On This Date: Neil Young Returns to Winnipeg - January 13, 1971

 "Neil Young: Don't Be Denied - The Canadian Years" by John Einarson

On this date, Wednesday evening, January 13, 1971, Neil Young made his triumphant return to Winnipeg.

From "Neil Young: Don't Be Denied - The Canadian Years" by John Einarson (thanks HtH!)

On this date, Wednesday evening, January 13, 1971, Neil Young made his return to Winnipeg. It had been six years since he last graced a stage there and many old friends and fans came out to welcome him home. He had left Winnipeg years earlier as a rock 'n' roller with a dream; now he had returned as rock's premier singer/songwriter. It had been quite a journey.

With barely any advertising, ticket demand at the Centennial Concert Hall was so great that two shows were scheduled that evening [I attended both]. The word was out that Neil was back. Everyone entering the hall was checked for cameras and tape recorders. Neil did not like to be distracted by camera flashes concertgoers were informed as they shuffled through the turnstiles.

Appearing alone on the stark stage with just acoustic guitar and piano, lumberjack outfit and back brace that kept him stiffly in a wooden-backed chair, Neil proceeded to mesmerize the capacity crowd. Bent over his acoustic guitar, head down, eyes closed, long, straight hair draping past his shoulders, Neil spoke rarely, choosing, like he always had, to let his music speak for him. The odd reference was made to being home and to people in the crowd. "There's a guy out there in the audience who used to tune my guitar," he offered. The intensity of his performance led those in the audience to feel that they were in the presence not of a local boy-made-good, but a world-class singer/songwriter. It was a magical night.

Walking onstage without introduction and offering no greetings, Neil opened the show with the Buffalo Springfield's On the Way Home. It seemed a fitting number for the tour. Throughout the concert, Neil interspersed the familiar with new material, much of it written recently on his ranch. Some, like Heart of Gold, Old Man, and A Man Needs a Maid, appeared a year later on his HARVEST album. Others, like See the Sky About to Rain, Dance, Dance, Dance, and Bad Fog of Loneliness would wait much longer to appear on vinyl. For the Winnipeg show, Neil added Clancy to unrestrained applause.

Afterwards, Neil hosted a party for family and friends at the posh, downtown Winnipeg Inn. The general theme of the conversations floating about the room focused on how each individual present just knew that Neil would make it someday. Neil mingled among the patrons, hugging, shaking hands and reminiscing. As is the case with these post-concert soirees, the room was well represented by hangers-on, the radio and record company set, most of whom didn't know Neil's name from Adam two years earlier. Neil was disappointed that many of the former Squires were not present. In particular, he had wanted to see Allan Bates and Ken Smyth. "I was looking for them but I didn't find them," recalls Neil. "You never realize at the time that you'll never see people again." Asked years later about his absence that night, Ken replies, "We weren't sure if he would remember us." Pam Smith adds, "I was afraid that my life would seem so trivial compared to who he was now and all the things he had done. He was somebody and we were all still just here."

Neil spent some time the next day visiting a few old haunts but the hectic pace of the tour forced Neil to move on. His brief stop in his old hometown had been a personal triumph and a kind of reconciliation with his past.

The Journey thru The Past tour would bring Neil to Massey Hall, Toronto's premier concert venue, on January 19 for another triumphant homecoming and a reconciliation with his father. During the Massey Hall concert, Neil acknowledged his father's presence in the audience. He also sang Old Man which Scott Young heard as a note of reconciliation. The Massey Hall concert was recorded and released decades later as part of his Neil Young Archives series.

Thanks for this historic reminder from 50+ years ago John! 

And thanks to those of you who said to go ahead with this (you know who you are) and today's part goes like this: THE KEEPER OF THE FLAME: there is rock. There is roll. And there is Neil Young.

More on "Neil Young: Don't Be Denied - The Canadian Years" by John Einarson @ Neil Young Book Reviews. 

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So, Neil Young, If Music Can't Change The World, Then Can Voting?

Neil Young Becomes A U.S. Citizen

Last week, Neil Young finally became a U.S. citizen after a delay due to "possible lack of GMC (Good Moral Character)".

