I saw Neil Young with Crazy Horse on the Alchemy Tour in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on December 4, 2012. Neil had the GA standing section in front of the stage, so I got to be front row center (in front of the big microphone) for Patti Smith and then The Horse. It was transcendent!
The sonic explorations alone… I think if you weren’t a hardcore fan, you probably wouldn’t appreciate how great they were, but they pushed it to limit with feedback and overdriven guitars, and of course some of the audience didn’t appreciate it (from what I heard afterwards). But from where I was, everyone was in heaven… except maybe the girl that Neil mocked for being on her phone. She apparently gave him the finger to which he responded with splashing water at her. Those guys were out to prove they weren’t too old to rock out with the energy of a punk show. Neil never stopped and at one point was even rolling on the stage floor, playing Old Black. Another highlight was Poncho and Neil’s back and forth on F#%kin’ Up… and Billy joined in, taunting the audience, flipping the bird, pointing at us, calling us “Just a fuck up!” Lol
The best songs that night were the new ones, Ramada Inn and Walk Like A Giant. For the latter, big fans blew crumpled newspaper and other bits of trash across the stage during the long, thumping feedback ending… giving the impression of a littered wasteland or something. A memorable night indeed! I’m looking forward to seeing the Boys in Bridgeport again in May.
Tony Amuro (on the far right, red shirt) with his buddy Mike Keddy (with blue shirt and cap) at the NYCH show in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on December 4, 2012.