Neil Young News: Amsterdam, Netherlands - 2/17, 18 & 20/08: Concert Reports

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Amsterdam, Netherlands - 2/17, 18 & 20/08: Concert Reports

Photo by Roel van Dijk

Over on Rust, Roel reports that Amsterdam had 38 different songs in 3 shows!

From For The Sake Of The Song: Neil Inc.:

Read a review today in a Dutch newspaper (I can read that language pretty well, happens to be my mother tongue) of Neil Young´s first concert of three in Amsterdam. It was extremely positive, which didn´t surprise me really as Neil is one of the few dinosaurs who still delivers the goods, live as well as on album. But I was kind of shocked about an observation the reviewer made in this article. He noticed that although Young (´62) is one of the few old rockers who potentially doesn´t only attract his own generation but also an audience much younger than himself, there weren´t any youngsters to be found at the show. Reason: a ticket price of - drumroll - 140 Euro ($ 205). Now I haven´t been to any major rock shows lately but I sure hope such a pricetag isn´t the norm these days. Makes you wonder who actually demands that kind of money, Neil Inc. or the promotors... Anyway, guess I won´t be seeing Neil live sometime soon. But it got me to thinking: for what shows would I fork over such an amount of money? Dylan in a small club probably, and that´s it. "

All we can say is Dylan and Young in a small venue: priceless for the turnstiles.

From concert review of Amsterdam, Netherlands - 2/18/08 a comment by Anonymous:

"After the break Neil returned and then he (as we say in Holland) put 'de klok op rock'. Though I love acoustic-Neil I really dig Rockin'Neil very much. Highpoint was his last song, an epic version of NO HIDDEN PATH. Proving Neil can still write great songs he really played great guitar on this song and transcenden me (us?) to a different parallel universe, called Neil Country. Haha, no it was really superb and also nice to watch how the band followed Neil as he kept thinking of new ways to abuse is guitar and strangle new notes from it...."

From rust: first night in Amsterdam *spoiler* by Roel:

"Neil's show started off weird. The press photographers lined up all in front of Neil, on the left and the right. They were taking a lot of pictures and walking around, and also pushing each other. Finally they started talking to each other and there was another drunk guy in the crowd yelling. Neil was distracted and clearly fucking up the song a bit, and at the end he just stopped it! Then he went: (this is a not an accurate quote) 'Shut up, asshole, all the clicking and then you guys start talking to each other. These people paid a lot of money to be here.' (he got up, waving the photographers away!), and said: 'I usually finish the first song. I will not play another song until all of you have left.' (woohoo!) The crowd went wild! Then he said: 'Well, that felt good!' (crowd laughing)."

rust : Message: Buzzing in Amsterdam by Carl
rust : Message: late night Amsterdam review 18/2 *spoiler*

Neil Young will be performing tonight at RAI Theater, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Got a report? Drop a comment below. No registration required. Don't worry about perfect English.

Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates. Also, see Statistics on Numbers On The Site and Grid Chart on Rust Radio.

Also, see Neil Young 2008 Europe Tour and Concert Reviews and the right, middle sidebar for updates.

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41 Comments:

At 2/18/2008 06:35:00 AM, rdvdijk said...: This was a great show!

02-17-2008, RAI Theater, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
w/ Rick Rosas, Ben Keith, Ralph Molina, Anthony Crawford & Pegi Young

1. From Hank To Hendrix
2. Ambulance Blues
3. Sad Movies
4. A Man Needs A Maid
5. No One Seems To Know
6. Harvest
7. Journey Through The Past
8. Mellow My Mind
9. Love Art Blues
10. Don't Let It Bring You Down
11. Cowgirl In The Sand
---
12. Mr. Soul
13. Don't Cry No Tears
14. Dirty Old Man
15. Spirit Road
16. Bad Fog Of Loneliness
17. Winterlong
18. Oh, Lonesome Me
19. The Believer
20. No Hidden Path
---
21. The Loner
22. Cortez The Killer
At 2/18/2008 06:38:00 AM, rdvdijk said...: Neil told off the rude and noisy press photographers during the first song, it was a cool "Shut up, asshole!" moment. After he sent them all away he said something like: "That felt good..". The audience appreciated it.

