Edinburgh, Scotland - 3/3/08: Concert Reports
Enduring master delivers rough and the smooth - Independent.co.uk By David Pollock:
"Dressed in a battered cream suit, unkempt white shirt and scuffed trainers, Young plays the dishevelled musical polymath. Once opening pleasantries are exchanged with a gorgeous 'From Hank to Hendrix', he rises from the nest of guitars in centre stage, warms his hands against the orange light behind his head and strolls the stage like a man who's unsure quite where he is. He strokes his chin for a few seconds, affects a fearful cower when the audience's applause swells towards him and half-stumbles to the piano."
Uncut.co.uk | Live Reviews: Neil Young - Edinburgh Playhouse, March 3 2008 by DAMIEN LOVE:
"He sits alone inside a circle of acoustic guitars – seven of them, plus a banjo – absently, fondly, touching one and then the other, as though waiting for them to tell him which one wants to go first. He dips his harmonica in a china teacup of water like a man dunking biscuits in a rest home. He looks shambling, distracted; and then he starts to play, and his focus and intensity sucks the breath from you."
Living legend is Young at heart - Edinburgh Evening News:
"David Ferguson, 36, an IT executive from Broughton, added: 'I've never seen so many guitar amplifiers on a stage and don't remember enjoying a gig as much as this since I saw David Bowie in Manchester a few years back.'"
Neil Young will be performing tonight at Edinburgh Playhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland.
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Also, see Neil Young 2008 Europe Tour and Concert Reviews and the right, middle sidebar for updates.
by thrasher@PermaLink: 3/03/2008 05:22:00 PM
22 comments
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22 Comments:
The Man was awesome from tje moment he shambled on stage hidden behind a painting of the letter N and started his acoustic set, the only sound that was heard apart from him singing was they joy heard from the voices of the fans, The acoustic set was awesome in my opinion.then he comes out for the second set and wrestles every conceivable note out of old black and his voice was so clear , the energy from a 62 year old was a joy to see. it has taken me 37 years to finnally achieve my dream and see this man.God bless you neil please keep on rockin. you made one geordie who drove to edinburgh and back very happy indeed. Oh and to all you touts stop ripping fans and neil young of i had a spare ticket and i found a real fan and sold it at cost its robbery to charge fans £300 for a ticket,so long may you rot.
I agree, it was an absolutely EPIC performance. At first I thought he was looking a little doddery on the stage during the acoustic set, but he really pulled out all the stops for the electric set. Truly an old master at his artform, he was pulling all the right moves and faces and made noises out of Old Black that I never thought could possibly exist.
It makes you realise the immense talent that's on offer here. Every note, every strum and pluck; everything is perfectly conrolled and measured. I guess this is what happens when you've been doing it for that long though.
Couple of other notes as well; he was warming his hands on the lights because it was so cold outside and had a little scottish Lion Rampant flag next to his skull and crossbones flag.
I'm still reeling just thinking about it. IMMENSE!!
Can someone tell us what time he takes the stage please......
Fantastic... just fantastic.
Timings - there was a notice in the Playhouse foyer with the theoretical timings:
Pegi Young 7:30-8:00
Interval 8:00-8:45
Acoustic set 8:45-9:45
Interval 9:45-10:15
Electric Set 10:15-11:15
Actual (approximate) timings were:
Pegi Young 7:40-8:20
Interval 8:20-8:45
Acoustic set 8:45-9:55
Interval 9:55-10:20
Electric Set 10:20-11:55
I've never been there so late at a Playhouse gig, and sadly there was a steady stream of people heading off for last trains etc. If you're going to London or Manchester I'd suggest that you're looking at 4hrs - 4hrs 30 mins from the start time on the tickets.
Neil came on for the acoustic set at around 8:30. Finished at 11:45.
What can I say? I've been a fan for about 5 years and never thought I would get to see Neil in concert. The entire performance blew me away. Virtually every track was a highlight but I would single out Ambulance Blues, After The Gold Rush, A Man Needs A Maid, Powderfinger, My My Hey Hey and Down By The River. I hope Neil returns to Scotland soon.
Two tickets for Thursday.
Circle Row J 36 & 37
I'd like them to go to someone cool, cost £65 + £15.
So £80 each.
I'll be in London on Wednesday.
pgxe2000@yahoo.co.uk
uhhh, i'd like to hear fuckin up! guess he's practising for the summer thunderstorm with the horse :)
Absolutely brilliant.Only the third time i've seen Neil but he never dissapoints.To sum last night up in one word LEGEND.
....A crackin' show indeed although I have to say The Playhouse is an awful venue for a rock n'roll show ..like many others we were simply too high up in the balcony ..seats were cramped ...and the heat/humidity inside became stifling! ...however this was the 3rd time I've seen him and again he didn't disappoint. people with me we divided between which set was best but for me the electric one just won out.
