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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.
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.
"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."
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
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!
"EARTHALUJAH"!
Reverend Billy and The Church of Stop Shopping Choir
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>> Pre-Order on Amazon.com << 
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