Neil Young News: Everett, Washington Concert Reports: 10/21/08

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Everett, Washington Concert Reports: 10/21/08

Photo by Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

THE DIFFERENT STAGES MUSIC PROJECT: Neil Young inspires the Everett faithful:

"Neil Young is a GOD. It's that simple.

I don't think I've ever seen a performer more passionate about his music than Neil Young...and from all accounts, he bestows to his fans the same guts as a man approaching his mid-60s that he did 40 years ago.

One of the amazing qualities of a live Neil Young performance is how he seamlessly transitions from the beautiful electric sludge of tunes like "Hey Hey, My My," where his extended solos careen through the auditorium with sounds like a dinosaur moaning in pain from a leg amputation...to the acoustic grace and sentiments of a song like "Old Man."

How can I explain it...Neil Young's sludgy electric brand of rock & roll is the equivalent of a musical axe being swung at your head...and, elated, you can't wait for that blade to chop into your skull...only the blade hasn't been sharpened in awhile, and it has pits and gouges in it...so it just manages to knock off a chunk of your skull...get it? Sure you do.

Concert Review: Neil Young At Comcast Arena, Everett, Washington 10-21-2008 by Glen Boyd:

"What was most noteworthy about this concert wasn’t just that Neil Young’s “Electric Band” sounded like such a razor sharp machine, but that Neil himself seemed to be having such a good time. This showed through in one of the more intense Neil Young performances I’ve ever seen. There were plenty of great Neil Young songs that were not played – among them “Like A Hurricane,” “Cortez The Killer,” and “Harvest Moon.” With a catalog as vast as Neil Young’s, there is just no way that you’re going to get hit with everything in a single night."

HeraldNet: Neil Young, Death Cab for Cutie onstage in Everett review by Andy Rathbun

Thanks rustvision!

Photos by Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Neil Young will be performing tonight at Comcast Arena At Everett, Everett, Washington.

Got a report? Drop a comment below. No registration required.

Check Sugar Mountain for setlist updates. Also, see Grid Chart on Rust Radio.

Also, see Neil Young 2008 Fall North American Tour and Concert Reviews and the right, middle sidebar for continuous real time RSS feed updates.

Links to this post:

<$BlogBacklinkTitle$>: <$BlogBacklinkSnippet$>
posted by <$BlogBacklinkAuthor$> @ <$BlogBacklinkDateTime$>

Create a Link

14 Comments:

At 10/22/2008 02:59:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Great show tonight - The Sultan was back! Neil came in late on the vocals for Cinnamon Girl, stopped after the first verse to 'get it right'.

Love And Only Love / Hey Hey, My My / Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere / Powderfinger / Spirit Road / Cinnamon Girl (false start) / CInnamon Girl / Oh, Lonesome Me / Mother Earth / The Needle And The Damage Done / Unknown Legend / Heart Of Gold / Old Man / Get Back To The Country / Just Singing A Song / Sea Change / When Worlds Collide / Cowgirl In The Sand / Rockin' In The Free World // A Day In The Life // The Sultan
At 10/22/2008 03:51:00 AM, Anonymous said...: I'm glad to hear the Sultan is back. Hope No Hidden Path comes back as well. I'd trade Cowgirl for the way he was playing NHP in 2007 and 2008.
At 10/22/2008 04:05:00 AM, Ben said...: Cowgirl was absolutely insane!
At 10/22/2008 11:20:00 AM, Sweva said...: Great show...it was nice to see him mix it up a bit from his split set at WAMU Theater last year.

This guy bleeds passion...he's so much fun to watch. A guitar tech's nightmare after ripping off all the strings in the encore...to funny!