Neil Young's primary desire to becoming a U.S. citizen was in order to "vote my conscious on Donald J. Trump".

So, can voting change the world, Neil?


Neil Young @ Berlin Film Festival - Feb. 2008
Photo by Markus Schreiber
At the Berlin Film Festival in Feb. 2008, Neil Young stated in response to an audience question, that music can no longer change the world. The comment was made after the screening of his film "CSNY: Deja Vu".

From the man whose song "Ohio" played a part in helping end the Vietnam war, the reaction was swift, huge and global. (See World Reaction to Neil Young's Statement "Music Can't Change World").

In 2008, many argued passionately that music can in fact change the world, while others argue that it never has and never will.

The worldwide reaction to Neil's response prompted him to make a highly unusual clarification about what it will really take to change the world with a post titled "A Song Alone":

"No one song can change the world. But that doesn't mean it's time to stop singing.

Somewhere on Earth a scientist is alone working. No one knows what he or she is thinking. The secret is just within reach. If I knew that answer I would be singing the song.

This is the age of innovation. Hope matters. But not hope alone. In the age of innovation, the people's fuel must be found. That is the biggest challenge. Who is up to the challenge? Who is searching today? All day. All night. Every hour that goes by. I know I am.

My friends write to me don't give up. I am not giving up. I know this is the time for change. But I know that it's not a song. Maybe it was. But it isn't now. It's an action, an accomplishment, a revelation, a new way. I am searching for the people's fuel. Will I find it? Yes. I think so. I don't know why I may have been chosen to help enable a discovery of this magnitude. I know I can only write a song about it when I find it. Until then I can write a song about the search or spend all my time looking. But a song alone will not change the world. Even so, I will keep on singing."

'When the aimless blade of science slashed the pearly gates'

"Living With War": Rock Music's "Fahrenheit 9/11" -
Neil Young Rocks on CNN

This whole reaction is similar to that when Neil commented that he made "Living With War" because today's musical generation wasn't which resulted in an open letter to Neil Young by musician Stephen Smith which in turn resulted in the Songs Of The Times web page.

Pete Townshend discussed Neil's quote that music can not change the world on this YouTube video and didn't necessarily disagree.



On August 7, 2008, in Helsinki, Finland, Neil Young debuted a new song called "Just Singing A Song Won't Change The World" in response to a the uproar he created. Others, nevertheless, haven't lost faith in the power of music, as Amy says:

"Perhaps it’s true that music and musicians don’t change the world the way they or we like to think they can. But individual people create change every day. Some by teaching, some by protesting, some by volunteering time or money. Sometimes a smile is all it takes to make the difference in another’s day. A song won’t change the world dramatically overnight, but it has to start somewhere, and musicians and their music can still do their part even if it’s not a revolution."

  What Would Neil Young Do?   A Battle Raged on the Open Page: Can You Change Your Mind?  Poster by Jeremy Deller   So, has the time when music could change the world passed? Is it time for science and physics and spirituality to make a difference in this world and to try to save the planet? And does voting matter any more than just singing a song? What gets us closer to our Gods? Music that motivates and inspires us? Or a politician asking for our vote? There are those that argue that mankind is suffering from problems that can not be solved politically -- only spiritually.

Creation of Eve

From The Metaphysics of Creation by Jay Dyer:

Without a tradition and a worldview to inform science, science is not a search for knowledge or truth, but a tool of power politics, enforced by the nastiest oligarchs to their own ends.

Science becomes scientism, the baseless ideology of a technocratic state with no other telos than the perpetuation of the technocratic corporate state itself. Might now makes right, because there is no truth, “truth” is simply made by the entity with the most “stuff,” whether material or virtual. The removal of telos from the world, and thus of the divine from the world, is the replacement with the Great Monadic Particle God of Flux, and his cultus, the fetish of the ever-new. Yet the ever-new that must constantly be churned out constantly denies eternal truth and permanence, and so negates itself nihilistically as irrelevant. Religion then degenerates according to this destructive scientistic spirit, becoming a mirror of the consumerist plastic society in which it dwells. Without a metaphysical basis, science is meaningless. If ultimate reality is irrational, man’s finitely-constructed subjective meaning is a drop in a vast ocean of universal meaninglessness.

