Neil Young & Crazy Horse - RDS - 15th June

karen9

Totally agree with epiphone, have been to all Neil Young gigs, never been so bored. Stadium half empty, no atmosphere, and I have never been to a gig that the audience didn't shout for more at the end. Have seen Bruce Springsteen in the RDS and it is always a great atmosphere, so the venue was not the problem.
What is it with Neil not been able to finish a song, it goes on and on and on

C.K Dexter Haven

Flysfisher wrote: »

This was awful self indulgent bollocks.
The rds is a dump.

Agree it was self indulgent. I wouldn't call it awful but I was toward the front standing so it wasn't too bad for me- definately not a great gig by any means. Certainly wouldn't like to have been seated- I'd say they were rightly miffed. RDS is just not a good venue but with no big screen, no audience interaction and bad sound, I could see how parts of the audience would agree with you in full.

GCU Flexible Demeanour

I have to agree with him in part. I really wanted to like this concert, but at times it was like Spinal Tap without the laughs. All they needed was the speakers to start picking up air traffic control messages.

A few moments to salvage from it, like when he took out the harmonica and did "Comes a Time". But half the audience had gone to the toilet at that stage, because of his quarter of an hour of "These Go To Eleven" pricking about with the feedback from his guitar - which is what provoked the booing.

On the plus side, after tonight I doubt he'll ever attempt a free form jazz odyssey on a festival crowd.

Flysfisher

I am quite annoyed. I've seen all his irish shows and this was the worst by a mile. Awful sound. Awful stage (what's with the chepo black bin liner plastic?). Awful set list. Awful lighting. Awful self indulgence, particularly during 'walk like a giant'. Putting it plainly, It was just awful. for a neil young fan just embarrassing. I want my money back!
I am sorry I am a big fan but very very disappointed tonight.
Spoke to several others, they feel the same.

marwelie

I was too cold to enjoy myself. Ill admit to not knowing a lot of his stuff and having only gone to Slane in 93 because I got a free ticket but I thought it would never end tonight. No interaction with the crowd, too much improvisation and not enough familiar tunes to get people involved. It was an older crowd so the atmosphere would probably be that bit more sedate but the fact that there was only enough people there to fill the pitch didn't help matters either. He was just up there amusing himself. There were loads of people standing around outside the arena just listening to the music too which was bizarre to me. Should have been fully seated and indoors. Didn't have a problem with the sound incidentally.

And those of you who didn't turn up to see Little Green Cars....you missed Ireland's best new band, absolutely fantastic gig by them today.

GoldenTickets

Wow, going by these reviews I'm very relieved I skipped this one. I've seen Neil 3 times before and was disappointed I couldn't afford to go this time, but it sounds like I dodged a bullet in the end.

quickbeam

I thought it was a great gig.

I was up near the front and heard no booing.

Yes, his outros went on too long, but it's been the same for plenty of concerts I've seen him at, it's just his thing. But except for maybe five minutes of boredom, the rest of it was great.

He didn't talk much during the show, but again, anybody who's seen him before knows he's not very talkative. He certainly made an effort with the audience though even without talking - he moved around, he looked like he was enjoying himself.

Of course I can't say the sound wasn't bad, or there was definitely atmosphere towards the back, but it certainly didn't apply to where I was and everybody seemed to enjoy it and the only complaints were that he didn't go on for longer rather than any complaints about sound or set-list.

C.K Dexter Haven

Los Lobos were painful as support- Waterboys played well and a good song mix but again there was no real atmosphere in the crowd.

jimosterberg

I thought it was a great gig. Have seen him a few times and really enjoyed it tonight. I knew it being a Crazy Horse gig that it would divide opinion and that some people would be unhappy with the setlist. I was up the front and the sound was great there. The band seemed to be having a great time and the people around me were too. Each to their own I guess

chris_d

that was class. neil young is a bad MF.
cortez as the encore with the rain coming down was epic.

sorry for anyone that didnt enjoy it.

Hannibal

Crowd lacked atmosphere from the start I got the feeling even at 5 or 6 when I arrived that it was not a great vibe.

The Waterboys were fantastic.

Neil Young was... Neil Young. Cortez the Killer was a phenomenal way to end a good gig. From where I was people around me seemed shocked that he wasn't playing anything from Harvest and After the Goldrush so it's failure on their part to realise this was Neil Young and Crazy Horse not a Neil Young solo gig like Malahide a few years ago.
A lot of people didn't bother buying the new album so they never heard Ramada Inn or Walk Like a Giant or as I said can't differenciate between Neil's work and the work he done with Crazy Horse which is what this set is drawn from. Now Walk Like a Giant is a song I'm a big big fan of but he took the piss at the end of it which seemed to lose a lot of the crowd who were already in shock that many of his greatest hits were not going to be played.

The RDS is a terrible venue, midway through the Waterboys the stewards decided to start laying down more flooring to widen the standing area by 10 feet or so as it was too narrow to begin with, this should have been done long before it all seemed odd. The lighting was crap, sound was crap and no screens was odd. I notice on this tour Neil is doing indoor venues everywhere else so the rig he has with him is setup for indoors so maybe whoever booked this venue should have instead booked him for the Point given he's on a mostly indoor tour and not outdoor, I'm sure the artist mostly doesn't care once he's getting his fee. I'll never set foot in the RDS again but without doubt I'd go see Neil Young again.

jacko1

sorry but that was exceptional.

