His rage just faded into the electric turbulence of the guitars.
At 78, Neil Young is at home on the road, and hes not alone.
Hell, even Joni Mitchell started playing live again after her near-fatal aneurysm.
(L-R) Micah Nelson, Corey McCormick, Neil Young and Anthony LoGerfo perform in concert during Farm Aid 2024 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center on September 21, 2024 in Saratoga Springs, New York.Gary Miller/Getty Images
So they hit the road, because thats where the stories are.
He revisited songs from all over his history including Journey Through the Past itself, on piano.
As guitarist Poncho Sampedro once said, We were playing David on his way.
As withTonights the NightorRustNever Sleeps, Young made timeless music out of grief, with his trustiest mates.
But he played it both nights as a raggedly elegiac guitar jam.
Im still living in the dream we had, he sang.
For me its not over.
The shows were full of moments like that.
(His dads name is Willie.)
He posted a photo on Neil Young Archives saying, A New Era Begins.
Since Talbot and Molina are 80, Young was one of the youngest guys in his band.
It would probably have been Crazy Horse.
But sadly, this Horse only made it halfway through the tour.
Monday night had a freewheeling 13-minute Down by the River jam.
On Tuesday, he played the 1977 tuneHey Babefor the first time ever.
Young kept roaring away on Old Black, his 1953 Les Paul.
He did the call-and-response at the end, chanting It wont be long with the band.
Yet he was just in his mid-40s.
But he had barely begun to grizzle.
The band has Promise of the Reals rhythm section, bassist Corey McCormick and drummer Anthony LoGerfo.
After a beautifully ramshackle Speakin Out, Micah cracked, Not bad for the first time.
But thats the story Neil Young has kept telling onstage his whole career.
