Philzone.org - Philzone Phansite Community Discussion Board: Setlists and Reviews: Non GD Related Reviews: Archive: Neil Young 10/23/07 WAMU Theater Seattle, WA

The show was excellent. It looks like we got the exact same show Portland got last night. So far the Boise, Spokane, Portland and Seattle shows have had essentially the same setlist. Boise got a "Campaigner" that hasn't shown up anywhere else, and both Boise and Spokane got "Journey Through The Past" instead of "After The Goldrush" in their first sets, and "Tonight's The Night" instead of "Like A Hurricane" as a second encore. I did a little research on where these songs first appeared on Neil's recordings (excepting the unreleased "Sad Movies," "No One Seems To Know" and "Love Art Blues"), which appear in parentheses after each song, just in case you want to reaquaint yourself with some of the more obscure material before seeing the show.

Here's a link to the other Neil 2007 show setlists including Boise, Spokane and Portland.

http://www.sugarmtn.org/years/07nysets.html

Pegi Young opened with Anthony Crawford, Rick Rosas and Ben Keith.

1st Set (solo acoustic)
Neil Young-guitar, harmonica, piano, pump organ, banjo

From Hank To Hendrix (Harvest Moon)
Ambulance Blues (On The Beach)
Sad Movies (unreleased)
Man Needs A Maid (Harvest)
No One Seems To Know (unreleased)
Harvest (Harvest)
After The Goldrush (After The Goldrush)
Mellow My Mind (Tonight's The Night)
Love Art Blues (unreleased, circa On The Beach)
Love Is A Rose (Decade)
Heart Of Gold (Harvest)

2nd Set (electric)
Neil Young-electric guitar
Ben Keith-pedal steel, guitar, organ
Rick Rosas-bass
Ralph Molina-drums
Pegi Young-vocals
Anthony Crawford-piano, vocals

The Loner (Neil Young)
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (EKTIN)
Dirty Old Man (Chrome Dreams II)
Spirit Road (Chrome Dreams II)
Bad Fog Of Loneliness (only on Red Rocks Live Video)
Winterlong (Decade, circa On The Beach)
Oh, Lonesome Me (After The Goldrush-composed by Don Gibson)
The Believer (Chrome Dreams II)
No Hidden Path (Chrome Dreams II)

Encores:
Cinnamon Girl (EKTIN)
Like A Hurricane (American Stars 'N' Bars)

It was a perfect night in Seattle. We had one of the most beautiful Fall days I've seen since I moved here, clear skies, temperatures in the mid-70's. With a waxing, near-full moon, conditions were ripe for a memorable evening.

The WAMU theater is an odd little 6000 seater. It's nestled in the bowels of Qwest Field (home of the NFL Seahawks) and feels like a warehouse, rectangular in shape with exposed girders and beams in the ceiling and a grandstand at the back of the floor.

The stage was adorned with large, random letters of the alphabet behind it, perhaps some sort of secret code. I arrived to catch the tail end of Pegi Young's set, about the last four songs. My seat was seven rows off the floor, which put me just above eye level with the performers who were about 50 yards away. Ben Keith played some nice pedal steel, Rick Rosas held down the bottom end, and I was very impressed with Anthony Crawford, who played some sharp and tasty guitar leads and sang harmony behind Pegi, who is a wholely capable singer-songwriter. A 15 minute intermission was announced, and I had a chance to scan the merch table and say hello to a couple of friends I spotted.

There was a large easel on the right side of the stage, and one of the roadies placed a large canvas with the letter "N" on it as Neil walked onto the stage unaccompanied for the opening set. As we were in downtown Seattle, "From Hank To Hendrix" was an appropriately fitting opener. The appearance of "Ambulance Blues" from "On The Beach" was a welcome recent addition to Neil's sets, and the "you're all just pissing in the wind" line got a hearty response. There were a lot of amped up dudes in the audience yelling out their love for Neil and song requests like agro-jackasses, so that line was spot on. Fortunately, I had an aisle seat and a more discreet elderly couple next to me, so the acoustic set wasn't overwhelmed for me by the boorish louts. Neil is definitely plumbing through his vast archive, as the three previously unreleased songs from the mid-70's exhibited. "Sad Movies" is one of those wistful songs that hits you deep if you've just gone through losing something you care about deeply. As a matter of fact, a lot of Neil's songs have this quality. Neil had a row of different acoustic guitars to select from, and eventually made his way over to the piano/pump organ array for a wonderful "Man Needs A Maid". The "Harvest" and "After The Goldrush" were just nails. The "Tonight's The Night" rarity "Mellow My Mind" was sweet, and after "Love Art Blues", one of the funnier interchanges of the night occurred. Some knob out in the audience bellowed "Like A Hurricane" at the top of his lungs. Neil immediately retorted, "Real good idea" in a mocking tone, "yeah, segue". Shut that dumbfuck up good! Someone else yelled "Tell us a story Neil!" Neil said something like, "A story, huh. I was in a bar, I was drunk, I was playing my guitar....well, that's the story...well, here's a story for you," and then launched into a perfect "Love Is A Rose." "Heart Of Gold" ended a thoroughly excellent set.

A 25 minute intermission was announced, I asked an usher where the designated smoking area was, and went outside to burn one down. The restroom line was a little long (more facilities please), but I got in and out (avoiding the temptation to yell out to all the other dudes in there that they were "all just pissing in the wind") just in time to be walking back into the arena as the lights came down for the electric set.

Figuring out the song titles for the 2nd set was far easier, as a canvas with the song title was placed on the easel before each tune. All the old standbys were delivered with gritty passion. Ben Keith moved from steel, to guitar to organ as the set progressed. I haven't heard Chrome Dreams II yet, so this was my first shot at the four songs performed from the album. I liked "Dirty Old Man" alot, great lyrics and a classic frayed Neil riff. As "Spirit Road" started, three or four people ran up to the space between the front row and the stage and started twirling. Just as security was moving in to gently escort them back to their seats so as not to mar the view of the folks who'd shelled out the big bucks, a total friggin' jailbreak occurred. People started streaming onto the floor from up in the grandstand and there was nothing security could do. The area in front of the stage was quickly packed, and all those folks who'd forked out at least $150 for their seat were forced to stand if they wanted to see the show. Having worked on my feet all day, I decided to stay right where I was in my comfortable padded chair with a clear view for the body of the set. The rare "Bad Fog Of Loneliness" was an interesting choice, and seemed to have a settling effect on the crowded masses on the floor. "Winterlong" and "Oh Lonesome Me" were especially choice numbers for Neil to pull out of his repetoire. "No Hidden Path" is the big jam vehicle on the new album. It meandered a little too sloppily for my tastes, but I'm sure there will be nights on this tour when Neil is really feeling it and will tear it to shreds.

For the encores I decided to walk up close. It was suprisingly easy, and I ended up about ten rows back of the stage. Unfortunately, I had the King Of The Knobs right next to me, some idiot who first had to yell "Powderfinger" at ear piercing decibel four times, and then felt compelled to yell out, "Neil, you are a GOD!" What a tool! The "Cinnamon Girl"/"Like A Hurricane" double encore was a crunchy end to the show. On the way out I picked up one of the two tour posters they are selling (I got the white background one with the crowd drawing. There is also one with a red background with grotesque red masked faces on either side with a Mayan motif).

Even if Neil isn't changing the setlists up too much, this show is well worth the time and the money you will spend to see it.

Rock & Roll Will Never Die!

cool. wish I could see him this tour, but money is better spent on other/more shows.

Portland was amazing and he was rock solid at both nights of Bridge, though Metallica and Tom Waits were the standouts