Modern man and his scientism are ultimately doomed to nihilism, as the empty promises of scientific progress tell man his life pointless, and with it all of his science.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
The "Virginia Is For Lovers" Concert
Foreman Field @ Old Dominion University
Norfolk, Virginia - August 27, 1974

(Click photo to enlarge)

Back in the '60's and '70's, music was one of the few forms by which political messages could be communicated to a mass audience. Today in the age of instant smart phone communication, music can still has a role.

Music, as with all art, is not made in a vacuum. You can't separate life from the art. All art, no matter when it was made (and no matter how unwittingly) makes a political statement. And, as far as spirituality -- whose version of spirituality? So, for 'science and physics and spirituality' to make a difference in the world, it takes vision. To communicate that vision, it takes art. It's not the format (speech, music) or the platform (radio, internet) but the message, so keep speaking/singing out for the things you want to see changed.

It's not naive to think that music and art will change the world, Neil. It's naive to think we CAN'T.


Neil Young, Neil Young (2004) Life As A Neil Fan
Photo by Melanie Schiff

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Neil Young's "Hometown Christmas" Extended Run | NYA

Hometown Christmas | NYA

Neil Young's "Hometown Christmas" concert will have an extended run starting December 21 and running through December 31 in Hearse Theater | NYA.

On December 1, 2017, A Once in a Lifetime Event: Neil Young's "Somewhere In Canada" Concert was held in Coronation Hall in Omemee, Ontario, Canada and live streamed globally. (2017 concert preview and reviews).

December 1, 2017 was a huge, huge Neil Young day with a full trifecta: Neil Young Archives Going Online + The Visitor Arriving + "Somewhere In Canada" Concert blowing minds.

Some stats on the concert:

• The video broadcast generated over 1,600,000 views
• Proceeds from concert donated to the local Scott Young Public School
• The concert raised over $20,000 for The Bridge School
• The Dec 1 events generated 1000's of positive social media comments

A somewhat typical reaction is the following comment by Keith B.:

... It was presented, in terms of the set and camera work, with great craft and care. NY was in great voice, soulful and funny. The set list was amazing.

The whole thing was tremendously moving.

We are blessed to still have this man walking among us.

Neil Young Performs in Hometown Omemee, Ontario, Canada

And from our erstwhile TW Tour Manager, HoundsThatHowell:

8:00PM – He kinda meandered in from stage left.

A Johnny Cash like figure only from Woodstock 69. The man in black with buckskin jacket took to the microphone and raised his guitar. He would be our Captain. He alone would take us to places old and new. We the crew, Coronation Hall our ship… we set sail on our magical voyage. In just over an hour and a half regretfully we returned to dock. To say I loved this concert would be an understatement. It was near spiritual for me. Come back anytime Neil.

Your Crew awaits.

Set list included but was not limited to; Comes A Time, Love is a Rose, Old King, War of Man, Stand Tall, Old Man, Helpless, Heart of Gold, Long May You Run, I'm Glad I Found You and more.

Setlist for "Somewhere In Canada" Concert

"Yellow Moon on the Rise"
Omemee, Ontario, Canada
Photo by Lloyd W

And from TW reader and supporter Lloyd W. in Port Carling, Ontario:

Greetings

Under the full moon, what a night it was in the village of Omeemee, nestled in the Pigeon River Valley.

What a time it's been building up to this past/present honoring event.

What a body of work to draw from so eloquently.

Smiles all around.

And that river keeps on flowing.

Lloyd W.

Port Carling, Ontario

We might add that Director Daryl Hannah did an outstanding job with the production. The set, lighting, camera angles, and audio were top notch. A very intimate evening captured such that we're pretty certain it would have made the late Jonathan Demme very proud. The camera shots during "Mother Earth" were some of the most unique and engaging shots we have ever seen in a live musical production.

