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An unofficial news blog for Neil Young fans from Thrasher's Wheat with concert and album updates, reviews, analysis, and other Rock & Roll ramblings. Separating the wheat from the chaff since 1996.
VIDEO: The Day Neil Young Saved a Pearl Jam Concert - San Francisco, 06.24.1995
Pearl Jam and Neil Young at Polo Field on June 24, 1995
Well here's a blast from the past. (Thanks Dr. J !)
This video is a special memory here at Thrasher's Wheat. This concert was TW's first attempt at live blogging back in 1995. It actually resulted in real time posts on Rust, that were archived to this website. This concert was really the genesis of what we eventually evolved to become -- gonzo blogging with abandon and without regard for the consequences of blogging truth to power.
Although an incomplete recording, it is pretty cool to see this actual concert footage 20 years later. Historically, this concert has come to be known as "The Day Neil Young Saved a Pearl Jam Concert". After Eddie Vedder fell ill a few songs into the set, Neil Young stepped in to take the lead of Pearl Jam for the remaining setlist.
Here from the TW archives, are those legendary real time way back in those lonely early days of the internet: "Dispatches from the Field".
Pearl Jam and Neil Young at Polo Field June 24, 1995.
PEARL JAM DISPATCH FROM THE FIELD #1
ADDICTED TO NOISE (ATN) special correspondent Michael Goldberg reports: 11:42 AM. Pearl Jam's Monkey Wrench radio (88.1 FM) is blasting out Seattle punk. "Live 105 say they are broadcasting live from the Pearl Jam show," says the DJ. "They are nothing but a bunch of motherfucking liers."
A skull and crossbones pirates flag is blowing in the wind above the white sound tent located on the Polo Field in San Francisco where the show will begin shortly.
It is an amazing site, watching fans streaming onto the Polo Field until every square inch is covered with people. The crowd is, naturally, young. Lots of guys with no shirts; lots of women in bikinis. Lots of tattoos, like the one of a dragon on the guy sitting about 6 yards away from me. Backwards baseball hats, shaved heads, a woman with a t-shirt that reads: "Birth School Metallica Death." A guy with "O. J.'s Guilty" written across his chest.
It is an amazingly goodnatured, friendly crowd. Strangers striking up conversations everywhere.
Scalpers were having a hell of a time selling their Pearl Jam tickets, which I was happy to see. Apparently several 1000 tickets had been held back for the purpose of selling on the day of the show, thus killing the demand for scalped tickets.
Cool.
Pearl Jam/Neil Young
Golden Gate Park, Polo Fields
San Francisco, CA
June, 24th 1995
Setlist:
1. Last Exit
2. Spin the Black Circle**
3. Go*
4. Animal*
5. Tremor Christ*
6. Corduroy*
7. Not for You
8. Speech
9. Big Green Country**
10. Act Of Love
11. Throw Your Hatred Down*
12. Powderfinger*
13. Truth Be Known*
14. Rockin' In The Free World*
15. The Needle And The Damage Done
16. Hey Hey, My My
17. I'm The Ocean
18. Down By The River
19. Downtown
20. Cortez The Killer
21. Jeff Speech*
22. Peace And Love
23. Rockin' In The Free World
Comment of the Moment: Producer David Briggs and Neil Young
Neil Young and Producer David Briggs, 1995 Photo by Pegi Young (Click photo to enlarge)
Over the years since Producer David Briggs passed away, there has been much discussion of Neil Young's subsequent albums which have been "Briggs-less".
Much of this discussion is on the theme of "If David Briggs had produced the album [insert title, say "Peace Trail"], then it would have turned out more like [insert title of Briggs produced album]."
As folks have observed here on Thrasher's Wheat before, even the strongest sword blade needs sharpening at times.
And that's what Briggs was for Neil, the sharpening stone, the honest critic, the unbiased judge. He let the music speak, and had the talent to detect the subtle changes needed to bring it out fully. It is difficult for someone to have a completely objective take on their own art. They see it only thru the eyes and heart that created it. (Thanks SONY!)
Neil Young's erstwhile Producer David Briggs -- who passed away in 1995 -- was integral to the recording of most of Young's most acclaimed albums beginning with "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere," in 1970. David Briggs also worked on albums with: Spirit, Tom Rush, Nils Lofgren, Steve Young, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and Royal Trux.
Neil Young Albums Produced by David Briggs (Thanks Tom!)
