I'm extremely blessed. On Friday (May 17), I got to see my favorite musician, Neil Young, perform an inspired set at the Keller Auditorium in Portland, Oregon. The gig was part of his mini 2019 Solo Spring Tour which took him to cities across the Pacific Northwest.
The Keller Auditorium, home to Portland operas and musicals, was the most adequate choice, both sonically and atmospherically, for Young, who hardly ever settles for anything less than performing at a historic theatre fit for a rock king like himself.
His throne was a circle of all his legendary guitars, both acoustic and electric, amps, and a chair in the middle where his lay his not so weary bones. His energy was permeating throughout the auditorium during the times he sat and wiggled back and forth in this chair to both staple Young tunes and new ones that felt so familiar, only a super die-hard fan would notice that it was a new song.
The setlist kicked off with one of the new songs, thought to be titled "Think of Me." It got its live debut at the beginning of the tour (May 14) in Vancouver, BC. He performed a Buffalo Springfield classic next, "On the Way Home," before going into another new song, thought to be titled "Right by Her Side."
Then he moved into more familiar territory as he flawlessly went into an acoustic rendition of Neil Young & Crazy Horse anthem "Cinnamon Girl." Uncle Neil was much more engaged with his fans than when I saw him perform with NYCH this time last year. He asked how we were doing, he cracked jokes, and would fool us into guessing what instrument he'd play next has he'd walk to his organ, pretend to almost sit, only to jump up, take a sip of water, declare that the show is "sponsored by water," then admire his other tools (and there was a LOT up there) before ultimately going back to one of his guitars.
The night was filled with a lot of After the Gold Rush and Harvest Moon material. But the tour has also given Young room to play around with new material. Other new songs he performed included "Green is Blue," a song maybe called "She Showed Me Love," the live debut of "Rainbow of Colors," followed by a song that might be called "Why Do I Believe in You?"
Once he sat on his grand Steinway, he explained how the loyal piano has been scorched in the past - perhaps in a fire at his Malibu home. You'd never be able to tell as he delicately moved his fingers up and down the keys to perform what is my personal favorite song to ever exist - Buffalo Springfield's "Expecting to Fly." You better believe that tears were rolling down my face as Young soothingly cooed "All the year's we spent with feeling / Ended with a cry."
The 24-song setlist ended powerfully, back on the acoustic guitar for "Harvest Moon" and "Heart of Gold." After a much deserved standing ovation, Uncle Neil returned to the stage and we all stood and waved our arms in unison as he performed "Tumbleweed" on his ukelele for the encore.
Drool over Portland's setlist below:
Young ended his PNW solo stint on Saturday in Spokane, and now he's heading to Seattle for some gigs with Promise of the Real.
