Has anyone from the board made it to any of Neil Young's recent shows in Europe and now the UK?

Dying to get the IORR angle on what's been so far a very well-reviewed tour. Adrian-L? Gazza? Anyone?

I went twice to the Amsterdam gigs. amazing.
Am going back to Werchter and Weert, later in summer.

Not an "IORR angle" afaik but you might still find these of interest:

[www.uncut.co.uk]

[www.uncut.co.uk]

I'll be going tomorrow. Last night's performance got a 5-star thumbs up

[music.guardian.co.uk]

Some five-star reviews of the Edinbugh gig for your perusal:

[entertainment.timesonline.co.uk]

[www.independent.co.uk]

[www.uncut.co.uk]

I'm looking forward to meeting up with Gazza for the Manchester shows next week.

I went to Hammersmith Apollo last night. Really great sound which Neil commented on during his acoustic set. He dropped Journey Thru The Past, Sad Movies, Mellow My Mind, Cowgirl In The Sand, Mr Soul, Cinnamon Girl and Like A Hurricane from the first night but put in Out On The Weekend, Roll Another Number, Kansas, Old King, Heart Of Gold, After The Goldrush, The Loner.

Great great version of No Hidden Path off Chrome Dreams II which is set to become a modern classic a la Down By The River or Cowgirl In The Sand.

Got a nice vid of the electric set. I'll see if I can post something up soon.

Here's the setlist

01. From Hank To Hendrix
02. Ambulance Blues
03. Kansas
04. A Man Needs A Maid
05. Try
06. Harvest
07. After The Gold Rush
08. Old King
09. Love Art Blues
10. Heart Of Gold
11. Out On The Weekend
12. Old Man

13. The Loner
14. Dirty Old Man
15. Spirit Road
16. Down By The River
17. Hey Hey, My My
18. Roll Another Number
19. Oh, Lonesome Me
20. The Believer
21. Powderfinger
22. No Hidden Path

23. @#$%&' Up



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-03-07 13:08 by Silver Dagger.

He's playing "Kansas" again?? Wow, I don't think he's played that much (I have one recording of it but he says he never really finished writing it..). Then again, I haven't been keeping up, maybe he was playing it on the last US tour.

Heres the complete Amsterdam show for your review :

[www.bigozine2.com]

Quote
Rev. Robert W.
Has anyone from the board made it to any of Neil Young's recent shows in Europe and now the UK?

Dying to get the IORR angle on what's been so far a very well-reviewed tour. Adrian-L? Gazza? Anyone?

Going to both Manchester shows next Tuesday & Wednesday. As he's said above, Logie is going as well. Jostorm who used to post here (now on RO) is going to one of the gigs too,

Looking forward to it as its been 15 years since I've seen Neil in concert. One of my fave acts but he always seems to tour at the wrong time for me, which means I've only seen him twice.

Speaking of which, just announced today are two Irish dates. Malahide castle (near Dublin) on 29th June and the smaller venue that is the Marquee in Cork on the 30th.

Five-star review of Hammersmith in this morning's Daily Express too.

Well thanks to all for the info. Beast, Gazza and others with upcoming plans, I hope that the shows are as exciting for you all as they were for me last fall.

Some of the European setlist shifts have looked pretty sweet and "No Hidden Path" can get to places that are simply staggering.

Manchester Apollo, especially, seems like such a perfect venue. I'll be interested to hear any reactions to the tone/theme of the shows.

And do you think he might be with Crazy Horse next time he passes that way?

Knowing Shakey, his next tour will probably be a stage play with musical backing by a troupe of hermaphrodite nose-flautists from the Andes. Anything's possible.

My friends in Edinburgh are still droolin and drying their pants after the first night of the UK leg. I stupidly decided to give him a miss this time. I was thinking of going to see him in Cork but am over there again a week later for a wedding, also just discovered it clashes with a brian wilson gig I promised to bring my wife to. there are strong rumours that he is playing Glasto this year with the Horse, any ideas what band will be playing Cork/Dublin. AS GREAT as Crazy Horse are I'd rather see the current line up this time round.
Not bad prices for cork either, by shakey standards.

Quote
Duane in Houston
Heres the complete Amsterdam show for your review :

[www.bigozine2.com]

Thanks for the link Duane!

Just playing Down By The River from the second set and I have to say that music doesn't come much better than this.

Absolutely f***king awesome!!!

Beast, Gazza...

What say you lucky souls who saw Shakey at Manchester on Tuesday? Setlists online are so far incomplete, but it would seem that you got the second performance of "Helpless" this decade (I happened to see the other one--w/CSN 2nd night in Boston in '02).

Isn't it cool to see a big hit when it's virtually never played?

