Duck Tales: Neil Young and The Ducks Concerts, Santa Cruz, CA 1977
Alright by popular request (of one person) here are my recollections of the
"Summer of the Ducks," Santa Cruz 1977.
At the time my future wife and I were students at the University of
California at Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz had a lively if not terribly
innovative music scene dominated by retro-60's Bay Area acts (various
permutations of Moby Grape, Tuna & the Airplane), and country upstarts like
Lacy J. Dalton & Larry Hosford. Just about anything could fill a club there
and I have fond memories of acts like Rambling Jack Elliot, Robert Hunter,
assorted bluesmen, etc.
Anyway in the Spring of 1977, erstwhile Moby Grape leader Jerry Miller was
working various combinations of people and Neil found his way on stage one
night with Jerry (who he knew from Fillmore times) and a fellow named Jeff
Blackburn (now deserving of legendary status for co-writing My My Hey Hey
(Out of the Blue). Neil began hanging out and jamming with Blackburn in the
days that followed with Blackburn on rhythm guitar, Bob Moseley (of the
original Moby Grape) on bass, and a guy whose name always eludes me (but I'm
sure some Rustie will supply this) on drums. The only prior credential that
sticks in my mind for the drummer was that he had played on some tracks for
Arlo Guthrie.
The local entertainment tabloid ("The Good Times") got wind something was up
and had a conversation with the group. They announced they were forming a
band called the Ducks, that would play local clubs for cover charges of less
than three bucks. Further Neil was moving to Santa Cruz and would stay "as
long as it remains cool." He also said they could play Mr. Soul better than
the Buffalo Springfield.
By mid-June the Ducks began to play, usually two sets a night, three or four
times a week. Sometimes there was enough warning that they'd be listed in
the Good Times, sometimes (especially as the weeks wore on) you'd just have
to drive past the clubs and check the marquees.
The set list was very democratic. All four could sing and had material, so
they basically took turns throughout the set. Highlights included Mr. Soul,
a Blackburn tune called Silver Wings, a Moby Grape tune of Moseley's called
Gypsy Wedding, and some Chuck Berry workouts sung by the drummer. Comes a
Time was played as a country rocker by the Ducks before turning up in its
acoustic studio guise. They also did Homegrown, a cover of Ian & Sylvia's
Four Strong Winds with Neil singing lead, and a great guitar showcase called
Windward Passage. Early in the Summer "Passage" was done in a kind of
pyschedulic/surf style, it grew into a more traditional Neil guitar piece as
the weeks went on.
Neil played "Old Black" which sported a Santa Cruz sticker that Summer. He
usually wore a plaid shirt (what else) with local drawstring pants that were
high fashion at the time. In the smaller clubs they would shake hands with
the crowd at the end. Even in "bigger" venues like the Catalyst (which I
think could hold 1000 people) You would often bump into Neil and the others
waiting in line at the bar between sets.
Neil seemed to be living a fantasy of a small town simpler life. The
apartment I lived in was not far from the beach house he had rented and
belive it or not I once ran into him at the laundromat. Nevertheless, he
clearly was spending some of his big star money that Summer on the little
bar band, by mid Summer they were doing some fancy projections of animations
overhead and large mobile recording vans were usually spotted in the alley
during most gigs. I think he is sitting a big stash of tape of their gigs.
They played just about every place in town, from the showcase Catalyst, to
the very cozy Crossroads, to funky spots like the Veteran's Hall. They were
not without some rock and roll cliché drama…the drummer seemed kind of
thirsty some evenings and I remember one gig where he actually passed out
behind the drum kit during the break. Near the end of the Summer they
played two larger gigs, one at the Civic Auditorium that I think had the
current edition of Moby Grape sharing the bill and an outdoor gig at
Cabrillo Community College opening for Elvin Bishop.
Apparently, Neil had a contract with Crazy Horse that specified he could
only "tour" with them and so the Ducks were required to confine themselves
within the city limits so as not to tour. One very interesting moment came
when Crosby & Nash (then a duo) came into town for a concert. Everyone
wondered if a reunion of the big four might take place. Neil did indeed
take the stage and blew the other two away. I remember him being very funny
and very sharp on stage. No sign of Stills though, who apparently was still
sore that NY didn't keep up the Stills Young band project.
