[photos/review] Neil Young and Bert Jansch @ Hanover Theatre, Worcester

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Great photos. I caught the Ryman show on Wednesday in Nashville and oh my goodness...it was just magical. I say it was one of the best shows I've seen in a long time. Neil's still got it, but he never lost it in my opinion...
Judging from the write up and the photos the Worcester show was a carbon copy of the show I saw last night at Jones Hall in Houston. One exception being Neil did "Old Man" instead of "Heart of Gold" as the next to last song. Stage set-up and props look identical.

Neil did not disappoint other than if he was going to do so many songs on electric guitar he might as well of had a band and gone all the way.

I think his choice of Bert Jansch as opener was brilliant. I was extremely impressed with the entire opening set. The acoustics in Jones Hall were perfect for Bert's exquisite guitar work. He was a pleasure to listen to and really helped set a great mood for the rest of the evening.
I saw them in Wallingford, CT and I'm not sure about the wisdom of having Bert Jansch as opener. Jansch is brilliant, and is probably my favorite guitarist, but the fans were there for Young and, in fact, most didn't even know who Jansch was. Consequently, the crowd was noisy and unattentive, whether chatting in their seats, asking "who's that guy?" or wandering out the aisles in search of another beer. Jansch deserved much better!
one thing that i should have explicitly called out in my review was that the Worcester crowd was pretty quiet for Bert's set, which was really great. hell, i was expecting the worst in Neil's set a la drunken off-key singing and off-tempo hand-clapping, but that was kept to a minimum as well. maybe his playing electric helped to keep that at bay. i recall an early 90s solo show @ the Orpheum where the crowd was ridiculously bad wrt that.
David, at the Ryman the fans were also noisy during Jansch. A bunch of guys even yelled out during his set, "NEIL!! WE WANT NEIL!!"...although it was kind of funny because all of a sudden, in unison, the rest of the crowd sushed them and told them to be quiet!

I do believe his set list was mostly the same, besides at ours he opened with "Hey hey my my (out of the blue)" and played it acoustic...I saw somewhere he played it electric. It was magical though. Also, he encored with "old man" instead of "Heart of Gold". No "Heart of Gold" at all.

I actually loved hearing him playing electric without a band...I don't know, just something about it. He really got to shine and you could tell how much he enjoyed just making noise on that thing. I enjoyed it too...I enjoyed all the pews underneath us being shaken by the loudness of it. Also, his voice, still pristine as ever...
We were fortunate in Houston... everyone was pretty quiet during Bert's set. In general, the crowds at Jones Hall are respectful and do not yell out to the artists.

One of the high points was Neil doing "After the Gold Rush" on the pump organ and harmonica.
Oh my goodness, that was AWESOME!
"Gold Rush" was great at the Wallingford, CT show, too. "I Believe In You" was particularly moving, evocative of so many memories of that year. (Yeah, I'm old!)
The choice of Jansch was a bad one, made by Young, and I think through no fault of Bert's (except for some guitar feedback he could not tame). Guitar legend Jansch just couldn't overcome the idiots and drunks that come with Young's fandom, and in Buffalo at least the open doors to the hall of a great theater that had suddenly become the largest bar in town. As for Neil's performance, I think we mostly agree here, I especially with Anchor in the Valley's take. Thank goodness no Heart of Gold but Old Man instead. And, as it turned out, the unexpected guitar god of the evening was Neil himself.
Saw the first show at the Ryman. "I Believe in You" brought me to tears. I was familiar with the new songs via boots but I thought they were much better in the live setting.
I'll be the third to admit actual tears on I Believe In You (well David K above said "particularly moving," and yeah we're probably the same age and I also with memories of that year, senior year high school). I was glad to hear the album After the Goldrush well represented, his best IMO, and which helped keep me sane that year (1971). And as Anchor pointed out, the voice is the same as that year, unlike others his age.
I was most fortunate enough to see the 1st Ryman show from the second row, 2 seats from the stage. I was literally about 15-20 ft away from the piano when he performed I Believe In You. I pretty much remember going into an acid-like trance and just being frozen in that moment, like no one else was there. I didn't out right cry, but almost, almost........ It was absolutely amazing! I am a frequent visitor at the Ryman, I call it my home away from home. Neil is one of my life and musical heores and this was the first time I was ever able to see him live. (Had the money, had the time) And him opening with My, My, Hey, Hey....... he had me at My. Sounds cheesy, but I really needed that show. A perfect example of why music saves people's souls. Neil has saved mine, more than once.

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Created by No Depression Feb 17, 2009 at 9:06pm. Last updated by No Depression Apr 9.