Neil Young plays Way uptown Manhattan church
Thursday, December 13, 2007 at 13:23 I had one of those days yesterday. when everything goes wrong and then turns out right i (unless something worse happens in the meantime.)
The day was very stressful and I did not sleep the night before. Meetings all morning. I just sat at these meetings and spaced out while looking totally interested. My head hurt and it still does. I had been i.m'ing "WittyPowerlifter" until very late the night before talking about scary movies and concerts.
I was going to see Neil Young on Wednesday night. I was looking forward to this concert for 2 months. Get to the show early, well early for me, 7:30 p.m. sharp. Peggy Young was opening for her husband. It was a very cold day in New York.
The concert was being held in an unusual spot, United Palace Theatre, located on Broadway and 175th Street in Upper Manhattan, just north of Harlem. The concert entitled Chrome Dreams. Tickets very expensive. Ranging from $60.00 to $1,000 plus. When I got there a line was forming outside the doors. It looked like an old movie theatre from the outside. Turns out it was, back in the day. The line just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. The temperature dropping dropping and dropping. Cops showed up, tons of them, streets blocked off, fire marshals showed up with fire trucks. What the heck is going on. Now my feet are freezing and I'm not the only person frozen. The line now wrapped around the block. Thousands of people standing on a line in a shaky neighborhood to see Neil Young in the freezing cold. The staff kept coming out to tell us they had no idea what was going on but the show will go on and they will let us enter in no more then 10 minutes. They came out to tell us that for almost 2 hours. Still the Neil Young fans hung tight and stayed on the line freezing. Nothing to say or do but stand there and wait.
Some people went into local bars across the street, but I was in the front of the line and I wanted to get in and was sure I would any second. Not a chance.
At 9:00 the door opened. My fingers and toes were numb. I drank two glasses of wine immediately and ate a hot dog.
Once fans were allowed to enter, it was decided that the opening set would be scrapped and that Young would take the stage directly for a solo acoustic sequence. He didn't disappoint, liberally switching from guitar to piano to banjo on classics such as "A Man Needs a Maid," "Harvest," "Old Man" and "Heart of Gold." Amazing.
The Church was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It was ornate, old and massive. Neil came out immediately and cracked some jokes about him being in big trouble with the New York people and how sorry he was that we had to wait outside for fire code problems, "bullsh*t excuse," but then joked, "unless I catch on fire or something." He also gave appreciation to the intimate venue, saying, "It's great to be able to play like this. [Years ago], I never thought it was going to get any bigger."
Great show. My God to me playing my favorite songs. Act Two was electric. Neil still rocks unlike any other man his age. It is not about age anyway. He is just awesome in every way.
Going back tonight. I hope that this place has its shit together because today it is snowing and freezing! In the end it is all worth it.
Neil put things in perspective right away when he said at least we are all not in a burned out basement in Iraq.
So no more complaining from me. Thanks Neil.
Here is Neil Young's set list: (If you are a Neil fan, please let me know. If you hate him, I don't want to know.)
Acoustic set:
"From Hank to Hendrix"
"Ambulance Blues"
"Sad Movies"
"A Man Needs a Maid"
"No One Seems To Know"
"Harvest"
"Journey Through the Past"
"Mellow My Mind"
"Love Art Blues"
"Old Man"
"Heart of Gold"
Electric set:
"The Loner"
"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"
"Dirty Old Man"
"Spirit Road"
"Bad Fog of Loneliness"
"Winterlong"
"Oh, Lonesome Me"
"The Believer"
"No Hidden Path"
Encore:
"Cinnamon Girls"
"Don't Cry No Tears"
"Like a Hurricane"
Reader Comments (4)
Tell me it isn't so.
A
Goodnight.