CONCERT REPORT: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse @ Roxy Night Club, Los Angeles, CA - September 20 & 21

Then & Now: Roxy Night Club, Los Angeles, CA   (Click photo to enlarge) 

Last week, Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse performed at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles as benefit concerts for The Bridge School and The Painted Turtle. 

The albums Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and  Tonight's the Night
were performed at the historic Los Angeles venue.

Here is an eyewitness report from Pail via Chris Morris on Facebook (Thanks Harold!)

The only way I can explain it is my karma must be unbelievably good right now. 

Idly looking at Facebook on a not especially wonderful morning yesterday, I was surprised by a message from a very good guy I’ve known in the music business for many years. It seems he had seen one of my posts about the Roxy, and he asked me if I’d like a ticket to see Neil Young’s 50th anniversary benefit show with Crazy Horse there Thursday night. 

What was there to say but “Hell yes!” 

A large throng of mainly upper-demo fans, each of whom held a ducat worth four figures, lined Sunset a couple hours before showtime. My friend rolled up the street, and, as he has a good deal of swing, we slid into the VIP check-in area where we instantly encountered Roxy co-founder Lou Adler, whose charity the Painted Turtle, with the Bridge School, was the evening’s recipient. 

We admired the new mural celebrating the anniversary, just painted on the side of the club this week, showing some of the biggest acts that have played in the room. By showtime we were standing in the club’s packed VIP section. 

 The show took the same form as Wednesday night’s: Young and the band played “Tonight’s the Night” and “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere” in their entirety. Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina, the rhythm section on the Roxy’s opening night in 1973, were on board. Young fans were the beneficiary of Bruce Springsteen fans’ misfortune, as Nils Lofgren, currently on leave from the E Street Band due to the Boss’s postponed dates, returned to the Santa Monica Flyers for the Roxy anniversary engagement. 

Filling out the lineup was Micah Nelson, Willie Nelson’s son, who has supported Neil regularly in Promise of the Real, the group fronted by his brother Lukas. Let me just get this out of the way: The only small club show I’ve seen that matched the thrill of this night was the one by Bob Dylan I witnessed at the El Rey Theatre in 1997. 

The night began with Young at the piano; he would alternate on the instrument with Lofgren, who doubled on guitar and played accordion on one number. At various junctures, It was difficult to tell, as he was sometimes obscured, but Nelson appeared to be playing lap steel, filling in for the late Ben Keith. Young, Lofgren, and Nelson would cluster at the center the stage, blasting away on guitar. The somber, intense, and more subdued “Tonight’s the Night” was played first, rightfully. It remains one of the more fucked-up records in the Young discography, anyone’s discography really, and its unnerving drug-bathed atmosphere can still supply a jolt. 

The coke-burn opus “Tired Eyes” raised the night’s tallest hackles. But, for this listener, the high point of the first portion of the show came with “Come On Baby Let’s Go Downtown,” which the Flyers apparently did not perform in 1973; played hard, it dropped the spirit of the late lamented Danny Whitten, whose fate inspired the album’s creation, on the Roxy stage. 

After the second version of the LP-closing title song, Young and the band left the stage, and the crowd momentarily thought a break was in store, but within perhaps two minutes they walked back out again; Neil had doffed the white jacket he wore for the first part of the show. The PA volume went up quite perceptibly, and the Horse got down to business immediately with “Cinnamon Girl.” The overall performance of “Nowhere” was if anything stronger than that of “Night.” 

The album’s lighter-weight numbers like “Round and Round,” “The Losing End,” and “Running Dry” (the latter with Nelson bowing his guitar in emulation of the late Bobby Notkoff’s violin work) all glowed. But, of course, the big, churning epics “Down By the River” and “Cowgirl in the Sand” predictably sent lightning bolts through the house. 

My ears still feel pressure-sensitive this morning. As I left the storied old venue, with my souvenir ticket in my pocket, I stopped to thank Lou Adler — who was sitting by the front door on a folding chair, as if he were courtside at a Lakers game — for the many, many unforgettable nights he has given me at his club. 

And I paused to consider how lucky I’ve been to have lived in the times that I have, to have seen the music I’ve been privileged to witness, and to have friends as good as I have. 

Thanks, 

Paul.

Thanks Paul, Chris & Harold for getting this report up and out.  So many would have loved to be there but were denied, alas.

So, Happy Anniversary Roxy! Here's to another 50.

 

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TONIGHT: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse @ Roxy Night Club, Los Angeles, CA - September 20 & 21

Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse 50th Anniversary Concerts @ Roxy Night Club, Los Angeles, CA

Photo via JamBase



"Tired Eyes"

 

 

 

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Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse will perform at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles on September 20th and 21st (Wed. & Thurs.). The gigs are benefit concerts for The Bridge School and The Painted Turtle.

