NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE LIVE AT THE AMP IN BRIDGEPORT
By Kat Gullage
NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE bring their 'LOVE EARTH' tour to Bridgeport's Hartford Health Amphitheater
Canadian born singer and songwriter Neil Young has been inspiring the masses for nearly six decades. The folk rock legend's accomplishments include multiple Grammy and Juno Awards, over fifty releases, including eight with Crosy, Stills, Nash & Young and three with Buffalo Springfield. He was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is married to actress Daryl Hannah, and both are environmentalists.
Neil Percival Young has been called “The Godfather of Grunge”, and grunge isn't the only genre influenced by him. I have five older brothers. Everyone listened Neil Young. One of them played “The Needle and The Damage Done” on his Ovation acoustic guitar thousands of times. As I write this my older brother called and said “You went to Neil Young? You know I love him!'
Opening was New York's Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir (not a typo). Reverend Billy, played by William Talen, is a pastor at the head of the Stop Shopping Church who believes that consumerism will end humanity. They have engaged in public campaigns that openly target business. I found Reverend Billy annoying in his approach and difficult to understand. Used car salesman meets evangelical preacher. The choir was great with a soulful, gospel sound. If you are interested, check out one of the books about him such as: What Would Jesus buy? Reverend Bill's Fabulous Prayers in Face of the Shopocalypse' or 'What Should I Do if Reverend Billy Is In My Store'.
The sellout crowd was one hundred percent there Neil Young. It was raining during the show and our seats were on the right side of the floor. The venue has a giant tent ceiling but no walls. Our seats were wet. I just used my sweatshirt sleeve to wipe ours because I don't like it. A little while later the staff came out with towels to dry the seats. It hit us the whole show but it didn't deter us from enjoying the concert.
Neil Young took the stage with the evening version of Crazy Horse: Billy Talbot on bass, Ralph Molina on drums and Willie Nelson's son Micah on guitar. The set started with “Cortez the Killer” by Zuma and led immediately into one of his well-known hits, “Cinnamon Girl” off of Everyone knows this is nowhere. After the Gold Rush“When You Dance, You Can Really Love” was a gift for die-hard fans. It hadn't been played live in five years.
This was followed by the title cut from his most recent release, “Fuckin' Up.” The singer addressed the crowd and remembered the loss of his friend, record producer David Briggs, in the 90s. “Some of you have friends who are with you but are no longer here.” This was the follow-up to “Scattered (Let's Think About Livin')”, a cut from Broken arrow. Neil Young he tells the audience that he wrote a song about a saloon on the Pacific Coast Highway in California and presents Zuma“Barstool Blues”.
You're headed to another cutout Zuma“Danger Bird”, Neil he wasn't happy with the sound of his guitar and was tinkering with it a bit. Finally he called a crew member and instructed them to “tune this out for me.” He explained “we rehearsed it over and over, but things happen. Thanks for bearing with us. I would tune it myself to save time, but these people deserve to hear it properly tuned.” We then got a tuned version of “Danger Bird” followed by another track of the same name, “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”. A visit to Tonight is the night for “Roll Another Number (For the Road) and Mirror ball for “I'm the Ocean”.
Back to Everyone knows this is nowhere for 'Down By The River'. Neil addressing the crowd, “How are you guys?” The place went wild hootin' and hollerin'. The fans were on their feet the entire time. I found it ironic because when I saw him at the Hartford Civic Center in 1991 everyone was yelling at me to sit down. “Powderfinger” disabled Rust He never sleeps and “Love and Only Love” by Ragged Glory followed by the title track “Comes a Time”.
At this point the band takes a break and we make it Neil solo with just voice, guitar and harmonica around his neck to belt out Harvest's “Heart of Gold”. He has the whole place singing along word for word. “Human Highway” by An hour is coming follow. The set ends with perhaps his best known song, “Hey Hey My My (Into the Black)”. Neil waves as he leaves the stage, “Thank you for being here, thank you very much.” But Bridgeport is about to get another rare gift from the icon. The band come back and play just one song for an encore, but it's one they haven't played live in six years, broken arrow's “Big Time”.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse sounded great. Neil he looks and stands older, but his voice and musicality were on point. No fancy footwork or fireworks in this show. Just a giant banner with the Crazy Horse logo behind them and minimal stage lights. The big screens weren't on at all, just dark.
The kid next to me pulled out a small notebook and pencil during the show. I asked if he was a writer and he said no, he was an artist. He made quick sketches. Even in the poorest lighting, they really captured the moments incredibly, I was impressed. Funny how the writer and the artist ended up next to each other, inspired by Neil Young in 2024.
You know who Neil Young is? Listen to his stuff for old time's sake or catch one of his shows. I don't know who Neil Young is? Check out some of his hits, because they probably laid the foundation for any music you hear today.
Thank you loyal readers and rockers!
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