The show was just magnificent. Neil was in a good mood, and played an excellent Cowgirl In The Sand. The Cortez The Killer was a weird, fast version, but better than the one he did in Antwerp last week.
At 2/18/2008 07:26:00 AM, Hoshisato said...: Just read the review in de Volkskrant and the concert got a very mediaocre review there (sorry, Dutch only).
I usually don't bother too much with what the critics write but I wasn't too impressed with Neil's latest record either while I'm usually his biggest fan. I'm still trying to make up my mind to pay £145 for tickets here in London (times two) or to skip this tour and buy a Blu-ray DVD player instead :-)
At 2/18/2008 10:38:00 AM, Anonymous said...: You should buy tickets for London AND a blue-ray DVD player ;-)
At 2/18/2008 11:32:00 AM, Anonymous said...: If you were at all a true Neil fan, you wouldn't have to think twice about whether to spend the cash on the tickets. This is not the kind of tour you would ever want to miss. With the song selections,intimate setting,and the fact that Neil isn't getting any younger,I would strongly recommend dishing out the dough. I'm in the US. I caught 1 show in CT, and 2 shows in NYC. Worth every penny!
At 2/18/2008 01:29:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Yes,only a TRUE Neil fan always unquestioningly shells out whatever Neil is demanding for whatever he's doing at the moment. How dare you be discerning?!
At 2/18/2008 03:51:00 PM, RSS said...: have 2 tix row 3 Wednesday night. Cant wait. My Brother couldn't come over from the states so I am thinking about bringing my 17 year old son. wadda you think.

Thinkling of the march 15 show in london too with a buddy there.

If you can go.....GO

i'll post after the show
At 2/18/2008 05:17:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Good idea to take your son. I was there Sunday with my 18-year old son, he (we) loved it.
About bringing our sons to Neil, I quote Neil's words as spoken in one of his shows in Antwerp: "see some young people in the house tonight. Makes me wonder... did you come with your daddy? To see what your daddy liked, or what? Huh huh... Is it a history thing?"
For me and my son: yesterday Neil wrote history indeed!
At 2/18/2008 09:41:00 PM, rdvdijk said...: EXCELLENT show tonight. Can't believe it.

02-18-2008, RAI Theater, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
w/ Rick Rosas, Ben Keith, Ralph Molina, Anthony Crawford & Pegi Young

1. From Hank To Hendrix
2. Ambulance Blues
3. Kansas
4. A Man Needs A Maid
5. Try
6. Harvest
7. After The Goldrush
8. Mellow My Mind
9. Stringman
10. Love Art Blues
11. Heart Of Gold
12. Old Man
---
13. The Loner
14. Don't Cry No Tears
15. Dirty Old Man
16. Spirit Road
17. Bad Fog Of Loneliness
18. Winterlong
19. Oh, Lonesome Me
20. Powderfinger
21. No Hidden Path
---
22. Cinnamon Girl
23. Rockin' In The Free World
At 2/18/2008 11:28:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Hoshisato,

I saw Neil in the USA, you should read some of the sterling reviews written on this site ... this is a tour for the ages. One of the biggest surprises was how GREAT his new tunes sound live .... he brought them to life in amazing ways. This is a can't miss opportunity to see him in small venues playing old classics and soon to be new ones.
At 2/19/2008 02:22:00 AM, A. said...: The concert was amazing. There were plenty of "fathers and sons" there. After seeing the different set lists from the 2 night so far, it makes me really wish I'd had tickets for ALL the nights here in Amsterdam! What a great event.
At 2/19/2008 05:34:00 AM, Anonymous said...: It was a great show, I'm still dreaming, what a night!!
At 2/19/2008 06:39:00 AM, Anonymous said...: P.S: I'm an 18-year old girl.
At 2/19/2008 06:57:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Neil played live Stringman only 8 times in 32 years, before Amsterdam second show. I really wish I could be there.
Victor "looking for sunday"
At 2/19/2008 08:45:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Sure worth the admission price!