 

ROXY COMING UP 

via Neil Young Archives

 

 

In addition to Billy Talbot on bass and drummer Ralph Molina, the two guitarists Nils Lofgren and Micah Nelson will also support Neil Young at his benefit concert for the 50th anniversary of the legendary music club. Originally, Willie Nelson's son Micah was supposed to fill in for Nils Lofgren as he was on a world tour with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. However, Springsteen had to cancel all concert dates in September due to health concerns.

Got a report? Drop a comment below. 

 

UPDATE:  Sound check from @neilyoungarchives on Instagram with Micah Nelson & Nils Lofgren  on "Down By The River".

 

 Micah Nelson & Nils Lofgren
Setlist Night #1 

Courtesy of http://Sugarmtn.org

 

 

 

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THIS WEEK: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse - 50th Anniversary Concerts @ Roxy Night Club, Los Angeles, CA

Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse 50th Anniversary Concerts @ Roxy Night Club, Los Angeles, CA

 

Later this week, Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse will perform as a quintet at the ~500 seat Roxy Theater in Los Angeles on September 20th and 21st. The gigs are benefit concerts for The Bridge School and The Painted Turtle.

 

ROXY COMING UP 

via Neil Young Archives

 

In addition to Billy Talbot on bass and drummer Ralph Molina, the two guitarists Nils Lofgren and Micah Nelson will also support Neil Young at his benefit concert for the 50th anniversary of the legendary music club. Originally, Willie Nelson's son Micah was supposed to fill in for Nils Lofgren as he was on a world tour with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. However, Springsteen had to cancel all concert dates in September due to health concerns.

Roxy Night Club, Los Angeles, CA

"About 5,000 people gathered along the Sunset Strip to get hold of tickets for the six shows of Neil Young at the opening of the new Roxy club with 500 seats." 
Photo by "Billboard" Magazine - Issue #22, September 1973
(via Rusted Moon - Click photo to enlarge)

 

The 2023 band closely approximates the line up known  as the “Santa Monica Flyers” at the Roxy in 1973. Only the late Ben Keith is missing.

"ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE"
Neil Young + The Santa Monica Flyers

Presumably, the Roxy concerts will be the warm up for Farm Aid 23.

Vinyl Edition
Neil Young's "ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE"

More on track list for Neil Young's "ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE".

Image from Booklet on Neil Young Archives Timeline
"ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE"
Neil Young + The Santa Monica Flyers

The Roxy Theater concert was recorded during a run from September 20 to 22, 1973.

Young explains how Roxy - Tonight's the Night Live came to be:

"In 1973, I drove my 1947 Buick Roadmaster, Black Queen, to LA from the North, accompanied by Ben Keith. Once we made it to Hollywood, we met up with Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina. Nils Lofgren joined us and we drove to Studio Instrument Rentals on Santa Monica Blvd. David Briggs, producer, and Johnny Talbot, equipment manager, met us there. They had blasted a hole in the wall to connect the green board which we had set up (an old tube board I had purchased that had been used recording many historic sessions from the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds to Monterey Pop Festival, among many others) next to the rehearsal hall. Our 16-track analog tape machine was set up next to the board. We had finished recording TTN and decided to celebrate with a gig at a new club opening on the Sunset Strip, the ROXY. We went there and recorded for a few nights, opening the ROXY. We really knew the Tonight's the Night songs so we just played them again, the album, top to bottom, two sets a night for a few days. We had a great time. ROXY -Tonight's the Night Live is the live recording we made. There is a little Super 8 footage of us driving to the gig in the Black Queen one of those nights."

The Tonight's the Night tour concerts from 1973 are quite legendary amongst most long-time Neil Young fans. Many fans attending the tour concerts were bewildered by the experience expecting hippie acoustic sets in the post Harvest era, yet received loud, harsh, edgy electric sets. But time has since revealed the true masterpiece that the album Tonight's the Night captured. We have explored this topic in depth over the decades. (For more, see Thrasher's Wheat Comment of the Moment.)

For us, the raw Tonight's the Night recordings hold much value in peeking in on that critical timeframe: The Season of The Ditch. Producer David Briggs allegedly had a Tonight's the Night "raw version" which included all of the tape roll pre- and post-song recording. All of the studio, drunken, stoned chatter between the band, The Producer and The Artist. But the tape seems to have been lost to the ages...

Open the tired eyes.

4 Disc Vinyl Record Store Day Limited Edition Pressing
Neil Young's "ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE"

(see RSD posting)

More on Tonight's the Night and the The Ditch Trilogy. 

