Neil Young News: Wien (Vienna), Austria - 2/22/08: Concert Reports

Friday, February 22, 2008

Wien (Vienna), Austria - 2/22/08: Concert Reports

"For the second part of the evening, though, no talking was required; Young’s electric guitar spoke more eloquently than any words could have done. When “Hey Hey My My” kicked in the hall just erupted, and there was even an announcement from Young at the song’s end (which presumably he had had relayed to him from the side of the stage), to the effect that the venue management were concerned about the resilience of the floor to too much jumping up and down. (The hall is on the first floor of the centre.) The electric storm didn’t subside until almost two hours later. “Powderfinger” was massive, “Cinnamon Girl” wild, but the undoubted highlight was a song I hadn’t heard before, “No Hidden Path”. This monster proceeded for what must have been at least 20 minutes, with Young spitting molten fire from his guitar every second. Just… immense."

Watch the stage bounce up and down in this video shot from the pit during RITFW. Unreal.

Neil Young will be performing tonight at Austria Center, Wien (Vienna), Austria.

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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25 Comments:

At 2/22/2008 11:22:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Just got back from Vienna (I'm from Czech Republic). Just a short comment before I go to sleep: It was a total blast, Neil was not talking much, but the more he was playing;) People were dancing in the isles since the beginning of the electric part. During Hey Hey, My My everyone was on their feet and dancing crowded in front of the stage (which was literally shaking! - even Neil mentioned something like "don't bring the house down";) The end (Cinnamon Girl, Rockin' In The Free World) was simply unbelievable, Neil tearing most of the strings on old black (or all?), some people even diving from the stage into the crowd in the end! What a night!
At 2/23/2008 04:43:00 AM, Uborka said...: No it’s the day after show, early in the morning, arriving back to Hungary through a rainy night.
I’m wondering why rulers of Austria Center think they can’t drop a sad stir into the water of enormous joy, having seen the fantastic show of Neil. So sad, they could, by organizing parking circumstances the way the Centre did, opening one narrow corridor of paying the parking bill, and then leting all the falks turning round and round for hours while they could free out of the garage.
Well, I don’t know Neil, maybe these circumstances could have been better if visiting Budapest, why Do You Leave Us Alone, not droping any visit to former eastern block?????
But the gig itself was great, comparing sound with that of I’ve herad on Rust Radio recorded in Antwepen, and even in Paris, Neil worked his voice full, not so tired like there, every little point of the songs beated right ont he place it must have been beaten, 1000 % correct it was.
Well, I’m wondering, whether it’s the part of the show, prepared, when Neil seems to ask all his guitars around, thinking along a long while, which one to choose for the next song, but it’s very human, fits well: having conversation with guitars. Choosing pianos, taking second and third circles on stage till choosing one - tasted good as well.
Most probaly, there were some visitors who believed Neil is a singing poet (only that) and when they’ve heard power, and sond of next electric block – they escaped. Yes. This is Neil Young, having two faces, two sound, but each of them correct, sounds fantastic, even after all those years.
What next Neil? Death on stage at age of 100?
Good luck all for the coming years, full of health – and music!
At 2/23/2008 05:18:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Zoli in Budapest :

Bravo neil,the Vienna's concert was awesome!!!! You're 63 years old,but you're the best of the rock music!!!! Thank You Neil!

We Love You!!!!
At 2/23/2008 06:05:00 AM, thom said...: the concert itself was absolutely brilliant, really (well, that´s what everybody expected anyway). neil was totally into it, right from the start. he really seemed to enjoy himself, though he wasn´t talkative at all, in fact he didn´t speak a single word during the acoustic set.
but i think that was mostly because of the audience. they were enthusiastic - but noisy - and a bunch of people were downright dumb. some seemed to have confused this event with some kind of german schlager party. like the idiot who screamed out for "california sunset" - like as he wanted to show the crowd that he knew more neil albums than the greatest hits cd. just annoying and embarrassing. typically austrian..
the electric set was stunning, one of the highpoints to me were definitely the blistering "down by the river", "hey hey, my my", "powderfinger" and "no hidden path" (maybe my favourite of neil´s newer ones). oh, i forgot to mention that "separate ways" made a surprise appearance during the acoustic set (tour premiere..??), very nice!
as i´ve said, all in all a great show (excluding the audience, or at least parts of it). the sound was good, though it could have been a little bit louder. this was the third time i´ve seen neil live, and HOPEFULLY not the last..
if you have a chance to see him on this tour - do it. it doesn´t get any better than this, it´s impossible..
cheers, thomas
At 2/23/2008 07:13:00 AM, Jan-Philipp said...: The jam in the parking garage was of course not really helpful, but i doubt that hungarian infrastructure would be any better, when it's a thousand cars wanting to leave same moment.

