I hope you all had a wonderful new year spent with the ones you care most about, reminiscing of the warm times you shared throughout the year that was. My own ringing in of 2009 was overall a little quieter than previous years. I guess you can blame that on the current economical collapse that were in. I was originally intending to spend New Year's Eve in New York City watching MMJ absolutely own MSG. But alas, fate had a different plan for me.... no worries though, thanks to our old friend the internet, we can now all experience their magic together:
Mmmmmm, that's some sexiness right there.
In other Green With Envy news, about a month and a half ago our good friend Richard MacIntosh had the pleasure of attending one of the two Neil Young shows in Toronto. Neil wasn't alone though, he had Chicago's own, Wilco, opening for him. Yes that's right, it's OK, you can puke all over yourself. I certainly did when I first heard about it. Anyways, some of you might remember Richard from when he reviewed an Acid Mother's Temple show for us a little while back. Well, there was no way he was going to this one without reporting back as well. Here's what he had to say about his night of musical purity:
As I walked into the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, with a craving of live music, a friend and myself immediately gain floor access and our night instantly enhances. L.A. rockers Everest opened the festivities with a shocking performance. The California-based band did not disappoint the half-full stadium, with pretty acoustic ballads and long jams induced with a sort feeling that made me believe I’ve seen this band before. But in fact when I tried to find some videos of the band (or lack there of), and despite opening for the well appreciated and impressive likes of My Morning Jacket this past summer in Europe, Everest has still yet to burst through. Their first album, Ghost Notes, was released last May. But in my eyes, they have already made a name for themselves, opening for a massive rock legend and ‘soon to be legends.’ I predict big things for these fellas, as their young and inventive, something the Indie rock world really needs more of... or does it?
Wilco took the stage after the boys from L.A. and put on an exceptional display of musical talent. With the melodic and almost monotone voice of the one Jeff Tweedy, and the satanic guitar playing of Nels Cline, Wilco should have never left the stage. “Handshake Drugs” and “Impossible Germany” truly brought out the genius of Cline’s guitar work, who at times was scaring the livin’ shit out of me. He would get into these ‘trances’ of tainted destruction, where his strumming was jet-speed and his eyes turned utterly demonic. The bands musical talent was really displayed through “Via Chicago”, where at times Tweedy and bassist John Stirrat would keep the bare melody of the tune rollin’ as Cline, drummer Glenn Kotche, pianist Mikael Jorgensen and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone would absolutely lose their minds and create a vicious sound. But the key here, is the band was so tight, that once the abrupt background sound began, Tweedy and Stirrat would not loose their ‘cool’ and kept to the lyrics and slow beat, as the band behind them would go in and out of sanity. After the song was over, I saw the pianist look around in disbelief almost as if he couldn’t believe his band just did that. Other tunes, such as “I’m the Man Who Loves You,” and “Jesus, Etc.” toned down their pulsating sound with a melancholy mix of love and sadness. A couple tunes in Tweedy looked around at the packed ACC, and states, “You can’t get any more Canadian than this... Neil Young in a hockey arena.” The crowd, along with myself, voiced their absolute approval.
After the lively Wilco set, Neil and his hired guns took the stage around 9:00 pm. The applause he received while walking on stage alone, was simply incredible. Despite having seen Neil twice in the past, then and there I realized he really is a Canadian Rock God. Without saying a word, Neil and his talented bunch of musicians, including long-time bassist Rick Rosas, the great Ben Keith on slide guitar/piano, Chad Cromwell on drums, with Anthony Crawford and his beautiful wife Pegi on backing vocals, quickly rocked out to “Love and Only Love.” His initial electric assault, which was capped with the sparking of a little friend name J, last name: Oint, was then followed by a plethora of beauties, including the well-known “Hey Hey, My My”, the short but ‘to die for’ “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.” Oh believe me Neil, I felt like I was in ‘nowhere’ last night. This onslaught continued with the guitar pumpin’ “Powderfinger,” the new but lyrically impressive “Spirit Road,” the soulful and mystical “Cortez The Killer,” which gave me goosebumps and chills right down my spine. Ever since the first time I heard ‘Cortez’ I wanted to hear it live and see Neil play the guitar like it was his magic wand, while singing with his ghastly voice, “He came dancin’ across the water, man.” And boy did I ever achieve that goal last night. He then strummed right into, “Cinnamon Girl,” which I really don’t have to say much about. The song speaks for itself, nothing less than a true beauty . Neil then ripped into his singer-songwriter catalog, with the cool “Oh, Lonesome Me”, the environmentally-friendly “Mother Earth” (with Neil on the organ), the junkie-heartbreaker “The Needle and The Damage Done,” and the love letter that is “Unknown Legend.”
Just when one thought Neil was done with his big hits, he brings out two of the most memorable songs in his repertoire, another crowd pleasin’ karaoke sing-along “Heart of Gold,” and the tune that made Neil who he is today, an “Old Man.” After a few rare but ever so inspiring tunes, such as “Sea Change,” “When Worlds Collide,” and the bluegrassy “Get Back To The Country”, Neil stepped up to the plate in a omnipresent style that blew my mind, body and soul. At the plate, with two outs (figuratively speaking), Neil smashed a single into the general admission (on the floor) with “Cowgirl In The Sand.” Besides the great lyrics and catchy riffs, Neil absolutely rocked the solo like it was 1969. Immediately after, he crushed a double into the 300 section of the ACC with the worldly, “Rockin’ In the Free World.” 17,000-plus were pumping their fists into the air, belting out, “Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World,” as Neil and his gang led the way; it was special, very special.
After the ever-so-popular clincher, Neil and “His Electric Band” left the stage, to a standing ovation. But don’t stop reading yet…as Freddy Mercury once said, the “Show Must Go On,” and it certainly did just that. After a short encore break, the 63 year old Torontonian crept back onstage and stepped up to the plate yet one last time. This time, he was not settling for a single or double base hit. This time, Neil knew he had to go Babe Ruth style to end his triumphant performance in his hometown. As he began with, “I read the news today, oh boy,” mostly everyone knew what he was getting into, an improbable cover of “A Day In the Life.” The band tore through the cover, like they were the bowl-cut’s themselves, leaving nothing behind. As for the Babe Ruth style, Neil truly hit this one outta the ACC and towards the CN Tower. Especially when the song ended, as he began beatin’ the shit out of his beloved "Blacky", he started pluckin’ the strings off of it and began strummin’ the guitar with its own strings. I know it seems ridiculous, but at this point no one in the audience nor in the band could give a flyin’ fuck what Neil did! He’s a legend, a rock God, a Canadian Idol (who made it big even without the help of reality television). Listen to Neil Young – Listen to Rock n’ Roll, go to concerts – Experience live music, there really is nothing better. I would like to take the time now to thank Neil for all he has given to the music world, and for treating me and my pal to a night of musical purity.
-Rock Till Ya Drop,
Richard MacIntosh
Sounds like he had himself a wild time. Neil also just announced yesterday that he's delaying the release of his long-awaited Archives: Volume 1 yet again to February 24th. The reason being he got himself busy writing and recording a new album inspired by the shit storm the economy has gotten itself into. Here's his home video for the lead off single, "Fork In The Road".
Anyways, stay tuned as I'll soon be debuting both my "Best Albums of 2008" and "Best Films of 2008"!
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