E.
At 2/19/2008 08:57:00 AM, Big said...: I don't know what the newspaperboys
looked at the first night, but the second night in Amsterdam Neil blew us away.Right from the first song "from Hank" he was totally in it. Men what a passion. Sure the highest notes are not always there and the ticket price is to high but his playing is unique!!!!!
As a a fan i have to saÿ: He Still Rocks....
At 2/19/2008 12:38:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Unrelated, but interesting from BBC News website:

Toshiba drops out of HD DVD war.

Toshiba will stop making its HD DVDs, ending a battle with rival format Blu-ray over which would be the standard.
At 2/19/2008 01:28:00 PM, Anonymous said...: That's great news! For sure we could expect this after Warner did choose for Blu-ray. Amazing. It means that Apple computers will finally include Blu-ray in their new MacPro's. Besides that there's somebody thinking about releasing his "Archives" on Blu-ray into the market (BECAUSE SOUND MATTERS). He doesn't have to wait anymore, the battle between Sony and Toshiba is over. The "Archives" are coming....
Okay, I personally was waiting for a MacPro with Blu-ray as well as for the "Archives" (all volumes).... and in the meantime I have to wait almost twentyfour hours to take my seat in the second row... The newspapers in the Netherlands had very mixed reviews about the first night, some good, some bad, and all are mentioning the f***ing money one had to pay to get in. Forget this please. It's a great pleasure and honour to see one of the greatest artist ever to live on this planet performing a couple of his songs at a nice venue.
At 2/19/2008 05:14:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Well what a great gig this was (2nd night in Amsterdam). It looked as if Neil never wanted it to end and, in fact, I missed the last train home and had to sleep under an Amsterdam bridge (just kidding, at least the last part).

After the Dutch mixed reviews in the papers I have to say I disagree: at least the second night Neil's playing was superb, he really enjoyed it, even talked a lot between the songs and even gave some autographs (en passant).

10 songs different than the first night, including oldies as Stringman, Old Man and The Loner. Neil asked us not to use our cell phones for recording etc., and of course I obliged. He never though mentioned a digital camera, so expect 11 clips on YOU TUBE any time now!

Lots of cosy chitchat between songs, about malfunctioning sound ( "we strive for the best"), the pleasures of Amsterdam ("besides the free drugs and girls behind windows I really like your sense of humour"). When somebody shouted he'd use the banjo he repleid "I will, but not now...". Then he wanted to play an old song but was afraid he might not remember the words. Somebody shouted "we'll help you Neil!" and he replied"I know...." It was funny all around.

Ah, the music... Was a bit disappointed with Peggy (sorry), thoght it was a bit standard fare, well played but not very exciting. I'd rather see Ilse DeLange as support there!! Neil made this feeling go away, pretty quick though. Strolling on the stage from guitar to piano and back again, just as if he really decided on the spot which tune he'd play. Of course we know better, but still it looked pretty cool and convincing.
Great versions of STRINGMAN, HEART OF GOLD and AMBULANCE BLUES.

After the break Neil returned and then he (as we say in Holland) put 'de klok op rock'. Though I love acoustic-Neil I really dig Rockin'Neil very much. Highpoint was his last song, an epic version of NO HIDDEN PATH. Proving Neil can still write great songs he really played great guitar on this song and transcenden me (us?) to a different parallel universe, called Neil Country. Haha, no it was really superb and also nice to watch how the band followed Neil as he kept thinking of new ways to abuse is guitar and strangle new notes from it....

Despite lowering the organ for LIKE A HURRICANE, the band ended the night with CINNAMON GIRL and a rousin'version of ROCKIN'IN THE FREE WORLD. Well, it wasn't free of course, but well worth every penny!
At 2/19/2008 06:21:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Visited the 19 february concert in Amsterdam too. Great sound, great performance. Highlights for me were Ambulance Blues (superb), Old Man, Powderfinger, Spirit Road and No Hidden Path. But there really was a lot more to enjoy. Take only Oh, Lonesome Me. Not my alltime favorite, but Neil sang it wonderfull tonight. Is there some possibility of a dvd of this great tour?
At 2/19/2008 07:22:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I have an extra ticket for the 20th at RAI, but no-one to bring yet.
I'm not asking for much for the ticket, maybe a drive there, or taxi
fare home to leidseplein - you must be a big fan of course (I'm not
sure how I'll be able to tell lol)

