It had been since 2009, since Neil Young has played Missouri. I'd seen his previous two stops in the state(not counting two Farm Aid appearances in St. Louis in 2009 and KC, Kansas 2011) and will probably see him anytime he comes my way. When this small run of solo dates were announced St. Louis got a date, based on it being a part of Neil's favorite venues in favorite cities. And I scooped up the best tickets I could, as early as I could.
I would up with seats about 15 rows back on the right side and surviving the the nasty rain and road construction on Grand Avenue, me and my dad got there in plenty of time. At 8 PM sharp, the lights dimmed and...we got an opening act. John Hammond, a white blues man, I'd never heard of and never saw anywhere Neil having an opening act. Yea. He was a good player, playing acoustic, harp and a resonator, but I'm not a blues guy, so it sounded monotonous. His part lasted around 30 minutes with eight songs. The gap between his set and Neil's was longer than his set.
The one thing to expect with Neil, is for him to not do what you're expecting of him. Just because it's solo, doesn't mean he's just acoustic. A few years back he made up shirts that read, "I said 'solo.' They said, 'Acoustic.' However, he came out strong in that format with older songs, after a standing ovation before he played a note.
He switched to banjo after four songs, before strapping on his White Falcon, for a stunning Ohio, the highlight of the night. He prefaced it with a segue about playing love songs like that, into a story behind creating Ohio and writing songs that made him an angry. He used that format several other times, leading into more political songs later in the set. Neil never got outright political, but danced around the edges. "...Now you can just make up shit... I don't know.."
Throughout the night, Neil was more festive and talkative than in the previous two shows. He talked multiple times about his guitars and pianos, where he got them and what how they were part of the creative process. And he was very witty and self-deprecating. He even joked that, "Most of the time I don't talk as much, and still don't know what I'm doing. I'm just being honest up here." Part of the madness was him trying to figure out what he was going to do next, as well as issues with harmonicas, needing a different one, putting it in water, etc. Knowing Neil doesn't like fakeness, but a lot seems like it might be part of show and dragging it out. Neil's set-up was adorned by three different pianos, as well as his pump organ, which never got used, which I would say gives a lot of credence to Neil playing it real.
And give me the awkwardness and unique. If there's one thing I despise, is the same "show" different city approach, where even the banter with the audience is the same every city between songs. Everyone likes great sound that is polished, but it lacks that surprise element.
Of course he didn't play all of his hits, though he ended his main set, with The Needle and the Damage Done and Heart of Gold, with five out of the ten songs off of Harvest getting played. And ten of the 18 songs, I hadn't seen him do live.
Which brings me to the worst part of the show. The biggest criticism I have, is that he only played for a little over 90 minutes. Going by older solo shows, he's varied it from 90 minutes to over two hours, so it's in the realm of being a normal show. But for a $165 a ticket, I'd like at least two hours.
And some comments I read on Thrasher's Wheat, laid some possible blame onto obnoxious fans, shouting out crap all night. To be fair they did it the first time I saw him at the Fox in 2007 and the same with Jackson Browne in 2010 there. But they didn't start it until towards the end of the show.( A notable exception was during After The Gold Rush in 2007, where Neil lost his place and had to redo a verse) There were d-bags doing this from the start last night though. I think it's just part of the singer-songwriter concert experience. Especially ones who don't play straight up hits. But maybe it did fluster and annoy Neil. At point he told us, "All that doesn't register up here," though once when someone shouted out about Lincvolt, it did put a smile on his face and led to a story about his electric classic car project. Other cities set lists will show... I
Overall a really good performance, though I think the KC show ranks better at the moment, due to length. And of course there is a still a bucket-list of songs, I'd still love to see him do...
Set List
On The Way Home
Homefires
Love Is A Rose
Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Mellow My Mind
Ohio
There's A World
Love In Mind
Are You Ready For The Country?
Tonight's The Night
Speakin' Out
Angry World
Love And War
Peaceful Valley Boulevard
Out On The Weekend
The Needle And The Damage Done
Heart Of Gold
-------
Tumbleweed
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