On Wednesday night, July 22 Neil Young took his Rebel Content Tour to Mansfield, Mass., where he played at the Xfinity Center with Micah and Lukas Nelson from Promise of the Neil.
His last show on this tour will be tonight, Thursday, July 24 at the Wayhome Festival in Oro-Medonte, Canada.
A review of they concert by Stephen Peterson of the Sun Chronicle says Legendary singer-songwriter-guitarist Neil Young just keeps plugging away as he approaches his seventh decade, and remains as spirited as ever.He writes that several of the new album’s songs were part of the set in the 2 1/2-hour show, which may have disappointed fans wanting to hear more of the folk rocker’s popular tunes. But there were several rarer vintage songs featured, too.
“Taking yet another jab at corporate America, Young called the concert venue Great Woods twice. ‘No corporation can buy your history,’ the ever-rebellious Young told the crowd.
“The feisty Canadian native kept up his social commentary with two longer songs also off the latest album, “People Want to Hear About Love” and “Big Box.”
Norah Jones’ alternative country group, Puss n Boots, a trio whose members all sing, opened.
Jones, 36, is best known for “Don’t Know Why” off her five-time Grammy winning 2002 debut album, but the song list centered on her group’s 2014 debut album, “No Fools, No Fun,” including “Twilight,” “Don’t Know What It Means,” the snappy “Always” and “GTO.”
Reviews for the Jones Beach show of Neil Young and Promise of the Real on Tuesday, July 21 have been hard to find, but here is one from The Brooklyn Vegan’s Blog.
Fellow Monsanto hater Reverend Billy and Norah Jones‘ country band Puss N Boots opened.
Andrew Sacher writes that last night’s set was filled with favorites.
He writes: “What were highlights was seeing Neil come out by himself at the start of the night to play ‘After the Gold Rush,’ ‘Heart of Gold,’ ‘Long May You Run’ ‘Old Man’ and ‘Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)’ consecutively on either piano, acoustic guitar, or organ. It wasn’t until after those five that the band even came out, and it wasn’t until even later that Neil picked up an electric guitar for the first time.
“Promise of the Real obviously aren’t Crazy Horse or anything, but they did a great job backing him. They brought a lot of energy to the show, and they basically played all the songs the way they sound on record. When they locked into the extended jams on ‘Down by the River’ and ‘Love and Only Love,’ they were on fire.
“Another treat was he gave us a good amount off one of his best ‘latter day’ albums, Harvest Moon, including the title track, ‘From Hank to Hendrix’ and ‘Unknown Legend.’ Plus he sprinkled in even more from his most classic era, including ‘Out on the Weekend,’ ‘Words (Between The Lines of Age)’ and ‘Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.’ Really an incredible show.”
A review from the Burlington Free Press staff writer Brent Hallenbeck says Sunday’s show July 19 in Essex Junction was Neil Young’s first-ever headlining show in Vermont. He played with Promise of the Real for the ninth show of the tour.
Prior to the show he spoke at a press conference in favor of Vermont’s GMO labeling law. Activist booths were set up outside the concert.
Hallenbeck writes that Young was driven in large part by his support for the state’s law requiring food manufacturers to label products containing genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. The Grocery Manufacturers Association has filed suit against Vermont over that law, and Young announced Sunday that he’s donating $100,000 to the fund helping the state fight that lawsuit.
Here’s a clip from the review:
“Given that impetus behind the show, though, Young’s nearly two-and-a-half-hour concert was largely restrained about politics – for instance, he didn’t talk about the presidential candidate he favors, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont – and focused on the music that has made him one of rock’s top songsmiths for nearly half a century. He came out in blue jeans, a dark brimmed hat and a black T-shirt reading “Earth” and began with quieter tunes featuring his naturally strained, upper-register voice on top of acoustic guitar (with occasional harmonica interludes).
This was not the angry 69-year-old man raging against the corporate machine on “The Monsanto Years.” This was calm, reflective, often celebratory Neil Young as he played old favorites such as “Heart of Gold” and “Old Man.”
Lukas Nelson moved from guitar to piano as he played “Moonlight in Vermont,” an old standard his father often covers, even singing it with a warm, wavering tone like Willie Nelson employs. The crowd gave Nelson one of its heartiest ovations of the night.
Neil Young 2015-07-19 Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction, Vermont, USA w/ Promise Of The Real
01. After The Gold Rush 02. Heart Of Gold 03. Long May You Run 04. Old Man 05. Mother Earth (Natural Anthem) 06. Out On The Weekend 07. Unknown Legend 08. Only Love Can Break Your Heart 09. From Hank To Hendrix 10. Harvest Moon 11. Wolf Moon 12. Words 13. Lookin’ For A Love 14. Moonlight In Vermont (cover) Lukas Nelson on lead vocals and piano 15. A Rock Star Bucks A Coffee Shop 16. People Want To Hear About Love 17. A New Day For Love 18. Country Home 19. Down By The River 20. If I Don’t Know 21. Workin’ Man 22. Monsanto Years 23. Love And Only Love
Tour: 2015 Rebel Content Tour Band: Promise Of The Real
Neil Young – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, pump organ, harmonica Lukas Nelson – electric guitar, piano, vocals Micah Nelson – electric guitar, electric charango, piano, vocals Corey McCormick – bass, vocals Anthony Logerfo – drums Tato Melgar – percussion
Neil Young and Promise of the Year have been tearing up the stage at each venue they hit on this Rebel Content Tour.