Last song of the electric set proper was "No Hidden Path" which featured a classic freaked out lengthy (10 mins?)guitar solo ....Just wish the show had been at Glasgow's much superior SCC (sorry any Edinburgh NY fans but my a** is still recovering!
What a night! Just got back to Leeds from Edinburgh.
After some great local hospitality (thanks Ian & Kenny amongst others) we just sat down to see Neil come out. He got a standing ovation before he even played a note!
The sound was superb and the venue fantastic.
Our day was made when we got Ambulance Blues second song in. my mate Dave didn't have a clue what Neil played in earlier shows so he couldn't believe it.
The locals all seemed to want Powderfinger before the show and they weren't disappointed. We also got Down by the River and Fu#ckin Up. At the end the organ type thing came down and I thought we'd get Hurricane but by then I was being greedy.
Hopefully we'll get it at Manchester - and Birds would be nice.
Great, great night - roll on Manchester next week.
I did feel a bit delicate in the morning though after that 'local hospitality'.
What can I say!? My third Neil concert and it was awesome. I hung about at his tour bus for half an hour in cold but it was worth it. I said great show to Neil as he walked out with the security men and got a hand shake from the man himself. Peggi even gave me a big smile, best show yet!! I'm still on a high and can't believe I actually met him! What a legend. Long may he run
at 51 lucky enough to have seen Neil plenty times but down by the river and no hidden path were just awesome remember rust never sleeps
This was the 4th time I've seen Neil and I've got to say that this was by far the best show I've ever seen him do. The acoustic set needed a venue like this - it wouldn't have worked at the SECC. We got Ambulance Blues. Waaaaaaaaaaaaa
The electric set was just as fantastic - No Hidden Path lasted about 20 minutes. The songs from Chrome Dreams II fit in perfectly well with the 'oldies'.
I'm still stunned. :-)
The Edinburgh gig was a great show. I've seen Neil a number of times before but never with an hour-long acoustic set, and it was worth waiting for. By anybody else's standards the acoustic set was great, but to be honest I thought it a little lacklustre, especially when he appeared to forget the words on Ambulance Blues (maybe I had been looking forward to it too much!). He seemed to be elsewhere, but it was maybe part of the act. But there were moments of magic, especially Sad Movies and Old Man. The sound was fantastic, with 'Hank' just booming - it wouldn't have worked at all in the SECC, the Playhouse was perfect for this kind of show.
The electric set was fantastic and, I think, where he was at last night. He wanted to let rip, and delivered! I have seen him with Crazy Horse on a few occasions, and in my opinion, this matched them at their best. The intimacy of the venue also helped that. It was an intense and blistering performance from a guy that can still wipe the floor with bands much much younger. All in all, a great night, and my most memorable Young performance.
Oh..... and Pegi did a fine set to open. I really enjoyed it, especially as it displayed Ben Keith's real magic on steel (which was lost a bit in Neil's electric set).
''Mindless drifter on the road'' - just before Cinnamon Girl - so what would you rather have 'Fuckin' Up' or 'Rockin' In The Free World'? - Edinburgh must be happy with Fuckin' Up.
Fantastic show, Neil seemed to be enjoying himself,if trading smiles with Ben and Rick are anything to by
Mellow My Mind contained some 'Old King' riffs which worked very well
No Hidden Path was the highlight for me 25 mins of blistering guitar workwhich come across so much better live than on record
Thanks Neil we love you HASTE YE BACK
To Simon the Fireman...you made the guy you sold the ticket to at cost a very happy guy indeed - you were standing behind me in the queue to get in and asked him some questions about NY to asess his suitability for the ticket - it's good news that there are folk out there like you that will part with such prestigious tickets for genuine fans. As for the concert...WOW ! spectacular, magical, NY is a one off...I'm just soooo glad to have seen him live in Edinburgh...thanks to my wife Helen who had the forsight to buy the tickets for us ( I'm too tight :-)
Still got 2 tickets for Thursday that I could do with selling (now that I'm heading off to Werchter & who knows where else in the summer.)
I'll be in London later today & at tonights show.
Circle Row J. Seats 36 & 37(centre)
£80 each or I'll just have to get rid of them to a tout outside tonight.
Text 07785 774 110.
Hey Thrasher, here's a great article in Crawdaddy that I found through Wolfgang's vault as to the origins of Like a Hurricane. Great reading...
http://crawdaddy.wolfgangsvault.com/Article.aspx?id=5850
Keep Rockin'
Great reviews, looking forward to Manchester on Tuesday. Rang ticketmaster tonight cos no ticket yet and have now been told to get it at the venue. grrr Been rushing home every night to check the mail and was starting to panic big time.
Hendo
Anyone got a spare for Manchester any night? - 07986 939280
There are some cool video's from Neil's Edinburgh concert on Youtube, thanks to my son Colin.
His first Neil concert, he was well impressed with the old master.
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