In fact, I don't have a lot to say about the Neil Young concert last night, but I'm hoping people can profit from our experience, because there were a few hassles to the evening, which, if I'd been forewarned about, I might have avoided. The high points -- which I will note below as well -- made it all abundantly worth it -- none of my "caveats and bummers" reflect on the concert ITSELF, ya dig? It was marvelous -- but TAKE HEED, PEOPLE:
1. Arrive as early as you conveniently can, because the lineup, when we got off the bus around 7, was insanely long. The bus lets you off by the Shadbolt Centre, but then you have a 25 minute walk to the end of the line, maybe 4km away, and a 20 minute shuffle back (the line breaks at one point, so it goes a bit faster on the way back, but the optional secondary way in doesn't save you from having to start at the back). I'm told that people who arrived more like 6:15 got in pretty easily. I have no choice, because of it being a work day, to undergo the whole lineup experience again on Monday, but if you have the option of getting there early, DO.
A friend on Facebook commented and said he and his concert hubby arrived "just before 6pm, before they even opened the gates, "but once they did they were pathetically slow. Frickin’ kids that seemed more like foreign temporary workers to be very frank!"
[He also complains about "all the chatty drunk girls," which I forgot to mention, but there was some of that. I personally asked three sets of people to keep it down. Miraculously, in each case, it kinda worked! And he points out that Neil started more at 8:15]
Also, there are food trucks, but unless you arrive early, the lineups will be long there too, so if you're coming late, pack a sandwich to eat in line. (There are alleged water-refilling stations, too, but don't expect to be able to get to them, if you arrive at all late).
This image is from the walk to the back of the line, probably 3 or 4KM away from the Shadbolt. I wish the bus had just let me off at the back of it!
Here's how Erika felt to finally get in:
2. DO NOT BRING CHAIRS. They are not allowed. I don't know what happened to the people who were trying to port in lawnchairs on their backs -- we were not among them, but we saw a few while lined up -- but nothing with legs is being allowed in. Were the chairs confiscated, or were they allowed to stash them, or...? I don't know, but if you didn't get the memo, nothing with hard legs is being let in.
There is a maximum size bag allowed, too, roughly 12X12. Expect to be searched. You are allowed an empty water bottle, but again, if you are arriving late, good luck getting that re-filled.
The overall vibe was very folk-fest like, in terms of the tarp city thing, except the folk fest DOES allow chairs, and doesn't have such a zealous, loveless, robotic security presence as Deer Lake. You will become something to be herded at the end of the night, more on which below. You will be allowed to enjoy yourself from 8pm to 10pm, but when things are over, it's OVER, and they will let you KNOW this.
Actually, I'm not sure why Deer Lake doesn't let in chairs -- preserving the grounds? Jericho Beach seems to do just fine with them. But in any case, don't bring anything with legs, however it may fold up. This is all clearly printed on the emails Ticketmaster sends. Read them!
3. The setlist from last night is here, but expect that to change. It was a really rich and varied set, spanning Young's whole career, and I expect Monday's will do the same, but with various changes (Neil is not the type of person to play the exact same set twice). If you didn't get to hear your favourite Neil Young songs, you still have a good chance you'll see them on Monday.
The set was about two hours long and runs from about 8 to 10; I suspect that will be the same on Monday.
4. Expect and embrace the deep cuts. Besides "Powderfinger," and "Mr. Soul," which I think Neil has done all three times I've seen him (25 years ago at Fuji Rock, 10 or so years ago at BC Place, and last night), the high points were all deep cuts, including two pieces off Greendale, "Be the Rain" -- which actually is repped on a t-shirt -- and "Sun Green." That latter song was not one I really know -- I've only spun Greendale a couple of times -- but it's a stunner; I will soon be revisiting that album (I must amend my ways!).
And though they weren't exactly deep cuts, I'm very happy to have heard old classics like "Ohio" and "Southern Man" (live vid here!), neither of which I had seen Neil do live before. They set a rather politically-charged theme for the night that of course got its most recent expression in the brand-new protest song "Big Crime." (Chicago sound check rock video version here):
No more great again
No more great again
Got big crime in DC at the White House
[Verse 1]
Don’t need no fascist rules
Don't want no fascist schools
Don’t want soldiers walking on our streets
Got big crime in DC at the White House
There's big crime in DC at the White House
[Verse 2]
Got to get the fascists out
Got to clean the White House out
Don’t want no soldiers on our streets
Got big crime in DC at the White House
Got big crime in DC at the White House
[Chorus]
No more great again
No more great again
Got big crime in DC at the White House
That was a good song! The best Chrome Hearts original I've heard. There were a couple weaker numbers, too, in particular "Silver Eagle" off the new album, Talkin' to the Trees, which is basically just a Woody Guthrie song with revised lyrics; suffice to say the new record hasn't won me over yet. Someone on the bus, afterwards -- a Neil Young live noob -- was griping about how they just wanted to hear his big songs, but from what they were saying, they might not actually have recognized songs like "Mr. Soul," so I'm not sure I care about their opinion. I mean, Neil's been making music for LONGER THAN I'VE BEEN ALIVE, and I'm 57. He's got one of the largest and most varied catalogues in rock, and you only want the hits? Go away.
