“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.”
A thoughtful piece by Mike Mineo for Concertour.org – somewhat of an analysis of Neil Young’s musical journey down the path to grunge.
“On a purely superficial level, his plaid shirts and unkempt hair made it all the more comprehensible. Like many grunge heroes, he seemed to always dress like it was autumn.”
The writer points to Cinnamon Girl as the launching pad:
Mineo writes: “While some argue that Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain rightly deserves the label, glimpses of Young’s influence on grunge is heard as early as the late ‘60s, when Cobain was learning how to walk. 1969’s “Cinnamon Girl” is one surefire predecessor. Its twangy distortion rides over the tender nonchalance of dual vocals, and a booming bass descends ominously at each verse’s end. Young’s vocals are more sweeping and melancholic than grunge staples here, and the vocals are more up-front as opposed to grunge’s traditionalized tendency of pushing vocals toward the back.”
The writer says there are plenty of Young tracks throughout the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s that show glimpses of what was to come in early ‘90s grunge. His 1979 album, Rust Never Sleeps, is one of the greatest examples. The genius of “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)” is never to be understated, as its crunchy guitars and Young’s gripping guitar solos went on to influence a legion of grunge artists.
“\"Canada is trading integrity for money,\" said the environmentally engaged 68-year-old rocker. \"That\'s what\'s happening under the current leadership in Canada, which is a very poor imitation of the George Bush administration in the United States and is lagging behind on the world stage. It\'s an embarrassment to any Canadians.\"”
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.
“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.
memphish on 
Albert Stromann on 
liza on 
Baz on 
