I always like going to the Farm Aid festivals with Neil Young all but sure to perform except for a few recent Covid related absences. I missed the last few Farm Aid shows, unfortunately including last year when Bob Dylan did a previously unannounced set with the Heartbreakers (there is great YouTube video of Dylan with Tom Petty snd the Heartbreakers from, I think, Australia which is extraordinary). This year’s Farm Aid was held at Saratoga Performing Arts Center; my wife and I had rear orchestra seats to the left of the stage on this beautiful September day in upstate New York. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats were an early highlight; I have seen the band open for Chris Stapleton, headline the Apollo Theatre and I believe perform at the last Farm Aid held in Saratoga. The band killed and the crowd was totally into their set where they played mostly familiar songs. Margo Price looks great but I find her voice not to be especially powerful and she was not really doing it for me. Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds were great as always and there was clearly a large DMB contingent in the audience who sang along to every Dave tune. For his final tune, Matthews brought Ratelifff back on stage with Micah and Lucas Nelson to perform The Band’s classic “ The Weight” which was yet another highlight of the day. The John Mellencamp set is pretty much the same year to year but he always blows the crowd away with his many classic hits. Mellencamp is every bit the rock star and knows how to rouse an audience. Next was Neil Young and his crew scurried to set up for a full band stage presentation as this would be the debut of The Chrome Hearts as Neil’s latest backing band. Micah Nelson remains from the Crazy Horse tour that was abruptly suspended in Chicago and then canceled due to illness. Replacing Ralph Molina on drums and Billy Talbot on bass were the Promise of the Real rhythm section with legend Spooner Oldham on keyboards filling out the line up. Young eased into things with a few Harvest Moon songs before going electric with “ Powderfinger”. Neil Young & the Chrome Hearts followed up the Farm Aid appearance with what is supposed to be the start of an east coast tour with two killer shows at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York where I managed to be right up front for both nights in the general admission orchestra ( more on that later). Willie Nelson and Family had some major technical issues to start their set with with no amplified sound and video images of Willie making him look frail, somewhat confused and every bit of 90 plus; but the band played on as we listened to the bulk of their set on Sirius as we headed to a local hotel for the night. It was a great day of music for a good cause. Next stop, the Capitol Theatre for two more epic Neil Young performances

Unknown Legend

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GQ

Now if I am recalling this Rod Stewart concert at Jones Beach Theatre correctly, I had four seats in the mezzanine (any seat in the mezzanine at Jones Beach is to be avoided; bad views and usually worse sound depending on how the wind is blowing that night) and our friends had bailed because of the rain. My wife and I then took our daughter and son (they weee young and did not have much choice) and Stewart played a mix of the Great American Songbook project and his many rock and roll classics. I just saw that Rod Stewart is going to play Mohegan Sun in the fall which makes sense as his recent tours have entertaining but a bit too Vegasy for my liking. The first Rod Stewart songs I remember as a kid in the 1970’s were “Stay With Me” and “ Maggie May”; two all time great rock and roll songs. Rod has managed to navigate through the pitfalls of show business over decades and maintain an incredible legacy; he is a truly a one of a kind musical icon.

Rhythm of My Heart

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GQ

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

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GQ

For the second Neil Young & Crazy Horse performance at Forest Hills Stadium (and my fourth on this “ Love Earth” tour) I attended solo and stood about five rows back behind the pit facing the left side of the stage. After the band opened with “ Cortez the Killer” and “Cinnamon Girl” Neil blew up the set list adding “ Roll Another Number”, “ Dangerbird”, and “ Sugar Mountain” into the mix while also reinstating “Down By The River” and “F*!#in’ Up”.

The overcast sky hanging over this iconic outdoor venue provided an ambience that Mr. Young seemed to appreciate.

Everything about the two day Neil and Horsefest was special somewhat taking the sting out of what I spent at the merch booth. I ran into my childhood friend and concert buddy Joe Fisk and his girlfriend in a bodega on my way to the conveniently located Long Island Railroad Station and headed home a happy man. Tonight I try to catch up on some sleep, after a whirlwind rock and roll couple of weeks with work interspersed throughout, before heading to my daughter’s on Friday afternoon where we will be in the pit for Young & Crazy at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts that night. I had taken the family to a CSNY concert at the Jones Beach Theatre when the kids were much younger, but this is the first tour either of them have seen Uncle Neil & Crazy Horse up close and personal. David Fricke wrote an outstanding review of the Neil Young & Crazy Horse concert that took place at Forest Hills Stadium on Tuesday.; a must read.
The road goes on forever…..