send email to gavinonymous'at'hotmail.com subject Neil at RAI

p.s. I'm leaving Canada for Amsterdam tomorrow, sorry for the short
notice, I just found out myself that I'm going!
At 2/20/2008 06:35:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Hi everyone
Just a quick question having looked at the set lists from Holland. This song Kansas, where is it from? is it another of Neil's unreleased gems or do I just not have it yet?
Many thanks, can't wait for London on the 8th.
Sean
At 2/20/2008 06:46:00 AM, rdvdijk said...: Kansas is from the mid seventies. It was scheduled to be released on Homegrown, but that album was canceled eventually.

It appeared again on the 1999 tour, when Neil was browsing through his book of songs, and came across Kinda Fonda Wanda and Kansas :-) He played it later that tour.

This was the 6th known performance of the song. And it was magical.
At 2/20/2008 11:59:00 AM, Anonymous said...: 'Fathers and sons'???
I saw fathers and daughters and Mothers and daughters and brothers and sisters.. at shows in the US.

Neil has truly an ageless audience and would have moreso if the tickets weren't so freaking expensive--not that he doesn't deliver the goods.

Enjoy the Europe leg of the show. Time to begin that Blue-Ray hunt...

-Chicago
At 2/21/2008 04:45:00 AM, RSS said...: OK Boys and girls, that was just awsome. Last nights show was amazing. Neil played 6 new songs he hadn't played before on this tour.

His acoustic set was really cool, Neil talking to the auidence, talking about getting off of Oil and his comments (widely carried in the press) that songs cant change the world, people must. He said some scientist was going to save the world, songs could only make it sound better.

Old Man as the end of the acoustic set was chilling.

Then he went big bad and electric. He started with Dirty Old Man and it just rocked. Too Far Gone, Powder Finger and No Hidden Path were in this set and they were unbelievable.

His encores of Cinnamon, Rockin' and Sultan just added to the magic.

I was in row 3 dead center with my 17 year old son and it was magical.

Off to London in March with my 15 year old.

Despite the request for no photos or video everyone was and I just followed suit. I have 10 clips of songs to remember this one by.

Thanks Neil.
At 2/21/2008 11:24:00 AM, Colm V said...: I was there in the 18th, wicked show and got plenty of time to get a good buzz on at the wine bar while Peggi was playing. THE SHOW-He was in a great mood and when someone shouted that the sound was crap from the balcony he said he didnt think he was that bad, "no the sound from the speaker, the bzzzzzzz sound," that guy was funney and they had a little conversation. I got a conversation too when he said" ok what will I play now? and I called out "Helpless" and he said "NO". My only conversation with Neil and it was short and sweet. Very funny and thanks for the answer.
At 2/21/2008 11:59:00 AM, rdvdijk said...: Can you believe it? What a show..

02-20-2008, RAI Theater, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
w/ Rick Rosas, Ben Keith, Ralph Molina, Anthony Crawford & Pegi Young

