HyperRust: Stone Ridge, August 13, 1996

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Stone Ridge, August 13, 1996

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The Mobile Rust Unit Review

Mike Guzzo's Review

Julio Syscrusher Laliberte's Review

Wes Wesman Kodama's Review

mood codette's Review

Michael ???'s Review

Ruth The Junkie's Wife Miller's Review

Barry Gillott's Review
Also See:

The Stone Ridge RustFest

The Set List

Hey, Hey, My My
Pocahontas
Big Time
Slip Away
The Needle and the Damage Done
Comes a Time
Heart of Gold
Cinnamon Girl
Fuckin' Up
Cortez The Killer
Music Arcade
Like a Hurricane
Encore:
Prisoners of Rock and Roll
Danger Bird
Encore:
Roll Another Number for the Road

Mobile Rust Unit . . . Stoned at the Ridge
Stone Ridge, August 13, 1996

review by Shakey and Thrasher

Shakey here.

Just getting back from the Nissan Pavillion show. Well, Charlotte as you all know by now was great, Atlanta (if my post ever got to Rust) was substandard, Raleigh was killer but THIS WAS THE SHOW!!!! Neil started off as he usually does, and played well. I even liked Slip Away tonight :-)

What really got me going was the inclusion of Comes a Time in the acoustic set. I took it as a good sign, and was right. After Like a Hurricane, Neil came out for the encores, and bypassing his Hagstrom, I realized This Town wouldn't be played. I was hoping for Scattered myself. But I'll be damned -- he played Prisoners of Rock and Roll!!!

If that wasn't enough, he picked up a harmonica and began playing his guitar with it... and then he completely wailed! One of the best harmonica solos I've heard him do... I bet this won't ever happen again, and I was glad to see it! :-)

If that didn't make me piss myself, then what followed sure did... The feedback from Prisoners hadn't ended when I heard the familiar strains of the song I've been hoping to hear... Dangerbird!!! A really well-sung version, too. Better vocals than on Zuma, IMHO. Neil came out for one last encore, and played a long version of Roll Another Number complete with two solos and an extra chorus at the end.

I think this was the best show of the tour so far! Oh, yeah, we saw Neil's bus on the way out, and followed it for a while :-)> I think I even saw Neil inside...

Thrasher here.

Back from show #4!! The best so far. With Prisoners of RnR & Dangerbird. Can't ask for more, really. The boys were hot tonight. Having a fun time and getting off. Prisoners was super cool with the harmonica jam. A real variation.

And Neil was talkative and told a story. Now we know how Cortez came about. Somebody will have to post the exact text sometime.

Basically, Neil wrote while he was sick from eating 7 hamburgers. He mentioned having to hurl/puke. Not a bad outcome.

We hooked up with many Rusties thanks to Long Lost Friend and the RustRow. Major event at the venue prior to the show. Really got evryone in the mood. Lots of guitars and beers. Got to meet Too Far Gone and The Junkies Wife. Really nice folks.

Thrasher - the road goes on!

Stone Ridge, August 13, 1996

review by Mike Guzzo This is my first post to Rust - usually like to just sit back and take it all in. However, last night I attended Neil's show at the Nissan Pavillion outside of D.C. Got there around 7:30, cracked a couple open, and hung outside with NY on the car stereo getting psyched for my first Neil show. Shortly before we were to go inside (and after Jewel got through yodeling), my car went dead. Rather than wait till after the show, i figured i'd take care of the little snafu. A kind, young parking attendant said, "no problem, we've got a tow truck guy that's driving around." 5 minutes later, the tow pulled up, took 10 seconds to jump my car, and then charged me $35 bucks! I was livid. Reminded me of Chevy Chase in Vacation when the mechanic asks him "How much you got?"

Anyway, now that my $18 lawn seat ticket was $53, i went inside (or to the lawn). Lights went down, they came onto the stage and after some brief feedback/Old Black fiddlin'- they blew into HHMM. My first impression was how good the sound was. Most shows, it takes 2-3 songs 'till the band sounds good. Neil and the Horse were crystal from minute one. The setlist from there, i think:

(see review above)

That's all hazy, please understand. Notes & highlights: Pocahontas - Electrifying. Big Time - Right off BA, note for note. Slip Away - good for awhile, but droned on and almost lulled me to sleep (would have rather heard Powerfinger). Acoustic set - crystal, crisp, perfect. Wasn't expecting Comes A Time (based on past posts/setlists), but eagerly took it in.