1968 - Neil Young
1969 - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
1970 - After the Gold Rush
1974 - On the Beach
1975 - Tonight's the Night
1975 - Zuma
1977 - American Stars 'N Bars
1978 - Comes a Time
1979 - Rust Never Sleeps
1979 - Live Rust
1981 - Re-ac-tor
1982 - Trans
1985 - Old Ways
1987 - Life
1990 - Ragged Glory
1991 - Weld
1993 - Unplugged
1994 - Sleeps with Angels
From a Neil Young Interview in MOJO Magazine on David Briggs influence:
Neil: "He told me what was wrong with my performance at Bob-Aid (1992 Tribute Concert to Bob Dylan). Everyone else was telling me how great it was. He didn't belabour the fact that it was great. His opinion was: 'Yeah, it was great, OK. It was great BUT forget about that because what was wrong was... this, this and this. You sang it in the wrong key, your voice was too low, the drums weren't tight enough 'til half-way through... No-one'll probably notice but... It's not usable.' (Laughs) And I always listen to what he has to say and take note of it. "
"There certainly weren't any recordings of Neil Young and Crazy Horse that David Briggs wasn't involved in," Joel Bernstein recalled.
Artist James Mazzeo, longtime Neil collaborator said of Briggs:
David Briggs had the capacity to make you feel like an integral part of the whole picture no more or no less than any other part of that picture (or song or Album) than even Neil himself.....Neil (and myself) respected David on the highest of levels when we all were working alongside his illuminations.....David was a brilliant light for all of us to work in.....he could take from us our self doubts and shadows and devour them gone....he was like a black light and the best of us came forth and glowed in his presence ....i miss David and i send 'Thank you's' to his spirit with every new piece i create.
David Briggs considered every other project he didn't produce to be inferior.
Briggs was known for being quite a gentle and caring man (as well as passionate and opinionated), but alcohol and drugs could (and did) interfere with that from time to time. The thing is not to agree with all his out-spoken opinions, but to recognise the huge influence he had over Neil's work.
In Briggs' words: "If I'm in control, I motivate Neil like nobody else in the world".
Some fans are uncomfortable with Briggs, because they can't relate at all to someone who could be so direct and critical to their hero. They forget that Neil LiKES people like that. People in postitions of power are used to their circle sucking up to them. So when the opposite happens, it's a breath of fresh air.
His real talent was knowing how to produce Neil in away that pushed him into recordng his best music. Briggs didn't produce all of Neil's best records; but he did produce most of them, and his influence is there on all the best ones (even those made since his death). Even Ordinary People is very Briggs-esque in the intense and hard-hitting way it is performed. And the drop off in quality control between Briggs' last Crazy Horse record and the first one without him is notable.
That sense of quality control is something that has been lacking sometimes in recent years. I think it was Jimmy McDononugh who put it memorably as "like cheap chinese parts on a Lionel train". I think in some ways that Neil has become so obsessed with the red herring of audio resolution that he has forgotten there are other types of "Quality" that deserve greater attention. The Monsanto Years doesn't suffer at all from audio resolution; it suffers from (occasionally) half-baked songwriting and band arrangements that are the audio equivalent of wet cardboard. Easy problems to fix; but only if the desire is there to do so.
David Briggs would have fixed these issues. That was his ability, to cut through the nonsense and focus on what mattered. Unfortunately no one else has come along who can take his place. Although Poncho Sampedro seems to inspire Neil in much the same way, as a band member rather than a producer.
Re: Ordinary People. To my ears, Studio version and Jones Beach > Bluenote Cafe. The guitar playing is more exciting on the studio version and Jones Beach versions; there's more a sense of a build up in intensity. But I love Bluenote Cafe in general, and am very glad it eventually got released.
I think the bottom line is that Briggs was a strong personality, and he had the rock 'n' roll attitude. When you are making rock n roll records, those attributes tend to provoke exactly the sort of chemical reaction required to create magic. And of course, Briggs's greatest fan is Neil himself, who dedicates much of Waging Heavy Peace to him in the most reverential of ways. As Neil notes in the book, although Briggs has gone, he feels it is important that his spirit lives on. He also notes that he hasn't always lived up the Brigg's standards since ("I have failed to do that in some instances").
"Briggs and I made my best records - the transcendent ones....we somehow knew the way".
Reading that, there should be no doubt that the "missing friend who's counsel I can never replace" in No Hidden Path refers to David Briggs.
