This gig kicked off a week of incredible gigs for me. It was followed by Patti Smith, then Iggy & The Stooges with Savages in support, so to say it had to be great to stand out was an understatement.
Now for the benefit of all the Neilists reading this, I know you call yourself Rusties but to me Neilists is closer to reality. As this is my first time seeing Neil Young, I spent the pre-gig time hanging out with the sort of fans who had seen several shows this year and were more than a bit hyped up.
We arrived at the O2 just before LOS LOBOS came on and I haven't seen them since about 1986. Back then, they were a very good bar band but no more than that. Their set tonight proved that's what they still are, only now they are playing in arenas the world over having been on the road with Neil Young for months on end. Sadly, it showed in just how bored they all seemed at playing another gig to another half empty arena as it started to fill up.
From the opener, Will The Wolf Survive, the ennui was written over the band's faces. They played at a turgid, listless pace for most of the set almost never trying to get the audience going (well apart from the drummer who seemed to be on the happy pills) so that the indifference seem to become mutual quite quickly.
Down On The River Bed sounded okay, but lacked any passion or effort on their part. Even the addition of some sax on, I think, Emily didn't really lift the torpor. It was like they were trying to be boring to make Neil more interesting.
The main highlight of their set came when they switched singers and the guitarist stepped forward and sang a ropey as all hell version of Johnny Thunders' Alone In A Crowd: a song they did justice to on the Johnny Thunders tribute album. This version, while having more oomph than anything else they played, was just all over the place. It was followed by Georgia Slop: another slow 'bored out of their skulls' tune.
I was hoping the fact they then played a song called Let's Say Goodnight meant they were done. Nope, though things did get a bit better on Mas Y Mas with the Spanish delivery lifting them a bit to being merely dull. It didn't prepare me for how they'd conclude by murdering their biggest hit, La Bamba, by playing it to the tune of Like A Rolling Stone. It backfired in that most of the audience only know them for that hit and to see them give it a good kicking - as if to say why do we have to keep playing that damn tune - made me wonder why I had bothered to get in early enough to see them.
So after that things had to improve right? Mmm, not straight away as Neil has a road crew done up like nutty professors who do all sorts of nonsense while setting up and making sure the huge amps are ready. Young then managed to make my jaw drop before he ever played a note as the band came on-stage and he stood with arms across chest while they played God Save The Queen over the PA!! Like what and why would you do that? It was very strange indeed and almost no one sang along.
Thankfully, once the charades were over, Crazy Horse cranked into gear with a great version of Love And Only Love that was met with a huge roar from the sold out arena, even if they did seem to be playing as if they were in a rehearsal room or garage somewhere. Neil and co all stood looking at each other or gazing at their shoes which was something they did a lot of. Considering the length of this tour, you might have expected a little more or at least a connection with the adoring audience.
Powderfinger was a monumental slab of noise and rage, cut through with Neil's still wonderful voice. It was followed by the first new song of the night, Psychedelic Pill, that Neil really engaged with the crowd before the band went off on the first overlong instrumental section. I'm sure it was meant to be like going on a trip and not far from it as the guitars got more out there.
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Hole In The Sky has some great lyrics beautifully sung before they again go off on another meandering instrumental section which seems to be Crazy Horse's speciality. Red Sun was a song I'm not familiar with but sounded pretty good as did Comes A Time. That was followed by the first sing a long of the night with a very cool version of Blowin' in The Wind: just plaintive and yearning enough to get the place really going.
The momentum didn't keep up on Singer Without A Song. It was good but the instrumental bit was about 3 minutes too long and it was too similar to the previous instrumental off-roading. Ramada Inn seemed to thrill all the Neilists by being a typical Neil Young tune and this was the sort of crowd that loved to get what they expected. Next up was a good, ragged version of Cinnamon Girl that was one of the few songs that didn't need any editing.
F*!#in' Up has had a reputation for being one very long jam and although it was long it didn't bore as Neil seemed to get more and more worked up as the chorus repeated a few times. They then played one of the tunes I really wanted to hear, Mr Soul and thankfully it was a great version of it. He then closed the set with a fine take of Hey hey, My My (into The Black) that had a bit of a long solo or two in it and got everyone going nicely.
Now I have to say I was shocked looking round to see that only about 10% of the people in the seats were giving Neil a standing ovation and those of us standing in the main arena were noisy enough to get them back but it wasn't an audience going mental for more, but one merely expecting an encore.
For the encore, a piano was lowered from the ceiling and was played while it swung about on a great version of Like A Hurricane. Quite why the piano had to be on strings I didn't work out, but it was an interesting touch and at least it seemed to cut down on the soloing a bit. Then came Roll Another Number which got one of the biggest sing a longs of the night before it descended into another instrumental workout before the band closed the night with a really nice version of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere:a nice way to close a set that was two and a half hours long with a good forty five minutes worth of Instrumental jamming that I could have done without.
The Neilists I spoke to after the show assured me this was one of the best sets of the European leg of the tour. I don't doubt them and if that's what you want, Neil will not disappoint. He certainly lives up to his reputation.
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