Oh, BTW, Neil didn't say a word till like the 5th song and blurted something like: "Oh, forgot to say hello. Here's one for ya..." and then rocked Cinnamon Girl with the intensity and freshness of a brand new song.

Fuckin' up - loud and heavy with Poncho flippin' off the crowd. For CTK, Neil said something about eating 6 hamburgers one night, then woke up and wrote Cortez??? What?? Music Arcade - nice addition and positioning in the set. For you guitar people, he strummed it with his thumb. LAH -- perfect length and intensity. They didn't draw it out (I know some of you rusties like 25 minute jams), they simply rocked it with neil doin some cool harmonizing towards the end. Very cool.

Encores were great (there might have been another after Roll Another Number, but i bolted to get out of that mud pit). All in all - very impressed. Lawn seats at outdoor venues are underrated. Sound was impeccable, the Horse were tight, and Neil played every note like it was the last. I hope I can rock like that at 50, and that's 25 years away.

p.s. -- anyone that was there, drop me a line and let me know what you thought of the show--- mguzzo@erols.com.

MG

Aural Assault in Manassas

review by Julio Syscrusher Laliberte

I've never seen back to back Neil shows so, I was afraid I would suffer a letdown after the excitement of Raliegh, but I was blown out of my socks! What a Rustfest! What a show! I'll just add a few comments to the reviews already posted...

I belive Stoneridge had the tightest security I've ever seen at a concert. There were these "secret service" type guys all over the place with the little earphones on, complete with crossed arms and nasty looks on their faces. There were 2 (security dudes) in front of me that wore a look of disgust all night long at all these people jamming. All I can say is I feel sorry for them if they have no idea what joy music can bring.

I was begining to think Neil had lost it during Slip Away! It kept going and going and going and going... I have to disagree with the person who posted that the sound was like "sludge" There were so many different harmonics and feedback blending together into a awsome mass of sound! Maybe he sat somewhere where the sound wasn't so good, but it sounded GREAT from row K sec 102!

Neil seemed to really be building up to something huge with the sonic rumblings at the begining of LAH, when some dipshit kept aiming one of those red laser pointers on his guitar and was working up to his face when it went out (I was hoping someone had snatched it out of his hand or something, but it showed up again during the encore) I think Neil noticed it and it pissed him off, because he abruptly stopped the artistic feedback and jumped into it. I talked to a few rusties after the show, and it seems I was the only one who noticed it. Did anyone else see it or was I halucinating???

While waiting for the first encore, I saw Larry Cragg bring out the This Town guitar. So, I was totally blown away when Neil pulled out Prisoners of R&R! This was the highlight of the show for me. That overdriven blues harp he played was just completely over the edge! He alternated between playing the harp and slapping his guitar. I'd love to see Neil go in this direction in the future. Especially if he could maintain the intensity I saw up there.

Dangerbird... Need I say more?

Even though it was right at 11:00 at the end of Roll Another Number, I was hoping for Sedan Delivery or Welfare Mothers to end it all, but the dipshit with the laser pointer showed up again... Neil was looking down at his guitar with it wiggling all over it. I don't see how he could have missed it, we'll never know if he would have broke the curfew or not (is there a curfew at SR?)

Neil was really feeling good lastnight and joked a little. He said something to the effect of, "this is a nice place...What is it, Blockbuster?" (pavillion) I guess someone informed him that it was *Nissan*, because he said "Welcome to the Toyota pavillion!" (I shouldn't use quotes because I haven't heard a tape, but what the hell, it's close!)

All in all, this was one of the top 3 Neil shows I've had the pleasure of attending. I'll wait to let the "high" wear off, and listen to a tape before I rate it properly. Thanks to all the rusties, (especially Powderfinger and Ram-Rod for jump-starting my piece of crap car!)and Neil for all the great memories...

