Concert Memories of Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse in Bristow, Virginia on May 11, 2024

Neil Young w/ Crazy Horsephoto by thrashette
(Click photo to enlarge) 

To say that we were blown away by the Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse concert in Bristow, Virginia on  (May 11) would be a bit of an understatement.

 

Awesome to catch up with so many of our Rustie Grain friends who traveled from far and wide. To witness the band of brothers hitting their 80's so fearlessly was inspiring. And then we had a near perfect Saturday night concert in mid-Spring with a full horizon to horizon rainbow over the lawn just before concert time.

 

 

Like A Hurricane 

From "Neil Young refuses to race against time: Has anyone in rock history been this good at making music this loud at this age?" | The Washington Post by Chris Richards:

 

"Show up at any high school graduation ceremony this spring and a teenage speechmaker might tell you that time flies, heals all wounds, is money, is a flat circle, can’t be turned back. Show up at any Neil Young concert this summer and a 78-year-old carrying an electric guitar will remind you that time really is a river, and that his music is a huge granite boulder plunked square in the middle of it."

 

Cortez

Love And Only Love  

Comes A Time 

Crazy Horse

 

 From a comment by our buddy Jim McKelvey:

Now I can see why people have taken to the road to see multiple Neil Young & Crazy Horse shows. Right now the shows are getting longer and there is more variety. My wife and I drove up for about five hours to Bristow and arrived just as the heavy rain moved in. So we arrived a little too late for the soundcheck, tailgate experience and the rust fest the day before. Was looking forward to seeing everyone but it wasn’t to be.

Honestly, not a big fan of the digital ticket. I don't generally carry a phone with me, to be honest, and to have to get in and out of your seat is a pain for me showing your digital wallet each time. You had to pay an extra $6 for a printed ticket.

We got in about 6:45 PM as the rainbow formed so we checked out the polar bear at the Love Earth village first. Around 7:00 or so I took two books for Neil to the backstage area in a clear plastic bag. The guard said he couldn't be responsible for getting them backstage and he called an assistant on the bus. She came out to get the books that were my first one that I autographed, "Faces of Pilot Mountain," and Mr. Rufus Edmisten's autographed book, "That's Rufus: A Memoir of Tar Heel Politics, Watergate and Public Life." When I told Neil the themes of my book as I was writing it his response in the Letters to the Editor was, WOW. 

 

That was really encouraging and now the Ancient American 8K video crew have filmed a documentary on the book which was one of the biggest gifts of my life. By the way, Mr. Rufus Edmisten is the lawyer who served President Nixon for the Watergate tapes in the White House.

Then Rev. Billy started his part of the show and I really enjoyed it. His get out in nature to your sacred spot really hit home with me. Love Earth, indeed!

There was an emotional weight to the show that was amazing. Our seats were right in line with the seated sound crew so the sound was spot on and perfect in Row Q. About the time he played "Powderfinger" they somehow dialed the sound in even more that was like shifting it into 5th gear or something. There was signage that we were being filmed by Daryl Hannah's film company.

My wife had gone with me to the second Rust Never Sleeps show outside Detroit in 1978 and she remembered the stage set-up but missed the Jawa's since they were only white coated scientists in Bristow. She sang right along on the acoustic set with just about everyone else. It was like standing in a choir instead of just listening to a choir. "Helpless" was a really good choice as a sliver of a moon came up on the right side of the stage but given the G5 solar event happening right during the concert it seems like Pocahontas would have been a great choice, too, that Thrasher wanted.

Clearly, the vivid bright rainbow was a sign that this was going to be a night to remember and it was...

 

 And here is a video of entire concert.

 

0:00 / 1:51:16 NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE - FULL SHOW@Jiffy Lube Live Bristow, VA 5/11/24 

From The Flying Scotzman's Bristow notes:

Micah found that sweet spot of unleashing the passion and keeping the tension on a tight leash.

Ralph is playing brilliantly. Billy knows they’ve cracked it — see the smile at the end of the song.

...

Again, the high points of this show are where we feel that Neil is fully in control of his instrument (playing with precision, not just thrashing around with no idea where the notes will land), and he can rely on Ralph to be right there with him.

No pressure, Ralph!

Actually, there is pressure. There’s no pressure and there’s lots of pressure, both at the same time.

See what I mean about tension? About keeping it on just the right leash? Too much tension, and the musicians are paralysed. Too little, and there’s no explosion, no thrill, no intensity.

None of us expect the more senior members of the band to be putting in the same energy as 1986; nearly 40 years ago.

The ace up their sleeve, the full deck of cards up their sleeve is they can still play with scary levels of intensity and precision and controlled tension. Which requires just a little physical energy, physical dexterity and nimbleness, and a lot of mental focus.

Thanks for the notes Scots!

Reverend Billy and The Church of Stop Shopping Choir

 

Wheat Rail Crew

 

Rustie Grain Friends  

 

 

Rainbow Over The Lawn

LOVE EARTH Village(photo by Jim M.)  

Rustie Grain Fest: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse @ Manassas, Virginia - Friday, May 10

Such a great thrill to host all of our Rustie Grain Friends  at the pre-concert fest!

See ya down the road!

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