Roskilde Festival, Denmark Concert: Neil Young + Promise of the Real - July 1, 2016

"Alabama" - Neil Young + Promise of the Real - (Live @ Roskilde Festival, July 1st, 2016)

Woodstock Feeling: Neil Young live @orangefeeling #rf16 pic.twitter.com/dqIpiumbYV

— Show-inistin (@anmedja) July 1, 2016

From Gigwise:

Neil Young + Promise of the Real gave a triumphant performance at Roskilde day three last night. Opening with a solo acoustic set that included the classics ‘After The Gold Rush, ‘Heart Of Gold’, and ‘The Needle And The Damage Done’, Young then spent the next two and a half hours blasting through a set accented by politically and environmentally conscious songs with his full electric band, who were the most spectacular guitar band of the festival so far.

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Neil Young + Promise of the Real will be performing tonight, July 1 at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark.

A Live stream @ http://live.roskilde-festival.dk/ - 9PM Central European time, 3PM Eastern Time, noon Pacific! (Thanks Mark and Anette. Enjoy the concert and be sure to send us a report!!!!)

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 2016 Concert Tour Dates for reviews, photos, videos and more.

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Shirt of the Moment: Paris Concert of Neil Young + Promise of the Real, June 23, 2016

Nicolas Sporting a Thrasher's Wheat 20th Anniversary Shirt
Paris Concert of Neil Young + Promise of the Real, June 23, 2016
Photo by Jacqueline J.
(Click photo to enlarge)
Here's the Shirt of the Moment from Nicolas in Paris at the Neil Young + Promise of the Real concert.

Nicolas (a longtime, loyal TW reader) flying his colors with a Thrasher's Wheat 20th Anniversary Shirt.

Thanks so much for sending Nicolas! And so awesome that you guys got a magnificent Neil + REAL concert.

And thanks to all who have sent photos so far from tour. We'll have more in the coming days to feature.

Also, if you recently ordered a shirt on the 2nd round of Thrasher's Wheat 20th Anniversary Shirts, we'll be having an update shortly.

Nicolas on the Rail!
Paris Concert of Neil Young + Promise of the Real, June 23, 2016
Photo by Michel A.

ps - got a Shirt of the Moment shot?! Send it to us at thrasher@thrasherswheat.org

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ALBUM REVIEW OF THE MOMENT: EARTH by Neil Young + Promise of the Real

Neil Young's "Earth" (cover)

Here's an album review on Neil Young + Promise of the Real's new album EARTH released last week by Scotsman:

Earth.

I get this album. It's on my wavelength.

To be clear, this isn't best interpreted as a live album, a concert souvenir. And to be honest, would a "normal" live album from 2015 really be such an exciting prospect, in the wider scheme of things? These raw performances are respectable enough, for sure, but if you 'just' want a great live album of top-class live performances, stop wasting time and put on something from 1991.

But this record is so much more than that, in some ways; more far-reaching, more ambitious, more creative. All the "extra stuff" (that people are so unsure about) is the whole point.

I'll mention now that this is a very dynamic record. You really have to crank it up, and then it comes to life. Hippie Dream simmers away at moderate volume, and then suddenly has you by the throat.

The Vampire in Vampire Blues is a particularly vicious character here. Almost as vicious as Neil's frenzied lead guitar playing on Hippie Dream (one of a few moments on this album that feel truly reminiscent of the masterpiece that is Weld). This violence all feels a million miles away from those nature sounds. And that's surely part of the point.

Rather than being a distraction, it's the integration of all the wildly-creative overdubs and animal sounds that allow this album to punch solidly above its weight. The field recordings are charming and soothing; the auto-tuned backing vocals are strangely moving. It's a very "wide" record that captures a lot. Beauty and ugliness combined: and it's not always clear from the outset which is which. That is, until Neil makes it obvious, as the songs break down into chaos.

For example, Monsanto Years, where the sound is so purposefully dis-jointed (and the overdubs so purposefully overdone) that you feel like the world is collapsing around you, like a hole is being torn in the fabric of time and space. You feel like you've been turned inside out. There are some great sounds, a great cross-section of life in all its forms.

It's scrappy, it's messy, it's fun; it has the same wild abandon (and the same happy appeal) as a painting done by a young child.

That's what he's done. He's combined the wisdom and shrewd observations of an old man with the joyous expressiveness of a small child. That reminds me of Greendale. No small accomplishment. Something to be proud of.

I'd like to send a copy of this review to Neil. I would get some satisfaction from saying to him "yes, I get this. You've got through to me. You've built something for me".

And I think he'd get some satisfaction from hearing that, too.

Thanks all.

Scotsman.

Thanks Scotsman. Nice. We get EARTH, too. Same frequency and wavelength beaming right back you and all the REAL'ers out there.

More album reviews of Neil Young + Promise of the Real's new album EARTH.