Yesterday's concert in Vienna was simply astonishing. The great gap between first and second half, starting with the acoustic and western part, to continue with the rocking part, to end with an explosive encore! awesome, can't find no words to describe it.

Short review of the concert: Neil wasn't to communicative, but had the laughs on his side for "The people here are a bit worried but their floor", when the ground literally started to shake during "Hey, Hey, My, My". Also fascinating were "After the Gold Rush" and "Harvest", whereas "A man needs a maid" did lack some harmonics, the strings-synth wasn't assembled correctly, I suppose.
I also liked the performance of his new songs ("Dirty Old Man", "Spirit Road" and "No Hidden Path"), but my top three are: "Mr Soul,", "Down by the River" and "Hey,Hey,My,My". Also "Powderfinger" was a very rockin' experience.
In my opinion "Cortez the Killer" instead of "Cinnamon Girl" would have made up the one percent, that would have led to 100% greatness, but what shalls!!

Neil, you are truly unique!

Cheers
Jan-Philipp, Graz(AUT)
At 2/23/2008 07:56:00 AM, RubyInTheDust said...: What an amazing experience- really. It's so astounding how Neil can still rock... you couldn't see the 62 years at all! When he started the electric set with Mr.Soul- that was a blast! The sound of his guitars was simply fab, everybody jumped out of their seats. But it was soooo funny when some of the guys in the audience left (or wanted to leave) after the acoustic set- eerrrm... what was that???!! I suppose they were just waiting for Heart of Gold and then having enough or something... lol
Also the acoustic set was very nice-I didn't expect Dont let it bring you down - one of my all-time favourite songs. It was like "wooaah". Honestly, I had to cry when he did A man needs a maid, this song has something that's just too beautiful to express. Ambulance Blues surely was a highlight, the audience went completely silent, all eyes on Neil... excellent!
Yeah, some of those shouters were quite annoying (especially the one screaming "california sunset" all the time)*rolleyes*

But all in all- 100% rockin!! Woooohohoo
At 2/23/2008 08:54:00 AM, thom said...: i heavily doubt that the fans around the world are interested in the problems in the parking lot last night..
cheers, thomas
At 2/23/2008 10:38:00 AM, Phil said...: this was my very first neil young concert. and what a night it was. the acoustic set was wonderful, very nice song selection ("don't let it bring you down" was amazing and "mellow my mind" he played on banjo). though, I have to agree strongly, that all those people shouting out songs and yelling around while he was singing really destroyed the atmosphere. he didn't seem too bothered by it though, walking around the stage nice and slow, taking his time. so wonderful.
when the electric set launched with "mr. soul" I could hardly believe what I was seeing. it was such a joy to see him up there just rocking out. amazing. again, the song selection was great. I hadn't been all that crazy about his newer songs like "no hidden path" and "dirty old man" before, but he completely blew me away with those. and to hear "down by the river", "powderfinger" and "cinnamon girl" among many other great songs was a huge delight.

nobody does it the way he does. rock on!

phil (scharnstein, austria)
At 2/23/2008 10:58:00 AM, Michael said...: This was the fifth time I saw Neil live, and while he was a class of his own at every gig I had the pleasure of seeing before, the one yesterday in Vienna was paramount.

As someone above already mentioned, Neil really seemed to enjoy himself, and the audience could feel that every minute of his fantastic show. Be it the acoustic part in which his performance captivated by the sheer soul he put in every song or the blasting electric part blistering with power and energy, it can't get any better.

Perhaps the most astonishing fact of it all is that Neil is in his sixties - and still able to deliver a performance that left nobody on their seats.

The audience reflected his almost unique status as one of the last true musical giants - his fans range from teenagers to people of Neil's age and beyond, and nobody was able to resist the magic of Neil's performance.

