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| Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts @ Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Neil Young made a triumphant return to Mountain View’s Shoreline Amphitheatre Friday with a concert that deftly balanced his enormous hits and newer messages with a few choice cuts tossed in for good measure. The sold-out bowl and packed grass up top were evidence that he has maintained his drawing power, and there was a heavy murmur of longing for the return of the Bridge School Benefit held at Shoreline every Fall from 1986 through 2016 (except 1987).
The Bridge School Benefit was held as a sacred weekend for many Bay Area music enthusiasts – bringing together older artists combining with newer artists and mostly acoustic versions in short sets. Every year seemed to bring incredible highlights – whether it was a young Green Day bashing their way through a very punk acoustic set or Metallica turning song interpretations inside out with their acoustic approach. The late Eddie Van Halen joined Simon & Garfunkel for “The Sound of Silence” in 1993 and Paul McCartney dueted with the late Bay Area treasure Tony Bennett in 2004.
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| Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts @ Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Young hadn’t been back to his home turf for nearly a decade since that last Bridge School Benefit in 2016, and he seemed at moments to be taking it all in. It was clear that Shoreline was a very special stop for the tour. At one point, he looked up at the audience, making his frequent question of “How you doing out there?” when he spotted the giant lit sign up at the very back of the lawn. “What the ‘Sky Bar’? What’s that up at the top?” Later, he paused a few beats after once again thanking the audience. “This was Bill Graham’s favorite place…” he said – leaving it to hang in the September air.
Young’s distinctive vocal style seemed to have defied aging. The man equally at home with throwing sneers or causing tears seemed to have retained his range, and all the complexities of his voice were present. Whether it was the tender “Ambulance Blues” he opened with or the stunningly still appropriate anger of “Ohio,” he effectively took the audience on an emotional journey throughout the show. His many solos served as powerful and howling reminders of his prowess with the instrument. “The Father of Grunge” of course wore his flannel and sent waves of fuzzy guitar chords out into the night.
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| Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts @ Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
But it was not just Young himself who wowed the big Shoreline crowd for Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts. The infusion of adrenaline and relative youth from guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Micah Nelson (Particle Kid) and bassist Corey McCormick (Promise of the Real) was bright for both the eyes and ears all night. Nelson – son of Willie Nelson – brought all the grunge/punk/psychedelic elements of his Particle Kid musical persona and threw them into Young’s musical stew. Whether on guitar or keyboards, his presence in every song was forward well beyond a support player. McCormick kept the pace high while sending deep bass lines into Shoreline’s foundation, combining leaps, leans, and a smile that remained glued to his face all night.
Young seemed all too happy to include his fellow string players in the spotlight, and most every song contained a moment of the three coming together for an extended, fun jam that underlined the energy of the song. Don’t get me wrong, both drummer Anthony Logerfo and longtime Young organist Spooner Oldham were substantial contributors on the night. But Nelson and McCormick seemed like they were playing their dream gig up there with Young for all two hours of the show. And the harmonies of McCormick and Nelson were second to none for a man who has spent his career with some of rock’s ultimate harmonizers.
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| Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts @ Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
And what a show it was! It was clear after the first few songs that Young was deciding what they would play only after a song had been completed. It was fun to watch the group briefly huddle to talk about what song would play and then the guitar techs would scramble to gather the right instruments. That spontaneity was in keeping with Young’s often-shared philosophy that the first time is generally the best version of a song.
“Long Walk Home,” the 1987 song from one of his times with Crazy Horse, was particularly poignant as Young leaned into a verse he had recently re-shaped to support the state of the world: “From Canada to Old Ukraine: We broke our word and left the pain.” The crowd responded with a roar as Young tenderly played out the song on piano and harmonica with a quiet, jazzy background from his band. “Take care of yourself in this crazy world. And your friends too,” he told the crowd afterward. “I’m just glad to be here tonight.”
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| Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts @ Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The night of course provided plenty of songs that still seem to be as purposeful and poignant as they were decades ago. Whether Young was pointing out racism in “Southern Man,” government oppression and violence in “Ohio,” or a driving version of “Be the Rain” that emphasized his chosen cause of protecting the planet and respect for Mother Nature. Young was a master of changing the pace of songs, coming out of the angry thrust of “Ohio” into the singalong protest of “Big Crime” (eliciting huge cheers with “Get the fascists out! Clean the White House out!”) and then into the sweet and wandering “Silver Eagle” and “Sail Away.”
As the show rounded the turn toward the finish line, Young made one more reference to the foreign (to him) sign up top. “How we doing in the Sky Bar,” he asked. “You got the wrong sign, ok??” Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts then blasted to a close with the final five songs of the two-hour show. “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)” saw Young fiery as ever on guitar, bringing Nelson and McCormick in tight multiple times as the whole audience sang the chorus. The power and fury of “Like a Hurricane” was preceded by a sweet “Name of Love” that saw Young on the organ. An acoustic “Old Man” signaled the end of the main set. Finally, the band finished the night appropriately, encoring with the song that had closed so many Bridge School Benefit Shows. “Rockin’ In The Free World” sent the audience home with the message and a reminder of the power and timelessness of both Young’s songs and the man himself.
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