Crazy Old Neil

Whoooaaah...

I retract the words about the NIN concert being the best I've seen (though it's definitely a close second) : Neil Young at the Bell Centre last Monday was just surreal.

From the opening song, Ragged Glory's "Love and Only Love" - which might just have become my favorite song of the moment as it's been in my head all week - up to the end, Neil just kept the crowd on its toes, starting with a nice repertoire of his songs, going acoustic for a few - yeah, we got "Needle and the Damage Done" -, then coming back for a couple of his best electric stuff. The crowd was the best I've ever seen. Period. All ages, yet, a lot of young people, surprisingly.

As for the sound, it was perfect, loud but just right, leaving you afterwards with the nice feeling of having witnessed something great. Nice use of giant screens, but since I was so close - again, something like fourth row on the left - I only looked at them when Neil went back behind his amps, where I couldn't see him, to play piano.

One comment though. Nothing, going to a concert, is gonna beat the crazy snarl I had on my face during all of Rockin' in the Free World. It was so unbelievable, I was literally laughing myself to tears during that song. The best song I've ever heard in concert. Neil being so into it like he just wrote it minutes ago, and, on top of that, a crowd pumped as I've ever seen. Pearl Jam covers that song - nice nod - but they only give it 10% the power of Neil's version: his is loud, heavy as f**k and mean.

Never gonna miss an opportunity again to see Uncle Neil... and, unfortunately, these chances might be hard to come by in the coming years. However, granted the shape that he's in, and the quality of his performance, I would be surprised to see him go away without a farewell tour.

For you folks that were not there, here are youtube links:







PS: Sorry... tried of find a good version of "Rockin' in the Free World", but nothing on youtube made it justice. Be there next time... :P