Neil Young may be best known for the myriad collaborations and associations from his 60 years in music. The iconoclastic Canadian has penned and sung hits with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; recorded and toured with Crazy Horse and Lukas Nelson & The Promise of the Real; gigged with Paul McCartney, Dave Matthews, and Phish; co-founded Farm Aid with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp; been dubbed the “Godfather of Grunge” for his influence on the likes of (and work with) Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, and the Pixies; and even written a soundtrack for filmmaker Jim Jarmusch.
At his core, though, the 77-year-old has been and remains the music world’s most beloved vagabond. It was only fitting, then, when he announced that he would end his four-year touring hiatus by hitting the road with just himself and his instruments (and a toy train set) for his Coastal tour, which began at The Ford in Los Angeles at the end of June and concludes in Lake Tahoe later this month. In between, Neil scheduled two nights at the Greek Theatre near Griffith Park in L.A. The first of those dates featured fond reminiscences of his past gigs at the Greek with CSNY and deep cuts from his extensive repertoire, along with a smattering of fan favorites.
The Toronto native-turned-California resident began the show with “I’m The Ocean” from 1995’s Mirror Ball and “Homefires”, which made its public debut on Neil’s 2020 archives release. He then dug into his Buffalo Springfield bag with “Burned”, which he laid down during his first-ever Hollywood recording session in 1966, and “On The Way Home”.
After unearthing another rarity in “If You Got Love”, Young delved into his Crazy Horse catalog with three tracks from 1994’s Sleep With Angels, “A Dream That Can Last”, “My Heart”, and “Prime of Life”. In between, he hearkened again to Mirror Ball with “When I Hold You In My Arms” and Buffalo Springfield with “Mr. Soul” before embarking on a show-ending run of more recognizable numbers beginning with “Ohio”—his one and only CSNY citation of the night.
From there, Young busted out the tour debut of “Comes a Time”, off the 1978 album of the same name, entered a stirring rendition of “Don’t Forget Love” from 2021’s Barn with Crazy Horse, and had the capacity crowd of 5,700 fans singing along to “Heart of Gold” to close out the main set. Following a brief break, Neil returned to the stage for an encore of “Love Earth” from his most recent album with Crazy Horse, 2022’s World Record, and a cover of the beloved Ian & Sylvia song “Four Strong Winds”.
For anyone who witnessed Neil Young’s run of extended performances at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre in 2014, the style and format of this latest solo show at the Greek would’ve been eminently familiar. Over the course of his 90-minute set, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer shuffled between a grand piano, a tack piano, and an organ, as well as his iconic “Old Black” Gibson Les Paul Goldtop electric guitar and the Martin D-45 acoustic guitar that Stephen Stills gifted to him and his CSNY bandmates in 1969.
All the while, Young showed off his subtly self-deprecating sense of humor as he parried with the audience. He responded to shouted requests to play “Old Man” with assurances that “I’m already doing that,” a punchy reference to his septuagenarian status. Whenever something was off with the tuning of his guitars or the tone of his harmonica, he quipped—to the attendees and his roadies alike—that it wasn’t “gonna work,” while at one point admitting he “might’ve chosen the wrong harmonica.”
“I can blame it on someone else,” he continued, “but probably it was me.”
At one point, Young, clad in his conductor hat, ambled over to an operational toy train set on the stage and joked, “It’s a good thing I don’t feel too rushed up here.” In reflecting on the depths to which he dove into his slate of songs for the show, he noted, “Some of ‘em are still here, and some of ‘em are gone.”
And, in typical Neil Young fashion, he took a moment to acknowledge the climate crisis and the preciousness of Earth by asking the crowd, on more than one occasion, “What’s your favorite planet?”
Indeed, it was vintage Neil, a man and musician embodying an irreverence that is both understated and cheekily brash. At this point in his life, every performance is precious since there is no telling how much longer he and his songs will be around, let alone available to enjoy live.
Fortunately for fans on the West Coast, there are several more opportunities to catch this one-man band before he wraps up this go-round on the road. After a pitstop in San Diego, Neil Young will be back at the Greek Theatre in L.A. on July 13th before heading up to Berkeley, Bend, OR; Ridgefield, WA; Auburn, WA; and Napa, with a concluding performance in Stateline, NV. For a full list of upcoming shows and to purchase tickets, visit his website.
Neil Young – Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – 7/10/23 [Full Show]
[Video: rjrjr8]
Setlist: Neil Young | Greek Theatre | Los Angeles, CA | 7/10/23
Set: I’m the Ocean, Homefires, Burned (Buffalo Springfield), On the Way Home (Buffalo Springfield), If You Got Love, A Dream That Can Last (Neil Young & Crazy Horse), My Heart (Neil Young & Crazy Horse), Throw Your Hatred Down, Prime of Life (Neil Young & Crazy Horse), When I Hold You in My Arms, Mr. Soul (Buffalo Springfield), Mother Earth (Natural Anthem) (Neil Young & Crazy Horse), Ohio (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), Comes a Time (tour debut), Don’t Forget Love (Neil Young & Crazy Horse), Heart of Gold
Encore: Love Earth (Neil Young & Crazy Horse), Four Strong Winds (Ian & Sylvia)
