The Trans Tour - 26 Sep 1982
Wembley Arena, London, England
Well, after waiting pointlessly for Neil to come to Ireland for over 10 years, it was time to leave the Emerald Isle and venture into enemy territory :-) Travelled with about 50 others from Dublin on the ferry/coach from Ireland - for my first Neil gig. Not too much puke on the crossing this time... The show had a catwalk that Neil and Nils Lofgren would ramble down with their guitars from time to time. For the acoustic songs Neil sat at the end of the catwalk in the middle of the crowd. First time I talked to Neil fan Danny "Chicken Coop" Quinn from my home town of Enniskerry. Got my first boot "Old Man's Fancy" from some guys at the show. Almost missed the coach on the way back out of London - fast asleep in the hotel with the bus blowin' the horn out in the street.
The International Harvesters Tour - 23 Aug 1984
SuperEx Grandstand, Ottawa, Canada
The security check found our wineskin of Southern Comfort and poured it on the ground. It was pissin' rain - myself and the bro' wore plastic refuse sacks to try and stay dry - although I'm still glad that we went general admission - we could get quite close to the action - although I'm not so sure my sister and her husband Mo ever forgave us for this drenching.
The Rusted Out Garage Tour - 21 Nov 1986
Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, USA
I arrived early and got to stand about ten back from the stage for the first half - after the break I couldn't get back up. This had to be Neil's funkiest stage set, with giant roaches crawling around and an oversized telephone and stuff. He left all this behind him when he came to Ireland the following year :-( The ticket said "Live Filming" so I got a friend in Canada to tape the show live.
The Rusted Out Garage Tour - 6 Jun 1987
RDS, Dublin, Ireland
My favourite Neil show until the recent Echos gigs. First time I saw him snap all the strings on 'Ol Black. Was right up near the front of 6,000 strong. The Irish audiences are the best (I'm biased )- they know the words to every song and always sing along. I remember seeing Kris Kristofferson brought almost to tears in 1982 as the audience sang song after song - it was religious.
The Lost Dogs Tour - 15 Apr 1989
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
One of those shows where the first half is acoustic and the second half electric. Neil opened solo with 'Comes A Time', 'Sugar Mountain', 'The Needle And The Damage Done' and 'Wrecking Ball'. A few people cat-call stuff and Neil says "Anybody else got anything to say? It's your turn. I been talking for about twenty minutes here." Some guy calls out for Sugar Mountain and Neil says "Sugar Mountain! Boy where were you, you just get here, you were in the parkin' lot or what? Jeez." Then Neil shouts out "Comes A Time... Needle and the Damage Done... ". An enjoyable set - he played 'Box Car' and talked a lot - managed to get the fifteenth row. Run Around Babe got right up to the front when the crowd mobilised.
The Booker T And The MGs Tour - 10 Jul 1993
Slane Castle, Slane, Ireland
The moshers were too hectic for us at this one - feet off the ground for long stretches so we retreated a bit. Van Morrison was in good form - the show also featured Pearl Jam, James, The Saw Doctors, 4 Non Blondes and the excellent Irish group The Blue Angels. A few pictures I took at this show may be found here (they even sold disposable cameras!). Finally got to hear 'Southern Man' live - and it was great.
The Bridge School Benefit IX - 28 Oct 1995
Mountain View, California, USA
First time I made it to this event - I almost made the first in 1986, ticket and all, but circumstances intervened. Chrissy Hynde and her band of Pretenders were excellent, and played a great rendition of 'The Needle and the Damage Done'. The show also featured Beck, Emmylou Harris with Daniel Lanois, Bruce Springsteen and Bootie and the Hoefish. Neil's acoustic set with the Horse was purely fantabulous.
The Echos Tour 1996
Princeton-By-The-Sea and Santa Cruz, California, USA
Well, these shows are the stuff of legend. Although the OPL shows were more intimate, with about 120 people in attendance, my favourite was the second show at The Catalyst (about 500 people - wristband second from bottom - the rest are OPL). 'Barstool Blues' and 'When Your Lonely Heart Breaks' from this show ended up on the 1997 Year Of The Horse double live release. My review of this show may be found here. A bunch of photographs taken at OPL during the time of these shows may be found here
The Broken Arrow Tour - 16 Sep 1996
Sacramento, California, USA
Thanks to Lookout Mama, Jim Pittilla and Jill Lorie for organising the RustRow. A few brews in Sudwarks before the show necessitated a visit to the bog during the show, in fact during 'Dangerbird', which ended up on the 1997 Year Of The Horse double live release... We were so tired after the show that we had to cop some zzz's in the car outside of Denny's restaurant, and woke at 6 am to face the Bay Area rush-hour traffic - a nightmare only the most tortured among us could dream.