Hometown Omemee

Also, An Eyewitness Report From Neil Young's "Somewhere In Canada" Concert by Sharry (Up in Omemee keepin’ jive alive)

Sharry interviewed by CTV News outside Coronation Hall
An Eyewitness Report From Neil Young's "Somewhere In Canada" Concert by Sharry (Up in Omemee keepin’ jive alive)

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The Case For Neil Young Becoming A U.S. Citizen

Neil Young
MusiCares 2010 Person of the Year
Ever since the news hit that Neil Young's Application To Become A U.S. Citizen Delayed Due to "Possible Lack of GMC (Good Moral Character)", the usual surreal feel around here at TW has gotten just a bit more surreal -- if that was ever possible.

The plan was for Neil Young to have been sworn in on his 74th birthday last week on November 12. But alas -- it was not to be -- despite his level of dedication to charitable causes and worthy benefits demonstrating not only his excellent GMC but that Neil Young is a humanitarian rebel WITH causes, also.

So will Neil Young ever become a U.S. citizen? Or will the man "Born in Ontario" remain the loner from another planet?

From "Can Neil Young Ever Become a U.S. Citizen? Admitting to marijuana use in the Trump era seems to be a crime akin to murder. Can the Hall of Famer slip through? | Rolling Stone by Angie Martoccio:

According to several immigration lawyers, it won’t be as easy for Young as simply retaking the test.

“If [an] officer doesn’t approve or refuse it, they will recommend it for approval for a person to have their swearing in,” says Anastasia Tonello, a New York immigration lawyer. “But that would typically go to another stage, like a supervisory level to approve it or to say that they need more checks.”

Even so, getting caught with weed over 50 years ago shouldn’t ostensibly affect Young’s naturalization. His application would be denied if he had appeared to lack good moral character during the statutory period of the last five years. During the interview process, Young admitting his marijuana use is what may have caused his application to be delayed. “As soon as he said yes, he set off this little chain reaction,” says Jonathan Grode, an immigration lawyer and adjunct professor at Temple University.

...

So what can Young do to become a U.S. citizen? According to Carol Edward, an immigration lawyer who holds a dual citizenship with the United States and Canada, he has two choices. “If he’s denied naturalization, he can appeal the decision. And beyond that, he can file a lawsuit in federal court challenging their determination.”

For fans, speaking up would also help speed up Young’s naturalization in time for the 2020 election. “Free speech and public outcry is the basis for change,” says Grode. “Is it fair within the naturalization process to consider this an issue of good moral character? As more and more states are pushing towards medical marijuana and legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes, isn’t it time that our federal laws reflect the consensus of the nation?”

“We’re at a tipping point within our country as it turns on how we handle cannabis and marijuana usage,” Grode adds. “The more people that talk, the more people that step out the more people that complain, the greater chance you’re going to get political action because they see that as their constituents talking.”

Full article @ "Can Neil Young Ever Become a U.S. Citizen? Admitting to marijuana use in the Trump era seems to be a crime akin to murder. Can the Hall of Famer slip through? | Rolling Stone by Angie Martoccio.

Also, see CITIZEN NEIL: Canadian Neil Young's Application To Become A U.S. Citizen Delayed Due to "Possible Lack of GMC (Good Moral Character)".

Neil Young & Daryl Hannah
March for ERA - Los Angeles, CA, January 20, 2018

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Neil Young To Become An American Citizen

Neil Young
photo by DH Lovelife/Courtesy of the artist

"Canadian" Neil Young will become an American citizen next month.

From At 74, Neil Young will finally become an American citizen: ‘We’ve got a climate emergency’ | LA Times by RANDY LEWIS

“I’ve passed all the tests; I’ve got my appointment, and if everything goes as planned, I’ll be taking the oath of citizenship” shortly after turning 74 on Nov. 12. The salient point being, “I’ll be able to vote,” said Young, who has lived roughly two-thirds of his life in the U.S. since arriving in Los Angeles in the mid-’60s and first making his mark on the rock ’n’ roll landscape with Buffalo Springfield.

