NEIL YOUNG ROCKS WFCU CENTRE
Concert a blend of old and new
Having become the Old Man he sings about, Neil Young refuses to let age rule his art.
The 65-year-old singer and iconoclast served notice Wednesday on the stage of Windsor’s WFCU Centre he’ll be ruffling feathers for a good while yet.
His two- hour show was equal parts folk and industrial grunge. Several of the songs droned on for more than 10 minutes, including a blistering rendition of Walk Like a Giant that concluded with nearly five minutes of hammering footsteps in imitation of the giant of the song.
It’s hard to imagine what the Heart of Gold segment of the audience thought of it. But that’s Neil. No prisoners. Many of those fans left early, complaining of the monotonous, self-indulgent soloing.
He followed this exercise in controlled noise with one of his most affecting acoustic songs, The Needle and the Damage Done.
The concert drifted back and forth between the old and the new on Wednesday, using the same rambling, off-the-cuff approach he employs in his new autobiography, Waging Heavy Peace.
Lately, Young has been taking a journey through the past, his own and that of family and friends.
The set was reminiscent of the Weld and Live Rust days — giant Fender amps that dwarfed the band.
Before he hit the stage, however, there was some playful teasing as a group of roadies dressed in lab coats and construction vests with hard hats set up the equipment.
Then there was a surprise. A giant Canadian flag was lowered and instinctively the audience rose to its feet and sang along to O Canada.
There was Young himself on the stage in one of the lab coats singing along.
When the house lights went down, the band launched into an extended instrumental segment, then Love and Only Love opened the show.
The familiar Powderfinger followed, to the delight of the audience. The next song was I Was Born In Ontario, a typical Young country tune about growing up.
Young avoided his most recent album, Americana, a tough, uncompromising collection of old folk, country and even 1950s doo-wop recorded with his rock band, Crazy Horse.
He did sing the title song of the new album coming out later this month, Psychedelic Pill. Out of the Blue wrapped up the main set in typical electric style.
Los Lobos was one of the two opening acts, performing several of their best-known songs, including That Train Don’t Stop Here, Will the Wolf Survive? and Don’t Worry Baby.
Infantree opened the show with a half-hour of countryrock in the style of Wilco and Fleet Foxes.