As taglines go - 'A Very Special Evening with Neil Young - Solo and Acoustic' - is about as enticing as it gets for fans of the great man. Unforgettable as the high voltage Crazy Horse shows usually are, a chance to cosy up to Shakey is an unmissable opportunity.
But what most of the audience probably aren't aware of, is that tonight, Young won't pluck a familiar note for a good ninety minutes. Instead, he's intent on unveiling his new concept album 'Greendale', alone from a candle-lit stage.
For a man who's been a habitual 'dumper' over the years (partners, musical collaborators, friends) ditching the touring norm of veterans his age shouldn't surprise anyone, yet it's telling that he has the confidence in this film/soundtrack project to build a whole live show around it.
"I won't retire but I might retread." he sings in the opening 'Falling From Above' as the usually terrifying prospect of a deluge of new material gives way to his most personal song in years. "Seems like that guy singing that song has been doing for a long time/Is there anything old he ain't said/Sing a song for freedom, sing a song for love."
The ten new tracks come interspersed with lengthy, sometimes humourous, always droll, monologues on the fictitious town's inhabitants. By the end, Grandpa Earl and Grandma Edith Greene, Jed, Sun and police officer Carmichael feel part of your own family. Simple blues, lonesome harmonica, the occasional thoughtful solo, but mostly trademark repetitive melodies caressed from his guitar, accompany narratives of their traumatic lives.
The interval gives you ten minutes to digest what's just taken place. Young's held the entire audience's complete attention as he's washed America's dirty linen on stage. Nowhereville, USA's ills are outed from media hysteria to corruption, government incompetence to murder and small-town mentality to environmental issues; in short the death of an age of love and understanding.
But these aren't flakey mutterings of a fading hippie, after all Young's prerogative was to expose the darker side of the 'peace and love' good vibes at the time. The rye-smile inducing megaphone aside, these are the insightful, and perfectly valid, views of an aged campaigner who still has the fight despite having acknowledged the futility of it all.
When the second half opens with 'Lotta Love' there's a collective sigh of relief as we're back on familiar ground. As he trawls through his lever arch file stacked with songs, you're secretly willing him to pick your favourites and do them justice. 'Pocahontas' on 12-string guitar, 'The Needle And The Damage Done', 'After The Goldrush', 'Old Man', and the final 'Heart Of Gold' all duly oblige.
Young may be approaching 60 years on the planet but he's looking and sounding as healthy as ever. While the 'classics' are worth the admission fee alone, the 'Greendale' material makes a mockery of money spinning hits carnivals doing the rounds. Young's still got the determination to find a new message and spread it. They were right, it was a very special evening.
