So I don't get to see this latest tour of Neil's.I received two cds documenting for partial eternity his opening night in Boise last month on Oct 18th. My ears just finished attending the show......cyber-like.
Well. Neil really knows how to kick off a tour, doesn't he? The first song of the tour. He starts and stops. And then starts singing it just when you think he's gonna throw it away. Oh yeah. You gotta love him. Nevermind, you do what you want. *I* gotta love him.
Pissin' in the wind. He sings it; some in the audience laugh. You can tell by this that they've never heard the song before. They've got that 'initial response' going there. I've been listening to that song for decades. I was in high school when it was released. Why I think that EVERYONE should know OTB (Neil's On the Beach album) frontwards and backwards is beyond me. No, wait, it's logical. Isn't it?
Ok, now I know why he threw Ambulance Blues into this tour. Because he's got the Riverboat rockin' in the rain on his brain from his snapshot teasers of three songs randomly marketed with Chrome Dreams II. My amazon copy didn't include one. I can wait for the whole show on the Archives release now slated for right after Valentine's Day '08. (Should we laugh in unison?) Since the archives will include the Performance Series shows he's already released individually (and I've purchased), it will be nice to get at least one complete new show outta the deal. I'm getting tired of the diehard fan rape that's been going on. On the other hand, as someone once told me, "The willing can't be raped."
Calling out. Rusties always complain about others calling out song titles. Just because we know (except the opening night, of course), for the most part, what he's going to play next, and that, yes, he follows a setlist (sorta) and that, no, he doesn't take requests....well, we think that they're rude for doing that. Just listening to the show at home I didn't think they were rude but I must admit that I cringe when they do it at shows just wonderin' how neil will react....and hoping he won't pull another tension-filled Last Trip to Vegas. egads. So as of this moment I *don't* think it's rude of them. I bet at some point he was flattered when it happened. Yeah, ok, that was thirty years ago maybe. I don't think he took requests then either.
Has he ever responded to an audience member with, "Great idea!" and then played it? Tom, do you know of any time he's done that?
Which reminds me....who is that asking for Coupe de Ville? ;-)
And who was he calling a party pooper at this show?
Are Winterlong and Bad Fog becoming the staples of a tour with BenK?
He says, "I can't tune any more" and calls for Larry. Could he ever tune? What year was that?
You know, it's one thing to read a setlist and quite another to hear it played. I've been painting again nights in my studio after a hiatus of years. That's when I played the cds and it was a beautiful thing. Highly inspirational.
Last time he had played Harvest I was there. (His one-off performance on the closing night of the '99 solo tour in Houston that made me fall out of my seat. He also threw a White Line at us; a song that he'd only played live three times previously 23 years earlier. We Rusties live for those moments.)
Boy, I'd like to see him play that one again. And A Man Needs A Maid. Oh, Lonesome Me. They sounded magnificent.
You guys at this show must've been slapping each other silly as song recognition kicked in for each one.
I enjoyed listening to each song TREMENDOUSLY tonight. Even The Believer sounded ok. (Don't get excited. Just ok.)
He's over-charging us but he's also treating us good.
xo
bh
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