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Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse @ Roxy Ticket Info - UPDATED

Image from Booklet on Neil Young Archives Timeline
"ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE"
Neil Young + The Santa Monica Flyers

Neil Young's 50th Anniversary Concert at the Roxy Night Club, Los Angeles, CA w/ Crazy Horse on Sept 20 & 21 is turning out to be the event of the season.

Here are details: (thanks Keith E.!)

Fair AXS Ticketing Request
Register from 8/16 at 10am PDT - 8/20 at 10pm PDT. Click GO to submit your request.

Fair AXS Registration ends Sun., Aug. 20 at 10:00 PM PDT

Fan Notification Timeframe: Wed., Aug 23 - Thurs., Aug. 24 – Fans will be notified whether they have been selected or not to participate in the Fair AXS Ticket Offer.

Proceeds will benefit The Painted Turtle and its mission to provide a year-round, life-changing environment and camp experience for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and support The Bridge School’s mission to ensure that individuals with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities.

Ticket Price: $1,000.00 + fees

Ticket Limit: Two (2) per selected registrant

Tickets are NON-TRANSFERABLE


Fair AXS Registration Rules and Process

Duplicate registration attempts will be disqualified.

Submitting at the beginning or end of the Fan Registration Timeframe does not affect eligibility for a chance to receive an Invitation Email.

Registrations will only be accepted during the Fair AXS Registration Timeframe listed above.

A $1.00 fully refundable deposit is required to complete each registration.

Registered fans who are randomly selected will receive an Invitation Email during the Fan Notification Timeframe listed above via the email address used to register for this Fair AXS Registration with instructions on how to purchase tickets.

Purchased tickets will be delivered exclusively through the AXS Mobile ID email address used to register for this Fair AXS Registration.

Registered fans who are not selected for a chance to purchase tickets will be notified during the Fan Notification Timeframe above.

The $1.00 deposit will be refunded to all registrants within 10 business days of completed registrations.

Limited Ticket Inventory

An Invitation Email is an invitation to purchase tickets for this event and does not guarantee inventory will be available for every registered fan who receives one.

Tickets to this event are limited and will be sold on a first come first served basis to fans who receive an Invitation Email to Fair AXS.

Fans who receive an Invitation Email for a chance to purchase tickets are eligible to purchase the maximum tickets limited listed above.

More ticket information for Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s Roxy show via TheRoxyTurns50.com. 

More on Neil Young's 50th Anniversary Concert at the Roxy Night Club, Los Angeles, CA.

Roxy Night Club, Los Angeles, CA

"About 5,000 people gathered along the Sunset Strip to get hold of tickets for the six shows of Neil Young at the opening of the new Roxy club with 500 seats." 
Photo by "Billboard" Magazine - Issue #22, September 1973
(via Rusted Moon - Click photo to enlarge)

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Neil Young's 50th Anniversary Concert at the Roxy Night Club, Los Angeles, CA

Roxy Night Club, Los Angeles, CA

"About 5,000 people gathered along the Sunset Strip to get hold of tickets for the six shows of Neil Young at the opening of the new Roxy club with 500 seats." 
Photo by "Billboard" Magazine - Issue #22, September 1973
(via Rusted Moon - Click photo to enlarge)

On September 20th,  Neil Young is scheduled to play a 50th anniversary concert at the Roxy Night Club in Los Angeles, CA.

The 50th anniversary concert commemorates the opening of the Roxy Night Club in  September 1973 where Neil Young recorded what eventually was released as Neil Young's "ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE" in 2018.

"ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE"
Neil Young + The Santa Monica Flyers

Presumably, the Roxy concert will be the warm up for Farm Aid 23.

Vinyl Edition
Neil Young's "ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE"

More on track list for Neil Young's "ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE".

Image from Booklet on Neil Young Archives Timeline
"ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE"
Neil Young + The Santa Monica Flyers

The Roxy Theater concert was recorded during a run from September 20 to 22, 1973.

Young explains how Roxy - Tonight's the Night Live came to be:

"In 1973, I drove my 1947 Buick Roadmaster, Black Queen, to LA from the North, accompanied by Ben Keith. Once we made it to Hollywood, we met up with Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina. Nils Lofgren joined us and we drove to Studio Instrument Rentals on Santa Monica Blvd. David Briggs, producer, and Johnny Talbot, equipment manager, met us there. They had blasted a hole in the wall to connect the green board which we had set up (an old tube board I had purchased that had been used recording many historic sessions from the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds to Monterey Pop Festival, among many others) next to the rehearsal hall. Our 16-track analog tape machine was set up next to the board. We had finished recording TTN and decided to celebrate with a gig at a new club opening on the Sunset Strip, the ROXY. We went there and recorded for a few nights, opening the ROXY. We really knew the Tonight's the Night songs so we just played them again, the album, top to bottom, two sets a night for a few days. We had a great time. ROXY -Tonight's the Night Live is the live recording we made. There is a little Super 8 footage of us driving to the gig in the Black Queen one of those nights."

