Neil Young

[Fred21]

A guilty pleasure??? I know that some of you share my interest in Neil Young, so here's my review of last night's gig:

Inspired by seeing my favourite singer/songwriter in Mansfield, I was determined not to waste my ticket for Neil Young, so the wheelchair and slippers set off for London last night (many thanks to my long-suffering wife!).

The staff at the Hammersmith Apollo were brilliant – I hadn’t got a wheelchair spot (as I was alright when I bought the ticket!), but my seat was on a row with an aisle leading through it, so no problem getting there.

Now the shows on this tour have been running like clockwork:

7.30 – 8.15 Neil’s wife Pegi and the band play a 45 minute acoustic set. A couple of nice blues numbers – and one great song featuring an electric sitar played like a lead guitar – a first for me!

8.30 – Neil rambles onto the stage which resembles a cross between an artist’s studio, an abandoned film set and someone’s loft! He even has a painter at the back providing paintings to represent his songs – not too sure about that. During the set Neil wanders between the guitars and keyboards, absent-mindedly stroking objects, waving to the painter, etc. – performance art? (The paintings are placed at the stage side during the electric set to introduce each song.)

Anyway, a GREAT acoustic set follows – 65 minutes worth!
1.   From Hank To Hendrix
2.   Ambulance Blues
3.   Sad Movies
4.   A Man Needs A Maid
5.   Flying On The Ground Is Wrong
6.   On The Way Home
7.   Harvest
8.   Journey Through The Past
9.   Love In Mind
10.   Mellow My Mind – on the banjo.
11.   Love Art Blues
12.   Love Is A Rose
13.   Heart Of Gold
14.   Old Man

A short break, and at 9.55 Neil returns with the band: Rick Rosas, Ben Keith, Ralph Molina, Anthony Crawford and Pegi Young.

15.   Mr. Soul
16.   Dirty Old Man
17.   Spirit Road
18.   Down By The River
19.   Hey Hey, My My – absolutely fantastic!
20.   Too Far Gone
21.   Oh, Lonesome Me
22.   Winterlong
23.   Powderfinger
24.   No Hidden Path
Encore:
25.   Roll Another Number

Just gone 11.30, and that’s it!

Now I was grateful that people sat during the acoustic set as I knew I wouldn’t be able to stand for long – but the buggers actually sat during that electric set! Part of me was grateful, but part of me couldn’t believe they only stood for the encore! How the hell anybody could sit during Hey Hey My My amazed me – I wanted to dance and I’d have fallen over!

Anyway, first time I’ve seen Neil Young live and I’m already looking forward to seeing him again when I’m fit. Talking of fit, the guy is 62, had a brain aneurysm two years ago and famously has severe back problems but I’ve rarely seen anyone of any age throw themselves and their guitar around the way he did during that electric set – got to bode well for some cracking future gigs! The Godfather of grunge indeed!!!

There are some great clips from this tour on YouTube – enjoy!

[Uli]

Thanks for the review, Fred!!! I only saw him once with Crazy Horse back in '96 (and they really rocked!), would like to catch him solo and/or with band! Last chance I had was 2003 in Stuttgart, but I thought it was way too expensive. But I did see that concert movie in a cinema last year (forgotten the title), which was almost like seeing him live... 

[jock]

I also seen Neil Young and Crazy horse ... in 96 at the Phoenix festival at long marston ..
i went to see him mainly for keep On Rocking in the freeworld , which i really like .. he played it !!
yeehhhh   

Cheers Fred for your reveiw , glad you got there and seen the show .

[Fred21]

Not half as glad as me jock! That's two gigs on wheels now...

[Klaus]

Thanks Fred.
I am considering seeing him in Oberhausen in August.
Have seen him once around 96 in Hamburg. Was awesome.

[Fred21]

Go Klaus! Go!

[Fred21]

Neil Young To Release Brand New Album Along with Crazy Horse...

by Jason Gregory
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
 
Neil Young is expected to release a new album later this year which features material that was originally recorded in 2000.

Entitled ‘Toast’, after the Studio in San Francisco where it was recorded, the album is a collaboration with Crazy Horse.

According to a post on Young’s website, the band spent months working on the album but “came up with very little”.

Now however, John Hanlon, who worked on the original sessions, is understood to be re-working tracks from for an official release.

The post says that ‘Toast’ contains "three solid rockers” and other songs which are “extensive explorations between verses, kind of like a down-played ‘Tonight's The Night’."

The special edition of the album is described as “the beginning of a new series of unreleased albums" from Young.

As previously reported, Young will headline a new festival in Kent this summer.

[Uli]

At first I was quite thrilled about this:

Neil Young To Release Brand New Album Along with Crazy Horse...

But then I read this:

According to a post on Young’s website, the band spent months working on the album but “came up with very little”.

Not quite sure if all this will result in a good album. 

[Fred21]

True - but the old, unreleased stuf he played live was great. I'm sure they are only releasing the "very little" best stuff!

[Fred21]

Definitely not in his name!

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003820107

[Uli]

Thanks, a very interesting read!
Don't see too much chance of the "impeach the president" campaign being successful. Even for liberal Americans "the President" is too much of a "holy cow"...

[Fred21]

Holy shit!

[Fred21]

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/neil-young-iraqnroll-866765.html

[Fred21]

Neil Young To Tour 'Solidly For The Next Year' He will also release a new archive series...

by Jason Gregory 22 July 2008

Neil Young has revealed that he plans to tour “pretty extensively” for at least the next year.

Young, who played the Hop Farm festival in Kent earlier this month, told Billboard that he still found touring “very rewarding”.

“It's very good for me -  it keeps me in top form physically, and that makes me feel good,” he said.

"And I've found a way of doing it so I'm on and I'm off and I can get enough time on that I can focus on (other projects) and then I go right back out on the road again and take another couple shots at that."

Young is to release his long-awaited 'Archive' series this autumn.

The series begins with a 10-disc set of performances from 1963-67 and will be released on CD, DVD and Blu-ray.

[Uli]

Neil Young has revealed that he plans to tour “pretty extensively” for at least the next year.

Good news. Hope I can catch him anywhere close to my home town!!