Gazza and myself sat together, just a few feet away from the great man himself, to witness an absolutely jaw-dropping, stupendous performance.

There is something about the Manchester Apollo theatre that has brought out the very best in artistes over the years, and last night was no exception. In fact, many seasoned rusties in attendance were proclaiming this as the gig of the tour, and it was evident that Neil himself, knew he was on cracking form. He was confident throughout and clearly enjoying himself.

The inclusion of a flawless version of Helpless towards the end of the first set, was obviously a major highlight, as was Stringman; not to mention a blistering Mr Soul that opened the electric section of the evening.

Down By the River was simply unbelievable, with Gazza and myself exchanging occasional expressions of disbelief as Shakey took us all into a different stratosphere. Gazza proclaimed there and then, that it was the best thing he had ever heard. I'm of the same opinion. Absolutely brilliant.

Anyway, it's round two tonight, followed by a more detailed report tomorrow...that's if I can come down from the high that I'm still on.

Thanks for the review Logie - i hope you and Gazza enjoy tonight, as much.

Glad to hear you guys are enjoying Neil over in Europe. Caught him twice in December and like mentioned above his performance was absolutely jaw dropping. Amazing what one guy can do up there alone onstage. Its safe to say Neil has not lost a thing. And great respect for his catelog of songs pulling out tunes like Ambulance Blues.

Hi There,

I'll be at the Manchester show tonight-my first NY gig too!
Then it's the Hammersmith Apollo for Friday,followed by bankruptcy proceedings!

Cheers,
Si.

SimonN and all:

I love hearing about people's reactions to Neil, especially for those getting their first look.

For me, nothing compares with having the delicacy of Neil's acoustic work presented side-by-side with the thunder of the electric set. Either one is terrific by itself, but the direct contrast sharpens the experience so much...

Have a great time and keep the reports coming!

Hi all!

I saw both concerts in Copenhagen, and it was simply awesome.

The acoustic set the first night - "Mellow my mind", "Try" (nice to hear one of the "lost" songs), "Cowgirl in the sand"...

And then, the electric set! "Down by the River", I nearly started crying, "Mr Soul", what an opening...

A cool story before (I think) "Mellow...", Neil was playing in Chicago during the "Tonight's the Night"-tour: "Nils Lofgren was there, Billy Talbot was there, Ben Keith was there, Ralph Molina was there... I was half there...".

The second night, changed some in the set list, but still, man! The only bummer was, he didn't play "Winterlong", but almost, Larry Cragg came out with the White Falcon-guitar - and I thought "Yes, Winterlong" - but Neil just shock his head and continued with the acoustic guitar and played "The Believer" instead...

Well, well... Long live Neil (and the Stones)!

/J

Just started downloading from "Bigozine"; does anybody know why "Down By The River" and "No Hidden Path" have two downloads? One for the United States and one for the rest of the world??
By the way, thanks for the link!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-03-13 21:09 by Rank Stranger.

Two incredible shows. Preferred the first night myself as I think it was a better choice of songs. Plus it had a version of Down By The River which just defied description (it also came hot on the heels of an absolutely scorching Spirit Road). I'd no idea Helpless was such a rarity. It was excellent, too. Great to hear some of my favourites over the two nights - songs I never expected to hear such as Ambulance Blues, Too Far Gone, Winterlong. Plus he played a few unreleased songs and just to prove what a quirky old bastard he is, ended last night's show NOT with a 'warhorse' as one would expect, but a 45 year old instrumental called "The Sultan" which he recorded with his high school band The Squires. Plus he played a couple of songs off "Time Fades Away" - an album he still for some reason refuses to release on CD.

He played approximately 2 and three quarter hours both nights - with a 25-30 minute intermission. Not bad for a guy of 62. Hard to believe he almost died a couple of years ago. If thats what an aneurysm does for you, sign me up for a couple. They dragged the arse out of a few songs towards the end though last night which was a minor gripe. Instead of listening to 4-5 minutes of feedback at the end of 'No Hidden Path' (which had already clocked in at some 20 minutes), he could have thrown in a quick 'Dont Cry No Tears' or something...