The Tonight's the Night tour concerts from 1973 are quite legendary amongst most long-time Neil Young fans. Many fans attending the tour concerts were bewildered by the experience expecting hippie acoustic sets in the post Harvest era, yet received loud, harsh, edgy electric sets. But time has since revealed the true masterpiece that the album Tonight's the Night captured. We have explored this topic in depth over the decades. (For more, see Thrasher's Wheat Comment of the Moment.)

For us, the raw Tonight's the Night recordings hold much value in peeking in on that critical timeframe: The Season of The Ditch. Producer David Briggs allegedly had a Tonight's the Night "raw version" which included all of the tape roll pre- and post-song recording. All of the studio, drunken, stoned chatter between the band, The Producer and The Artist. But the tape seems to have been lost to the ages...

Open the tired eyes.

4 Disc Vinyl Record Store Day Limited Edition Pressing
Neil Young's "ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE"

More on Tonight's the Night and the The Ditch Trilogy.

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34+ Minutes "Tonight's the Night" by Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers on November 20, 1973

"Tonight's the Night"Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers   - November 20, 1973 (Click photo to enlarge)

 

Here is a full breakdown of the song "Tonight's the Night" -- that lasted 34 minutes and 53 seconds -- by Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers on November 20, 1973. 

Excerpted from Recliner Notes by Scott Bunn, it's a long post, but gives an opportunity to tell the whole story of that part of Neil's career.

On November 20, 1973 at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, Neil Young and his backing band The Santa Monica Flyers performed a rendition of “Tonight’s the Night” for 34 minutes and 53 seconds. That night in Chicago was the penultimate concert of the tour which had started in Toronto on October 29, moved on to Great Britain for seven performances, and then returned to the United States for five shows. The setlists for these concerts were dominated by a group of songs that Young and The Santa Monica Flyers — a band name adopted for this tour only — had recorded in Los Angeles in August and September of the same year, but which had not yet been released to the public. The centerpiece song for the tour was “Tonight’s the Night,” which was regularly performed twice and sometimes even three times a night. After hearing a batch of unfamiliar songs during this tour, restless audiences would clap enthusiastically when Young would say, “Here’s a song you know,” and then he would begin playing “Tonight’s the Night” all over again. 

On that November night in Chicago, Young and the band had already played “Tonight’s the Night” along with three other as-yet unreleased songs from the same recording sessions. The rest of the show consisted of an array of songs, ranging from his work with Crazy Horse to Buffalo Springfield to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) and his solo releases. Only one song was played that night from Harvest, Young’s smash hit album from the year before. The concert was not without incident. As recounted in Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography by Jimmy McDonough, Young apparently got fed up with commentary from the audience and yelled:

“Shut up! Some of you people are fucked! You all scream out so much, why don’t you stay home and listen to yourself talk. There’s a lotta things you can say up here if you don’t have to fight your way through a buncha editors that are just yellin’ to hear their own voices.”

The final song of the evening was a reprise of “Tonight’s the Night.” Lasting nearly as long as an episode of prestige television, the performance is equal parts punk, glam, dirtbag, roadhouse, and no wave. This rendition “Tonight’s the Night” is an exhausting yet exhilarating document of an artist who produces a rejoinder to the audience members, a wake for friends who left too soon, and a celebration of simply being alive.

Full article and  34 minutes + "Tonight's the Night" on Recliner Notes by Scott Bunn.

More on Neil Young's song and album "Tonight's the Night",  the tragedy of the "Ditch" trilogy and the legends of Bruce Berry and Danny Whitten.

The Ditch Trilogy

Albums by Neil Young

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UPDATED: The Mystery of Neil Young's "Florida" Finally Solved

1st Edition of Tonight's the Night 

Photo from Bill White Collection

 

In July 2020, we shared a posting on The Mystery of Neil Young's "Florida" Finally Solved.

 

The posting detailed how with the release of Neil Young's "lost '70's" album "Homegrown", one of the biggest mysteries of it's replacement -- "Tonight's the Night" -- is now resolved.

The post has been updated to include a photo from the Bill White Collection of a 1st Edition of the Tonight's the Night album package with the (in)famous "Hello Waterface" screed as well as a loopy indy news article in Dutch (of all things) printed on the little folded insert. Also, included is the transcript of what we only now know is "Florida" printed on a faded backdrop of the "On The Beach" sleeve insert. 

(Thanks Bill!)

