Neil Young and the Trans Band-- The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA-- 7-13-82
On The Way Home / Don't Cry No Tears / Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere / Cowgirl In The Sand / If You Got Love / Helpless / Are You Ready For The Country? / Southern Man / Only Love Can Break Your Heart / Little Thing Called Love / Old Man / Like An Inca / Hey, Hey, My, My / Cinnamon Girl / Like A Hurricane
Old Laughing Lady / Motor City / Revolution Blues / Don't Let It Bring You Down / Soul Of A Woman / Are There Any More Real Cowboys? / Old Man / My Boy / Helpless / Dance, Dance, Dance / Heart Of Gold // Don't Be Denied / Pocahontas / Sail Away / Powderfinger / Ohio / Human Highway / After The Goldrush / Transformer Man / My, My, Hey, Hey / Mr. Soul / Comes A Time / I Am A Child / Computer Age
Are You Ready For The Country? / Hawks And Doves / Comes A Time / Are There Any More Real Cowboys? / Devil's Stagecoach / Heart Of Gold / Amber Jean / The Losing End / Roll Another Number / Too Far Gone / Flying On The Ground Is Wrong / Motor City / Southern Pacific / The Needle And The Damage done / Sugar Mountain / Helpless / California Sunset / It Might Have Been / Soul Of A Woman / Field Of Opportunity / Old Man / Powderfinger / Get Back To The Country / Are You Ready For The Country?
Mr. Soul / Cinnamon Girl / When You Dance, I Can Really Love / Down By The River / Too Lonely / Heart Of Gold / After The Goldrush / Inca Queen / Drive Back / Opera Star / Cortez The Killer / Sample And Hold / Computer Age / Violent Side / Mideast Vacation / Long Walk Home / The Needle And The Damage Done / When Your Lonely Heart Breaks / Around The World / Powderfinger / Like A Hurricane / Hey, Hey, My, My
SET ONE: / Welcome To The Big Room / Find Another Shoulder / High Heel Shoes / Hello Lonely Woman / Ain't It The Truth / Bad News / One Thing / Your Love Is Good To Me / Sunny Inside / Life In The City / Soul Of A Woman / This Note's For You
SET TWO: / Welcome To The Big Room / Find Another Shoulder / High Heel Shoes / Hello Lonely Woman / Ain't It The Truth / Bad News / One Thing / Your Love Is Good To Me / Sunny Inside / Life In The City / Soul Of A Woman / This Note's For You / Don't Take Your Love Away From Me
Ten Men Working / Hello Lonely Woman / I'm Goin' / Married Man / Coupe De Ville / Ordinary People / Days That Used To Be / After The Goldrush / Sixty To Zero / Soul Of A Woman / Bad News / Ain't It The Truth / Hey Hey / This Note's For You / Welcome To The Big Room / Tonight's The Night / On The Way Home
ACOUSTIC/ Comes A Time / Sugar Mountain / The Needle And The Damage Done / After The Goldrush / For The Turnstiles / Silver And Gold / The Ways Of Love / Days That Used To Be / Heart Of Gold / ELECTRIC / Heavy Love / Don't Cry / Cocaine Eyes / Eldorado / Box Car / Mr. Soul / Cinnamon Girl / Rockin' In The Free World / Bad Fog Of Loneliness / Down By The River / Hey, Hey, My, My / On Broadway / Tonight's The Night
Hey, Hey, My, My / Rockin' In The Free World / The Old Laughing Lady / Don't Let It Bring You Down / Someday / Crime In The City / Eldorado / Too Far Gone / This Note's For You / The Needle And The Damage Done / After The Goldrush / Hangin' On A Limb / Heart Of Gold / Ohio / Rockin' In The Free World
This show has always been one of my favorites. A flawless set including the seldom played "If You Got Love," "Little Thing Called Love," and "Like an Inca." This show was part of the practice run for Neil's 1982 tour of Europe. Nils Lofgren plays some tasty guitar also.
