Thursday, October 11, 2012
21st Century Horse (a.k. a. The ChronoHorse)
(If you're here expecting a review of the phenomenal Neil Young & Crazy Horse concert I attended two nights ago, this is not that. It took me about 6 months to rein in my thoughts regarding the last concert I blogged about, expect a similar wait for this one.)
Some will tell you that Neil doesn't cater to the audience at all with the setlists he plays, but that's a misnomer. Neil dedicates a very crucial portion of his sets to the folks in the audience who are only familiar with 5 or less of his 40+ classic albums. In the 70s when he only had a dozen albums, Neil would throw in recent tracks along with the just-released or soon-to-be-released tracks that would define the tour. But somewhere along the line, Neil's never-ending procession of classic songs overtook the scales and there wasn't really room for recent releases anymore. While it's not uncommon for wildcards to appear from any facet of Neil's career, in general even new albums that are very well received lose their slots quickly. You were unlikely to hear any Sleeps With Angels tracks on the Broken Arrow tour, and you won't be hearing any Le Noise songs on the Psychedelic Pill tour.
And hey, the system works. The setlist is cut between brand new material which is destined to please the hardcore fans, and 20 to 40-year-old classics that are destined to please pretty much everybody.
But as a hardcore Neil fan, and I mean a hard. core. Neil fan, Neil's catalog is ever so much more to me than just the new album and the vast array of fan-favorites. As a diehard, I'd be floored by hearing Roger and Out or Goin' Home as much as any dewy-eyed new fan swoons for Heart of Gold or Old Man.
So sometimes I like to fantasize that each of Neil's distinct periods was its own independent band. Each band's discography extends only from one tent pole to the next, and as a result you get to have immaculate, gorgeous setlists of all the best cuts from that period of Neil's brilliant career. Oh and every band is an incarnation of Crazy Horse, my favorite of Neil's myriad forms.
(a space represents a set break, as in an encore)
21st Century Horse
(Silver & Gold through Americana)
Approximate Time: early summer, 2012
Ideal Venue: Chevrolet Amphitheater in Pittsburgh (now defunct).
Perfect Opening Act: Taylor Swift
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1. High Flyin' Bird
2. Shock & Awe
3. Carmichael
4. Hitchhiker
5. Tom Dula
6. Bandit
7. Clementine
8. Goin' Home
9. Razor Love
10. Be The Rain
11. Walk With Me
12. The Restless Consumer
13. No Hidden Path
14. Travel On
^ This set would be a ferocious storm of guitar jams. To hear one set with both Goin' Home and No Hidden Path would be beyond dreamy, add in the underrated 5-star tracks off of Living With War and it's off the charts. The crisp groove of High Flyin' Bird and the wayward spunk of Travel On provide undivided perfection re: an opening and closing track, while the powerfully anthemic chorus and inevitable feedback mayhem that Crazy Horse would lend to Walk With Me makes it a delicious set-closer.
Possibly for nostalgic reasons, this music feels perfect to me for that great early summer atmosphere, where as the sun sets the air gets just the slightest chill running through it, but it's still warm enough to leave your jacket at home. An open air venue would be obligatory, and the powerhouse sounds of Taylor Swift could be a warm-up beyond compare.
Mindless Drifting
(1990s; Ragged Glory through Broken Arrow)
Approximate Time: mid-winter, 1997
Ideal Venue: The Jungle in Pittsburgh (now defunct)
Perfect Opening Act: The Breeders
------
1. Fuckin' Up
2. Peace and Love
3. Slip Away
4. Sleeps With Angels
5. Scattered
6. Scenery
7. Loose Change
8. Music Arcade
9. Driveby
10. Prime of Life
11. Big Time
12. Blue Eden
13. Change Your Mind / Dead Man (extended outro)
14. Love and Only Love
^ This setlist would be the premium, unequaled master of sonic lucidity, just pure on brain-drifting softly down the cosmic river. I didn't focus much on (the obviously brilliant) Ragged Glory because it's very well represented in Neil's real life live sets and because I wanted to maintain the crystalline ethereal mood cultivated by the trio of mid-90s electric records.
This concert would be best suited to the dead of winter, because what it is, is an utter wave of pleasurable, oozing, reverberating audio constantly washing over you for 3 hours. This isn't a summer-fun kind of sound, it's a bundle up under your winter jacket and let your mind fly away from this harsh climate kind of sound. The most amazing venue would be this short-lived venue I saw Jonny Lang at in the mid-00s. The place felt like a big abandoned warehouse, the only place we had to see was atop a myriad of pool tables all across the venue (why, I have no idea). The music just vibrated and echoed and filled out this big wide expanse and it would be the perfect medium for Neil to channel in.
...Haven't done one for the 1980s yet. The 60s and 70s would feel kind of redundant given the focus they already get but I may get around to doing them someday as well. 'Till then, happy horsing!
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