Massey Hall is a magical place. I
saw Neil Young perform last night for an imperative cause. My cheeks were in
high colour and I kept feeling like I was going to cry. Why? Because I love him
and I can’t stand the thought of losing him.
Neil Young is an amazing man. Musician (guitarist, pianist, organist, harp player, etc.), performer, writer, inventor, environmental activist… The list goes on. Genius might be the right word. I adore him. Am I making that clear?
What a night! The audience was energized and receptive. If you have the CD Live at Massey Hall 1971, you might get the idea of what it was like to be there with Neil in 2014. Highlights for me were hearing “On the Way Home” and “Helpless” back-to-back, “Old Man,” “A Man Needs a Maid,” “Ohio,” and “Heart of [freaking] Gold”!!
The evening ended with the perfect encore: “Comes a
Time” (one of the only Neil Young songs that I can play comfortably on the
uke) and “Long May You Run”(I love the little nod to the Beach Boys in
that song: “Caroline, No”). I realize that I’m practically naming the entire
set list. Truly though, I loved it all. What a treat! Whenever I think of
complaining about anything for the next while I’m going to remember that I saw
Neil Young at Massey Hall and know that dreams really do come true. The song
that’s in my mind this morning though is “After the Gold Rush.” Neil revised
the lyrics last night to “Look at Mother Nature on the run / in the 21st century.” With the tar sands issue in Alberta and recent
talk of recruiting astronauts for a mission to Mars, the song seems chillingly premonitory.
Because I didn’t get to sleep until after 2:00 a.m. last night (I was too wired!), I briefly considered driving my daughter to school this morning. Remembering the message last night though, we bundled up and walked instead with the sun in our eyes, crunching ice underfoot, and beautiful music in my mind.
“All in a dream, all in a dream / the loading had begun / They were flying Mother Nature’s silver seed / to a new home in the sun.”
Neil Young is an amazing man. Musician (guitarist, pianist, organist, harp player, etc.), performer, writer, inventor, environmental activist… The list goes on. Genius might be the right word. I adore him. Am I making that clear?
What a night! The audience was energized and receptive. If you have the CD Live at Massey Hall 1971, you might get the idea of what it was like to be there with Neil in 2014. Highlights for me were hearing “On the Way Home” and “Helpless” back-to-back, “Old Man,” “A Man Needs a Maid,” “Ohio,” and “Heart of [freaking] Gold”!!
Because I didn’t get to sleep until after 2:00 a.m. last night (I was too wired!), I briefly considered driving my daughter to school this morning. Remembering the message last night though, we bundled up and walked instead with the sun in our eyes, crunching ice underfoot, and beautiful music in my mind.
“All in a dream, all in a dream / the loading had begun / They were flying Mother Nature’s silver seed / to a new home in the sun.”