“I’m still a Canadian; there’s nothing that can take that away from me,” he said. Young was at a studio in Santa Monica where he and his wife, activist-actress Daryl Hannah, assembled their new film, “Mountaintop,” documenting the recording of Young’s latest album, “Colorado,” which arrives Oct. 25.

Image via Rusted Moon

At 74, Neil Young will finally become an American citizen: 'We've got a climate emergency' https://t.co/YOB6E2ChDy

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) October 24, 2019

“But I live down here; I pay taxes down here; my beautiful family is all down here — they’re all Americans, so I want to register my opinion” about this country.

Oh Canada!

Neil Young @
Austin City Limits Festival: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, 10/13/2012

FWIW, Neil Young has a word or 2 to say about U.S. politics from north of the border via California ...

more to come ... for sure ...

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NOW STREAMING: Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse - Winnipeg 2019-02-04 | NYA

Distant Camera
Neil Young - Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 2019-02-04 | NYA

Now streaming in Hearse Theater on NYA is the re-broadcast of the Neil Young & Crazy Horse concert at Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on 2019-02-04 directed by dhlovelife.

Setlist via Sugar Mountain:
2019-02-04
Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

1. Out On The Weekend
2. Distant Camera
3. War Of Man
4. Old King
5. Green Is Blue
6. Don't Let It Bring You Down
7. Journey Through The Past
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8. Rockin' In The Free World
9. Danger Bird
10. Wonderin'
11. The Losing End
12. Roll Another Number (For The Road)
13. Winterlong
14. Cortez The Killer
15. F*!#in' Up
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16. Like A Hurricane
17. Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)

Hearse Theater | NYA

Neil Young and Crazy Horse w/ Nils Lofgren - 2018

Concert Review of the Moment: Winnipeg Concerts of Neil Young & Crazy Horse - February 2019 from the Winnipeg concerts of Neil Young & Crazy Horse on 2019-02-03 (Night #1) and 2019-02-04 (Night #2).

Image via Neil Young Archives | NYA

Neil Young Solo

Photo by thrashette via NYA Livestream

Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates and Chronological Grid, Recording Summary, Statistics and Extras.

Also, see:

• Neil Young's Solo "Big 3M Theater Tour" Begins Tonight: Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, January 23 - (49 Comments)
• CONCERT REVIEW: Neil Young Stuns Furloughed Fed on Opening Night of 2019 Mini Solo Tour - (4 Comments)
• Concert Review of the Moment: Neil Young Solo - Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, January 23, 2019 - (4 Comments)
• Neil Young Solo: Madison, Wisconsin, January 24 - (26 Comments)
• Comment of the Moment: Neil Young Solo: Madison, Wisconsin, January 24 - (5 Comments)
• Neil Young Solo Minneapolis Residency: #1 - Pantages Theatre, January 26 - (25 Comments)
• LIVE STREAM: Neil Young Solo Minneapolis Residency: Night #2 - Orpheum Theatre, January 28, 2019 - (42 Comments)
• LIVE STREAM "TEST" TONIGHT: Neil Young Solo Minneapolis Residency: Night #3 - State Theatre, January 29, 2019 - (61 Comments)
• Neil Young Solo Minneapolis Residency: Night #4 - Northrop Auditorium, January 31, 2019 - (38 Comments)
• Neil Young's Solo "Big 3M Theater Tour": Setlist Analysis - ( 46 Comments)
• Pacific Northwest Concert Dates Added - ( 46 Comments)
• TONIGHT: Live Stream Neil Young & Crazy Horse
  
• Winnipeg Night #1, 2019-02-03
- (42 Comments)
• Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on 2019-02-04 - Night #2
• Concert Review of the Moment: Winnipeg Concerts of Neil Young & Crazy Horse - February 2019
• Comment of the Moment: Nils Lofgren's Guitar in Crazy Horse Band - ( Comments)
  
• Setlist Analysis: Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Winnipeg 2019

 

THANKS BURTON CUMMINGS : beautiful old theater brings hometown crowd | NYA

 

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - February 4, 2019 

  (See Concert Review of the Moment: Winnipeg Concerts of Neil Young & Crazy Horse - February 2019 from the Winnipeg concerts of Neil Young & Crazy Horse on 2019-02-03 (Night #1) and 2019-02-04 (Night #2))

And another new Crazy Horse album coming someday again?!

