Comment of the Moment: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse* 2024 Love Earth Concert Tour

Crazy Horse w/ Micah Nelson(replacing Nils Lofgren)
image via Rusted Moon

 

For the turnstiles ... yet again.

Whenever Neil Young goes on tour, there always seems to be a hitch somewhere along the line for the fans. (See "I said solo...they said acoustic")

"I said solo... they said acoustic" - 2011 T-Shirt

(see Neil Young News)  

 

So who will be the "new" Poncho on the 2024 “Love Earth Tour” of Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse?

Our Comment of the Moment on  2024 “Love Earth Tour” of Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse by Jim asks some questions on the subject of Crazy Horse band members:

Somebody's gotta sit down with Springsteen and just be like “Listen man...the *10-piece* E-Street Band will be fine without Nils for a brief Crazy Horse tour! 

These guys have a rich history together and haven't had a chance to hit their stride on the road yet with Nils! Unshackle the chains for a bit, will ya?”

I got my hopes up when Billy & Nils did a Livestream interview shortly after “World Record” was released. Both of the guys were so proud of the new album. And they both agreed that “Chevrolet” in particular was a new plateau for this lineup...a moment when everything came together like magic. And Nils went on about how he was super excited to get into a big groove with it on a tour with the Horse....to really sprawl out and experiment with it and let it take on new life, as it's clearly an incredible jam vehicle!

I'm reminded of when Max Weinberg would occasionally take a hiatus as drummer for The Max Weinberg 7 on “Late Night with Conan O'Brien” to go out on tour with Bruce. He would probably rather get out there and make the big bucks...plus Bruce was counting on him. That said, his time on “Late Night” really allowed him to get a chance to shine and get real creative...and frankly, his playing was much more interesting as Conan's bandleader. I feel the same with Nils...that he's given much more freedom in Crazy Horse and room for experimentation.

I wonder which gig he really prefers when it comes down to it. Either way, the upcoming tour won't be the same without him and I'm disappointed that I had to find out he wouldn't be a part of it by randomly stumbling across a comment from Ralph Molina on Facebook that was left the day after the pre-sale!

I don't know about the rest of you all...but Nils not being on the tour seems like a critical piece of information to include in the official tour announcement email that Neil Young Archives sent out. An email that also included direct links to the pre-sale! How a simple statement in the introduction letting us know definitively that an official Crazy Horse band member with roots going back 50+ years won't be a part of the tour you're announcing at that moment wasn't a priority is beyond my comprehension. It lacks decency. I hopped onto the pre-sale without a second thought because one would have to assume an official tour announcement would address this sort of personell change. A lot of fans will be arriving to these concerts still expecting to see the great Nils Lofgren in the fold.

The response I received from certain fans on Facebook was that I need to “keep up” better. Bullshit. Judging by the number of reactions to Ralph's comment saying Nils was out, I was clearly not the only one surprised (and of course, disappointed).

Let's be honest....this could've and should've been handled a little better. A simple clarification was all it took.

With that said, I hope Micah surprises me (and that he lets Neil handle the bulk of the guitar solos.) 😎

We hear you Jim. The upcoming album FU has both Micah and Nils from the Toronto stealth gig. So actually would love to have both Micah and Nils on the 2024 Love Earth Concert Tour.

So who's going to talk to Bruce?? 

More on  “Love Earth Tour”: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse Concert Dates.

“Love Earth Tour”: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse Concert Dates

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VIDEO: Broken Circle (Over and Over) - Neil Young · Crazy Horse

Broken Circle (Over and Over)Fu##n' Up
Neil & The Horse

 

A new cut "Broken Circle (Over and Over)" from the upcoming album Fu##n' Up by Neil & The Horse. (thanks for the share Mike!)

 

The album Fu##n' Up by Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse  contains re-recordings of songs from 1990's  album Ragged Glory.  Release date is April 26.

FU##IN’ UP Tracklist:
01. “To Follow One’s Own Dream” (“Days That Used To Be”)
02. “Walkin’ In My Place (Road Of Tears)” (“Mansion On The Hill”)
03. “Farmer John”
04. “Valley Of Hearts” (Love To Burn”)
05. “Broken Circle” (“Over And Over”)
06. “Heart of Steel” (“F.U.”)
07. “Feels Like A Railroad (River Of Pride)” (“White Line”)
08. “City Life” (“Country Home”)
09. “A Chance On Love” (“Love And Only Love”)

Neil Young said in a statement:

“In the spirit it’s offered, we made this for the Horse lovers.

I can’t stop it. The Horse is runnin’. What a ride we have. I don’t want to mess with the vibe, and I am so happy to have this to share.”

More on  FU##in' UP is Coming! | NYA.

FU##in' UP is Coming! | NYA

 

More on STEALTH GIG REPORT: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse, Toronto - Nov. 4, 2023.

Also, see The Neil Young Stealth Gig and The Damage NOT Done + Comments of the Moment. 

The Rivoli, Toronto on Nov. 3, 2023

(see STEALTH GIG REPORT: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse)

Photo by Andrew Bennett  (Click photo to enlarge)  

More on  “Love Earth Tour”: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse Concert Dates.

“Love Earth Tour”: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse Concert Dates  

Flannel Never Sleepsvia The Hits Locker 

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Time Capsule: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Rust Never Sleeps | Paste

Rust Never Sleep! (sic)Unreleased Rust-oleum Commercial w/ Neil Young(Click photo to enlarge)

 

By now, we all know that one of the most fundamental universal laws of physics -- in the immortal lyrics of Neil Young -- is that Rust Never Sleeps. 

With that, we bring you Time Capsule: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Rust Never Sleeps  | Paste by Matt Mitchell.  Every Saturday, Paste  revisits albums that came out before the magazine was founded in July 2002 and assessing its current cultural relevance. This week, they’re zeroing in on Neil Young’s theatrical, enigmatic career resurrection that became an epitaph for a decade of grief.

While the immediate cornerstones of Rust Never Sleeps are obvious anti-pastorals of the dense nuances of America’s widened and, sometimes, consequential utopia— “Powderfinger,” “My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue),” “Ride My Llama”—it is on “Thrasher” where Young uses the frontier to make the most sense of his own morality with allusions to farmland, passerine birds, full moons and hightailing across the country before dawn. 

“Thrasher” is, in no short terms, a song about Danny Whitten. 

And it’s a particularly damning and heartbreaking one at that—a text that conjures allusions to heroin use and the $50 plane ticket Young gave to Whitten when he kicked him out of the Stray Gators ahead of the Harvest tour. The entire second verse, in particular, remains a crucial tableaux of Young’s grief: “I searched out my companions, who were lost in crystal canyons when the aimless blade of science slashed the pearly gates,” he sings; “Headed out to where the pavement turns to sand with a one-way ticket to the land of truth and my suitcase in my hand. How I lost my friends, I still don’t understand,” he continues. 

Full article @ Time Capsule: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Rust Never Sleeps  | Paste by Matt Mitchell.

DOUBLE FEATURE REVIEW: 

Neil Young's (Bernard Shakey’s) ‘Rust Never Sleeps’ (1979) Vs. ‘Human Highway’ (1983) | Split Picks

 

Also, answers to the quintessential question: "Why does Rust Never Sleep?" ... or "Out of the BLUE and into the BLACK" .

 

Rust Never Sleeps - Rust Repair Shop Sign
Photo by Mimi R.

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