Montreal

[bobfrombob]

So was anybody from the board at the show last night?

 

Here's something about Neil's set from the Financial Post, via a blog, with a positive but fleeting Wilco reference:

 

 

http://neilyoungtour2007.blogspot.com/2008...ist-and_01.html

 

 

 

Setlist:

 

Love And Only Love

Hey Hey, My My

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Powderfinger

Spirit Road

Cortez The Killer

Cinnamon Girl

Oh, Lonesome Me

Mother Earth

The Needle And The Damage Done

Unknown Legend

Heart Of Gold

Old Man

Get Back To The Country

Just Singing A Song

Sea Change

When Worlds Collide

Cowgirl In The Sand

Rockin' In The Free World

 

A Day In The Life

 

 

 

Review: Financial Post

 

Neil Young going strong

 

Talk about peaking early.

 

Neil Young, only two songs into his two-hour-plus set at the Bell Centre last night, roared out a blistering version of Hey, Hey, My, My (Into the Black) and reminded a fully-packed house that it's better to burn out than to fade away. Everyone sang along, as if the sentiment were self-evident, but the joke is that Young has lived to eat those words --- much as Pete Townshend has had to shrug off "Hope I die before I get old."

 

Young did not burn out. He is, at 63, fading away. But there's no sadness in that, let alone defeat. In fact, great beauty lies in his refusal to fade away gracefully. That meant everything last night, when Young's emphatic yes to rock n' roll at its most primal seemed a yes to life itself. By the time he throttled his guitar in a spectacular Rockin' in the Free World and pulled out every string on his instrument at the end of his (literally) show-stopping cover of the Beatles' A Day In the Life, the line between entertaining and inspiring had been crossed long ago.

 

The stage had been set and the bar raised by the two opening acts. Los Angeles rockers Everest, hand-picked by Young for this tour, played a 35-minute set showing them to be one of the year's promising acts, while Wilco --- headliners in their own right --- followed up with 50 minutes of brilliantly-executed fan favourites (the astounding madness of the triple-guitar attack on Handshake Drugs must still be ringing in many ears).

 

As the lights went down for the last time at 9:20, peals of feedback --- is there anyone in rock n' roll who loves it more than Young? --- announced the opening chords of Love and Only Love. All it took was a trademark choppy opening guitar solo from Young and drummer Chad Cromwell dumbing it all down with a Crazy Horse backbeat, and the rules of the game were instantly changed. It was Neil's world.

 

In his first Montreal appearance in 12 years, Young placed the emphasis on his uncompromising rockers, like the ever-vital Powderfinger, the garage-band classic Cinammon Girl (still the greatest one-note solo of all time) and the crowd-pleasing jams in Cowgirl in the Sand, all of which had bassist Rick Rosas working furiously. But fans of Young's mellower, acoustic-based material were also given a treat in a show that deftly combined the sweet and the salty. About an hour into the concert, Young's acoustic guitar came out for the Hank Williams evergreen Oh, Lonesome Me, which he first covered in 1970. An unplugged segment ensued, featuring guaranteed singalongs like Heart of Gold and Old Man. Longtime Young accompanist Ben Keith on pedal steel guitar, multi-instrumentalist Anthony Crawford and Young's wife, Pegi, on vocals and piano, shone during this thoughtfully-paced sequence.

 

As the electric axes were retrieved and the amplifiers turned back up, the meaning of the show became clearer. It wasn't really about musicianship: Young has a distinctive vocabulary on his instrument, but he's no guitar virtuoso. Nor was it about presentation, although the guy painting canvases on stage was a nice touch. A clue came with the title of one of three excellent new songs in the set list, the mid-tempo rocker Just Singing a Song (Won't Change the World).

 

It's a provocative song title for rock n' roll evangelists, but we know Young's right. His greatest gift lies in making us hope that he's wrong.

[Dreamin']

Thanks for posting that. I'd also be interested in hearing from anyone who was there that night.

 

Neil Young, only two songs into his two-hour-plus set at the Bell Centre last night, roared out a blistering version of Hey, Hey, My, My (Into the Black) and reminded a fully-packed house that it's better to burn out than to fade away. Everyone sang along, as if the sentiment were self-evident, but the joke is that Young has lived to eat those words --- much as Pete Townshend has had to shrug off "Hope I die before I get old."

 

Young did not burn out. He is, at 63, fading away. But there's no sadness in that, let alone defeat. In fact, great beauty lies in his refusal to fade away gracefully. That meant everything last night, when Young's emphatic yes to rock n' roll at its most primal seemed a yes to life itself.

It bugs me when that line is interpreted literally. It has nothing to do with ageing or death; it has everything to do w/ passion and integrity. And Neil has plenty of both.

[radiowilco]

Just getting back home from last night's show in Montreal...

 

Wilco Setlist - please note, I missed the opener.

 

You Are My Face

Handshake Drugs

Impossible Germany

Jesus Etc.