For more, see The Mystery of Neil Young's "Florida" Finally Solved.

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RARE: Neil Young's Roadie Bruce Berry - "Was A Working Man"

Bruce Berry ~1973

Neil Young's Roadie Bruce Berry was immortalized in the song "Tonight's The Night" lyrics:

"Bruce Berry was a working man
He used to load that Econoline van"

In 1973, after the deaths of band mate Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry, Neil Young and his group (dubbed the Santa Monica Flyers) entered the studio with the sole purpose of unloading their grief and having as much fun as possible. The result was the very dark, ragged, loose and powerfully emotional "Tonight's The Night album."

Neil Young's 1975 "Tonight's The Night" is considered to be his 'darkest' album - both literally and figuratively - and the last of the "Ditch Trilogy" (along with Times Fade Away and On The Beach).

Tonight's The Night

The album "Tonight's The Night" explores the depth of Neil's pain over the heroin overdose deaths of Crazy Horse's Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry. Berry was a roadie and was Jan Berry's brother, of Jan and Dean fame. Brother Jan Berry, was living out his own period of 'darkness' after his tragic car accident had ended his own illustrious career and ultimately his life.

"Tonight's The Night" was recorded at Los Angeles' Studio Instrument Rentals (S.I.R.) on Santa Monica Boulevard, which was run by Bruce Berry's other brother Ken, and down they had an innocuous black and gray building that functioned as a rehearsal space.

Neil Young and Santa Monica Flyers
Studio Instrument Rentals, Los Angeles, CA

Fueled by tequila and cheeseburgers, Neil Young's "Tonight's The Night" the album represents a dark chapter in Young's career. Winning almost no acclaim upon its release (that would come years later, as "Tonight's the Night" ranked #331 on Rolling Stone's Top 500 albums of all time in 2003), it did, however, influence numerous artists, including Johnny Rotten (the Sex Pistols) and Wilco. It was so dark and raw that Young's record company, Reprise, delayed its release for two years. Released in mid-1975, "Tonight's The Night" was shelved in favor of On the
Beach. In 1975, Neil was playing his next album, Homegrown, for friends and TTN followed on the reel. Neil decided TTN was better than the still-unreleased Homegrown, and it was released instead.

From a 1995 interview in MOJO Magazine with Neil Young he was asked about the rumor that he tried to produce a Broadway play based on the record:

Neil: "Yeah, we did. The plot was about a roadie who made it and then OD'd on drugs. 'From Roadie To Riches' was the name of it (laughs). For Broadway in 1974 it was a little ahead of its time, as you can imagine. "

Album Credit: "This album was made for Danny Whitten and Bruce Berry who lived and died for Rock and Roll."

Neil Young and Santa Monica Flyers
Roxy, Los Angeles, CA

Old times, were good times...

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INTERVIEW: Nils Lofgren on the 1973 "Tonight’s the Night" sessions

With concerts this week in Fresno and Bakersfield, anticipation builds over what Neil Young's bandmates from Crazy Horse and the Santa Monica Flyers might play. (See LIVESTREAM: Neil Young + Crazy Horse*, Fresno, CA - May 1 .)

In the meantime, a great interview with original Santa Monica Flyers player Nils Lofgren on the 1973 Tonight’s the Night sessions. From Ultimate Classic Rock:

“Thanks to David Briggs and Neil Young, it became more and more a part of what I did with Grin and in my solo work," Lofgren notes.

With Young and the members of his extended musical family, Lofgren found that the doors would continue to open. And he was more than okay with the changing shape of what would be required from him as a player, depending on the situation.

“As I continued on, because of my friendship, I learned early on that if you’re with good people and great music, it’s nice not to be the boss every day of your life -- for me,” he says. “There’s a lot of solo artists that would be uncomfortable with that, but I found it very inspired and refreshing, because I love music. I love playing rhythm guitar and singing harmony, and when you’re the main guy, you can’t do that. So that was exciting and then it felt natural when Crazy Horse wanted me to make their first album with Danny Whitten, which I did [and] that led to the Tonight’s the Night tour.”

In a 2015 conversation, Lofgren addressed the question of whether or not he’d ever found himself on the wrong side of the mercurial singer-songwriter. “I don’t think I ever did," he says. "Neil kind of gets, I think, an undeserved bad rap like that. He is very intense, but not in a bad way. You know, everybody’s intense when they’re performing their own music. I think people really don’t realize what a great sense of humor and what a brilliant guy he is. And smart. He can be thoughtful and caring and cynical and sarcastic like all of us. I’ve had some great adventures with him. Putting the Trans tour together, we were at his ranch for over two months and you know, just to live and work with him, it was a real joy and blessing.

