Trunk Show's Mission: "To blow your eardrums out"

After Greg Kot's rave review of 'Neil Young Trunk Show: Scenes from a Concert', we thought we'd be hard pressed to find a critic who could top describing the indescribable.

But here's another review to whet your appetite over next 24 hours.

From Reverse Shot by Andrew Chan:

Trunk Show allows us an intense focus on an aging man throwing his entire body into the music, at times seemingly surprised by the passion and sheer sadness of the sound he’s making.

There are, indeed, few sounds in popular music more heartbreaking than a Neil Young vocal.

Sometimes a sharp and atonal bleat, sometimes hanging nervously in the back of his mouth, Young’s voice is so instantly memorable it needs no words and no narrative to flesh it out. Demme trusts in this and is clearly, appropriately, in awe of it, but he also isn’t interested in presenting us the same permanently plaintive Young. In an interview, he has even advised: “If you’re not a Neil Young fan, don’t waste your time . . . if you don’t love electric guitar, don’t go.”

Accentuating the murkiness and loudness of the rocker’s new material is a stage lit by dim, sickly yellow and purple spotlights, substituting for the comfort of Heart of Gold’s ochre and umber. Gone are the backdrops depicting hearth and home; here, a few grotesque props remind us of the set design for the grungy Young-directed concert film Rust Never Sleeps. As if standing in defiance of those who accused Heart of Gold of pimping Young as some Starbucks-friendly folkster (or those who remain suspicious of an artist who briefly cultivated a soft-rock following in the Seventies), Trunk Show eventually announces its mission to blow your eardrums out.

The meat of the film is not the bravely shy singer but the merciless guitarist, and “No Hidden Path,” a monstrous 20-minute jam that brings the first half to its climax, serves as a kind of litmus test. Taken from his latest studio album, Chrome Dreams II, the song starts out with images of moon and mist that would have fit in the lyrics of “Harvest Moon,” before launching into the type of vague spiritual pronouncements that have recently muddied Young’s once-vivid songwriting.

Once the guitar takes over, though, there’s no turning back. A cacophony of escalating moans, yelps, and screeches, the performance is likely to try the patience of all but the truest devotees. But by the end, the uninitiated may feel they’ve undergone something like a religious conversion—especially when Young lets our bleeding ears rest once again on some of those impossibly delicate ballads. Even the most brutal of art-house provocateurs would have a hard time cinematically sustaining such an outburst of anguish and foreboding, while steering us so swiftly back to safety and solace.

What emerges is the most coherent and generous portrait of this artist yet captured on film, and probably the most remarkable melding of his soft and hard sides since the 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps. When he’s stalking across the stage in a rocked-out stupor, wisps of hair dangling in his face, it’s the force of his commitment that moves you. Where Heart of Gold showed us a man ready to make peace with the dying of the light, Trunk Show gives us all the rage Young has left in him.

Awesome Andrew. Thanks!



More reviews of 'Neil Young Trunk Show: Scenes from a Concert'.

Graham Nash and The Hollies Inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Graham Nash
Photo from Purple Words on a Grey Background

Earlier in the week, Graham Nash and The Hollies were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

This is Nash's second time being honored and joins a very select few musicians who are lucky to be inducted by the Rock Hall more than once. First with Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1997 and now with The Hollies.

In an interview on 4waysite.com, Graham Nash said: "The Hollies being inducted actually means a little more to me than CSN."

As he prepared for his second time around, Nash spoke about the debt of gratitude he owes to Little Steven Van Zandt, why he doubted the Hollies would ever get to this point, and the prospect of playing with Maroon 5 at the induction ceremony.

A full interview with Graham on 4waysite.com.

Also, lots of great photos on Purple Words on a Grey Background.

Grazi Francesco and Merci Jacques-Eric!

Stephen Stills Brings Kent State, Ohio To Its Feet

"Ohio" by Stephen Stills
(NOTE: Not such great audio, but great photo "stills")

From The Burr :: Spring 2010 :: Stephen Stills brings Kent crowd to its feet by Sarah Steimer // Photos by Laura Torchia:

“Well, I really couldn’t play in Kent, Ohio without doing this one,” Stephen Stills said. He strummed the first few chords as the crowd began to cheer. “No, not that one, we’ll play that one later,” he laughed. And with that, Stills launched into “Find the Cost of Freedom.”

