NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE @ The Catalyst/Santa Cruz, CA
appearing as Hippie Dream
19 May 1997
Concert Review by Dave "The Priz" Sigler
Originally posted to Human Highway 
.
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Hey Folks, Sorry for cloggin' up your mail servers with what, at first
glance, appears to be the same damn thing I just posted. However...trust me
this different albeit slightly. You'd think after all the stuff I have
written over the years, I'd know not to post/print a first draft.
Picture yourself as a organ transplant recipient...waiting for the pager
to go off. That is the feeling one gets while trying to determine if and
when Neil will play any warm up shows...and if so, agonizing about how to
get a ticket.
The rumors spread over the weekend. Confirmations came and went. I went to
work hopeful,but not expecting anything. I religiously checked the
voicemail every half hour. Nothing the first hour and a half. Then I
learned there is show for sure that night (Monday 19 May) at the
Catalyst...and we have a friend in line, but it is uncertain if they will
be able to buy multiple
tickets.
Then there was a delay in selling the tickets...cops were trying to
control an increasingly restless line stretching for a full block. An air
of doubt began to hang over the show. Finally we got word about 1:30 that
vouchers for our tickets had been secured and all that remained was to get
to Santa Cruz. We were on the road by 2:30.
The faithful were lined up early to secure a choice spot in the general
admission bar. We got in about 7:30 and milled about and talked, waiting
for the show to start. Neil and the Horse took the elevated stage at 9:00.
The stage was adorned with large candles...OPL style. Ralph
was flying the Jolly Roger over his kit. Immediately to Neil's left was a
sheet music stand. Between songs a crew member would come out with large
manila folders, open them up and place them on the stand. I am assuming it
was the lyrics to the less familiar songs the band
was now playing.
"Big Time" opened the show. The sound was crisp and glorious. Tremendous
mix that had the guitar right up front without sacrificing any of the
vocals. Neil then strapped on a white Telecaster...but it must have been
for looks seeing as he did not touch it during the debut of the new "Modern
World." Neil cupped a harp as he used a separate hand mike to blare out the
harmonica portions of the song. At first listen, the song struck me as a
60's cover tune. The rather simplistic rhyming of the opening line,
"We're
living in the modern world with communication between boy and girl.."
reinforced the notion. As did "I hurt you and you hurt me with crimes of
love committed in the first degree..." Simple or not, it's a very likeable
tune and it features some of Neil's most extensive harmonica work in years.
A ripping "I'm The Ocean" came next. They followed "Ocean" with a
beautiful "Razor Love." Neil seems to have re-discovered this song and his
singing on it is very emotional. Neil then said he could "feel a lot of
old souls" in the room...and he paid tribute to them with a great
"Cinnamon Girl."
"Hippie Dream" was another old soul turned loose in the room this night.
Very bassy, very grungy and again, some impassioned vocals by Neil
especially the line, "just because it's over for you don't mean it's over
for me...so don't kill the machine..."
A vibrato drenched intro lead to another new song, "Horseshoe Man." This
seemed to be much more a work in progress. Pleasant enough, but not really
catchy at this time. "In the land of broken hearts people lookin' for the
horseshoe man..." The rather slow pace of "Horseshoe" was succeeded by a
smokin' "Throw Your Hatred Down." Some great guitar
work on this one.
The bar tour attendee's cup runneth over....yet another new song. Per the
set list, it's called "Out of Control"...but could easily be "If I Can Hold
Onto to You." A very pretty piano-based love song in the same mold as "Such
A Woman" but more upbeat.
"Downtown" was met with a roar from the crowd. This song does not move me
at all on record, but it does come across real nice in live versions. That
closed out the first set. The intermission stretched to nearly an hour.
The second set began with a great "Act of Love."
After an abortive first attempt, next came "Truth Be Known." Again the
killer mix was evident as Poncho's tasty acoustic support was clearly heard
next to Black.
The funky and very recognizable bass intro lead into "Hard Luck Stories."
In both its initial live outings this song really worked well and leaves
you wondering why the guys let it languish unplayed back in 86 and 87.
Following "Stories" was one of the best versions of "Crime In the City"
that I have ever heard. Unlike the difficulties experienced at the
Trocadero...the band plowed into the song without hesitation. Neil was
taking the paint off the walls with his blistering guitar work. The
vocals were incredible too...emotional almost to the point of tortured.
A gorgeous "Don't Be Denied" came next and, again, featured the "lost"
verse that begins "oh Canada, we played all night...." This was a highlight
for me. I love that song. The band followed up with a majestic "Cortez The
Killer." Neil was playing around with the lyrics and
phrasing a bit.
After "Cortez" Neil once more strapped on the white Telecaster...and this
time played an intro to "Modern World." I don' t know if this was an
intentional try out of a different angle on the
song...or the intro was to kill time until Larry Cragg gave Neil the proper
harp to do the song. In either case, it worked and this version was even
better than the debut earlier in the
evening.
With the beginning riffs to "Piece of Crap" blasting forth... I began to
wonder if Neil will call this the "Broken Mirror" tour. A great version of
the song that toward the end,had Neil yelling "I want a fucking refund..."
"I want my money back..." Neil even kind of upstaged
Billy by bellowing out the last "piece of crap" himself.
They began to unstrap their instruments, but did not walk offstage.
Rearming themselves, the guys launched into a torrid "Hey Hey, My My."
During the song Neil took off his baseball cap and flogged Black's strings.
Then he put the cap back on bill-first...but cockeyed...down low over his
eyes. Realizing what he had done, he got a strange look on his face that
instantly reminded me of Lionel in Human Highway. He set the cap right and
then finished off the song grinding into the ending.
Despite at least ten minutes of tumultuous applause and yelling following
their exit from the stage, Neil and the Horse did not return for an
encore...but I think all in attendance felt they got their money's worth.
After the show we wearily made our way to our hosts home in Santa
Cruz (Thanks again Tom !) An hour or so of talk and unwinding and then some
welcome sleep.
Up early the next day to do the line again. In contrast to the voucher
thing they did the day before, it was decided that the tickets themselves
would be sold two-to-a-person beginning at 11:00. We were about 80 back
from the front and therefore knew we were guaranteed for the
show. We got the tix and then retreated back to Tom's place for R'n'R.
The call came about 5:00. "The show's been cancelled...Neil cut his hand."
In semi-shock we piled back into the van for the brief five-minute ride to
the Catalyst. Sure enough, the hand-printed sign in the door woke us up
from our Hippie Dream. "Tonight's show cancelled. Refunds available
Friday." Holding out hope for a postponement to the weekend, rather than a
full blown cancellation, we left the tickets in Santa Cruz and headed home.
The phone could ring at any moment. I am ready to go.
Dave Sigler
Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 20:54:44
From: ThePriz
To: human_highway@bosco.dyndns.com
Subject: HH: more carefully edited version
Prisoner of Rock'n'Roll
Concert Reviews 
A Neil Young Archives