"Once in a while, there would be something going on live that might not be feeling right to him, and he’d just be glaring around, but he was professional. He didn’t ever fine people onstage like James Brown or anything like that,” he adds.

“I just always just felt like, I looked him in the eye and just stared at him, because he knew. We met when I was 17 and one thing Neil knows about me is that a) not only do I love his music, but b) he’s a very inspired artist to me and he’s been a huge mentor to me, so I show up prepared. Yes, I made mistakes, but it’s not for lack of caring or preparation.”

Full interview at Ultimate Classic Rock.

Also, see more on Nils Lofgren and Neil Young.

Nils Lofgren w/ Neil Young - "Believe"
29th Annual Bridge School Benefit Concerts
Photo by thrasher
(Click photo to enlarge)

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Comment of the Moment: Neil Young's Next Release "ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE"

"ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE"
Neil Young + The Santa Monica Flyers

The confirmed news that Neil Young's next release will be "ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE" has -- as usual -- brought about a mixed reaction.

The Tonight's the Night tour concerts from 1973 are quite legendary amongst most long-time Neil Young fans. Many fans attending the tour concerts were bewildered by the experience expecting hippie acoustic sets in the post Harvest era, yet received loud, harsh, edgy electric sets.

But time has since revealed the true masterpiece that the album Tonight's the Night captured. We have explored this topic in depth over the decades.

Which brings us to the Thrasher's Wheat Comment of the Moment on Neil Young's "ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE": Release Date - 4/21 by the always intrepid TopangaD:

It will be a decent release, but once again ole' Neil sort of contradicts his own words and goals. He talks about the archives as getting the music out as part of the historical record, etc, so why not give us a FULL SHOW or at least a document that includes ALL of the songs played during the ROXY run?

And don't tell me it's all about Tonight's the Night. That theory doesn't hold because we are getting Walk On...

Lord, he's infuriating! I'm really not a fan of revisionist history--I want to hear full shows regardless of what Neil may have felt or wanted the focus to be on. Yes, Down By The River and Cowgirl In The Sand have been played to death, but the versions from '73 differ from those that came before and after. Plus, The Losing End is more rare and needs to be heard in context...

As it stands, I'm really not too excited about this upcoming release. The Tonight's the Night album and recording sessions and time period has so many interesting stories to be told and heard, but this release seems to me to barely scratch the surface. Neil could give us a true document of the time, but this just sounds like an incomplete live show (or a splicing together of multiple shows) that leaves out way too much of the story.

I say give us the show(s) and give us the historical story and associated ephemera, warts and all. I want to hear the "original" album, the outtakes, the snippets, the sessions, the reactions from the band and the press and the fans. I want a full document of the American and European tours as they happened, and I want details about the release of the album and how it was initially perceived.

Rant over--I'm glad we're getting at least a partial document of the Roxy performances. I suppose someday we'll get the rest of the story...

"Take my advice
Don't listen to me"

Thanks so much TopangaD.!

We hear where you're coming from here. For us, the raw Tonight's the Night recordings hold much value in peeking in on that critical timeframe: The Season of The Ditch. Producer David Briggs allegedly had a Tonight's the Night "raw version" which included all of the tape roll pre- and post-song recording. All of the studio, drunken, stoned chatter between the band, The Producer and The Artist. But the tape seems to have been lost to the ages...

So -- in the meantime -- we look forward to ROXY LIVE.

Open the tired eyes.

4 Disc Vinyl Record Store Day Limited Edition Pressing
Neil Young's "ROXY TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT LIVE"

More on Tonight's the Nightand the The Ditch Trilogy.

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REVIEW & VIDEO of the Moment: Tulsa - Neil Young & Crazy Horse Concert, Oct. 14

"Tonight's the Night"
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Tulsa, OK, Oct. 14
Here's the Concert Review of the Moment on Tulsa - Neil Young & Crazy Horse Concert, Oct. 14 by Faith:

Maybe it was just that old Okie inferiority complex rearing its ugly head.

But Neil Young fans here in Oklahoma worried we would never see the day when he would tour through Oklahoma again. It was never much of a question, actually. For more than twenty years we've just packed up our bags and driven in caravans to the likes of Colorado, New Mexico and Tennessee to see our musical hero without complaint. And though we loved Crazy Horse (oh, mama, how we love Neil with Crazy Horse) the dream that they would someday reunite and play together in Tulsa ... well, lets just say we sooner expected Jimmy Hoffa to stroll through. But we were oh so deliciously wrong in our doubt. When the Tulsa date for Psychedelic Pill was announced back in June the Oklahoma Youngsters were fit to be tied, as we say, and there would be no exaggeration in stating that many of us have been counting down since then to a certain date with The Horse in October 2012.

