brooks@ihuxl.UUCP (09/16/83)
Well even while sitting in the pouring rain and the freezing cold, I still thoroughly enjoyed Neil Young. He is a very personable performer, he appreciates his fans and develops a temporary bond with them during the performance. His show is very spontaneous, in fact at one point he started to play a song and stopped, saying he decided to play something else with a little more energy to keep the people on the lawn warm. However, since I had seen the show before, I knew he substituted the lively song Dance, Dance for the classic Comes A Time, which he never went back to. This is Neil's solo tour, he only had a few backup singers, two pianos and sixteen guitars on stage with him. He used mostly acoustic guitars and the sound was beautiful. He played for 2 hours, but after the second intermission he came back as "Neil and the Shocking Pinks" (off his new album) and played fifties dance music for the last half hour. This music was good and the crowd seemed to like it but I feel he had so much material to choose from, I wish he could have played some of his classics. Also, before the concert and during intermissions, they showed parts of old T.V. shows on this huge TV screen (Sea Hunt, Howdie Doodie, I Love Lucy). Every once in awhile, an announcer who was backstage (Dan Clear) would interrupt and do an interview with either someone from the audience, someone from the band or sometimes Neil himself. This was rather interesting and unique but when Dan Clear started to give instructions an what to do in case there is a nuclear attack during the concert, I thought it was pretty good. All in all, I love early and middle Neil Young. This new stuff from Trans and Neil and the Shocking Pinks is okay but it can't compare with his acoustic guitar/harmonica ballads. I'd urge just about anyone to see him in concert because it's good music, very relaxed and the crowd was tame. Sad 'cause that was my last summer concert, Carole Brooks ihuxl!brooks