In particular, Ramada Inn was perfection and Cortez went way beyond perfection.

Lived up to all the hype in the reviews from the UK, France and Holland.

Whats more, it was obvious that they were really enjoying it themselves.

It wasnt a Neil Young gig - it was Neil Young & Crazy Horse and it was perfect !

adrian522

Dotsey wrote: »

From where I was people around me seemed shocked that he wasn't playing anything from Harvest and After the Goldrush so it's failure on their part to realise this was Neil Young and Crazy Horse not a Neil Young solo gig like Malahide a few years ago.

Malahide was with Crazy horse too.

All in all it sounds like a lot of people had a poor experience which is a pity, but people shouldn't be surprised by all the self indulgent guitar solos etc, that has been par for the course for a while now and is really part of the show.

If someone could post up a setlist that would be cool.

DylanJames

That was phenomenal. Felt sorry for anyone who was seated as they might as well have not been there but Neil and Crazy Horse were fantastic. A lot of people went practically expecting a solo gig but it was billed as Crazy Horse so people only have themselves to blame on that front. The most fun I've seen Neil have on stage. Should have been in The O2 though, RDS is a truly awful venue for gigs

adrian522

Setlist here looks like it was pretty good,

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/neil-young/2013/rds-arena-dublin-ireland-1bd9c930.html

If that is accurate I dont know how you could complain about that, plenty of classics rolled out.

dharn

Not a good gig ,all of the negative comments here are dead accurate, not nearly as good as malahide castle gig

mrblondecutsear

Have to say the set list was absolutely perfect for a Neil Young and crazy horse gig. The whole band played to perfection and all seemed to be enjoying themselves. The crowd did lack atmosphere completely and you could tell a lot of people just came for songs from harvest and after the gold rush. Sound was fine if you were in the middle but anywhere else it wasn't too great. I personally loved the more experimental parts of the gig and the extended endings to the songs. I don't quite understand the mindset of people who have only heard an album or two of his from the 70's and then complain that he didn't play anything thing from them 35 albums later.

MayoForSam

Agree with most of what is being said on here. Enjoyed the gig in the main, this was Neil being Neil with his best buddies Crazy Horse. His voice is still very capable and his guitar work was fantastic. Highlights for me were Ramada Inn, Cinnamon Girl and most definitely Cortez as the encore. Agree that the RDS is a bit of a hole and this show would have been much better indoors. This might be the last time we see the Horse over here, Neil might have a few years left in him yet though.

mrblondecutsear

MayoForSam wrote: »

Agree with most of what is being said on here. Enjoyed the gig in the main, this was Neil being Neil with his best buddies Crazy Horse. His voice is still very capable and his guitar work was fantastic. Highlights for me were Ramada Inn, Cinnamon Girl and most definitely Cortez as the encore. Agree that the RDS is a bit of a hole and this show would have been much better indoors. This might be the last time we see the Horse over here, Neil might have a few years left in him yet though.

Yeah couldn't agree more. The gig would have benefited a while lot more if it were indoors!

That was my first time seeing Uncle Neil in action. Well, that was...exactly what I was expecting. Knowing it was a Neil Young and Crazyhorse gig I was going to, I knew I wasn't going to hear many of the songs which first brought me to Neil Young. The long solos were nice to a point, then it became apparent that Neil thought he was at home in the garage:pac: The repeated to the death stabs at the end of every second song was a bit too much for me and totally killed the crowd at times. Still, there were some nice jams, the Horse were tight, following Neil wherever he went, and a killer version of Cortez to close the night.

The man is obviously at that point in his career where he just wants to go out on stage and jam with some old friends and rock out, irrespective of crowd desires, he is entitled to do that, but I imagine there were many people there tonight who got something they totally weren't expecting. Yes the gig was advertised as Neil Young and Crazy Horse, but no one told that to the guy doing the song cuts for the TV and radio ads.

The sound was absolutely sh1te where I was to the right in line with the technical area. Although it was always going to be a noisy/thrashy gig, the strict noise restrictions in the RDS ruined any chance of a decent sound. F*ck you promoters and your modern 'anywhere will do for a gig once we get the ticket money' mantra (see Marlay Park also). Sound quality has become the very last concern at outdoor gigs, and god help those punters down in the end of the stands, not a speaker tower in sight. I walked down there in search for a toilet at one point and it sounded like there was a gig happening somewhere in the vicinity. The people in the apartments behind the stage would have had a better experience of the gig for free.

One poor girl flat out working behind the hot dog stand, I the fool queued for 20 minutes to hand her 12 quid for 2 hotdogs. She said she was on her own all day. I saw the manager coming in twice to check the till as I and about 100 other people waited in line. That girl will sleep for at least 12 hours tonight!