"Another one is coming. I can feel it."
via Times-Contrarian | NYA

(thanks HtH & Ralf @ Rusted Moon!)

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PRE-SALES NOW - Neil Young + Crazy Horse Concerts: Going Back to Winnipeg, Manitoba - February 2019

UPDATED
Just announced, Neil Young + Crazy Horse concerts are going back to Winnipeg, Manitoba in February 2019.

Neil is going back to Winnipeg, Manitoba and so is NYA!

Two classic theaters!

2/3/2019 - Burton Cummings Theatre
2/4/2019 - Centennial Concert Hall

Oh Canada! Presale tickets Available NOW to NYA unlimited members https://t.co/jw0CLagrfO pic.twitter.com/tCyJ1tQk4u

— Neil Young Archives (@NeilYoungNYA) December 21, 2018

Neil Young Solo: "Broken Arrow"
Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PA - Sept. 30
Photo by thrasher
(Click photo to enlarge)

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MINI-DOCUMENTARY: Neil Young and The Winnipeg Days | CBC Archives

Here's a mini-documentary from the CBC Archives from 1996 on Neil Young and The Winnipeg Days.


Neil Young - 1967
Also, see The Story Behind Rare 1969 CBC Radio Interview with Neil Young


More on Visiting Neil’s Old Haunts: Neil Young's Winnipeg Hometown by Bill Laing and Neil Young`s Canadian Years by John Einarson.

More on Neil Young's early years explored by Canadian author Sharry Wilson.

Young Neil: The Sugar Mountain Years

(Click photo to enlarge)

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Neil Young Mural Celebrates Omemee’s Heritage

Omemee Ontario Mural Featuring Neil Young
by Cliff Smith

There is a town in North Ontario with a new mural.

A new mural painted by artist Cliff Smith in the Village of Omemee is designed to encourage the drive-through traffic along Highway 7 to stop and explore the community. It is part of the Discover Omemee initiative, which also includes new maps and signage throughout the village.

From New mural celebrates Omemee’s culture and heritage | Kawartha Now: (Thanks Sharyy & HtH!)

“The mural acts as a tribute to the village of Omemee,” says Laurie McCarthy, City of Kawartha Lakes Tourism Development Officer. “It highlights some of the great assets, like the Kawartha Trans Canada Trail, that attract international visitors to our region each year.”

The Discover Omemee initiative includes guitar-shaped wayfinding sights, a tribute to Omemee’s famous son musician Neil Young

Neil Young
Performs in Hometown Omemee, Ontario, Canada - December 2017

More on Omemee Thanks Neil Young & Neil Young Thanks Omemee and Neil Young Concert Helps Benefit Canada School Music Program .

Visiting Neil Young's Hometown Omemee, Canada: A Fan's Journey

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Comment of the Moment: Neil Young's "Somewhere In Canada" Concert

Neil Young
"Somewhere In Canada" Concert - December 1, 2017
Coronation Hall - Omemee, Ontario, Canada

Many of Neil Young's fans are still recovering from the emotional Neil Young's "Somewhere In Canada" Concert last week.

Here is a Comment of the Moment from Neil Young's "Somewhere In Canada" Concert (report by Sharry Wilson) by Minke T.:

Dear all,

Watching Neil’s homecoming was such an event. It shook me thoroughly. It was beautiful and confusing, and utterly gripping. Neil’s performance moved me to tears at several points. Emotive highlights were Someday and Don’t be denied, both so highly personal, made for this moment and occasion, and both getting such sweet, vulnerable and poignant renderings.

To see Neil’s musicality so captivatingly alive was an enormous joy. But so see him almost fall over, groping in the mist of bad eyesight, so dependent on his helpers, reminded so much of our mortality, of dying light, of the shakiness of things. Neil has always been there and now we see him, as we see those around us, preparing to slip away, someday.