Stills played two shows at the Kent Stage, at 8 and 10:30 p.m on Friday. The audience was a who’s who of great Northeastern Ohio beards, with a few young pups mixed in.

The old venue held two nearly identical shows, and even some of the jokes were recycled. Stills and his band opened with “Helplessly Hoping,” and the crowd was immediately hooked. After a shout-out to his old band mate Neil Young, he poked a little fun at Young and his fellow Canadians who stepped forward at the closing ceremony of the Olympics and introduced themselves, in Stills opinion, like alcoholics at an AA meeting.

Thanks Tim!

More on Four Dead in Ohio.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 2010 Convention

The 2010 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young convention will be held in Reggio Emilia, Italy on Saturday May 1st 2010.

After almost 20 years, the men behind the infamous CSN&Y fanzine Wooden Nickel organize another special event for all those who love these four wonderful artists.

Live music, unreleased footage and a "traders" section for a long CSN&Y day - and night! - in the heart of the Italian Food Valley.

The festivities will begin on Saturday May 1st at 4:00 pm at Tabacchi Blues in Fontana di Rubiera: there will be a musical appetizer featuring acoustic bands & artists coming from all over Italy plus screening of rare and vintage CSN&Y footage.

For more information, dinner reservations, accommodation and details about the musical programme, please contact: csny.convention@gmail.com

Grazi Francesco @ 4waysite.com!

Review: 'Neil Young Trunk Show: Scenes from a Concert'

This is the way all reviews should be written.

From Chicago Tribune: Turn It Up - Movie review: 'Neil Young Trunk Show: Scenes from a Concert' by the esteemed Greg Kot:

In the transcendent scene from Jonathan Demme’s “Neil Young Trunk Show: Scenes from a Concert,” which opens Friday in theaters, the director and guitarist take the viewer on an epic tour of a song called “No Hidden Path.”

His gray hair like a halo of straw illuminated by the lights, a hunched-over Young stalks the stage while coaxing clusters of melody or abrasive howls from his guitar. He is a picture of disheveled concentration, eyes ablaze yet turned inward, immersed completely in the strings, the sound, the moment, blanking out all distraction. He huddles with his band as they play, drawing them into his orbit, then spinning away. He leans toward the drum riser, occasionally making eye contact with drummer Ralph Molina, who slams away beneath a fluttering Jolly Roger flag.

Demme’s cameras do not break away to survey the crowd, or jump-cut nervously from one musician to another. Instead, they calmly allow the viewer to observe the song’s unfolding drama, a series of ebbs and surges spanning a quarter-hour. The director’s intense, unswerving gaze matches Young’s own. His close-ups hold a moment until we can see beads of sweat on the guitarist’s weathered skin, then pull away slowly to reveal the faces of all the band members caught up in the moment alongside him. Young keeps digging deeper inside the song until he’s exhausted every possibility, savoring every note until the last lingering moan of distortion.

greg@gregkot.com

We can only add -- having attended both night of the filming at the Tower Theater -- that Kot's review only begins to capture that sense of magic when Neil goes into "the zone". We've witnessed directly many such occasions when Neil goes transcendentally into "the zone", but on these 2 nights in Philadelphia, Neil went into yet another dimension of unclaimed territory.



From another review on The Reelife Blog: My Cinematic Heros at the Coolidge Corner Theater, a video summarizing a remarkable night at the Coolidge Corner Theater (Brookline, MA, USA) that include Jonathan Demme, Robyn Hitchcock, & Declan Quinn. This is definitely worth checking out just for Demme's heartfelt tribute to L.A. Johnson. Thanks Tom!

From Trunk Show Boston Screening with Director Jonathan Demme and Robyn Hitchcock comment by Mr Henry said...

Let it be known that this is really a beautiful film. I was fortunate to attend the Coolidge showing and was blown away by the power and artistry. Neil and Jonathan Demme together...when Bach spoke of the harmonic third voice, he probably never envisioned quite such a pair.