Nice blog...check out my google blog: The Different Stages Music Project (http://thedifferentstagesmusicproject.blogspot.com/)

I should have an article on the show up in the next 24 hours.
At 10/22/2008 12:44:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Absolutely an amazing show! Neil was awesome, as expected. I saw him at WaMu theater last year and loved that show, but last night, Neil blew me away. He was in a great mood, smiling, making funny gestures to the band. I have to say that I really enjoyed this drummer too. AND, he pulled out The Sultan when a lot of the crowd had started heading for the door. He came back out in just his t-shirt and jeans, and ripped through the final encore, then relunctantly left the stage, and I very relunctantly left the arena, realizing I wanted to see Neil again the next night already. Absolutely loved this concert. (Words can't even describe how I felt watching Neil singing John Lennon.)
At 10/22/2008 01:57:00 PM, KBConsulting said...: It was a great show! One of the best I have seen in years. Here is a clip form the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QR_xDLzDRw
At 10/22/2008 04:37:00 PM, Mike Siebol said...: What an amazing show! Got to love the false start on Cinnamon Girl. He blamed it on the drummer, but he came late on the opening verse. When he stopped he said that it "wasn't good enough for Everett" and just did a killer song. Have to say that, Hey Hey My My, Powderfinger, Just Singing a Song, When Worlds Collide, and A Day in the Life were just amazing.

Neil wasn't very talkative. He introduced the band. Gave a neat little story of how he met his rhythm section. It was at a Farm Aid concert where Rick and Cromwell were playing for Joe Walsh when they had a rotating stage. "This was back when Joe was still drinkin" and they started moving the stage and Joe did not stop playing. "I had to get to know this rhythm section. Maybe we should have rotated them back out." But as Neil said, "Someone said to stick to business, so we'll keep to business. . . this song is dedicated to that person that said to stick to business" and with that, it ended the stories for the night.

I really want to say that Neil was in rare form, but that would be false. He really gives it his all every single concert I have seen him perform (last night was number 8) he burns it up. He starts the concert in a groove, leg doing its thing, Neil moving around the stage like a meat eating dino looking for another vista for Old Black and himself to conquer. Just surreal.
At 10/22/2008 07:36:00 PM, Ben said...: Neil's song dedication was sarcastic, somebody said stick to business, and Neil replied, "This one's for you. I hope you like it" and started playing Heart of Gold.
At 10/22/2008 07:37:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Insane. Just absolutely insane. The shredding of guitar strings, then thumping the guitar on the stand and beating the leftovers of the strings...pure genuis insanity.

Neil out did any guitar work I've ever heard live on his extended Cowgirl in the The Sand.

Still even at 20 songs, I can think of forty others I wish he had played and played like that, Spirit Road fit better than most of his new songs for the way they all just tore it up.

Sea Change and Worlds Collide were odd, Peggy's influence? They just seemed a tad out of place so late in the set when Neil was absolutley on fire. He is way into his groove early in this tour, the rest of the band catching on quick, the rest of the shows should be monster!

Mr. Soul shook the earth last night!
~ Michael

p.s. the fans were so the BEST too! I met so many cool folks and they put up with me being such a NY freak, and I had my freak ON!
At 10/22/2008 10:02:00 PM, Ben said...: Yeah aside from one very drunk guy the fans were really nice, even the indie kids who came for Death Cab.
At 10/23/2008 01:28:00 AM, Anonymous said...: The concert was great--I've wanted to see Neil for many years and this was my first time; so glad I was there. So, what's the deal with the Sultan?
At 10/23/2008 07:53:00 AM, Anonymous said...: i don't understand the second encore :-)

I saw him twice in europe this year and after his first (and only encore) the strings of his guitar were ripped off. so how do i have to picture the second encore. did he left the stage and return for "the sultan". or were just some strings left on his guitar and he has to get rid of them?
At 10/23/2008 11:40:00 AM, Mike Siebol said...: Concerning the second encore: Neil left the stage after ripping the strings off Old Black. Thumping it on the stage and whipping it around (note to band, stage crew, and people close to the stage- when Neil gets into it, the area around Neil becomes a hard hat area, eye protection a must). Then working the broken strings on the pickups was insane.
Larry Craig brought out another guitar for the second encore. Gibson LP plank (like a Special) for the Sultan.
At 10/25/2008 01:34:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Yes, but when he left the stage on Day in the Life, after all the guitar strings were shreded, he actually ended up at the keyboard and struck the last fewe notes of the song. It was sureal. Neil gets better with age somehow. He tore it up. Amazing show.