Neil Young at BST Hyde Park live review by Ryan Beardsley
It’s July in London, which means one thing: it’s Hyde Park BST and it certainly is the British Summer Time as 60,000 plus flood into our most famous of green spaces in scorching 30 degree heat to see three bona fide music legends.
First up is the Belfast Cowboy himself, Van Morrison, performing under a pop-up gazebo to protect himself from the scorching sun, he performs an energetic set with an immensely talented backing band. Ever the curmudgeon, he neglects to play Brown Eyed Girl, surely a hell worthy trespass on a day like today, but he throws a bone to the masses with a creative re-styling of traditional folk number Green Rocky Road.
He wraps up with Gloria, arguably a better-known song from his very early days in Them to wake the crowd back up, as always, he’s doing it his way, and after 60 years of performing, who can blame him.
A gentleman in a far more generous mood is folk God Cat Stevens, who launches straight into The Wind and follows it up with welcome hit after hit. A suitably epic sing along for Sitting is a special moment before The First Cut Is The Deepest has people reaching for their phones to record that crucial, ‘I was there’ moment.
A hugely emotional Where Do The Children Play is followed by the more recent The Little Ones which leaves us all transfixed and hopefully sparing a thought for the horrors going on in the world today, which should make us all realise how lucky we are to be nowhere near them.
At 76 he shows no sign of slowing down, and pushes his luck with an extra 5 minutes (a theme of the day), but in truth he could have played for another hour and every person in Hyde Park would have been delighted. Wrapping up with Wild World and then another mass sing-along for Peace train, Yusuf threatens to steal the show.
The crowd today is slanted towards the older generation, and many are struggling in the unforgiving heat with lots of patrons in desperate search of a bit of shade after over doing it with the Peroni, before our headliner Neil Young hit’s the stage it’s a shame to see a number of fans already passed out!
But with no further ado the main event is here, Neil Young and his Chrome Hearts band shuffle on the stage in customary unassuming fashion and launch straight into deep cut Ambulance Blues, a beloved gift to the hardcore fans, a recent addition to his setlist but for the wider audience it’s not an ideal start.
Any fears completely melt away with all time classic Cowgirl In the Sand, brought to life in memorable fashion the chorus by his mammoth touring band. There’s amazing interplay throughout with Neil Young and his seemingly endless army of guitarists, but none more so on this extended jam session.
Cinnamon Girl is as effortlessly hip and funky as it was fifty years ago before a defiant Fuckin Up has the whole of Hyde Park in the palm of Young’s hand. As expected, the 79 year old Canadian isn’t particularly talkative, besides stopping to ask how we’re doing every now and again but that’s not why we’re here.
This is; The Needle and the Damage Done has everyone stopped in their tracks for a stripped back retelling of Young’s ode to the horrors of heroin, it’s incredible really how his voice, whilst ably supported, is still rich and full of character, and doesn’t struggle to hit the more challenging highs.
Harvest Moon is a special moment as couples embrace and croon to one another, the sun is setting, the sky is a picture, and suddenly we have a moment that thousands will cherish forever. Next was a massive treat, as Young gets behind the piano for After The Gold Rush, the first time it’s played on this tour (take that Glasto) and showcases his aura and the staying power of his voice once again, sheer talent that can never age.
Inevitably the night ends with Rockin’ In The Free World which I swear to God ended about 3 times and then got going again, clearly the Chrome Hearts had no interest in calling it a night. Sadly, the powers that be had other ideas and Hyde Park’s strict 10:30pm curfew meant the sound was unceremoniously cut in an ill-advised attempt to keep a few local millionaires happy, something tells me Neil Young did not approve.
Other than that, an incredible day with a lineup the likes of which might never share a stage again, I hope you were there and that you put your sun cream on. As I left a man in a Nirvana t-shirt so drunk/sun struck he could barely stand, stumbled out and crashed into the security railings, Young’s most quoted line couldn’t help but come to mind, particularly on a scorcher like this, but clearly in this case it would have been better to fade away than burn out…
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