On to Virginia Beach!
Julio
<syscrusher>

Nissan Pavillion Review

review by Wes Wesman Kodama

Live Music Fans,
I had a great time, and met several Rusties, all of them thoroughly enjoyable people:

Jim Memory County Jail Chiarelli and his son James; Kevin Union Man Woodward; Mark Powderfinger Klus; Rick Stephenson; and Julio Syscrusher Laliberte. What a great group of folks, and apologies to anyone I'm forgetting...

Here's the setlist:

(See first review above)

Impressions and notes:

Ben Folds Five was good. Drums, bass, and piano. They're tight, and there is a certain mental bent to their music, in that they're writing some clever songs. What I wonder is if they're too clever to ever gain any mass appeal. They didn't get the crowd singing along, like, say, Neil did during Fuckin' Up...

Jewel Kilcher is mondo cutie. Really wanted to just gather her up in the old arms there. I wonder if that doesn't detract just a wee tad from the fact that this gal can sing! She seemed to me to get into it, and sang with a good bit of soul and feeling. She's got a bit of wit, too.

Big Time: a roadie (not Larry Cragg I don't think) was playing a piano side stage.

Slip Away: the same roadie was playing tambourine side stage. Also on this song, at some point in there Ralph switched to brushes!

Cinnamon Girl: Poncho used an orange Gretsch.

Fuckin' Up: Poncho used a black Gibson hollow body.

Cortez: Poncho used the Gretsch. Before the second verse, they ground the song basically to a halt before Neil sang. I liked that. Later in the jam they had another nice tempo change.

Dangerbird: Poncho used the Gretsch.

A theme that struck me was Zones. Neil/CH seemed to me to be in a definite zone. In just about every song they did, I could sense that. The mood of the zone would vary from song to song, but to me they were plainly and clearly in the zone, the groove. They just come out there, and lock into each other, and ride with that. I sense this is the same groove they found at OPL, and to me they're obviously having a great time going with it. There's a fair amount of eye contact, and smiling, and guffawing and even giggling. The way it strikes me, I suspect that when they're up there, it feels to them just like they're up at Neil's ranch, just the four of them jamming. Oh, they know we-the-crowd is out there, but they're almost oblivious to us as they're so locked into the music. That's a good thing, BTW...

Several times I was amused by Poncho's amusement with the state of things. I'd never really picked up on his personality before, but last night he struck me as quite the character. I gotta tell ya, Fuckin' Up was some of the most fun I've ever had a show. It's not just Poncho flipping off the crowd, it's a mutual revelry in the whole "I fucked up!" experience/attitude. We enthusiastically flip each other off in a supreme mutual salute to the dogness in all of us. Right in our little section, we were really getting into it, leaning as forward and as high as we could go to really put some chutzpah into our middle fingers. Poncho had quite the sardonic grin as he indulged as well. What fun!!!

Cinnamon Girl really rocked. That thing was solid, and Neil and Poncho were smiling a good bit on that.

Before Cortez, Neil talked about how before he wrote the next song, he'd eaten like six hamburgers before he went to bed. At this point I just *know* he's talking another variation on Down By The River's birth, as he continued something like the burger sickness really fueled his imagination. He humorously (dry humor, but humor!) added, "I never told anyone that before."

At the end of Hurricane, when he did the expected shredding of the strings, he had Old Black just groaning away with feedback, and sung another chorus on top of it. I really liked that touch.

The harmonica solo on Prisoners was just too cool. He'd whipped it out (the harmonica that is!) to bang his guitar with, but then just suddenly started blowing on it! Jaunty, funky, too cool. I think Uncle Bob Zimmerman would've been proud of that harp break!

Dangerbird was simply masterful. Not because it's rare on the playlist. Because Neil/CH delivered it superbly without so much as a single blemish. Masterful. Anyway, not all of these songs are the most blistering, hair raising renditions ever heard. But all of them are in a really cool zone that Neil/CH are living in right now. Right now is a great time to catch these guys live, after all, Live Music Is Better!

