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Paul Campos' Review

The Slipstream/Thunder Review

The Set List

After a bit of a slow start (Pocahontas just doesn't work that well electrified IMO) this show was nothing less than mind-blowing. CITS was intense, and built toward the first highlight of many, a tremendously lyrical version of Slip Away, where in the end the boys let the chords of the song intertwine for about five sublime minutes. A killer rendition of Cortez looked to be a peak, but then Neil and the Horse blew another pass through the Rocky Mountains with a thermonuclear version of Fuckin' Up. This song has never been a favorite of mine, but this was so wildly avant-garde, with Neil doing the "Brings back the time" thing over and over again, until he sounded like he was melding part of Thrasher into the song, and with the Horse laying down a concussive riff that rattled the molars of the crowd, that everyone in the front rows just went basically nuts.

Sedan Delivery sounded every bit as manic and out-of-control as it does on RNS, and of course a hilarious version of Prisoners made everyone in the rust row ecstatic. Just when we thought an outstanding show was over, Neil and the Horse went into about a two-minute huddle, and then out flew the Dangerbird. And what a flight. It was a much stronger take than that found on Zuma, and I love that version! The song concluded with several minutes of deep, rumbling chords that sounded like they came out of the roots of the surrounding mountains, and then the band simply exploded into LAH. Even having read the descriptions of previous performances on this tour, it was cataclysmic. Neil ended by scattering melting wax from a huge candle all over the stage, and then he and the Horse disappeared into the darkness as the feedback faded away.

Many thanks to master air guitarist and road warrior Dave Katz for procuring our fine tickets. It was great to meet him, Victoria, Stacy, Bill and everyone else.

A final note to West Coast Rusties: do whatever you need to do to see this show. No description could do it justice.

NEIL YOUNG IS THE KING OF ALL ROCK AND ROLL

Paul Campos

Howyadoinoutthere ---

Neil/Horse completely psyched in the mile high city last night! Blew a large hole in the universe during Cortez and the show was a complete mindblower from then on out. Slips Away led to a girl that who was fastly slipping away into complete Neil-world and gravitated up an onto the stage to be carried off (she's probably still backstage). Neil repeated the teenage fuckin' up angst "brings back the time" statement and I couldn't help but flashing back to the Sex Pistols show earlier in the summer and also the summer of 1977 of my angst daze. The hurricane frenzy was a complete strobelight psychotic reaction as Talbot whipped his rumbling bass while Neil went through the love/hate thing with Old Black, repeating "I wanna love you" (whack!) "I wanna love you" (whack!) as our bodies rumbled from the the world's garage caving in. Wow!

(Slipstream/Thunder)

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