"F*!#in' Up"
Neil Young + Promise Of The Real
Farm Aid 2017 Concert: Burgettstown, PA, Saturday Sept 16
Photo by thrasher
Setlist: Neil Young + Promise Of The Real
1. F*!#in' Up
2. Cortez The Killer
3. Cinnamon Girl
4. Human Highway
5. Heart Of Gold
6. Comes A Time
7. Like A Hurricane
8. Rockin' In The Free World
From Neil Young Roars Back to Life With Blazing Farm Aid Set: For first appearance since canceling all 2017 live commitments, Young delivered a stunning 45-minute set of classics at all-star festival | Rolling Stone by Andy Greene:
But not only did he show up at Farm Aid, he came roaring onto the stage like a feral beast finally let out of his cage and delivered a 45-minute set of unbelievable passion and energy that should completely put to bed any notion that he’s still battling whatever illness caused him to pull out of the Hall of Fame. Backed by Promise of the Real (who he first met at Farm Aid in 2014 and has used as his primary backing band ever since), he completely ignored the new album they just recorded, along with his entire catalog of the past 27 years, and played a set that was nothing but the classics.
"Thanks for coming to Farm Aid," he said in the only moment of the set where he paused long enough to speak. "I hope you know that you’re doing a lot of good here with that money. We use that for good things. Farmers are the American heroes today. They are doing something with their hands that they’re sharing with their neighbors and their friends and families. We appreciate it."
He opened up with a blistering "Fuckin' Up" that lead right into a hypnotic "Cortez The Killer" that stretched out to nearly eleven minutes. He didn't even sing a note of it until four and a half minutes in as he built up a haunting intro on his battered guitar Old Black, grinned from ear to ear and reveled in the effortless interplay he's developed with guitarists Lukas and Micah Nelson. Near the end, he seemed to remember he had a ticking clock and he quickly wrapped it up and called out for "Cinnamon Girl," forcing the band to scramble for the right instruments as he pounded out the opening chords.
Young then strapped on a harmonica and acoustic guitar for singalong renditions of "Human Highway," "Heart of Gold" and "Comes a Time," before seeming to again call an audible, this time for "Like a Hurricane." It didn't give Micah enough time to get behind the keyboard for the intro, but once the band locked in it almost felt like Crazy Horse was on the stage. By this point, the crowd was in a state of complete hysteria, which only got crazier when Young mouthed the words "Rockin' In The Free World" to the band and they kicked into it Ramones-style, not pausing for even a split second after the abbreviated end to "Like a Hurricane." They had a bit over four minutes on the clock, not giving them enough time to even get to the third verse, but Young milked what time he had for everything it was worth.
Somehow or another, he managed to cram a three-hour Neil Young concert into 45 minutes that will surely go down as one of the greatest sets in Farm Aid history.
"Cortez The Killer" - Neil Young + Promise Of The Real
Neil Young
2017 Farm Aid Press Conference
Photo by thrasher
Neil Young
2017 Farm Aid Press Conference
Photo by thrasher
Full video of Neil Young at 2017 Farm Aid Press Conference.
Full video of 2017 Farm Aid Concert broadcast. Neil Young + Promise Of The Real set begins @ ~6 hour, 35 minutes.
The 2017 Farm Aid concert will be held in Burgettstown, PA this Saturday Sept 16.
The concert lineup will feature performances by Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, as well as:
Sheryl Crow
Jack Johnson
The Avett Brothers
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Margo Price
Jamey Johnson
Blackberry Smoke
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
Valerie June
Insects vs Robots
Blackwood Quartet
If can not attend concert, here are some options:
- Online: Stream video of Farm Aid 2017 at farmaid.org starting at 3:00 p.m. ET to watch live performances from the stage and stories from family farmers across the concert region
- Television: Watch AXS TV's live broadcast or set your DVR beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET.
- Radio: Tune into Willie Nelson's SiriusXM channel (59), Willie's Roadhouse, for all the music plus backstage interviews with artists, local family farmers and more starting at 12 p.m. ET.
More on last year's Farm Aid 2016 - Bristow, Virginia.
Also, see from last year, Neil Young @ Farm Aid 2016 Press Conference - COMPLETE and About That Time That We Went To A Farm Aid Concert...
I loved the opening Fuckin Up/Cortez lineup, it's always fun when Neil taps a darker/intense vibe. Would've loved some of the new material instead of the kinda obligatory takes on Cinnamon Girl and Heart of Gold, but I did dig the arrangement on Human Highway and Comes a Time. Hurricane felt a little weak in the vocal mix but much appreciated, and who wouldn't be happy that Rockin' in the Free World got squeezed in too?
ReplyDeleteGreat to see The Man back in action. Any worries that I had about Neil maybe being a bit frail was ended quickly with the first song. Fuckin Up was FIERCE, a great version. When Neil screamed "Keep Fuckin Up!", I got chills. A real highlight. Cortez was great, as always. The added percussion really adds to the tune.
ReplyDeleteThe three lighter songs were all top notch versions. The ending part of Comes A Time was especially nice, with Lucas laying down a nice solo. Hurricane was quite jarring after that Comes A Time, and a very short version to boot. This is one song I'm still not sure POTR has quite grasped, but this one had some flashes. RITFW was a thumping finale, very well done.
Nice performance all around, great to see Neil back onstage. Hope he's feeling good.
dude looks old as fuck, and his voice was definitely struggling to hit those notes, but man oh man what a performance on electric guitar.
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