Quick digression to the Why Bother Going To The Show Department:

During Slip Away, they drifted out into solo land, and I was really tuned into Neil's lead, I was hanging on every note. Right when it's really getting good and spacey, some dolt just has to leave his seat right that minute, so he totally disrupts my concentration and I lose my beam with Neil. Not happy about that, but wait -- the same idiot does this probably five times throughout the show. And it never failed that it was right at a moment was I was really trying to focus and concentrate on Neil's playing. We'd be right there, on the verge of a peak, and Dolt Man comes bulling through. Hey -- if you're gonna be running back and forth out of the seats like a yo yo, then just sit out on the lawn. Why bother sitting in the third row if you're never going to stay there and are going to constantly disrupt others?
Cherry mentioned Dolt Man #2 who kept bellowing for Cortez and then talked throughout it. What's the point of that?
The second row drool meister. He reeked of Jack Daniels. He was geeking about during the show and looked pretty whacked to me. So I wasn't surprised in the least when the lights came on, and there he was, with this elephant seal sized tusk of drool stalactiting down to his lap. I've never understood the mentality that pays all that money to go to a show, and then just gaks out...why bother going? You can pass out in your own drool at home or a bar...

Surfer Jeff, I really honestly don't mean this maliciously, but your post reminded me of a jacket that Mickey Hart has that says "If it's too loud, you're too old." :-) :-) :-) [I'm sure I'm much older than you are...]

What a great night!!!

P.S. -- toward the end there, Neil was at the mic without guitar, and says "Crazy Horse!" Then, he kind of spreads his arms out in an arc, and says "Smell the Horse!" and makes this big sniffing sound with his nose. . . TELL me he's not loving playing with the Horse right now!!

Wesman 14-aug-96 15:55 EDT

the following review is the typing
of mood code's sister, rachel

review by Rachel Lieber

last tuesday's concert was my first neil young concert, but probably not my last. It definitely beat out that New Kids on the block concert in fifth grade. I loved the solo unplugged songs he did, and like a hurricane was the bomb. But the show was a dandy, I didn't like the electric Cinnamon Girl. And the song he closed with could've been shorter, but these are just the comments of a first time neil young groupie, an almost seventeen year-old girl, so don't hate me for them. Anyway, until the next concert this is Rachel signing off: Adios Muchachos.

Smell The Horse
Neil Young and Crazy Horse
The Nissan Pavillion At Stone Ridge
Somewhere In Virginia
August 13, 1996

review by Michael ???

At the end of the show when Neil introduced the band, he told the crowd, "Smell the horse". I was so damn close (17th row, dead center) that I think I actually could.

For starters, the Nissan Pavilion is simply a dreadful place to see a concert. It is 40 miles from DC out 66 West which is presently undergoing major construction. It is sterile and void of any real atmosphere. The parking lot is a dreadful maze-like configuration, compounded by the fact that zit-faced teens were unskillfully directing traffic. At the end of the show, (11:00), it literally took 1 hour and 45 minutes to get home between lot and highway traffic. It would take nothing less than the resurrection of Jerry Garcia and the reformation of the Grateful Dead to get me out there again.

But when you are sitting in the 17th row, so close to Neil Young that you can see every wrinkle, every broken string, and every jam so clear, that you start to hyperventilate, I guess it doesn't really matter where you are. Neil stumbled on stage, looking like an overgrown skate punk--baggy shorts, black socks, high-tops, and a grey t-shirt. He came out with the Horse and ripped into Hey Hey My My and then a raging electrified Pochohantas, then two new songs, Big Time and Slip Away. The jams were monstrous and the Horse was playing just as tough as when I last saw them in Denver in 1990 on the Ragged Glory Tour. Billy Talbot's bass, Ralph Molina's drums, and Poncho Sampedro's (clad in a Hendrix t-shirt) guitar all were masterfully intertwined, and ear-drum shattering.

Neil then quieted things down. Off went the Horse, and out came the acoustic for three of the most amazing songs I have ever seen performed live: Needle And The Damage Done, Heart Of Gold and Comes A Time. Although the harmonica sounded great on the latter two, Needle was simply unbelievable. The fact that Neil wrote a song so poignant and telling about the evils of heroin long before the grunge movement that he fueled embraced this awful drug (with horrendous consequences) made the song even more haunting.

But once you taste the Horse, the acoustic numbers only work for so long. So after, Comes A Time, the Horse came back. Neil hit the house lights so he could see the crowd, and then welcomed everyone to Toyota Pavilion -- a wonderful dick on Nissan. Then he said, "here's one for you" and ripped into Cinnamon Girl. I can't even convey how amazing this song was.

