Neil Young & Crazy Horse finally hit the road with the “Love Earth” tour and it has been epic. The first Young & Crazy performance this year, for me, was at my first New Orleans Jazz Fest. The Rolling Stones started off weekend two of the festival on Thursday, with Foo Fighters, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, and the Coral Reefer Band filling out the weekend headlining. Next stop for me was Camden, New Jersey, where I met up with my buddy Eric in Philadelphia and we took the ferry across to the show. Two nights at Forest Hills Stadium followed with my son joining me in the GA pit for night one. Thankfully the tour stopped at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts, which is a short drive from my daughter. A somewhat stressful drive from New York to her house culminated in the two of us getting to the venue during the opener “Cortez the Killer” and wedging our way into the oversold pit area in front of the stage. When the tour was first announced it seemed as though Chicago would be the last U.S. date so I picked up a single pit ticket for myself with the perfect plan. As luck would have it, the Cubs had a day game and WhiteSox a night game same day with the concert venue for Neil that night in close proximity. A three and a half hour flight delay from LaGuardia Airport crimped my Wrigley Field portion but I made it in time to catch a few innings with some peanuts left to spare. I returned to the hotel to get ready for a few innings of White Sox- Orioles then NYCH. Just before leaving my room I saw there was an email from the venue which I assumed would be another warning to get there early as traffic would be bad. Unfortunately the email stated the concert had been postponed due to illness with no further specifics provided. Wow; my perfect plan came off the tracks and, after digesting the news, I went to the White Sox game and then the hotel bar for a nightcap. We still don’t know who was ill, or when the Chicago and two Texas dates that were to follow would be rescheduled, but I still have a pair on the pit for the added Denver gig in July and will travel to the rumored Saratoga Springs Farm Aid benefit in September. The tour is the closest thing to a “greatest hits” show that Neil has maybe ever put together, in honor of the great David Briggs who produced many of the tunes being performed. I believe the Canadian leg of the tour is supposed to kick off in July; let’s hope Neil gets back on the Horse snd is able to fulfill current tour commitments, and beyond, because these dates have been a celebration, and a blast.
Dangerbird
Rock on!
GQ
