Neil Young

I don't know if I can do this justice.

I saw Neil Young live.

I. Saw. Neil. Young. Live.

Joe and I saw Neil Young Live at the Aronoff Center in Cincinnati. 

It hasn't fully sunk in yet. But before I get to the concert details, I will gush about my crush on Neil Young.

I am going to guess, probably very accurately, that the first time I heard Neil Young was in my mother's womb. And, despite a poorly judged foray into NSync and Britney Spears, my life has been densely dotted with Neil Young since conception. I had an intense obsession with the song "Old King" as a kid because it reminded me of my dog Fred. My country kick in high school was supplemented with "Are There Any More Real Cowboys?" and "Get Back To The Country." The entire "Harvest Moon" album has been my go-to for just about anything - love, sadness, stress, peace. Listening to it was the only way I could fall asleep my freshman year of college. Every emotional and musical need can be accompanied by something from Neil Young. Rock, folk, sensual, weird, hillbilly, country, hippie, quiet, loud, tender, angry, honest, sad or happy.

Neil Young has a sort of transcendent aura about him. It's very spiritual, very deep. But at the same time he's weird as all get out, and I can kind of identify with that - the ability to switch instantly from intense introspection to what-the-hell I'm gonna see how ridiculous or confusing I can be. He has some of the most ridiculous and pointless lyrics you've ever heard, but the music is good. It's almost as if he put everything into the music and was too lazy to write some decent lyrics. His stage presence is similar, which brings me to his stage set at the Aronoff Center in Cincinnati.

Stage at the Aronoff Center in Cincinnati.

The first thing I noticed was a white, baby grand piano with reddish paint (?) smeared on it and a great big Victorian-looking lamp hanging over it. On the opposite side of the stage, the left, was an upright piano under another giant lamp. Between them and toward the back of the stage was a pipe organ. Toward the front were some microphones and a stool, and some guitar stands. Oh yeah, there was a statue of an Indian too. I took a couple pictures until the staff came and told me there was no photography or video allowed at all. I fumed and put my camera away.

Neil Young's stage setup.

Bert Jansch opened for Neil. He was interesting; not the best the singer and average on technical guitar skills. But he had some really neat songs and melodies, especially his opening song, but I don't know what it was. Here's his Web site. He played for about 40 minutes, real chill.

Then there was intermission in which everyone scrambled for drinks, gourmet chocolate, Neil merch or coffee. Oh, and the bathroom. I have never in my life seen a men's room line as long as that one. There was no line for the women's room. I was in and out before Joe even reached the door. Then we got some gourmet(!) dark chocolate almond bark and sat down to await Neil's arrival.

He received a standing ovation upon his arrival, dressed in a worn pair of jeans, loose white blazer, old black t-shirt and a fedora. He didn't say anything, just sat down, picked up a guitar and began playing "Hey Hey My My." It was unreal.

As in, I really wasn't sure if I was actually there or not. I still hardly believe it. I know I was, I have pictures of the set. I am having a hard time describing what the experience means to me and everything I come up with sounds stupid. Yeah, yeah, I (almost) have a degree in "communications" ... whatever, doesn't apply here.

Here are all the songs I can remember him playing, not in the correct order.

"My My Hey Hey"

"Helpless"

"I Believe in You" on the baby grand

"Angry World"*

"Down by the River"

"Cortez the Killer"

"Cinnamon Girl"

"Ohio" very warmly received

"You Never Call"

"After the Gold Rush" on the pipe organ

"Tell Me Why"

"Peaceful Valley Boulevard"*

"Hitchhiker"*

"Love and War"*

"Walk With Me"*

"Rumblin"*

"Leia" the lullaby on the upright

"Sign of Love"*

* Songs from "Le Noise"

That's all I can think of right now. He closed with "Cinnamon Girl" and then came back and played "Walk With Me." It was great. Really. I think there was a good balance between old and new stuff, acoustic and electric. He really got into his new stuff, which is powerful and reverberating. I wish he had played some older classics, maybe some stuff from Harvest or Harvest Moon, and I wish he had talked a bit more; he didn't really say much. Then again, you never really know what to expect with Neil Young; he does what he wants when he feels like it.

Joe & I in Cincinnati before the concert.

I really hope that Neil Young continues making whatever kind of music he feels like. Until he's literally too old to do it. I think he's a brilliant singer/songwriter and the older I get, the more I appreciate his talent. There was a brief period of time in which I did not think he had a good voice. That's not true, he has a weird voice that is always in tune and he can do a lot with it. The audience was captivated; they were captivated by one guy and a guitar on a stage. And that one guy could do more with a guitar than most bands. The audience hardly shouted, they sang along a bit and sat for most of the performance, as if everyone was in a trance. 

Some other weird things that occurred: Someone lit a joint during the show ... yes, inside the auditorium. The police came and removed a man from the audience. The man seated in front of Joe was wasted on something; he cried during "Helpless." The woman seated next to Joe was hot for Neil and asked Joe if he'd heard the new album yet.

What else should I say? Joe & I saw Neil Young in concert. Could it get any better? I don't know. 

If you're a Neil Young fan, you need to check out his "Le Noise" album and you should know that he's releasing a compilation of live songs from the 80s, "A Treasure," many of which are previously unreleased. Watch the tech notes, fascinating and funny.

I <3 Neil Young.