The Tulsa Convention Center was a drastic departure from some of the cozier venues that marked the 2010 Twisted Road tour. The place resembled a hollow cavern of sorts before the show started. Some fans in the crowd remarked on the number of seats that remained vacant. But when all was laid out on the line the TCC proved a fine accommodation for what was to come. After all, stuffing a phenomenon like Neil Young with Crazy Horse into the likes of a revered and delicate site like the Ryman would be akin to housing a raged bull in your dining room; something’s gonna get broken. You might even lose an eye.

At the moment the lights cut out over the crowd a loud cranking sound broadcast over the speakers and giant Fender amps floated up into the air above the stage where they would remain for the duration of the performance. Roadies decked out in lab coats and surgical caps bustled in and around the stage directing the set up. It was like a mini recreation of the hooded Road Eyes from the Rust Never Sleeps tour, this time on a minor scale relative to the music, and the costumes were designed to complement the name of the tour: Psychedelic Pill.

Two massive monitors designed to resemble old 1950s-style television sets anchored each end of the stage. Throughout the concert the screens featured close up shots of Neil and CH for the benefit of those situated in the dank nether regions of the TCC. In the interim before the show both screens displayed the old black and white Indian Head Test pattern; a symbol of great nostalgia from the sleepy-eyed childhoods of American Baby Boomers.

Quite unexpectedly the lovely voice of John Lennon came floating in on the air. A giant replica of a vintage microphone descended from above to join the floating barrage of Fender amps. As JL sang "I’d love to turn you on" and A Day in the Life descended into its chaotic, electrically-charged climax, the audience revved up like a Rocket 88 suddenly brought back to life. Neil Young came strolling out dressed comfortably in a t-shirt and a faded pair of jeans and the place went wild. Before the band began their set the American flag was set out on display and Neil could be seen singing along with the audience to the national anthem. Oklahoma musician Susan Herndon later posted that the beginning of the show was "more patriotic than any words spewed forth by the yutzes they’re giving us to choose from for this presidency."

At the conclusion of the anthem Neil strapped on Old Black (his customized 1953 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop) and prepared to go to work. The first sound to erupt from Crazy Horse was Ralph Molina sounding out loud staccato shots from the drums. Neil, Pancho Sampedro on rhythm guitar and Billy Talbot on bass joined together and fittingly kicked off the performance with an extended jam to introduce Love and Only Love. The old friends and band mates faced one another before a jewel box of illuminated amps. Neil howled out, "Hate is everything you think it is, Love and only Love will break it down" and somehow as he wielded Old Black like an axe the idea that the music could chop down hate seemed a trenchant and real possibility.

NY looked and sounded strong. Sobriety suits him. The television screens turned to Technicolor and Neil stomped the stage with his stringy hair floating around his head like a dirty rock-and-roll halo. The song dropped quickly into a lull that could not be taken for granted because everyone knew the danger that lurked just beneath. Next was a straightforward and rocking delivery of Powderfinger. The background vocals were tight and spot-on perfect from Sampedro. For a moment Neil’s guitar solo took on a Latin feel, then he returned back to his traditional sound. He massaged the tremolo like a man in love. Afterward the lab coats returned onstage and milled around while Neil gave a curt address to the crowd, stepping up to the mike and asking, "How you doing out there?" Born in Ontario followed, and the new lyrics were a relief to hear since Neil revealed in his recent autobiography Waging Heavy Peace that he had been unable to write any songs after he quit smoking grass. At this point in the concert the crowd calmed down and managed to settle in their seats for the first time. Their respite would not last long.

Walk Like a Giant
began with the cheerful whistle of all the men onstage but quickly descended into a rumbling, grumbling, low guitar echo that matched the lyrics as they described the death of the hippie dream. The whistle always carried on, the trademark sound of the song, which perhaps represents the constant truth that life must always carry on. Sampedro uttered "Walk, Walk, Walk," in the background and it was understood that no matter how alluring the utopian vision of the 60s and 70s, time and its people had to keep moving. Here the rhythmic chemistry with Crazy Horse was on full display and the sound seemed to fill every atom in the room, creating a static buzz – the very attributes that mark the CH sound. Neil claw-hammered away and if he hadn’t been so charming in his own cranky manner he might have appeared Frankensteinish up there stomping around and pawing at the guitar. The light show changed with each strike of the drum and the band teased out the end bathed in alternating pulses of red, orange, purple, pink, green & blue. And like the hippie dream, they were not prepared to let the song go. But at last they finally allowed its final release and the Oklahoma audience was barraged by a familiar sound overhead: the violent crash of a thunderstorm.