Let's hope he'll keep on rocking like he does for many years to come - there simply is and never will be anybody to replace this living legend.
At 2/23/2008 02:28:00 PM, matt said...: Sounds like it would be worth it to see, for half the price
At 2/23/2008 02:36:00 PM, Anonymous said...: The Vienna show last night was just awesome. Pure rock´n´roll. No security guys around. A shaking venue. The ultimate song selection. The audience went crazy. And finally after all these years of good but not great live shows(eg Greendale) Neil back to form. The accoustic part - especially Ambulance Blues - was a moving performance and true Neil. However, the electric part made up for everything (eg a string of mediocre records over the last years). The moment when Old Black took over was unbelievable and a journey through the past. Abusing Neils own words: "Back in the old Live Rust/Weld days. The air was magic when we played." To sum it up, Neil is the greatest musician of the world.
At 2/23/2008 04:32:00 PM, Anonymous said...: What a performance yesterday evening in Vienna!
There were nearly no words from Neil through the show, but you could feel his energy through his songs. The acoustic part held us on our seats with ears wide opened and gazing at the stage, where he had his special communication with his guitars. And then the second part: Hey Hey, My My as the turning point - from that moment on you just couldn't sit any longer, you had to get the rhytm of Neil's music leading the crowd. Such a good energy! - who, for God's sake, could get anoyed because of the jams in the garage etc., when the Neil's evening was so unbelievable great. Worth every cent and 500 kilometres long journey through the night to get home again. Neil was with us on the way, Neil is with us today. Thank you Neil and keep on rockin'!
At 2/23/2008 05:22:00 PM, Anonymous said...: here is an audience recording of the concert (mp3):

http://www.sendspace.com/file/j4himp

qualits isn't too bad. enjoy!
At 2/23/2008 05:41:00 PM, Peter said...: Yes yes yes! It was a night to remember, that’s for sure. Plus! Even the ever-so-dull austrian audience seemed to wake up at last after “Hey Hey my my”… ;)
At 2/23/2008 06:44:00 PM, Vaclav said...: Dance, Dance, Dance & Rockin´
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd4DmPA6hrw
Magnificent experience!
At 2/23/2008 06:48:00 PM, Anonymous said...: my goodness, it was simply amazaing. superb concert. thanks neil, keeep on rockin´!!!:-)
and yes, it was worth every kilemeter we´ve took to get there (narly 900km from croatia)
At 2/24/2008 07:55:00 AM, Horst said...: My concert review is here:
http://www.aardvark.at/blog/archives/2008/02/002156.html
At 2/24/2008 10:14:00 AM, Anonymous said...: It was really a once in a lifetime experience! I got into Neil's music about 12 years ago (I'm 31 now) and this was the first time I was able to see him live.

It was sooo very good and I really enjoyed both sets. The way he performed the acoustic-set was so beautiful and his singing was way better than I had expected.

And then the electric part with one of my faves (Hey Hey, My My) and such an energy. The building was literally shaking and I was really a bit worried that the floor may collapse because I think this big conference hall wasn't built for the purpose that a thousand ore more people are jumping around at the same time :)

Just mindblowing what energy this guy has to offer at the age of 62. Seeing him perform makes most of the young and trendy bands look pathetic.

Greetings to you all and I think we really spent a beautiful night together.

Peter from Hungary

Peter
At 2/24/2008 02:53:00 PM, Anonymous said...: ANYONE GOING TO COPENHAGEN?

Yeh yeh yeh, I know this is not the place for this...but I'm willing to try anything, so here it goes...

I've got an extra ticket for friday, the 29th of february. Pretty good seat too, 13th row on the floor. I am trying to trade it for a ticket for the show on thursday, the 28th. About any seat will do...

So, ticket for a ticket, no money involved...

Just in case: WILL TRADE FRIDAY'S (29 02) TICKET FOR THURSDAY (28 02)TICKET!!!

If interested, contact me at:

arje@hotmail.com
At 2/24/2008 07:12:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Hi everyone!
Wienna was the densest set of jams ever. Seen and said enough. Truly amazing.
jure
At 2/25/2008 03:23:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Came all the way from Sweden to see Neil in Vienna and he didn´t let me down, totally mindblowing!The floor was bouncing so much that even Ralphs drums were moving! The stage crew spoke to Neil if he could calm us down saying they were worried about the building. Neil ripped of all guitarstrings on old black at the ending of rockin in the free world, i´m stunnd.

thanks neil
At 2/28/2008 03:04:00 AM, Anonymous said...: I know Neil from my 16 (now I'm 42) and this was the first time I saw him. I came to Vienna from Greece and it was a great concert. It was an unforgetable night.Bravo Neil
At 2/28/2008 01:28:00 PM, Anonymous said...: i have no words for this concert, exept that i will never have go to another concert for the rest of my life. Whats the use...

Thank you Neil... from the bottom of my heart thank you!
At 3/02/2008 06:11:00 PM, Anonymous said...: yes
At 3/04/2008 06:46:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Great concert.

During the first set there were some teenagers next to me in the 3rd row who seemed quite bored, talking loud and booing neil and were finally asked to be silent by the security staff and then left the seats.

Later I saw one of them stage diving so I guess there were there for the second set which was amazing. Neil playing 5 meters from me and almost hitting my head with guitar will never be forgotten.

If I'm right - this was also the longest concert in the continental tour thus far (25 songs).

I've just downloaded the whole set and it sounds even better after few days.

Cheers from Budapest!!!

Tibor