piano]
2. Heart of Gold [solo acoustic]
3. Long May You Run [solo acoustic]
4. Helpless [solo acoustic]
5. Mother Earth (Natural Anthem) [solo organ]
Pesticides Ruin Corps
6. Out on the Weekend [w Promise of the Real]
7. Unknown Legend
8. Wolf Moon
9. From Hank to Hendrix
10. Harvest Moon
11. Words (Between the Lines of Age) [electric w Promise of the Real]
12. Lookin' For a Love
13. Walk On
14. A Rock Star Bucks A Coffee Shop
15. People Want to Hear About Love
16. Big Box
17. If I Don't Know
Organic Cherries Hallucination
18. Cowgirl in the Sand
19. Workin' Man
20. Monsanto Years
21. Love and Only Love
First and foremost, THANK YOU NEIL for coming to Great Woods (which it once was and always shall be). The show was fantastic. My wife got me tickets for Fathers Day and it was the first NY show for both of us.
Yes, Neil referred to the venue's original name of Great Woods many times, refusing to utter the shamelessly blatant self advertising corporate moniker that it now goes by.
Yes, Neil observed that the band was running past 11 pm as the stage crew was lining up behind the gear, ready to pounce as soon as he walked off...only to launch into a version of "Love and Only Love" that seemed like it would never end. (The fines are piling up)
Yes, Neil gave us more of an education on Monsanto, GMO's, and the recent Green, Greener, Greenest Mountain state's decision to further protect its citizens from not being able to make the same informed shopping decisions with their produce and meat that they've always been able to make with the rest of their groceries, than the media and politicians have to date.(How was that for a run-on sentence?)
But, and as it should be, the MUSIC was the best part. Neil played solo on some of his most beloved acoustic classics including, for Mansfield, "Helpless"...THANK YOU NEIL!. He played "After the Gold Rush" on a stand up piano that looks like it got pulled from the rubble of a building that was hit by a "Bunker Buster". He played "Mother Earth" on a Victorian pump organ...YEAH, A PUMP ORGAN!. He played a healthy smattering of new music from "The Monsanto Album". He played a very nice "Harvest Moon" that brought my wife and I just a little closer. As if all of that wasn't enough, he shredded the HOLYLIVINBEJESUS out of "Cowgirl in the Sand" I'm not sure how long they stretched that one out for, but it wasn't long enough.
Promise of the Real ROCKS. They held their own just fine with someone who was a legend before they were even born. They played WITH Neil, not behind him, not over him, not instead of him. The interplay between them during the guitar breaks, every song, all night long, was amazing. They were thoroughly enjoying themselves as they played off of, around, and with each other.
Last night was a BONAFIDE ROCK CONCERT. There was no laser light show. No video sequences. No prerecorded samples or dubs. No dancers. No horn section. No lip sync. No wardrobe changes. No floor to ceiling tapestries with visual eye candy or suggestions for a better way of living. All there was on the stage was 5 guys, their instruments and a boat load of Amps.
We are not disappointed with what we didn't hear, we are instead grateful for what we did; great music played by great musicians VERY LOUDLY!!!
Thank you again Neil and Promise for coming to Mansfield, it was greatly appreciated.
The only negative thing I have to say about the show is that it made me wish I had started going to see Neil Young thirty years ago. Better late than never, keep on rockin brother.
Lyrics were altered/added to "A New Day For Love" and ""People Want To Hear about Love", most notable was "..don't talk about... black lives and crazy cops..'
at 2:00-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgjNMXeciIg
Nilla Wafers Monster described this show perfectly. I have been going to Neil Young concerts since the first Great Woods concert in 1987! This stands at the top of all time favorite shows I have seen. It's true...POTR plays with Neil, and are equal if not dominant at times. Neil was happy, energized, and the concert almost blew the top of my head off it was so good!! Here's some Cowgirl, taken by yours truly. The audio is slightly off, but the jam at the end, with Micah on the drum set bending backwards, was a sight to behold and worth the slightly off audio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db0kXB96b8M
"The greatest miracle of the Spring is the miracle of the old tree reborn. Nobody knows how weary a tree gets, how close to death in the Winter. The older the tree the more of its character you can read in the bark."
--Walter Teller from Cape Cod and the Offshore Islands
For The Aviator 1918-2015
He Flew the Hump
I Wanna Dance With Somebody
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH3giaIzONA
God Bless The Child
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp9yj5hcWUY
You Are Not Alone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYCp98McUc8
Down to the River to Pray
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CJfxaWRkNs
Memories of You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26EVJzc0m8g
Up On the Roof
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTNjX7l7-go
"I've no doubt we all have an inner spirit that makes us capable of doing things we never imagined. Setting new goals, finding new passions--these are the things that prevent us from becoming stagnant. They lead us to accomplishments of which we only once dreamed."
--Travis Roy
"Under the Bodhi Eye, I get on my bicycle again and return along gray December roads to Kathmandu."
--Peter Matthiessen...The Snow Leopard
Thanks to all for the review comments! Especially Nilla Wafers Monster. A wonderful read.
And Mr Henry? You enjoyed the concert we presume?!
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