Like a Hurricane

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GQ

The very long awaited, and several times postponed, Neil Young & Crazy Horse “Love Earth” tour is in full swing and it is an epic evening of rock and roll. My wife and I attended the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz Festival a couple of weeks ago with the Rolling Stones playing Thursday, Foo Fighters headlong Friday and Neil Young & Crazy Horse Saturday. It was an absolutely outstanding weekend of music and food but the crowd around us for the Crazy Horse set was uninspired and either somewhat worn out from three days of festival or just not into Young and Crazy’s great set of mostly familiar tunes. I then broke up three days of working the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at the US Tennis Center in Queens to meet my buddy Eric from Pittsburgh in Philadelphia where we took a ferry to Camden, New Jersey to see Neil Young & Crazy Horse perform Sunday night. Reverend Billy opened; he opened for Neil at Jones Beach Theatre several years back and I remember that, for a variety of reasons, I was not digging what the Rev was pitching. I’m not sure of it’s a complete goof, or partly serious, but the evangelical gent in the white suit irritates the hell out of me. Then Neil & Crazy Horse hit the stage and just blew everyone away, starting with an extended version “Cortez the Killer” with a newly discovered extra verse that was somehow lost while recording the original. Last night, my son and I were in the pit at Forest Hills Stadium for a ferocious set that included “Vampire Blues”, technical issues throughout “Hey Hey, My My” and ending with a raucous encore of “ Sedan Delivery” then “Rockin’ in the Free World”. Billy, Ralph, Micah and Neil seem to be getting better with each show and I will be there again tonight for a second helping at the always very cool outdoor venue, Forest Hills Stadium, where there are still plenty of tickets available and a price drop for orchestra seats. It may rain but who cares; go see this show!

American Stars ‘n Bars!

Down By The River

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GQ

I do not know how many times I have seen Aerosmith perform in concert. The first time was around 1978, or so, at the Nassau Coliseum when someone turned up Joe Perry’s amp to “11” during “Back in the Saddle” and the increased volume nearly knocking me off of the metal folding chair I was standing on in the orchestra. I saw Stephen Tyler reunite with Joe Perry during, what I believe at the time, was the last Joe Perry Project show that happened at My Father’s Place in Roslyn. I have seen Aerosmith perform with Cheap Truck opening I do not know how many times; it has been a few. The most memorable Jones Beach Theatre Aerosmith concert I attended was the one that I attended with my son with Groupon tickets and Stephen Tyler whacked Joe Perry in the face while spinning the mic stand around. That might be this 2004 concert, but I am not entirely certain as the many Aerosmith experiences seem to blend together at this point. I had purchased tickets for the Madison Square Garden farewell tour show that was “postponed” because of Stephen Tyler’s throat issues but ended up taking the refund; they are still holding on to the money with no rescheduled dates announced or on the horizon as of yet. The Black Crowes, who were supposed to open for the tour, are using the hiatus to do their own headlining concerts in support of a new album and will make a stop at Radio City Music Hall.

F.I.N.E.

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GQ

I took my then 12 year old son to the 2004 K-Rock Dysfuncional Family Picnic at Jones Beach Theatre primarily to see The Darkness who were an interesting phenomenon around that time and who we thought might be the “next big thing”. More notably, as it turned out, it would be the only time that I would catch the Beastie Boys perform in concert. My clearest memory of the event was, although the Cypress Hill had some really good songs, I had to take my son for a walk around the venue during their set as some aspects of the act, and some of the material, did not seem age appropriate for him at the time. The K-Rock “picnic”, and the station itself as a rock and roll entity, are both a thing of the past now, so I am glad that we had the opportunity to celebrate Howard Stern’s former home in person, at least this once, during this wild diverse concert line-up performing while at Jones Beach.

I Believe in a Thing Called Love

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GQ

If memory serves me right, this Fleetwood Mac concert at Jones Beach Theatre in June, 2004 was a tour that did not include Lindsay Buckingham but instead the band added two guitarists to replace him. Entertaining show as I remember, and no Buckingham did not make much of an impression on me as, while I like Fleetwood Mac and their music was everywhere in the 1970’s and beyond, I was never the biggest Mac fan. I came to more fully appreciate Lindsay Buckingham’s contribution to the live act when they played a two day mini- festival that included the Eagles years later at Citifield.

Go Your Own Way

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GQ

I attended the New York City stop on the Yes 35th anniversary tour at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, May 13, 2004. I have no particular recollection of this Yes concert but unbelievably this will make 2024 the 55th anniversary; time waits for no one. I recently saw the Steve Howe version of Yes at the NYCB Theatre in Westbury which was sadly not sold out that evening. In the 70’s and early 80’s the diehard Yes fans among us would order our Yes tickets months in advance for the Madison Square Garden and Nassau Coliseum shows with the anticipation building as the shows came closer. After the “Going for the One” tour, and the return of Rick Wakeman, the succeeding worldwide Yes treks were performed “in the round”, which was genius as each musician in the band was brilliant in his own right; while the stage revolved in center orchestra you could concentrate on an individual member’s performance and fully take in their individual contributions for a song or two.
Yes “ in the round” at Westbury was obviously not quite the same as the old days, and it was a stark reminder of how much time has passed since Yes had been in their heyday; thankfully the music has held up through the years and the current touring versions of the band can bring us back to the memories of those glory days.

Roundabout

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GQ

For her Christmas gift, I took my sister Tracy to Morristown, New Jersey for the sold out matinee performance of Dancing with the Stars Live. I do not claim to be a fan of DWTS, (given a choice, I would much rather have gone to the Peter Frampton concert advertised on the Mayo venue’s marquee on a Wednesday in March), but for what it is, the show was entertaining. The venue reminded me of the Patchogue Performing Arts Center on Long Island, for what it is worth, and was found to be located in the center of the Morristown business district. The DWTS television show has apparently been following up the finale with a road show for years and it is definitely a well done production providing two solid hours of entertainment with a fifteen minute intermission. Those fans of the show who came to see their favorite dancers perform live in person seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience.

Dance, Dance, Dance

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GQ