Well all good things must end and the Ducks managed to end a mere seven
weeks after they began. Neil's rented house was broken into and somebody
made off with a lot of important guitars and sentimental stuff. As word had
spread in the national media about Neil joining a bar band crowds got bigger
with out of town "Duck Hunters" less content to let the band have its own
identity and more inclined to mindlessly yell requests for old NY chestnuts.
In their prime though, rusties, the Ducks were a magical experience.
There
is nothing like hearing Neil play "Old Black" in a small room with the amps
pointed right into your chest. The gig that stands out in my mind was one
in July at the tiny Crossroads. A couple of friends who both were fellow
Neil Young fans had come in from out of town. Without telling them what I
was up to we went to see the Ducks. Needless to say their jaws dropped open
when Neil came on and plugged in and led off the set with a scorching Mr.
Soul. What I remember most was that there was a fan in a wheel chair.
Everyone under the stage allowed everyone else plenty of room and this guy
was dancing the chair, doing wheelies and all. Everyone shook hands at the
end. Neil's playing was spectacular all night. Rock and roll heaven.
There was long running cartoon in one of the local tabloids called "The Duck
Brothers" - the next issue had a frame of the Duck Brothers seeing "The
Ducks" and among the figures was a guy in a wheel chair and some guys who
were clearly us. A cool souveneir I still have.
That's the story, kids, as this old campaigner remembers it anyway.
/Pat in Seattle
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What's So Funny About 
While this might be a tad too academic for the casual fan, the only way to have "heard it like in the old days" would mean you were at the Ducks' concerts. The venerable editors of the German fansite "Rusted Moon" are pointing out, that "High Flyin'" is a compilation of tracks taken from five different Ducks' concerts. While "Bottom Line" and all other OBS releases do have some original bootleg ancestry "Rusted Moon" claim that a bootleg called "High Flyin'" never was published before and therefore they it should be considered to be an original release. I am sure there are knowledgeable archivists who can sort this out. Is Neil Young re-writing release history by publishing a pastiche or was there a genuine "Ducks" bootleg titled "High Flyin'"? And where did the artwork come from?
Addendum: Some sources claim that "High Flyin'"contains studio material also, recorded at Magical Devices Studio.
3/05/2023 05:10:00 AM
There is an Infocard for the High Flyin' album on the Timeline on NYA and you can see the credits on it.
It says it was recorded July 29th to august 23rd 1977 and lists several venues that the songs/performances were recorded at including Magical Devices.
There are also credits for the artwork/photos.
The track list includes Gone Dead Train which I presume is the old Crazy Horse song - looking forward to hearing that one again!
3/05/2023 08:37:00 AM
Ron, thank you for this obvious information. Sometimes one gets lost in the digital world instead of going straight to the original source. Apparently Jim Phillips is a well known poster artist who did work for Moby Grape and also created the poster that was used as artwork for "High Flyin'". However, the original question was, whether there ever was a Ducks bootleg titled "High Flyin'".
3/05/2023 10:25:00 AM
I thought it was worth posting about the album infocard because when the bootleg singles were first available it wasn't accessible, but yesterday I noticed it was. I had been looking as I was keen to see the full track listings for both albums.
And sorry but I don't know if High Flyin was a ever a released bootleg at the time. I am no expert on bootlegs but the few I am familiar with were all recordings of a single performance so perhaps not. But then as you say where did the artwork come from especially as based on who did it it seems to be of that era?
I guess someone will know and and all will become clear in time. In the meantime I am enjoying listening to both the singles. Little Wing is perhaps the more interesting to me given its uniqueness and sound quality, but I am also enjoying the more straight forward performance of Human Highway. Looking forward to listening to both albums in full.
3/06/2023 04:59:00 AM
Personally, I haven't found any trace of an identical bootleg to High Flyin'!
With excerpts from various concerts and studio tracks recorded, it would make more sense for this album to be either in the "Performances" series or in the 'Special releases'¨ series... Maybe Neil Young not being able to choose between the two decided to put it in the bootlegs series ! Again, it's neilyoungian logic.
Besides, it's bootleg number 2 of the 6 series... But why??? However, I am delighted with this release.
On the other hand, for the "Rainbow", I don't really understand the interest to release a concert with a bootleg sound when we already have a similar concert with the Roxy.
I understand the approach for unique concerts like the Bottom Line in 1974 but here, I only see the interest for superfans (of which I am one). Commercially, it's not very understandable to have both professional and amateur recordings in the OBS series...