The Broken Arrow Tour - 17 Sep 1996
Concord, California, USA
Memorable songs were Cortez The Killer (the whole set was bathe in an apocalyptic red glow when Neil sang "What a killer...") and Cinnamon Girl. The RustRow was 110 strong at this one - got to meet a lot of "More Barn" folk. Five of us from the show had a minifest at OPL the following day - well... four plus a Lost Dog... and DangerGirl.
The Bridge School Benefit X - 19 Oct 1996, 1st Show
Mountain View, California, USA
A truely incredible show - featuring Hayden, surprise guest Pete Townsend, Cowboy Junkies, Patti Smith group, Dave Bowie and Pearl Jam, in addition to Neil and the Horse. Bowie blitzed the place with awesome renditions of 'Aladdin Sane', 'Jean Genie', 'The Man Who Sold The World' and 'Heroes', among others - and Patti Smith's delivery was just superb. Cowboy Junkies did a cool version of Powderfinger and Neil played Campaigner ! with the Horse. The RustRow was 50 strong. But holy %$#@ was it cold...
The Bridge School Benefit X - 20 Oct 1996, 2nd Show
Mountain View, California, USA
As mesmerizing as the previous day's show - the special guests were Billy Idol and Bonnie Raitt. Managed to get 4th row seats - now I know why people pay so much for these suckers - Bowie even smiled at me for Chrisakes!
The Trocadero, San Francisco, California, USA
Neil and Crazy Horse left the Castro Cinema in San Francisco during the showing of the world premiere of 'Year Of The Horse' to play a remarkable show at The Trocadero. A slip of paper with your name on it was issued about an hour before this show, and was retained by the venue upon entry.
Santa Cruz, California, USA
Neil introduced three new songs during the show: 'Modern World' (played twice), 'Horseshoe Man' and 'Out Of Control'. (Thanks Ron). The band played a spectacular 'Crime In The City'.
Santa Cruz, California, USA
The third and final warm-up show for the upcoming HORDE Tour was cancelled following an injury to Neil's finger while cuting open a vacuum pack of turkey meat... ("If you can't cut it, Then don't pick up the knife..." from 'Saddle Up The Palamino' - Neil Young) he promised to stick to macaroni and cheese after the event. The wound was sufficiently severe that the European leg of the HORDE Tour was cancelled.We had waited in line from about 8 am 'til 11:30 to get tickets... here we are in line.
Mountain View, California, USA
At about 3:10 pm Neil gave an unannounced solo performance at the Horde O' Culture mini-stage, playing about 8 songs solo on guitar and harmonica. The banter between audience and Neil was something stellar... he talked quite a bit and was a real treat for the fans to hear Neil in such an informal setting. A variety of other bands played throughout the day before Neil and Crazy Horse closed the festival with an electric set.
Mountain View, California, USA
The line-up included Kacy Crowley, Blues Traveller, Lou Reed, Alanis Morrisette, The Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica and a solo Neil Young. Metallica put in a great performance, but Neil stole the show by debuting a couple of new songs among a bevy of unreleased tunes. Neil was joined on 'This Note's For You' by John Popper and Micky Raphael, both on harmonica, to close his set.
Mountain View, California, USA
Similar tio the previous day's show. Neil included a moving rendition of the unreleased 'Horseshoe Man' on Grand piano, in addition to the songs played the previous day.
Mountain View, California, USA
The line-up included The Eels, Jonathan Richman, The Wallflowers, Bare Naked Ladies, Sarah McLachlan, Phish, REM and a solo Neil Young. Neil was joined on 'Helpless' by Phish, and on 'Ambulance Blues' (not played live since 1974!) with REM. Neil debuted a couple of new songs - 'Song Of Love' (aka 'Distant Camera') and 'Highway Of Our Love' (aka 'Looking Forward').
Mountain View, California, USA
Similar tio the previous day's line-up, with an additional guest appearance by Pete Droge. During his solo set, Neil played 'Expecting To Fly' for the first time since 27 February 1971 - thank you Neil. Sarah McLachlan and Phish joined Neil to close the show with 'Four Strong Winds' and 'I Shall Be Released'.