Sunday 10 March 2013
Expectations were high as my party-of-six converged on the Sydney Entertainment Centre last night to behold the spectacle that is Neil Young and Crazy Horse. We had heard mixed reviews of the shows from this tour so far, and each of us had different songs we were hoping to hear, others we knew there was a snowball's chance in hell we'd hear and some we knew we'd hear.
Young and his long time collaborators gave a fantastic show for the tragics by pulling out extended feedback-laden jams and stretching songs out with multiple reprises. There was a decent helping for the casual-to-frequent listeners as well, with the performances of mainstream songs/crowd favourites including 'Cinnamon Girl', 'Heart of gold', 'Powderfinger' and 'Hey hey, my my (into the black)' being close to perfection. As someone who falls into the latter camp, I'm happy to say that I left the gig with a few new songs to add to my regular playlist, including 'Love and only love', 'Walk like a giant' and the brand new song 'There's a hole in the sky'. Despite being 67 years old, Young's voice has barely changed over the years, and even though it took him (literally) an hour and twenty minutes to crack a smile, you could tell that he was having a great time with Crazy Horse.
And therein lies my main criticism of the night (which was echoed by many an attendee whose protestations were loud and clear on the way out) - the two hour and 20 minute show seemed more like an extended jam session for old friends than a performance for paying fans. Now, I certainly wasn't expecting to hear Harvest, After the gold rush or even Live rust or Rust never sleeps, and I do love a bit of instrumentation and experimentation on stage… but a 15 minute feedback jam with everyone crowded around the drum kit that doesn't lead into a song can be (and was) a bit alienating.
In the end, you could summarise by saying that the guys were playing largely for themselves, and if some of the packed entertainment centre enjoyed their more lengthy excursions, then good for them. Their performance wasn't quite Dylan-esque - as I said, they did throw in some old classics - but it wasn't a show for everyone, either. Personally, I left happy, a tad bemused and looking forward to the next Neil Young solo tour. My wife, her father and her uncle were of the same opinion. My wife's cousin and aunty, however, were (rather comically) angry about the whole thing, and were vowing never to pay to see them again (with the aunty lamenting how attractive Young had been back in the 1970s).
My conclusion: the best parts of the show were incredible, while the rest were self-indulgent.
3.5/5
SCHNITZEL
Set list
- Love and only love
- Powderfinger
- Born in Ontario
- Walk like a giant
- There's a hole in the sky
- Heart of gold (acoustic solo)
- Twisted road (acoustic solo)
- Singer without a song (Neil plays piano)
- Ramada Inn
- Cinnamon girl
- Fuckin' up
- Mr. Soul (Buffalo Springfield song)
- Hey hey, my my (into the black)
Encore:
- Prisoners of rock 'n' roll
- Opera star
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