Lately I've been fixing up some fences, removing lots of crud and mildew by painting a heavy bleach solution on the pickets. Once you see the beauty of the wood exposed, it makes the whole yard look much better. That's what it's like with the songs in this film...feels like Neil is trying to "burn off all the fog" and get to the pure center of his art. Thanks to everyone who captured this for all to see.

From Philadelphia Inquirer | Director Demme can't get enough of that Neil Young By Dan DeLuca:

Q: In Trunk Show you captured one of those monster jams in its entirety. 'No Hidden Path' lasts for 23 minutes.

Demme: When we filmed 'No Hidden Path,' I thought, obviously this is too long to be in a movie. But what if it could be? So in the cutting room, what we wound up doing was justifying our choices by saying, how do we get 'No Hidden Path' in there? There's no rule that you have to be chronological, or acoustic comes first, and electric last. So we kept alternating, and altering the mood. But it had everything to do with justifying this giant epic in the middle.

Q: Why did you shoot it at the Tower?

Demme: Neil's thing was, 'I want to play in theaters where there are lots of ghosts.' Not just rock-and-roll, but classical, vaudeville, whatever. . . . You'll see there's some grainy footage in there, shot from the balcony. Those are ghost views, suggesting the ghosts came out and watched a little bit of the show. Neil conceived of it as a valentine to performers, and performance. I like that and I was moved by it. The Tower was a two-night stand, and Neil thought it was particularly beautiful. So we jumped on the train from New York and came down, set up and shot."

Photo by Larry Cragg

UPDATE: Neil Young News: Trunk Show Film Screening Dates

Pearl Jam's Mike McCready Covers Neil Young's "Too Far Gone" on YouTube

Mike McCready - "Too Far Gone" (Neil Young) @ Hootenanny for Haiti (2-18-10) - Showbox at the Market - Seattle, WA

Thanks PunkDavid!

More on Pearl Jam and Neil Young.

The New Santa Monica Flyers

The New Santa Monica Flyers

"Bruce Berry was a working man, he used to load that Econoline Van"
- Neil Young, opening lyrics to Tonight's the Night

The New Santa Monica Flyers will be performing a set from Neil Young's fabled "Tonight's the Night" album on April 9 at Valentine's Music Hall in Albany, New York.

In 1973, after the deaths of band mate Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry, Neil Young and his group (dubbed the Santa Monica Flyers) entered the studio with the sole purpose of unloading their grief and having as much fun as possible. The result was the very dark, ragged, loose and powerfully emotional "Tonight's The Night album."

Fueled by tequila and cheeseburgers, the album represents a dark chapter in Young's career. Winning almost no acclaim upon its release (that would come years later, as "Tonight's the Night" ranked #331 on Rolling Stone's Top 500 albums of all time in 2003), it did, however, influence numerous artists, including Johnny Rotten (the Sex Pistols) and Wilco. It was so dark and raw that Young's record company, Reprise, delayed its release for two years.

Though the album's history is well documented, the short club and theatre tour that followed is not. Today's fans are well aware that Young's musical style is subject to change at the drop of a hat. But in 1973, as Young was enjoying a streak of commercially successful albums -- "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere", "After The Goldrush" and "Harvest" -- his ever-growing fan base had no clue what Young was about to unleash. As the crowds waited patiently for popular material, it was instead treated to a tequila-fueled, live version of the as-yet-to-be-released "Tonight's The Night" album.

During these shows, the band took the same raw emotion of its studio sessions and released it on the stage, which was strangely decorated with a large palm tree, a wooden Indian, dozens of glittered boots and hubcaps. They played new song after new song, laced with drunken ramblings about Bruce Berry, Danny Whitten and Miami Beach, where "everything is cheaper than it looks, ladies and gentlemen."

It was dark and messy, yet heartfelt and raw. And most importantly, it was necessary.

