Well...please forgive your formerly faithful Neil correspondent; I've been quite remiss in my duties. One tour had ended and another has begun since my last dispatch. Oh, the perils of summer distractions! Blame it on the weather, cabins in the midst of God's country, lakes replete with teeming pan fish, yard work, concerts, outdoor festivals and Kraig Johnson (although not necessarily in that order).
The European NY solo acoustic tour ended in fine fashion after two 3 night stands in Dublin and London, and 3 final shows in Manchester, Antwerp and Paris. The "Greendale" material continued to delight, confuse and confound the audiences while garnering very positive reviews in the fickle Euro music press. Neil continued to interact with fans and hecklers alike during the show resulting in many, many memorable, if not classic, moments.
The "Greendale" set - 90 minutes and 10 songs long with extensive commentary/intro/narration segments - made it through all 22 Euro dates intact. The songs themselves didn't change, nor did the gist of the narration, a remarkable display of determination and patience on Neil's part considering the circumstances. I've listened to this material countless times over the last 4 weeks and I must say I've got profoundly mixed feelings. Generally, the musical performances are almost universally beyond reproach. Indeed, there's some stuff here that is genuinely exciting and moving, stoking the same kinda buzz that I've been getting from Neil since 1968. Still, the "message," such as it is, and the overall "vibe" of this "musical novel" is more problematic for me. Too didactic, too "stagey," too hippy-dippy, too friggin' _Broadway_ I say to myself sometimes. Other times I honestly think it's some of the most amazing music I've heard in years. Much of my discontent is on a purely political level; this could very well be Neil's most overtly socio-political work ever. While much of "Greendale" has been dismissed by some as mere Environmentalist pseudo-propaganda, that assessment, IMO, is laughably simplistic. I'm pretty sure that much of Greendale is in fact Neil's delayed reaction to recent world events dating back to 9/11 and before. But I'm certainly not writing it off at such an early date. This stuff obviously has been brewing inside of Neil for some time and it would be absurd to treat it so lightly. Hell, there's material that Neil did when I was in high school that still challenges and amazes me today, including lots of things that I used to think I didn't like so much.
As for 2nd set news, the songs and general running order remained largely the same as the tour progressed, with a few notable moments:
* at two shows, "Feel Your Love," from the dreadful CSNY "American Dream" album, was performed. While easily the best performance on that best forgotten album (although I have a strong personal attachment to the song "This Old House," especially the spellbinding renditions on the 1985 Int'l Harvester Tour that I was lucky enough to have enjoyed), this song is nonetheless yet another LNC (lost Neil classic), just one of so many from Neil's nearly 40 year back catalog. Never performed live before, which is kinda strange since the other 2 NY songs from "American Dream" (the title song and "In the Name of Love") were performed in 1987 on the Euro and US Crazy Horse tours. Most casual fans, as well as quite a few hard core Neil-heads, likely thought this was a new one after the Dublin and London outings.
* at the tour's penultimate show in Antwerp, the 2nd set setlist largely got tossed aside. For the only time on the tour, "Lotta Love" didn't open the 2nd set, instead being replaced by "Tell Me Why." The tour's only "Razor Love" and "Powderfinger" followed, and the encore included a very surprising "The Old Laughing Lady" right before the obligatory "Heart of Gold" finale.
* At the tour finale in Paris, an alternately defiant / jubilant Neil essentially mimicked the setlist of the opening date in Stockholm with the notable addition (and tour debut) of "Winterlong," one of my all time fave Neil songs (not to mention one of my all time fave Jayhawk's covers, sung by some guy who's not in the band anymore).
The Euro tour will be remembered as one of the most shocking / surprising / notable chapters in Neil's career. The sheer audacity of debuting such a huge chunk of new material to unsuspecting audiences is an event (of the season) that those who were lucky enough to witness will never forget.
Next up: a prophetic dream by Neil, getting the Horse out of the barn, a cast of thousands and an assault on the diseased corporate rock environment (can you say "Clear Channel?") as Greendale heads for the Colonies.
"Stay in your homes - we're here to liberate you!"
(Neil Young - "Greendale" 2003)
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