Neil Young Solo Acoustic-- Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA-- 1-25-83
I was a sophomore in high school when I went to this show. To say the least, my teenage-driven enthusiasm blended with a healthy supply of herbal additives left me very anxious to see my first Neil Young concert. The Cow Palace is truly a place for cows--for only large herds of animal incapable of thinking ciould enjoy being squeezed in and out of this venue-- yet, seeing Neil Young play easily made me forget where I was. I was sitting with ten other friends from high school who were just as enthusiastic about the whole experience as I was-- and I would have to guess that our entourage likely ruined someone's good time! As an adult, I can't think of anything more annoying than sitting near a group of screaming teenagers at a concert. Oh well-- we all live and learn. My apologies to anyone who I annoyed! Anyhow-- I was too young to really appreciate what a nice selection of tunes Neil was playing, but the tape reveals that he played an excellent version of "Revolution Blues" from On the Beach-- as well as a great reading of "Don't Be Denied." The format of the show was set up so we got two acoustic sets and some rather interesting encores.
There was a giant TV on the stage-- showing Neil's face, complete with space-age sunglasses, singing background vocals with Neil on the material from his techno album Trans. Neil jumped around the stage, singing through a head set as his face on the TV screen stared out into the audience-- you simply had to see it to believe it!
Neil Young and the International Harvesters-- The Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA-- 10-26-84
If it wasn't for the tape that I have of this show, I don't think I would remember it too well. I was a senior in high school at the time-- and all I can accurately recall was the water bong we smuggled in and the fact that it was freezing cold. Most of the crowd sitting around us had never heard of anyone sneaking in such a large bong, so, putting it lightly, the bowl was never empty! Anyway-- stoner-induced-short-term-memory-loss aside, the tape reveals a nice overview of
Neil's foray into country music-- much of the material from his at-the-time-just-released album Old Ways. Technically one can argue that Neil has always been exploring country veins in his music-- just listen to Harvest, Comes a Time, or Hawks and Doves-- but this tour featured a full-scale country band. Neil unleashed a lot of songs this evening-- including oldies like "Helpless," "Flying on the Ground is Wrong," and "Losing End." Much of the material, however, was new to most in attendance-- including a nice run through "The Devil's
Stagecoach." The highlights of the show are a fiddle-driven romp through "Southern Pacific" and when Neil strapped on his black guitar for "Powderfinger."
Neil Young & Crazyhorse-- Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA-- 11-21-86
Back to the Cow Palace . . . this show was filmed for a Showtime Pay Per View Special, so there are very nice videos in circulation. This was not my favorite tour. I went to this show and recall not enjoying it as much as the other times I have seen him-- though the whole rusted-garage concept was very amusing. Neil had large mice dancing and radio controlled cockroaches rolling, and smoke billowing from the stage all night long. Sam Kinison had a fairly amusing cameo as a pissed-off neighbor who wanted Neil to stop playing his music so loud.
When the giant stage phone rang one time, Neil answered it and explained to his mom that the funny-smelling smoke was coming from incense. I watched the video again and have to conclude that the show is actually very well played. Neil basically put on his rock and roll shoes and thrashed around all night!
Neil Young and the Bluenotes-- Old Fillmore, San Francisco, CA-- 11-12-87
I was fortunate to see one of the nights of Neil Young's small club
Bay Area tour in Novemeber 1987. He played the same set twice-- and did it better the second time around. Check out how amazing the "This Note's For You" from the second set sounds! Neil was recording this tour for an album that he was going to release, but never did--
deciding instead to release mostly studio material.
Neil Young and the Bluenotes-- Lakeside Amphitheatre, Darien, NY-- 8-19-88
What a show! The highlights of this show, and this tour, are the epic songs
"Ordinary People" and "Sixty to Zero." "Sixty to Zero" is the long, original
version of "Crime in the City." The show also features an early version of "Days that Used to Be."
Neil Young and the Restless-- Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA-- 2-21-89
Before leaving for his tour through Japan and Australia, Neil toured Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas,
Northern California, and up into the Pacific Northwest and Canada. This show is arguably the
best of the nights from that tour-- and most of the shows I have heard have some pretty terrible sound quality, so this one stands out as one of the better sounding tapes from this tour.
The feedback-drenched "Mr. Soul" is played like you have never heard before-- and apparently he has not
chosen to play it quite like that since. The show is simply filled with rarely played and never-before-released
chestnuts-- as well as some very hard renditions of classics.
Neil Young-- Music Theatre, Amsterdam, Holland-- 12-10-89
After touring through Japan and Australia, Neil shifted gears and switched to a solo tour of the US and then off into Europe. This show offers a very solid performance and is a great sounding tape. Lots of songs from Freedom and some oldies thrown in-between make this a fine set.