Following the intense rendition of Walk Like a Giant, Neil came out alone with his acoustic guitar and sang Needle & the Damage Done. The audience sang along loudly with every word, not just because they were familiar with the lyrics but because all understood the heavy toll of addiction. Neil wore his harmonica around his neck and the moment was a incredibly tender experience shared between the artist and his admirers. Twisted Road and Singer Without a Song filled out the middle part of the set. During the latter Neil went to his piano and evinced an old saloon-type sound.

Ramada Inn
followed, a signature CH song if ever there was one, forget that it was only written in the past year. The song tells the story of lasting romantic relationships the world over along with the difficult requirements of self-sacrifice and compromise required for long-lasting love. Neil began stalking the stage again when the overhead screens went black and he returned to his giant amps again and again like a trusted old friend. He was in a serious groove, high stepping and stooping low while he played. It was clear that Crazy Horse had once again given him the open canvas to freely display his gift. They crow-hopped and hunkered down along with him. The band appeared as a weird, happy grungy family. They had his back and he knew it.

Neil introduced his next song by stating, "I always like to say, ‘Here’s a song I wrote this morning’" then launched directly into a driving rendition of Cinammon Girl. One of the finest songs of the night was Fu*@in Up. Crazy Horse came together in the middle with the drummer setting the driving, cycling beat. Sampedro flipped off the audience with both hands at every opportunity. The notes were raw and someone howled out like a dog, during a hard hitting solo that took the sound to an ultimate high. Sampedro and Young dueled it out, absolutely slaughtering their guitars. Pancho stepped up to the microphone and yelled, "JUST A F^CK UP!" Again there was a hesitation to close out the song; pausing, starting, and ending again until at the conclusion Neil said, "we f*cked up the ending", and the crowd went wild with laughter and applause.

The oldest song from the set was Mr. Soul, which was accompanied by psychedelic colors swirling onstage to reflect the time period in which it was written. It seemed inconceivable that Old Black was not in tatters by this time after the beating she had been through. Ralph Molina’s skills on the drum set were never more evident during the show than at Mr. Soul’s conclusion.

At the inception of My, My, Hey, Hey (Into the Black) a curtain dropped behind the band and incredibly these old guys still wielded more energy than pre-teen kids hopped up on corn syrup and soda. Neil launched a classic solo and gave the audience the line they had been waiting to hear all night: "Rust Never Sleeps" and repeated "The King is Gone, The King is Gone". At the conclusion he yelled out "Thank you Tulsa!" and waved out at his fans. Although it surely cannot be, for a moment it appeared as though smoke could be seen rising from the strings on Old Black, who steadfastly withstood a furious barrage in the end.

Afterword the Lab Coats returned and like a thousand angry toddlers in demand of more candy, the audience stamped their feet and yelled and threw awful hissy fits until the band returned. Out rang a haunting echo. The finale was a bewildering version of Tonight’s the Night. Neil worked the knobs on Old Black to achieve an undulating effect, complimented by Talbot's steady bass line. Even though more than forty years have passed since the loss of his friends for whom the song was written, the emotional grief can still be heard in Neil’s voice, not just for Bruce Berry and Danny Whitten, but many more since. A searing heat rolled out on the sound as though a release of emotion and energy was exchanged. Perhaps it was a kind of musical osmosis from these few men out into a few thousand, so that the intense energy they held inside might dissipate and be stored away benign in the hearts of so many. Near the end he distorted his voice in a deep, strange and even comical fashion that caused some in the crowd to look around in bewilderment. At last he whispered to the audience and brought the night to its knees in a heavy conclusion. Before he left the stage Neil appeared jubilant and held his arms out to the audience as if to take in all the love and admiration sent up to him from the people.

While the audience walked out of the venue, with heads abuzz and ears ringing, the melody of the Christmas song, What Child Is This played and the message "Thanks to all who supported the Bridge School" was posted on the overhead screens. Although it was in truth Neil's own contribution that made it possible, he managed to make the fans feel that they had contributed to something bigger and more important than any concert: the support of a school that helps physically challenged children overcome impairments through the use of technology.

In his new book, Neil explains to his reader:

Am I too cosmic about this? I think not, my friend. Do not doubt me in my sincerity, for it is that which has brought us to each other now.

His words ring of the truth and that must be the basis for Neil's long, loyal following. It blossoms and is rebirthed through the artist's lifelong allegiance to truth and sincerity through the music. That's one dose, psychedelic or no, of which music fans can never have enough.

Thanks Faith! Nice. Your review really captures the spirit of the night. (Faith Phillips is the author of the debut fiction novel Ezekiel's Wheels, available for purchase in Fall 2012 on Amazon.com)

Also, see Neil Young & Crazy Horse 2012 Concert Tour Reviews.

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