I didnt write down the setlists as they'll probably be on a tracker soon, but from memory it was something like this

Tuesday :
Acoustic set - From Hank To Hendrix/Ambulance Blues/Sad Movies/Stringman (piano)/ Try(?) (piano)/A Man Needs A Maid (piano & Organ)/Harvest/Love In Mind (piano)/ Mellow My Mind (banjo)/ Love Art Blues/ Dont Let It bring You Down/Helpless/ Heart of Gold/The Needle & The Damage Done
Electric set - Mr Soul/Dirty old Man/Spirit Road/Down By The River/Hey Hey My My/ Oh Lonesome Me (Neil on acoustic) /Winterlong/Too Far Gone/Powderfinger/No Hidden Path
Encore - Roll Another Number For The Road

Wednesday :
Acoustic set - From Hank To Hendrix/Ambulance Blues/Sad Movies/A Man Needs a Maid (piano & organ)/Why (?) (piano)/ Harvest/Journey Through The Past (piano)/Mellow My Mind (banjo)/Love Art Blues/ Love Is A Rose/ Old Man
Electric set - The Loner/Dirty Old Man/Spirit Road/Powderfinger/Hey Hey My My/ Oh Lonesome Me (Neil on acoustic)/THe Believer/Too Far Gone/No Hidden Path
Encores
(1) Cinnamon Girl/ F*ckin' Up
(2) Tonight's The Night (Neil on piano)
(3) The Sultan

Quote
Rank Stranger
Just started downloading from "Bigozine"; does anybody know why "Down By The River" and "No Hidden Path" have two downloads? One for the United States and one for the rest of the world??
By the way, thanks for the link!!

probably due to the size of them. Both songs clock in at around 15 minutes each

I thought Graham Nash had said something about CSNY wanting to tour the States this year so that they could "have an influence on the presidential election". Is that not the most deluded thing you ever heard in your life? In any case, it ain't happening. CSN, without Y, already have about 40 shows booked throughout the U.S. in June and July.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-03-14 01:25 by tatters.

Neil will be playing Europe this summer anyway - outdoors

Anyway, the first Apollo Manchester show is now on dime :

[www.dimeadozen.org]

Review of Manchester 1st night on www.uncut.co.uk


Neil Young - Manchester Apollo, March 11 2008
2008-03-12 09:39:59
I have to admit to a certain amount of anxiety tonight. It’s not just the weather, which is, of course, rotten, the wind howling like it’s fit to tear chunks from rooftops from miles around.


Nor is it the small matter of my beloved Liverpool’s tricky Champions League fixture at Inter Milan, made all the more potentially hazardous by Rafa’s selection of Martin Skrtel at centre-back. The last time I saw him, he was hopelessly fluffing his way through an FA Cup tie against Havant & Waterlooville, playing for all the world like someone who’d popped into Anfield to deliver half-time oranges, only to be mistaken for a ‘real’ footballer, handed a shirt and told “Here, put this on and get out there”.

Perhaps it’s more to do with the fact that, last time Neil Young played the Apollo here, it was 2003’s Greendale tour. Allan has already filled you in on the brain-sapping details of punters being forced to endure an entire album of utterly forgettable songs in grim procession, in the vain hope he might play something good later. So I’ll leave it there. But these things live in the memory.

So far, reports of these latest shows have been excellent, seeming to indicate a Neil Young revitalised, refocused and eager to rock out with abandon. As it turns out, I don’t have much to grumble about after all, omens or not. He saunters on for the acoustic set first, baggy-suited and surrounded by a phalanx of guitars. Someone has hoisted up a huge ‘N’ stage left, just in case we’re not sure. Bathed in a curious kind of fireside glow, he settles into “From Hank To Hendrix”, before the captivating “Ambulance Blues”.

As you probably know by now, it’s become the surprise staple of this tour, and it really is wonderful. A great, urgent, labyrinthine thing, it feels like Young is crawling somewhere within it, unsure of where he’s going to take it at any given moment. In an odd way too, it seems to set a certain mood for this acoustic half. He hardly utters a word to the crowd, seems a little tetchy.

He plays “Sad Movies”, another rarity finally dusted down for this tour, then stands up and does that slow bumbling about that I’ve been reading about, like an ageing college lecturer who’s forgotten where his glasses are. Mild performance art maybe, but it does all seem pretty unnecessary and painfully self-conscious. “A Man Needs A Maid”, at piano and synth, is just beautiful, little shivers of notes shooting into the air. Then comes tonight’s first surprise: “Stringman”, originally written in 1976, but unreleased until Unplugged in the early ‘90s. A lovely, almost meditative rendition at piano, it’s followed by “Try”, a sunny piano rag from the "Homegrown" sessions that’s also been stretching its limbs on these dates.

In between “Harvest” and “Love In Mind”, Neil dispenses with a stray heckler, but it’s all starting to feel a little grumpy. Digging out the banjo, he ignores the calls for “Old King” and almost attacks “Mellow In Mind”, plucking hard at the strings, suddenly animated, keening for the high notes. It’s a sinewy, unexpectedly powerful version that gives you a jolt. The timeworn classics are brought out to finish, with “Don’t Let It Bring You Down” getting the biggest roar of the night so far.