Then, right into Fuckin' Up, (the best song of the night, but I am biased) which jammed for 15 minutes. Then, Neil told a story which he said he had never shared with an audience before. He told of how when he was in high school, he ate six cheeseburgers ("this was before McDonald's") and then he went to bed, feeling sick. Then he said he woke up in the middle of the night and wrote the next song -- Cortez The Killer. Cortez rocked, and jammed so long, and sounded great with vocal help from the Horse.

The Horse then left--but not for long, while Neil played solo a beautiful new song from Broken Arrow, Music Arcade.

Then, after thunderous drums by Ralph Molina and blinding strobes, Neil ripped into the opening chords of Like A Hurricane which jammed for 15-20 minutes. By the end, he had broken every guitar string, and was bumping his pickups into the microphone stand for some insane feedback. The lights then died, and Neil blew out the main candle which had been lit for the whole show on top of his amp.

The first set of encores was stupendous: Prisoners of Rock and Roll and Dangerbird. Who'd a thunk it? Finally, a stellar Roll Another Number For The Road to end the night.

If there was ever any doubt in this concertgoer's eyes that Neil Young is not presently in the prime of his career, it was dispelled last night. The man is on fire, and plays the guitar with a vengeance. It is also clear that Neil is at his finest with the Horse, and that they truly enjoy jamming together. The words I write here simply don't do justice to what was the finest show I have seen in a very long time. Also, I highly recommend sitting in the 17th row--regardless of the ticket price.

Nissan Pavillion

review by Ruth The Junkie's Wife Miller

I realize that this is late (relatively speaking) but we went to a baseball game on our way home from Manassas so bear with me please...

We got to the Pavillion at about 4:30 yesterday and found the tarp under which our fellow Rusties were housed. We were a bit nervous about meeting everyone but fortified ourselves as best we could and announced ourselves to the assembly. Cherry was there and immediatly made us feel at home -- after that it was one "new old friend" after another: Very interesting and curious to put faces and live personalities together with "on-line" personalities.

We met so many people and learned so much about Neil and the Music and ourselves- I have had great concert experiences with the music and with Chris, with Neil and other artists, but being with a group of people knowledgeable about the Man and the Music added a whole new dimension to the experience.

As for the Music last night I can summarize in four words: God bless Crazy Horse. Nobody works Neil like they do...

Highlights include:

Listening to the Jam before the show- I don't know all the names of all the rusties who played and sang but it was a wonderful way to be thinking about the music before the event

Watching Neil "fiddle with" Old Black at (near) the end of an extended Jam in what seemed to me an obviously sexual way- while he said TO HIS GUITAR: "Do you like that? Does that feel good? Was it good for you?" Ooohhh...

Hearing "Big Time." That song has such meaning for me and for Chris (and the whole family). We held each other, danced, sang every word and cried the whole way through it. It was great to KNOW the new song as well as the old songs!

All of the big long three note guitar jams. I love to lose myself in Neil's music- and to do that it has to last a long time- I find myself "allowed to" float out and back, farther and farther- "I just slipped away" on a number of occasions

Feeling very superior to the two couples in front of me who, with the exception of Heart of Gold were very disappointed with the set list, felt that the solos and jams were ruining the good parts of the songs, thought the music was way too loud, and really wished everyone would sit down and behave.
One couple actually left after Like a Hurricaine, during which the guy held onto the girl very tightly- evoking the immage of a couple, well, huddled against a storm. Aparently the storm was too strong because, as I said, they left right after -- I felt very sad for them -- I LOVE a good stiff wind!

Finally the feeling of community evident everywhere I went- from the bathroom to the parking lot to the Rustrow to the beer line- to everyone I talked to and met- thank you very much for making a great show even better!

The Junkie's Wife

A Tale of Two Shows (part 1)
Nissan Pavillion, Stone Ridge, Va

review by Barry Gillott

The following is being written because... well, we want to share it with all you Rusties. During the last week, my friend Sandy (SK) and I (BG) attended our first 2 Neil shows, and our lives have been forever changed!

While a lot of this sounds almost personal, we hope that even folks we don't know will enjoy it. We also hope that anyone we described herein might consider writing us back!