Meanwhile, from my point of view, "Harvest Moon" WAS a deep cut, since it's not something Neil does live very often, I don't think. I don't think I've heard "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" before live, either, for that matter. I felt real lucky to hear songs like these, and glad my wife was there with me for them (she had a lot of physical discomforts during the show and in fact was pretty miserable for the first half, mostly due to creature comforts issues, many of which had nothing to do with the concert itself... but "Harvest Moon" sort of helped turn it around).
5. For people who worry about musicians' well being, note that Spooner is okay. He's playing in a chair -- a wheelchair, maybe? But someone -- I'm guessing Micah, but possibly Corey -- explained about how he had fractured his pelvis a few shows back. Apparently he hasn't missed a show! I wasn't taking notes, don't remember how he broke his pelvis, but he's not, like, dying of cancer or anything like that. Don't be worryin'.
6. Bev Davies photos from last night are here. She also forwarded this fun Tyee article: if you've never seen Steve at Fascinating Rhythm smile before (he's actually a sweet dude but superficially can present as a bit of a grump!), you should see how he's feelin' about getting his mitts on a Squires 7".
7. Finally, there is a very firm 10pm curfew. Neil will play a very efficient set from 8pm to 10pm, if it's anything last night, but once the last song ends, it's over. Last night that last song was "Roll Another Number" which I sort of shot video of, eventually just putting the camera in my lap, because I was facing backwards to the stage, so Erika could lean on my back; don't ask me to explain, but I couldn't see the stage, let alone film it, so I did what I could.
But once that last song is done, there will be no protracted stretches of cheering while you beg for an encore. Things will END AT 10, and you will then be aggressively herded out by the security starting at 10:15. Again, forewarned is forearmed...
8. ...because NO FUN IS ALLOWED ON THE GROUNDS AFTER THE CURFEW. Please benefit from our experience: if you don't want to end the night on a sour note, just split as soon as the last song finishes. Their may have been some logic to how inflexible security was -- like re-opening the roads through the park, which had been all closed for the event -- but they were doing this thing I have never seen before, walking a waist-high yellow ribbon from one end of the field to the next to force people to get out without having to touch them. It struck me as kind of offensive ("fuck off, we're not cattle") and excessive, since the show had only barely ended: at one point, I looked down and saw that the thing pulling on me was a ribbon they were marching forward in a long line, which I looked up and down in disbelief (the ribbon is the line you see just near the bottom of the stage, in the photo below; I turned around to snap a picture of it). People were still lining up to pee, still lining up to buy merch, but the security guards were insistent, wouldn't let people linger -- which besides being a bummer if you'd hoped to unwind for a bit (or buy a shirt), also seemed kind of unsafe, because suddenly you've filled the roads with people all marching to the bus loop. The trip home would have been less crowded and less chaotic if people had been allowed to linger and leave at their own pace. Combined with the lineup shitshow at the beginning of the night, the way security were treating people will make me think twice about seeing events at Deer Lake again (save for the one I already have a ticket for on Monday; I'm going again).
HOWEVER: the takeaway from that is, prepare for it. Read the stuff Ticketmaster sends about the show. Know your bus route into the park. Prepare for potentially long lineups by arriving (by transit -- the 144 bus will drop you near the Shadbolt Centre) early enough that you don't get stuck in it; arrive no later than 6pm, especially if you want to see the opening acts. Unless you're going to stand, prepare to be sitting on a pillow or towel on damp ground -- again, DO NOT BRING LAWNCHAIRS. Prepare for the likelihood that you will not be able to get food or refill a bottle if you arrive much later than 6 (unless you don't mind missing the first few songs, because he's going to start very soon after 8pm). And prepare to spring for the exits as soon as the last song ends, because you will NOT be allowed to just chill in the park for a bit -- no processing time is permitted. If you need a shirt, get there early.
I'm super-glad I'm going again on Monday -- there was a lot of stuff to negotiate that worked against full enjoyment, but "Southern Man," "Ohio," "Big Crime," "Sun Green," "Powderfinger," "Cowgirl in the Sand"... I'm still real glad I went. And I ran into Gerald on the bus home, and he'd had a great night too. Glad Bev got to be there. And big respect to Mr. Young!
(Psst, Neil, remember that wordy guy -- "Big Info Dump" -- on the archives who observed that he's never yet heard "Cortez the Killer" live? If you could do something about that on Monday, I'd be much obliged!).
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