I’ve dreaded writing about Neil Young. Ever since seeing him perform on his summer coast tour, I’ve been asked more than once, “What are you going to write about him? What are you going to say?” I stared at them blank-faced, like a total mouth-breather, and usually said, “I don’t know.” I knew what I felt while watching Young perform for the first time in my life: him alone on stage surrounded by guitars, pianos, and an organ on the stage. But what did I know after Neil Young?
Honestly, I still don’t know – to an extent.
What I do know is that the man behind genuinely life-altering music is still putting on a show. Even when Young goes quiet on stage, he’s still got a lot to say. What a presence. Maybe you can’t help projecting so many thoughts, feelings, and emotions onto the man, considering how long he’s been playing music and the image it has created for him – the guy who knows things.
Then again, at one point during the show at The Greek Theater, a fan shouted, “You’re a national treasure, Neil!” Without missing a comedic beat, Neil backed away from the compliment, raised his hand, and more or less said, “Hey, I’m just passing through.” Passing through, he literally did; later in the night, his tour bus rolled on by and honked pleasantly at gleeful fans walking the streets.
Before Young hit the stage, or let’s say, graced it, Chris Pierce set the tone for the night. What an opening act. The artist sang with both booming and tender soulfulness that captured the audience, especially as the theater filled and the sun rolled down. Like Young, Pierce was playing solo – but he took up the …
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Author: Jack Giroux / High Times