Interval over (during which time I’ve squeezed past a bunch of people from Emmerdale, spotted the bald dome of TV chef Simon Rimmer and overheard Mani talking to someone about working with Bjorn from Peter, Bjorn & John) and it’s a wholly different Neil. With Rick Rosas on bass, Ben Keith on rhythm guitar and Ralph Molina on drums, he tears into “Mr Soul” like it’s an itch he’s been desperate to address all evening.

Springing up and down, bouncing from foot to foot, screwing his face up into the mic, he’s now clearly having fun. Silhouetted against the glaring crimson lights of the now-familiar “junk-shop-memory” stage set, “Dirty Old Man” looks, and sounds, brilliantly hellish, full of the impish glee of old men who know they should really be doing something more sedentary on a weekday night.

Much has been made of “No Hidden Path” this tour, and rightly so. It’s an immense, spectacular thing. But for pure rock’n’roll dementia, head-buckling riffs and roaring solos, “Spirit Road” is its equal tonight. Huddling up to Keith and Rosas, riding the exchange like a tempestuous bull, Young is cutting loose. “Down By The River” is colossal too, Young turning his back, hunkering down and rocking so wildly you fear he’s going to topple into Molina’s lap. It’s a huge ball of knotted noise. At one point during a similarly frenzied “Hey Hey My My”, it sounds like it could easily smash the place to pieces.

Brief respite arrives with Don Gibson’s “Oh Lonesome Me”, prefaced with Young’s introduction: “When I was 20, I wrote another melody for this. It wasn’t a good idea, I should have left it alone.” Needless to say, the song, with Keith on organ, Anthony Crawford at the piano and Young wheezing into harmonica, sounds just gorgeous. Then comes “Winterlong”, first aired on 1977 retrospective "Decade", and dedicated to his late friend Danny Whitten.

It stands alone in this electric set as a rolling, graceful country song, albeit with a kick. “Powderfinger” is extraordinary too. After “No Hidden Path” and much audience wailing, the band return for “Roll Another Number”, which, after all that, sounds like a gentle rubdown.

Is this Young, on the other side of 60, giving us all his last hurrah? Reminding us, on the back of "Living With War" and "Chrome Dreams II", that "Are You Passionate?" and "Greendale" didn’t signal the beginning of a long slow fade into mediocrity? Or is Neil just doing what the hell Neil wants and having fun in the process? My guess is the latter. Oh, and by the way, Skrtel did alright tonight. We won 1-0.

ROB HUGHES

ACOUSTIC SET

From Hank To Hendrix
Ambulance Blues
Sad Movies
A Man Needs A Maid
Stringman
Try
Harvest
Love In Mind
Mellow My Mind
Love Art Blues
Don’t Let It Bring You Down
Helpless
The Needle And The Damage Done
Heart Of Gold

ELECTRIC SET

Mr Soul
Dirty Old Man
Spirit Road
Down By The River
Hey Hey, My My
Too Far Gone
Oh, Lonesome Me
Winterlong
Powderfinger
No Hidden Path

Roll Another Number (For The Road)

ROB HUGHES

Fvucking A. Down By The River and PowderFinger on different nights?...Yeah I'd say you got a setlist allright. I would love to hear those songs live. Hey Neil how about doing some shows in the Bay Area BESIDES the Bridge Show concerts.

"It's just some friends of mine and they're busting down the door"

Quote
sweetcharmedlife
Fvucking A. Down By The River and PowderFinger on different nights?...Yeah I'd say you got a setlist allright. I would love to hear those songs live. Hey Neil how about doing some shows in the Bay Area BESIDES the Bridge Show concerts.

he did Powderfinger both nights. Sounds churlish but I was dying to hear Down By The River again on night 2 and was a bit disappointed he didnt play it,

OK. But Powderfinger is still pretty damn cool. I like a lot of Neil stuff. Espicially the Crazy Horse stuff. Unfortunately I've seen him twice and he sucked both times. The last one was that Greenvale crap. Or whatever it was....But hey Neil.How about a 5,6 night run at The Warfield or The Fillmore. All will be forgiven.

"It's just some friends of mine and they're busting down the door"

Quote
Gazza

Quote
sweetcharmedlife
Fvucking A. Down By The River and PowderFinger on different nights?...Yeah I'd say you got a setlist allright. I would love to hear those songs live. Hey Neil how about doing some shows in the Bay Area BESIDES the Bridge Show concerts.

he did Powderfinger both nights. Sounds churlish but I was dying to hear Down By The River again on night 2 and was a bit disappointed he didnt play it,

But Gazza, how were the "Cinnamon Girl"/"F***in' Up"/"Tonight's The Night" encores? Followed by an appearance by the mysterious Sultan himself?

Granted, I'm a fool for Neil, but "The Sultan" thing absolutely cracked me up...

BTW: Before Manchester, "Helpless" had been done all of three times (all with CSN) since Fall of 1996, when he did it a few times with Crazy Horse.