1. From Hank To Hendrix
2. Ambulance Blues
3. Sad Movies
4. A Man Needs A Maid
5. Try
6. Harvest
7. Love In Mind
8. Old King
9. Love Art Blues
10. Don't Let It Bring You Down
11. Campaigner
12. Old Man
---
13. Dirty Old Man
14. Spirit Road
15. Down By The River
16. Hey Hey, My My
17. Too Far Gone
18. Oh, Lonesome Me
19. The Believer
20. Powderfinger
21. No Hidden Path
---
22. Cinnamon Girl
23. Rockin' In The Free World
---
24. The Sultan
At 2/21/2008 12:58:00 PM, Anonymous said...: "Too Far Gone"!!! First time on this tour (No?)
At 2/21/2008 01:38:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Great show! 20-02-2008 Excellent! Amazing! Nice acoustic set including a shakey Old King, Love in Mind and Campaigner with updated lyrics. Neil told us he hadn't been listinging to his own music since 1982! Except when he was still in the studio. But not when it was out on CD.......... "Blu-ray" he said and started another song. The electric part was so shocking great. The full return of Old Black! Started with Dirty Old Man and Spirit Road followed by a big surprise: Down By The River and Hey, Hey, My, My. I loved to hear Powderfinger. And what can I say about this spectacular version of No Hidden Path. I don't know, I really don't know. Sometimes I had the feeling that Neil had gone mad completely, and it really looked like Old Black had overtaken Neil's mind and body. It was so freakin electric! BECAUSE SOUND MATTERS! Can't wait for the Blu-ray!
At 2/21/2008 04:43:00 PM, Espen said...: Im going to see the manchester show and im excited as hell. Right now im listening to the amsterdam show the 18th, and... Well Neil has never been better. He's 62 and rocking out better than anyone. Cant believe that man.
At 2/22/2008 04:48:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Yes, Too Far Gone was the first time this tour. Ans so were Down By The River and Hey Hey, My My. Old King was played twice at the US leg of this tour. Love In Mind he played once on November 2nd 2007 in LA and before that... January 1973... So, it was all very special on 20-02-2008 at the RAI. Two more things: 1) The evening started at 8 pm and ended at midnight, four hours with the Young family! 2) Pegi was a nice starter for the four hours. She mentioned that they changed her set a bit from previous shows, which made it a bit more nicely chaotic like the D.O.M.'s show. And there was a fine moment when she introduced a special guest who would come on stage to play the sitar.... you probably know who played the sitar on her album... but it was Larry this time. Great to see him (also with Neil), the sitar sounded very loud on the second row.
At 2/22/2008 05:12:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Okay, one more thing about 20-02-2008 RAI show.
Neil changed the electric set one time during the show. Nobody in the band knew they were going to play The Believer. This was also the moment when Neil was talking to the drummer and other band members. Larry came on stage for a guitar change but Neil wanted to play The Believer. Pegi had to run to the vibraphone, because she also didn't know. Nice moment. Yes, I mentioned the drummer, don't know his name, because Neil was so excited he forgot to introduce his band this time.... Anyway, it was really great to see Ralph and Neil together during this amazing electric show. It felt like The Horse with Old Black ruling and rocking all over. BECAUSE SOUND MATTERS!
At 2/22/2008 07:38:00 AM, Colm V said...: Neil Said on the 18th that the drummer was his brother, anyone else here this?
At 2/22/2008 08:34:00 AM, rdvdijk said...: He did indeed say Ralph was his brother, but that's a figure of speech. They're not related. They have been playing together for about 40 years, though, so they must feel like brothers!
At 2/22/2008 11:56:00 AM, Anonymous said...: At Espen: is there some place on the internet where you can listen to the concert of february 18th?
At 2/22/2008 12:12:00 PM, Espen said...: Yes it is, and the sound quality is excellent! Either you can download it. Then you need a torrent downloading program like utorrent (direct download link: http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=29330 its all free and easy). When you have a torrent program, visit the great www.rustradio.org, go to "torrent list", and choose your neil young show. The shows from Amsterdam are on the top(right now). It takes about 40 minutes to download the whole show.

OR listen to rustradio where they stream it sometimes. Rustradio is highly recommended! User guide on www.rustradio.org.

Good luck!
At 2/22/2008 12:28:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I'm going to download it right now and enjoy. I was there and it was excellent!!!

Thank you!
At 2/22/2008 01:22:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Again at Esten: For downloading (the concert of february 18th) I need to sign up for a new account on dimeadozen.org, but there are already 100.100 members and they dont allow more. Do you know a general username/password? (or may i use yours ;-)
At 2/22/2008 02:07:00 PM, Espe said...: Im sorry, but i dont have a general un/ps, and i have reached my maximum download limit. I have to upload before i can download again from my account. But if you know of a way i can send it to you let me know. Either way you should be able to create an account, just keep trying (i did).
At 2/22/2008 02:51:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I dont think its possible but you never know: could you send the file to an emailadres? Well, let me know. And meanwhile I'll keep trying to sign up.
At 2/22/2008 04:00:00 PM, Espen said...: Well, that sounds rather unlikely, as i'm afraid the songs takes up almost one gigabyte. So sorry, but good luck with your sign-up.