I can't fathom whether the concert was good or bad, technically speaking. Perhaps the performances of some songs will not stand stand up to repeated listening, from a greater time distance, out of the moment and the ambiance. There were bad notes, mistunings, mistakes, awkward endings. It was the first time I had the feeling that something was sliding away from him, that he was not on the top of his technical game. Perhaps this was most visible in his guitar technique. always so immaculate and well-aimed, but now more faltering, more putative – and the more moving for it.

It was grandiose.

In the run-up to the event, I sometimes thought he was really moving to Canada, selling his stuff, leaving his California stardom, letting this be a homecoming and a farewell -- but to what? Settling in old age, running the business and doing the politics. But who knows.

Whatever comes next, Neil gave us the ultimate gift of a musical genius that adjusts itself to the possibilities and limitations of moment, age, to the present state of his body and mind. Forget the slips, the spirit was there. A new spirit, more intimate than ever, fragile, with such a strong sense of looking back, on the way home, and as true as ever.

After all, the emotive assault on our inner tunings tells it all. I guess this is what true fandom is, despite the glitches, the let-downs, the exasperation, frustration sometimes, to be moved to the core.

Thanks Neil, thanks Thrasher

And thank you Minke for that heartfelt tribute.

There's not much we can add that others didn't add after your comment.

Let the record just show that on December 1, 2017, Neil Young made the whole world both laugh and cry -- and experience every emotion in between. We are the lucky ones...

Bob Purdy at Neil Young's "Somewhere In Canada" Concert
Coronation Hall - Omemee, Ontario, Canada
Photo by CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT/PETERBOROUGH EXAMINER/

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An Eyewitness Report From Neil Young's "Somewhere In Canada" Concert by Sharry (Up in Omemee keepin’ jive alive)

Welcome to Omemee, Ontario, Canada
Photos by Sharry Wilson
(Click photo to enlarge)

There's very little doubt that December 1st will go down in the history books as one Neil Young's more momentous moments.

While Neil Young's "Somewhere In Canada" concert -- really a love letter to his hometown of Omemee, Ontario, Canada -- was only one of the day's accomplishments (along with Archives Going Online + The Visitor Arriving + Video Release of "Great Again", it was the warmth of the hometown audience captured by the brilliantly intimate production of Director Daryl Hannah that melted hearts around the world.

And it can not be denied that December 1st was a huge, huge success with the Neil Young Archives Going Online + The Visitor Arriving + "Somewhere In Canada" Concert blowing minds.

So here's An Eyewitness Report From Neil Young's "Somewhere In Canada" Concert by Sharry (Up in Omemee keepin’ jive alive) Wilson. Sharry -- as many TW readers know -- is the author of the highly acclaimed "Young Neil: The Sugar Mountain Years", cited as "the definitive source of Neil Young's formative childhood years in Canada."

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Legion Hall outdoor live streaming

I was there, watching the show projected on an outside wall of the Legion Hall, standing in 4C temps with thin gloves on, no hat and numb feet from the cold, hard ground. It was a very Canadian experience. A number of individuals brought lawn chairs and there were plenty of kids in the viewing crowd as well. Remember, we’re talking early December weather in Canada.

They were also live streaming the show inside the Legion Hall, but on a smallish screen in the small front room with just half-a-dozen tables. There was no screen in the larger back hall area.

The Omemee Curling Centre was another option but that involved crossing a muddy parking lot and viewing it in a Curling rink with bus loads of fans converging on the facility. Also a very Canadian experience re: Curling. In the end we chose to go with the outdoor option.

Outside Coronation Hall, Omemee
(left to right: Ron Warne, Sharry Wilson, Glenn Gillespie)

There was another option but that involved lining up hours beforehand to gain access to a “viewing garden” that was set up with bales of hay to sit on while watching small retro-looking screens that streamed the live performance. There were also some heating sources set up here and there. They looked like small oval bbqs. There were strings of pretty white lights strung around the trees and other shrubbery. There was fencing all around this area and it was all awkwardly covered with tarp-like material.