Scotsman.
Thanks Scotsman as always for well considered comment and context.
David Briggs Interview: WHFS Radio - 1977
As we posted in 2016 when this interview surfaced: Originally broadcast in November of 1977 on WHFS 102.3 FM (Bethesda, MD) program "Aircheck", from the Thom Grooms show. This is an over-the-air broadcast that was recorded (static can be heard). The music from this original broadcast has been removed per the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, however, the interview in it's entirety, and the original WHFS 102.3 FM commercials remain intact.
Uncut is publishing an updated version of its "Ultimate Music Guide: Neil Young" as a one-off 'bookazine'.
Due out this week, this deluxe, updated edition tells the complete story of Neil Young, right up to 2016’s Peace Trail. Every album is reviewed, and a wealth of interviews from the NME, Melody Maker and Uncut archives.
Willie Nelson has cancelled a series of concerts in 2017 which casuing concern among his fans.
After cancelling a January run in Las Vegas, Willie has just cancelled a sold out residency at Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, California All three shows were .
The 83-year-old performer has had stem cell surgery on his lungs to help with continued breathing concerns.
Willie Nelson recently announced his latest record called God’s Problem Child to be released on on April 28th, the day before Willie turns 84.
Willie’s next scheduled shows are at the Desert Diamond Casino in Sahuarita, AZ on February 10th, and the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, NM on February 11th. He’s scheduled to play the San Antonio Rodeo on February 16th.
We will all be praying for Willie, and in hopes that he gets better soon and is on the road again. Are There Any More Real Cowboys? Very, very few. We all love his music and there is no other like him.
Thanks to Hounds That Howell for the healing circle formations!
Or, how about Willie for a Nobel for Farm Aid and his work on alternative fuels, and world peace initiatives!
The Comment of the Moment is from Ian -- attempting not to be strident -- in the face of negativity over the the "lyric quality" and "vocal delivery" of Neil's latest offering:
Well, I'm not trying to be strident, but it does seem to me that out of all the songs from the new album one could bag on, this is an odd choice.
People bemoaning a lack of interesting, carefully constructed, and meaningful lyrics should be relatively satisfied. I'm also a little confused by the mention of "half-talking songs". Anyone remember Tired Eyes? No complaints about that one being half-spoken. And not to beat the AYP? horse to death, but Mr. Disappointment strikes me as another "talking blues" type song that works very well, along with Bandit from Greendale. Both favorites of mine.
In any event, I thought and still think this is one of the best sets of lyrics on the new album. It is meant to be from the POV of the Average Joe, so it's not flowery. But any sense that Neil is making this up as he goes along is, I think, more than anything else an illusion of style and Neil's (ever-present) disinterest in polished production. The vocal performance may have rough edges or flaws, but the ideas seem quite complete to me. I could be wrong and maybe he was entirely improv-ing this "rap" in the studio. But I don't think so.
Incidentally, in American folk music of the Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger class, there is a tradition of "half-spoken" songs, also called talking blues or even referred to as rapping. My sense is that Neil is tapping into that idea to create a voice and feeling for the first person character of this song. My larger point is, there is a precedent for this sort of thing, and given Neil's current focus on folk protest, a little bit of singspiel (German word for opera with some spoken dialogue, applied liberally here) fits right in.
Thanks Ian, you're never too strident in these here parts of town, at least by our reckoning. (btw, congrats on latest TW COTM)
As usual, you get it. Obviously, if the lyrics are really meaningful, you put to use like this in a video. IOW, to creatively highlight their meaning and significance. You won't see Fuckin Up lyrics put to use this way.
We understand and hear your pledge Ian. Your transparency is appreciated. So we say our pledge at TW is we plan to continue to separate the wheat from the chaff. Or the REAL from the Fake. Or The Truth from the Lie.
How about others out there? What's your pledge? Thanks to those who shared. Others remain silent in their pledges. Why might that be? Might their pledges be secret?
Neil Fest in Austin TX: Win 2 Tickets + Limited Edition Poster
Here's an opportunity to win 2 tickets + a Limited Edition Poster to Neil Fest in Austin TX on Feb 18 & Feb 19.
From Relix , NEIL FEST will be "Celebrating The Music Of Neil Young" - with an all-star cast featuring Norah Jones, Shakey Graves, members of White Denim, Heartless Bastards and many more - on February 18th at The Paramount Theatre Austin TX and February 19th at The Granada Theater Dallas TX.