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VIDEO & ANALYSIS: "Cortez The Killer" - Neil Young + Promise of the Real, Barcelona, Spain Concert - June 20, 2016

Here's a nice 18+ minute "Cortez The Killer" from Barcelona, Spain Concert of Neil Young + Promise of the Real on June 20, 2016 .

We made a comment that we were a bit surprised since "Cortez The Killer" was banned in Spain in the 1970's? Of course, we were quickly corrected by our oh so astute readers. "Cortez The Killer" has been played no less than 7 times in Spain, per the indispensable Sugar Mountain.

“Cortez The Killer”, was banned in Spain because it offended General Franco’s regime. In Spain, Hernando Cortez (or Hernán Cortés) is considered a national hero as the conquistador who conquered Mexico's Aztec Empire for Spain.

On to the Comment of the Moment by flyingscotzman:

Cortez is the perfect conclusion to these recent shows.

One thing you will very quickly notice about the setlist recently is that there are a lot of villains. People who may have started with good intentions but quickly became too powerful, too big, too dangerous.

We witness the betraying "men of power" in Mother Earth. The evil and spiteful corporations of Big Box and Monsanto Years. The "shadow man" of After The Garden. The fallen angel ("he's different now") of Western Hero. The restless rebel without a cause of Revolution Blues (in this context both a hero and a villain, perhaps). The "hate" being overcome in Love And Only Love. The oil-sucking vampire of "Vampire Blues". The "thoughtless plunderers" of Wolf Moon. The ominous, invading "white boat" of Powerfinger. The person "pushing the button" in Like An Inca.

And so on.

And then you have Cortez The Killer.

The summation and conclusion to all of this; a song about a man who was "not able to sleep well" (Neil's description) due to the crimes he committed. We see flashbacks of all these other varied antagonists who carelessly allowed greed to control them, to destroy their own peace of mind and the world around them. Cortez represents them all. He takes off his mask and reveals more than one face; and a mirror.

It's like Luke Skywalker finally facing Darth Vader; Harry Potter against Lord Voldemort. It's a proper cinematic climax, the type Young has so obviously been enamoured with for so most of his career.

As so often happens, Neil tells us a story with this tour, and Cortez brings this particular story to a befitting conclusion. Until the next time.

Scotsman.

Thanks Scotsman. And one man's villain is another man's hero...

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Photo of the Moment: New Drumhead for Promise of the Real

Neil Young + Promise of the Real
Antwerp, Belgium - June 24, 2016
Photo by Roel @ Rust Radio status
(Click photo to enlarge)
Check out the new drumhead for Promise of the Real's drummer Anthony Logerfo.

There are those who suggest that there's a passing resemblance to the color scheme tie dye of the Thrasher's Wheat 20th Anniversary Shirt.

Did you miss out on this special TW offer?! Don't despair. Here are details on a 2nd round of Thrasher's Wheat 20th Anniversary Shirts.

See 2nd round of Thrasher's Wheat 20th Anniversary Shirts for details.

Don't Be Denied! (again)

Thrasher's Wheat 20th Anniversary: 1996 - 2016
Design by Silver Moon Art & Design
(Click photo to enlarge)

ps - got a Shirt of the Moment shot?! Send it to us at thrasher@thrasherswheat.org

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INTERVIEW: Neil Young On World Cafe

From WXPN, here's is an interview with Neil Young On World Cafe.

Every time Neil Young joins World Cafe, he seems to have a different project he's excited about — and it's not always a new album. He's been telling us about his PONO digital music player and download service for a while, and he returns to that topic in today's conversation. But this session is largely a listening party for Young's new live album, Earth, which features the veteran singer-songwriter on tour with the band Promise of the Real (led by his friend Willie Nelson's son Lukas). Complementing the live program — a selection of songs about nature from throughout Young's career — are field recordings of rushing rivers, buzzing bees, honking car horns and more.

More on EARTH by Neil Young + Promise of the Real.

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REVIEWS: EARTH by Neil Young + Promise of the Real

Neil Young's "Earth" (cover)
(Click photo to enlarge)
A very enjoyable review of the new album EARTH by Neil Young + Promise of the Real from Paste by Douglas Heselgrave.

Here's a setup mid review, but be sure to check the beginning and end of the very thorough, well thought review...

This might be the perfect time for a confession of sorts. You see, Neil Young, nature recordings and I go a long way back. In one of those rare instances where life imitates art, I got the jump on the Earth album concept about 30 years ago when I was still a university student. My record player was broken, and one Sunday afternoon I was at my parents’ house transferring Young’s Live Rust from vinyl onto a cassette. I was broke, so I decided to tape over an old National Geographic Songs of the Humpback Whale cassette that my brother used for a science project many years ago rather than go out and buy new cassettes that I couldn’t afford. Something went wrong, however, and when I popped Live Rust into the car tape deck, Neil Young’s voice came out of the right speaker, but there was something wrong with the left channel. I could still hear the whale songs.