Live streaming projected against the outside wall of the Legion Hall

We heard Daryl Hannah had a large hand in designing the “viewing garden” and the stage setting in Coronation Hall (other than Neil’s standard particulars). I personally found it charming that he fumbled around for the right hat to wear while singing particular songs. I also enjoyed the stories he shared about his guitars, how they acquired all their nicks, scratches and more.

There were also live streaming available at various locations on the campus of Trent University in Peterborough, a city about a half hour away from Omemee.

I enjoyed Neil’s performance immensely. He was very chatty and embraced all the annoying mix-ups. Also very funny in his own unique way.

But I did notice that he seemed to be under the weather a bit, perhaps nothing more serious than a sore throat but he was taking a lot of sips of water (and beer) but specifically requested a cup of tea with honey (to soothe his sore throat). He also mentioned something about a particular guitar being not being correctly tuned to his lower register, presumedly, from the sore throat.

Another indication that he was perhaps under the weather (or just his age catching up with him) was that he noticeably seemed to forget lyrics, shortened songs, etc. For example, he completely forgot the Canada verse in JTTP but included the “O Canada” verse in DBD. I think he chose to sing “Sugar Mountain” because of the connotations with his childhood, including his time in Omemee. Randy Bachman was in the audience and that’s one of his favourite Neil songs so perhaps that had something to do with it as well. Randy recently inducted Neil into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on September 23, 2017.

I am so grateful that Neil chose to come and play in Omemee. (And that he still enjoys performing.) It would have been nicer if more of the local people had been given tickets. I did hear that Scott Young P.S. teachers were offered the opportunity of a ticket for $40. That seemed odd because everyone else “invited, presumedly, didn’t pay.

Sharry Wilson and Colton Eddy from “The Strombo Show” inside the Butternut Folk Art shop, Omemee

I attended the streaming that Colton Eddy of “The Strombo Show” helped set up. The live streaming of the performance was projected on an outer wall of the Legion Hall. Colton had to get a permit from Omemee to do this. The Legion Hall had their own live streaming event inside but there was only a smallish front room available with a smallish screen. We chose to embrace the great outdoors. It felt like one of those great shared “Canadian moments.”

People waiting patiently in line to gain access to the “viewing garden,” designed by Daryl Hannah (as noted by Neil during his concert).

Omemee Santa Claus at the tree-lighting ceremony. Daryl Hannah participated but I didn’t see her. However, that is where I encountered Elliot Roberts. That’s when I made my approach.

I gave out a lot of copies of “Young Neil” and receipt was confirmed by Elliot who also received a signed copy and posed for a photo with it. Gave Neil a signed copy via a kind individual in the front office at Coronation Hall. And have Bob Young an unsigned copy as he hurriedly walked past. (A man on an obvious mission.) Bob was in charge of ticket distribution. Neil thanked him from the stage.

I made the CTV evening news (for about 30 seconds). Omemee shop owner Joan Rehill is a friend of the Young family and so was her late husband. She has a number of Neil related memorabilia on a few shelves in a front corner of the store (Butternut Folk Art, 18 King St. E.) plus her NYAS membership card, button and more.

Sharry interviewed by CTV News outside Coronation Hall

I donated an unsigned second copy of “Young Neil” to the Omemee Public Library. And I donated a signed copy to the library in Scott Young P.S.

Scott Young Public School Omemee

Another signed copy went to the new owners of 33 King St. W., the Young family home. I knocked but no one was home except the dog. I left the book in a bag at the front door past the inside covered porch.

33 King St. W. (Young family home, Omemee)

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Thanks so much Sharry for the report and photos. Nice report and memories from a town in north Ontario. What a day. Oh, Canada. Don't be denied, indeed.

So for those Neil fans who were anticipating the arrival of December 1st with high expectations -- in the end -- we were not to be denied. Thanks Neil, Daryl & crew!

Neil Young Performs in Hometown Omemee, Ontario, Canada

More on Omemee Thanks Neil Young & Neil Young Thanks Omemee.

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