Neil Young and Crazy Horse were deep into a blistering set on Central Parks Great Lawn when Young made an announcement: We re joining forces up here for you. Dave Grohl and Dan Auerbach then took to the stage with their guitars to tear through a ten-minute version of “Rockin in the Free World”, slashing power-chords while reverently watching the master take over, Young wrenching hazy, piercing, dissonant squeals from his Les Paul and shaking violently. Young;s feedback-soaked set – which ranged from “Powderfinger” to new cuts like the autobiographical “Born in Ontario” and the spooky jam “Walk Like a Giant” was an epic finale to the Global Citizen Festival, which drew more than 60,000 people to Central Park on 28th September 2012, included were the Black Keys, the Foo Fighters, Band of Horses, and others.
Organized by the Global Poverty Project to raise awareness about extreme poverty, the concert incorporated films about malaria, polio and other tragic diseases, played between performances while speakers dropped sad statistics ( every minute we lose a child under five to preventable diseases; 300,000 women die every year of poverty ). This didn t exactly get the vast audience in the mind-set to rock, but the mission was clear. Most tickets were free, with fans earning them by sharing information about extreme poverty on social media. Young was focused on the present, playing several new songs in a set that featured only two tracks released before 1989. It began with a heavy, nearly fifteen-minute jam on “Ragged Glory’s” “Love and Only Love”, with Young and guitarist Frank Poncho Sampedro facing each other, playing blistering solos with punk attack. Young quickly then launched into “Powderfinger”, full of twin-guitar mastery. He also went acoustic for moving versions of “The Needle and the Damage Done” and the new “Twisted Road“. I’m remembering the first time I ever came here for an audition, Young said of New York City before the twangy new “Born in Ontario“. It s a great place, even though I didn’t get it.
The set contains just eight songs with some great extended solos and Neil is on great form. Although its an electric set, there are a couple of acoustic songs, The version here of ‘Born In Ontario’ is just superb. The heavy rock side along with the more easy style make this overall a hugely enjoyable set, but the cherry on the musical cake is the version of ‘Rocking I The Free World’ .
For those who like electric, high energy Neil Young and Crazy Horse this is a great 70 minutes of live music from New York’s Central Park. From the opening chords of Love and Only Love, Neil and Poncho Sampedro sound energised. The concert includes previews of tracks from “Psychedelic Pill” as well as an acoustic “The Needle and the Damage Done“, and the grunge classics “Powderfinger”, “F***** Up” .
The Fat Angel Sings 