So all in all a mixed experience, but it's Neil so there's greatness and reason going on there somewhere, I hope! For me it was like 'The Passion Of The Christ' of gigs; I knew I was watching something great but it was a tough watch at times:o Still delighted to have been there and able to share these thoughts, hard to say if I'll get the chance to see Neil again. To compare, last June I got to see another longtime favourite of mine for the first time, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in the O2, and I was elated coming away from the place. As soon as Neil and the boys left the stage tonight it was like "Right, sure we'll go". If he does an indoor gig of any kind here in future I'll try for tickets, outdoor nope.

eyeball kid

Overall I though it was great. Worth it just for Cortez I thought. Alright, the extended feedback noodling on one song really outstayed its welcome but the rest of Neils set was great.

On the support, not a big fan of the Waterboys but they were surprisinly good. Little Green Cars were brilliant, definitely going to get their album. I love Los Lobos but the sound wasn't good for them today and it really affected their set.

Furious-Red

adrian522 wrote: »

Setlist here looks like it was pretty good,

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/neil-young/2013/rds-arena-dublin-ireland-1bd9c930.html

If that is accurate I dont know how you could complain about that, plenty of classics rolled out.

Did they only play 14 songs?

horseburger

I thought it was great.

I enjoyed hearing Ramada Inn and Walk like a Giant.

Heard a lady behind me remarking 'finally an acoustic guitar!' when he began playing Comes A Time.

But in fairness, considering its a Neil Young and Crazy Horse tour, anyone attending shouldn't really expect the type of shows he did in Vicar St in 2003.

Using the Weld album as an example, it would be clear that they'd place far more emphasis on the electric stuff.

ned rierson

adrian522 wrote: »

Malahide was with Crazy horse too.

nope

Menas

I have no complaints about the setlist and the performance, it was as expected and enjoyable.
But the RDS is a terrible venue.
Long queues for the toilets and bars and food stalls.
5.70 a pint of lager.
The sound quality was just abysmal. I was wandering around and only if you were close to the stage could you get any real feel for the gig. A Neil Young and Crazy horse gig should be loud, loud enough to send you home with a buzz in your ears.

I am so glad that I was not in the stand. That would have been depressing.
The atmospehere was flat, the weather dampened things and in the end I was glad to get out of there.

Theothermoelle

Really poor sound and the people in the stands made us all a bit sad!!! On stage Neil and his buddies could have been at home in the garage.... I wonder if he enjoyed the crowd?

hughmace

Was at the RDS last night
When I arrived really looking forward to it lots of people sitting on grass in the sun soking up the atmosphere
Got into the stadium only a third of the pitch was used and both stands
I missed little green cars and Los lobus
Waterboys were good played a good mix of old and older stuff even in the rain sound was grand

Young and crazy horse came on at about 8:30 and played till 10:45 ish mix of new stuff from the album physodillic pill and some older stuff back as fae a zuma song list was fine Maybe a few better known songs to get the crowd going It Was Very Flat
All the grudging during and extended song ending started annoying the crowed (slow hand claps etc)
Venue was not good and sound was very poor wind was blowing the sound back to the stage and vocal was muffled
Wouldn't go to see him again in the open and probably not with crazy horse
Gig wasn't one thing or another
Very disappointed for €80 a ticket

yogicolly

Worst gig I've ever been to in my life, nothing to do with what Neil Young did or did not play, the sound and setup were simply a disgrace! Seen him numerous times, he always does what he wants and in fairness that is perfectly fine he's entitled to it and most fans know that and accept it! The problem was the sound, it was simply way to low, when u can barely hear the gig and your standing in the pit then something is very wrong (there pretty much was only a pit size standing section as over half the pitch was blocked off due to poor sales). Having no screens for the people in the stands who forked out the 90 quid is also inexcusable, also not having the traditional crazy horse stacked amp stage rig is also very strange considering they used it in the UK during the week.

To be honest it was if they looked at the sales and said they couldn't be bothered. Aiken really need to apologise for this gig! I left the gig looking for a refund after 4 songs, Aiken in fairness took one of our group up to their offices to listen to our concerns, we didn't get a refund but we are waiting their response and were assured they will be in contact! The negativity of the masses leaving after 6 or 7 songs was incredible, nobody was happy about this gig! They really need to look at the rds, if there is sound restrictions there that will ruin the gig then don't put a gig on there, the gig would have been much better suited to an indoor show! The prices they charge these days needs to be backed up with quality, in this case it certainly was not!

Flysfisher

There's an awful lot of people on here saying it was to be expected from neil and crazy horse. That's true to a certain extent. But still stuff like ramada inn and giant while good tracks are not ever going to work live with a big wide ranging audience. The set list was a poor selection.
Blown in the wind? Why? It's not like he short of his own excellent material.

Tigerbaby

yeah

the wind blew the sound back to the stage. Meself and de missus just nudged our way right to the front.

Now we could actually hear the music.

Superb atmosphere up there. crowd really getting into it. Thought it was a great jamming gig. Neil smiling, happy head on him.

"F*uckin UP" was unbelievable... But many others stood out. De missus was warned not to expect a jukebox gig. Neill doesnt do cabaret!. She really enjoyed it too.

What can I say; great, great gig for those of us who could hear it.