Hate it Here

The Late Greats

Walken

ITMWLY

 

So, here is my take on Wilco's set... This was my first time seeing the band in an arena -- I was not impressed at all. Their sound was hollow and I just didn't feel that they were able to "fill the room." I have seen the band at Merriweather and NOLA's Voodoo Festival where they did "fill the room" and clearly demonstrated the ability to make a large space feel small. Last night -- they weren't even close. Their energy level seemed high and they all appeared to be having fun (GA on the floor for this tour is great!), but the songs were flat they just looked small. This became even more apparent when Neil and his band took the stage and blew the doors off the place for two and half hours. The juxtaposition was staggering. Anyway, this is just one man's view from forty feet back on the floor, but they just did not bring it and/or they are not ready to play big arena shows. I think there is some truth in both...

[cryptique]

Anyway, this is just one man's view from forty feet back on the floor, but they just did not bring it and/or they are not ready to play big arena shows. I think there is some truth in both...

I'm not sure this is a bad thing.

[blombekr]

So, here is my take on Wilco's set... This was my first time seeing the band in an arena -- I was not impressed at all. Their sound was hollow and I just didn't feel that they were able to "fill the room." I have seen the band at Merriweather and NOLA's Voodoo Festival where they did "fill the room" and clearly demonstrated the ability to make a large space feel small. Last night -- they weren't even close. Their energy level seemed high and they all appeared to be having fun (GA on the floor for this tour is great!), but the songs were flat they just looked small. This became even more apparent when Neil and his band took the stage and blew the doors off the place for two and half hours. The juxtaposition was staggering. Anyway, this is just one man's view from forty feet back on the floor, but they just did not bring it and/or they are not ready to play big arena shows. I think there is some truth in both...

 

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Wilco was turned down a little bit. As the opening band, I don't think they're supposed to blow the roof off the place - don't wanna show up Neil

[lamradio]

You Are My Face

Handshake Drugs

Impossible Germany

Jesus Etc.

Hate it Here

The Late Greats

Walken

ITMWLY

 

It's strange to see such a short set for them. It's just strange to see them as an opening band period.

 

But I'm sure they were still able to bring the rock.

[letsgodowntogether]

It's strange to see such a short set for them. It's just strange to see them as an opening band period.

 

But I'm sure they were still able to bring the rock.

They actually played this:

You are my face

I am trying to break your heart

War on War

Handshake Drugs

Impossible Germany

Jesus, etc.

Hate it here

The late greats

Walken

ITMWLY

 

I thought they sounded great and had a good crowd there to see them from the start.

[HMD863]

Just getting back home from last night's show in Montreal...

 

Wilco Setlist - please note, I missed the opener.

 

You Are My Face

Handshake Drugs

Impossible Germany

Jesus Etc.

Hate it Here

The Late Greats

Walken

ITMWLY

 

So, here is my take on Wilco's set... This was my first time seeing the band in an arena -- I was not impressed at all. Their sound was hollow and I just didn't feel that they were able to "fill the room." I have seen the band at Merriweather and NOLA's Voodoo Festival where they did "fill the room" and clearly demonstrated the ability to make a large space feel small. Last night -- they weren't even close. Their energy level seemed high and they all appeared to be having fun (GA on the floor for this tour is great!), but the songs were flat they just looked small. This became even more apparent when Neil and his band took the stage and blew the doors off the place for two and half hours. The juxtaposition was staggering. Anyway, this is just one man's view from forty feet back on the floor, but they just did not bring it and/or they are not ready to play big arena shows. I think there is some truth in both...

I was at the show and I was about 15 feet from the stage . They sounded great and I totally disagree with your view. Nels Cline was spectacular on guitar and Jeff and the rest of the band were splendid. From my vantage point the sound was superb.

[hawthorne]

I was at the show and I was about 15 feet from the stage . They sounded great and I totally disagree with your view. Nels Cline was spectacular on guitar and Jeff and the rest of the band were splendid. From my vantage point the sound was superb.

 

just curious, how long did you have to wait in line to get 15 feet from the stage?

[HMD863]

just curious, how long did you have to wait in line to get 15 feet from the stage?

I waited in line outside the Bell Centre for a half hour before they opened the doors and let people enter . Then once inside we got green colored bracelets and I made a mad dash onto the floor.People already were up at the stage and I managed to get 15 feet from the stage . I was not dead center but left of center. Still I can't complain because I'm 6"1 and the people in front of me posed no problem. Once there I never moved because the floor really filled up . So I was on my feet for over 5hrs and it was tiring to say the least but well worth being that close up.

[PearlJamNoCode]

I waited in line outside the Bell Centre for a half hour before they opened the doors and let people enter . Then once inside we got green colored bracelets and I made a mad dash onto the floor.People already were up at the stage and I managed to get 15 feet from the stage . I was not dead center but left of center. Still I can't complain because I'm 6"1 and the people in front of me posed no problem. Once there I never moved because the floor really filled up . So I was on my feet for over 5hrs and it was tiring to say the least but well worth being that close up.

 

what time did you get in line? I'm trying to figure out when I should arrive to the venue for the Phila. show.