He’s another positive review from Steve Israel at the Times Herald Record. He calls the show “Riveting” that was held July 18 at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York.
Read on: “About 45 minutes into his riveting three-hour show at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts Friday night, Neil Young talked about the first time he played the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival, 46 years ago, with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Back then, the sloping hills of Max Yasgur’s dairy farm were a muddy mess, blanketed with 450,000 young, sweaty long-hairs, many of whom got in for free.
“On Friday, Young stood on the stage of the plush pavilion, where the top ticket cost $204.50, on grounds where the crowd of some 13,000 – many with gray hair – could wander on manicured lawns amid the flowing streams and blue stone walls of the arts center.
“I was here a long time ago,” he (Neil) said, after he and his muscular yet lithe band of youngsters, Promise of the Real, finished the 1992 gem, ‘Unknown Legend. “It was very different. I’m not saying good or bad. Just different.”
“Then, as if this relentless warrior of musical and social change couldn’t help himself, he slyly suggested something radical.
“He invited Woodstock veterans to the stage and, tongue in jowly cheek, mused that they jackhammer the cement in front of it so the crowd and Young could get closer to one another.”
Israel writes that the music on this summer night ranged from sweet, heart-aching solo acoustic tunes like “Harvest Moon” to the pulverizing electric power of guitar jams like “Cowgirl in the Sand.”
And, he said, the protest tunes from the new “The Monsanto Years” album may have paled next to the classics, substituting clunky platitudes for timeless poetics. But Young and Promise of the Real played them with a physical and emotional ferocity that often made the cliches vanish into the sweet summer air.
Neil Young 2015-07-17 Bethel Woods Center For The Arts, Bethel, New York, USA w/ Promise Of The Real
01. After The Gold Rush 02. Heart Of Gold 03. Long May You Run 04. Old Man 05. Mother Earth (Natural Anthem) 06. Hold Back The Tears 07. Out On The Weekend 08. Unknown Legend 09. From Hank To Hendrix 10. Harvest Moon 11. Wolf Moon 12. Words 13. Winterlong 14. Walk On 15. A Rock Star Bucks A Coffee Shop 16. People Want To Hear About Love 17. A New Day For Love 18. Cowgirl In The Sand 19. Workin’ Man 20. Big Box 21. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere 22. Monsanto Years 23. If I Don’t Know 24. Love And Only Love — 25. Roll Another Number
Tour: 2015 Rebel Content Tour Band: Promise Of The Real
Neil Young – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, pump organ, harmonica Lukas Nelson – electric guitar, vocals Micah Nelson – electric guitar, electric charango, piano, vocals Corey McCormick – bass, vocals Anthony Logerfo – drums Tato Melgar – percussion
“The Thursday, July 16, Rebel Content Tour performance at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersey, proved to be the longest so far – a three-hour behemoth filled with long jam sessions, according to reports from concert-goers.
Ryan Cormier at The News Journal in Delaware, a Gannett newspaper, writes that Neil Young is no “old man,” as he delivers a massive missive of old and new songs. He states:
“At the Susquehanna Bank Center on Thursday, (Lukas) Nelson, 26, and his youthful band seemingly energized Young, 69, who treated fans to a three-hour-and-15-minute slow burn marathon tour of his career bookended by a pair of his greatest hits.
“He opened the show by appearing out of the darkness sitting at his piano for a solo rendition of ‘After the Goldrush’ and wrapped up at midnight with a squealing ‘Cinnamon Girl’ send-off, showing the dynamic range that has marked his more than 50 years in the spotlight.
The only sign of time slowing the still-hard-charging Young was a pink wrap around his right wrist. Everything else was there: his gentle, well-preserved voice, the distinctively eccentric stomps and Crazy Horse-style guitar freakouts.
“A mid-set, near-transcendental run thorough ‘Down by the River’ lasted nearly 20 minutes with Young and the band sharing solos and Young hauntingly whispering, ‘Shot my baby dead.’
Young is at his best when a fire lit – whether it’s a cause that needs defending or a big power needs to be fought, Cormier says.
“On stage or in song, there’s no hiding when Young has you in his cross-hairs. Just ask former President George W. Bush who endured a focused attack for years from the man who wrote ‘Ohio’ 45 years ago.”
“Whenever you see a rose, stop by and smell it” by Rassy
Neil Young on Tour
Sugar Mountain setlists
Tom Hambleton provides BNB with setlists, thankfully. His website is the most comprehensive searchable archives on the Internets about anything Neil Young related setlists. Goto Sugar Mountain.
memphish on 
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