At first, I was pissed off because I would have to re-tape the album, but three songs later, by the time I had driven home, I started to think that the tape sounded pretty good and that Neil and the humpbacks weren’t such a bad fit. Especially on “Cortez the Killer”—the whale’s mournful cries seemed to echo the fate of the Aztecs as they succumbed to the terrors of invasions. Over the next 20 years or so, while driving late at night or on those special occasions when we’d been digging deep into the tickle trunk for medicine and listened to Neil and the whales with the lights off, the connections between Young’s music and nature took on an almost mystical quality. When I told Neil Young’s publicist this story a few weeks ago, he asked me to look for the cassette to send him a copy, but sadly after much scrambling around in the basement, I realize that, like so many other things, it’s been lost to time. I like to imagine the person who has the tape now putting it on and wondering what the hell they’re listening to.

Again, check full review in Paste by Douglas Heselgrave.

Other meta review (via Rusted Moon):

• Lynne Margolis, American songwriter: "Sometimes it exceeds the expectations Who would have thought that a heavenly children's choir and a softer piano." After the gold rush "can make you more beautiful Youngs wave but beguiling vocals, accompanied especially by his acoustic guitar playing? and harmonica, give two other vintage tracks - 'Human Highway' and 'Western Hero' - a similar beauty ". 3 stars
• Adrian Thrills, Daily Mail: ". The simpler songs work best 'Mother Earth' - the 'a world governed by greed' complains - is driven by driving Keyboards, thunderclaps and a chorus of frogs." 3 of 5
• Will Hodgkinson, The Times:  "There is a threatening atmosphere in this strange, thrilling album." 4 of 5
• Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY: "Although Young on EARTH is his righteous anger openly displayed - everyone who thinks he's cranky, will anyway not be swayed - there are moments wonderful grace and uninhibited gratitude as' Wolf Moon 'by' Monsanto '. Its beautiful acoustic arrangement is embellished here with glowing harmonies. "
• Joe Breen, The Irish Times: "Typically, it drives Young at the top - but that's one of the characteristics that make him so endearing." 4 of 5 stars
• Douglas Hesel Grave, Paste Magazine:  "For whatever reason, 'EARTH' is a captivating, very credible recording that stands on its own it is from start to finish, bold, uncompromising, but funny and beautiful as the landscapes.. he sings, is 'EARTH' a gnarled old oak of an album that is made ​​to last. Not for beginners or slightly frightening. " 8.8 out of 10
• Doug Collete, All About Jazz: " 'Human Highway' is as close to the classic Neil Young sound like the piano and the superimposed voices on 'after the gold rush' The effects do not fall on so much because they are not sustainable. . their use seems to be a concession to the public -., hoping to draw the interest of listeners to its newer, socially critical compositions " 3.5 of 4
• Alex Tuck, Asbury Park Press: "On the whole, it is remarkable how well 'EARTH' works Youngs setlist manages to illuminate a subject that his work determined for decades on a large scale and the unconventional presentation shows how Young already.. has always played for the earth, both in their name and for their entertainment - all together ".
• Udo Raaf, Tonspion.de: "Purists deterred so much obvious reworking, Young wants to probably set an example and make audible what other artists are trying discreetly to conceal, such as a plastic surgery." 5 out of 6 stars
• Miachel fungus THE WORLD: "music that you can not just stream. One piece is for half an hour between the pieces ensure its animals that the algorithms for the breaks to be outwitted There is no more silence There are.. again an album with an idea. "
• David Fricke, Rolling Stone: "It is as if you would get the 1991 album 'WELD', taken at Farm Aid with the fervor of 'Freedom'." 3.5 of 5 stars
• Jim Farber, Entertainment Weekly: "The band has a dynamic that differs from Youngs Lanzeitverbündeten 'Crazy Horse': 'Promise of the Real' have the advantage of a second lead guitar, which contrasts Youngs wild shriek with sleeker lines." B -
• Sam Sodomsky, Pitchfork: "It does not come as a by Neil final works, therefore, but with EARTH Young achieved something that he did not make his albums for a while: He has made ​​an album that is worth it, for a time long to deal with it. " 6.5 out of 10
• Lee Zimmerman, Glide Magazine: ". These songs are striking in the musical sense Young, never the most dynamic singers, here is remarkably expressive." 8 of 10
• Tyrolean newspaper: "Promise of the Real are respectful to the material, but interpret it strong and refreshing, creating a bridge between Young evergreens, rarities and new."
• Andreas Rauschal, Wiener Zeitung: "Between the einläutenden Harmonium version of" Mother Earth "and the 28-minute freakout with" Love And Only Love "at the end sound the ducks at" Country Home "short as free jazz saxophones, sometimes you can hear rhythmic Raben and swarms of flies mimic applause, mostly our animal friends are but also extra-musical accessories as the interspersed as a counterpoint traffic noise. "
• Scott Bauer, Associated Press: " How stupid may sound all the animal sounds, the end result is a strangely hypnotic ode to Mother Earth, a way back into the garden, if you will, for an artist who has so much of his career has spent to sing against environmental degradation. "

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