No set felt more crucial this weekend than Neil Young’s on Saturday at sundown, achieved as much by its perfectly timed moments as its political impact (his anti-Monsanto organic seed free-for-all was hilarious) and sheer sonic force. Save for a 6-song solo acoustic intro (which kicked off at Golden Hour with “After the Gold Rush” and “Heart of Gold”), Young was in full-on guitar god mode, playing louder and more furiously than anyone in the Stones or Dylan’s band the previous evening. And his backing outfit, the Promise of the Real (featuring Willie Nelson’s sons Lukas and Micah) was no less mind-blowing. During extended jams (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s “Helpless,” Crazy Horse’s “Powderfinger” and 17-minute epic “Cowgirl in the Sand”), Lukas went head-to-head with the 70-year-old master, channeling a bit of his dad’s erratic picking, some Jimi Hendrix-esque freakouts and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s finesse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I5Vt-5ZtsY
Clearly, the younger fellas keep Young on his toes. And they had a blast in the process, particularly apparent when Young joked “We only have so many songs,” then pulling out a set list the size of a small human, allowing the camera to grab a close-up while his finger teased over more than 100 possible tunes like a Ouija board needle running rampant. It was a badass rock star move that revealed just how impressive this band is – they’ve rehearsed for countless classic cuts.
But Young owed his overall one-up to the moon, which rose – full and almost-orange like a humongous, cratered pumpkin – as the sun set behind the mountains opposite it. Of course, he had a hand in its impact: “Harvest Moon” appeared one song sooner than it did Weekend 1 – while the moon was at its biggest and brightest, like a second blazing sun – so that it hung just above the stage as Young crooned “But there’s a full moon risin’/ Let’s go dancin’ in the light/ We know where the music’s playin’/ Let’s go out and feel the night.” As wizard, astronomer, living legend – effortlessly encompassing a bit of each – Young’s music imbued the desolate desert with magic, vitality and harmony.
The Fat Angel Sings 