On April 9, a group of Albany-based musicians will load that Econoline Van and head to Valentine's Music Hall for the 4th Annual Root-A-Rama and do their best to recreate the vibe and atmosphere of the "Tonight's The Night" tour of 1973, complete with hubcaps, glittered boots, a palm tree and a wooden Indian. You may recognize them from other local bands, but on April 9 they will be going incognito. They will be ... The New Santa Monica Flyers.

Doors open at 7PM. Show starts at 8PM. Other performers include Diego (West Sand Lake, NY) and Overland Gunslingers (Greenwich, NY).

See Diego Home Page.

Thanks Don! Mellow my mind.

Also, more on Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy and the ditch classic Tonight's The Night.

Broken Arrow Magazine: February 2010 - Win a Copy

Neil Young, May 1955
Mayfair - Rosedale park, Toronto, Canada

Photo by Mary Ellen Blanch
Cover scan by Purple Words on a Grey Background

The latest issue of Broken Arrow Magazine, published by the Neil Young Appreciation Society just arrived and we're now finishing up reading the issue. As always a nice read -- especially as we look back while looking ahead.

And -- thanks to the generous support of NYAS and editor Scott Sandie -- we're pleased to be able to offer a copy of the latest issue of Broken Arrow Magazine to a Thrasher's Wheat reader. Details follow below.

Issue #117 (February 2010) of Broken Arrow Magazine - as usual - has some fine articles, commentary and nice photos.

In particular, a very, very detailed research project on Neil Young's early formal education by Rustie extraordinaire Sharry Wilson (NYAS #1063). "A Shakey Education" with over 30 pages, rare, unpublished, exclusive photos and artifacts with five pages of footnotes and comments is beyond definitive. A very educational read and -- without a doubt -- the most thorough examination of Neil's early years ever assembled.

And this is ONLY Part #1. Part #2, "The Winnipeg Years" will be in the next issue.

Also in the issue:

• Neil Young Performance Performance Series (NYPAS)
• Dreamin' Reviews
• In Memory of Larry "L.A." Johnson

And as usual, a news section edited by Guy Haslam, with lots of innarestin' items.


NYAS convention set for the weekend 17th / 19th September 2010 in Brixton

See NYAS conventions for details.

So check out the Neil Young Appreciation Society page for more info on how to join.

Don't be denied!

Thanks Scott and everyone who is supporting the NYAS & BA!

Thrasher - NYAS#2476


More on back issues of Broken Arrow magazine.

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HOW TO WIN A COPY OF LATEST ISSUE OF BROKEN ARROW MAGAZINE

One lucky Thrasher's Wheat supporter will win a free copy of the latest Broken Arrow Magazine. We truly appreciate being able to what we do here at TW, and we love being able to give something back in return.

All Thrasher's Wheat supporters between now and the end of the month will be automatically entered into the Broken Arrow Magazine drawing. (If you donated in the last 30 days you are automatically eligible and no further action is necessary).

Click below to send support now via Visa or Mastercard — or send support via Paypal.

If you're unable to send any support at this time, we understand. You can also enter the drawing by emailing thrasher@thrasherswheat.org with SUBJECT line of this blog post. Click here for other support options and why we need your support to continue operating Thrasher's Wheat.

Thanks and Good Luck to everyone!

Jeff Taylor's Prairie Rust Band in Pokomoke, Maryland on March 20

The Neil Young tribute band Jeff Taylor's Prairie Rust Band is appearing in Pokomoke Maryland on March 20. He'll be performing a bunch of Neil's solo acoustic songs and members of the Prairie Rust Band will join me for songs like OLD MAN, LONG MAY YOU RUN, CRIPPLE CREEK FERRY, and a lot more.

Also, we hear that he'll perform LIKE A HURRICANE on his new antique pump organ.

We've checked out a few of Jeff's Prairie Rust Band Neil Young tribute shows and have always had excellent time. Jeff and the band do Neil proudly.

LIVE AT THE MAR-VA THEATER

SATURDAY - MARCH 20, 2010 - 7PM
SOLO AND ACOUSTIC BAND
MAR-VA THEATER
103 Market Street
Pokomoke, MD 21851 MAP IT
410-957-4230

http://www.mar-vatheater.org
ADMISSION: $15 Ticket Price