This focus is on the whole experience, not just/particularly the shows themselves (which have been well-covered by others). Finally, we do not intend to offend any political groups referenced herein, or people with zits, or employees of Filmways, Inc., or guys who bite their fingernails.

Stone(d) Ridge, Tuesday, 8/13/96

It all started when our Long Lost Friend (LLF) sent the following emailogram: STOP HAVE TWO NEIL YOUNG TIX FOR YOU STOP. One personal check, one Sacred Envelope and one new used car later, we're tooling down I-81 at excessive speed toward the Land of Mary. One orange sign later, we're dead stopped in Binghamton. Okay, many orange signs later, we get to our hotel in Frederick, MD. The evening is most enjoyably spent jamming with LLF and our buddy SM. (Thanks again for making the trip, LLF.)

Day of show, we help SM load his (most appropriate) Econoline Van, which for this event has been christened the Super Happy Fun Van (SHFV). Said SHFV is well-stocked with Martin, Fender, two somewhat dated road maps and many Consumable Goods. We depart in search of the Land Of Toyota.

Several Consumable Goods later:
BG: Back in Leesburg, did we want "15" or "15 BUS"?
SK: Why do I keep seeing signs for "I-81"?
BG: Ummm... maybe because we're heading "WEST"?

Heated discussion ensues. Topics include: which route back is less conducive to scenes from Deliverance, and whose map is of more suitable vintage. We wisely select a hitherto uncharted, yet paved, um, cowpath referred to by the locals as VA Route 734. Several Consumable Goods, one pee stop, one Dramamine and 4 shock absorbers later we re-enter the human race and successfully navigate to Stone(d) Ridge.

We are greeted in the parking lot by zit-faced Nazis (ZFNs) waving flourescent sticks. ZFNs are an empowered breed. They dock the SHFV and we devan. Walking across the parking lot toward the Rustie Tarp, we pause for our first religious experience: the sound check! Echoes Of Cortez can be heard beyond the horizon. We begin to see the light.

The Rustie Tarp was a blast. We totally enjoyed meeting Shakey, Dead Man..., Powderfinger, Jim The Brewer, Don, The Dude Who Bit His Fingernails Too Short To Play Guitar (is that possible?) and everyone I've forgotten. It was also great to see our old friends Marj, Cherry, The Lady Who Saw Us Play At Bacchanal and... everyone I've forgotten.

We soon started jamming with LLF, Shakey, SM, a quiet oriental-looking guy who did some good leads, and some others I didn't know. Did some pickin' on TNATDD. Did some harp on Sugar Mountain (to the _intro chords_ too?), and SK and I added some harmony to Ohio and DBTR (SK did some high harmony vocals on several other tunes as well). I'm sorry I forgot half the words to Unknown Legend! (More harp here too I guess.)

The highlight for me, though, was helping on F^%$in' Up with Shakey playing my guitar. "WHY DO I-I!!!???" Great preparation for the version Neil did a little later. Hope you didn't mind my scream at the end. Oh, we have some fuzzy memories and incriminating photos of our time in the van, Don.

Inside. Apologies to the guy I greeted by saying, "You're in my seat!" Good to see CB and his boss. More ZFNs enforced SK's route to the ladies room. What? She can't cut through backstage? :)

When the music started, I just slipped away. Electric Pocahontas was a lot smoother than I imagined it would be. "...and Muhammed Ali"!?? Everything else good that everyone else said about the show is absolutely true ... although I never saw the famous Drooling Guy in row 2 (and he doesn't fit my idea of a good time anyway).

Surprisingly, my feet had no bruises after all that stomping! More apologizes to the folks in row J who politely started turning around when I impolitely started singing off-key. Don't get the wrong message, SM, about me putting my arm around you during Roll Another Number - I was just happy.

Outside. We are changed. Farewell to Cherry and LLF and others.
SM: Beer left?
SK: There's one beer left.
SM: JUST ONE?
SK: Uh-huh.
SM: Opener.
[SK hands opener. SM has some trouble...]
SK: The rule is, if you can't open it, you can't drink it.
SM: That's... fair.
[SM straightens up and gathers unprecedented motor skills.]