Neil Young Fits Rarities Into Solo Show In Philadelphia

Iconic performer Neil Young took the stage for the first of two solo shows at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia last night. Young’s 22-song performance included a mix of classics and rarities along with the solo debut of a song Neil recently premiered with Promise Of The Real.

Neil kept fans on their toes from the start by opening with his first performance of “Dance Dance Dance” since October 23, 2011. “Tell Me Why” came next and while he recently played the After The Gold Rush gem with POTR, Young hadn’t given the song the solo treatment in over seven years. Another huge surprise followed a few songs later as the Canadian artist performed a solo rendition of classic “The Loner” for the first time since 1971 as per Sugar Mountain. Young played acoustic guitar for the initial nine tunes of the evening, a string which ended with the return of Buffalo Springfield-era chestnut “Flying On The Ground Is Wrong” after a three-year layoff.

The 72-year-old musician moved over to banjo for “Mellow My Mind” before going electric on “Ohio.” Next, Young played piano for a series of five songs that included Tonight’s The Night’s “Speakin’ Out,” Harvest’s “Are You Ready For The Country,” “Horseshoe Man,” “Birds” from After The Gold Rush and “See The Sky About To Rain” off On The Beach. The latter was last performed at one of Neil’s own shows in 1999. It was then back to electric for the recently debuted “Children Of Destiny.” Young concluded the main set on acoustic guitar for a series of two tunes from Le Noise as well as “From Hank To Hendrix” and the beloved “Heart Of Gold.” Neil said farewell the same way he has at other solo shows in 2018, by performing “Tumbleweed” on ukulele as the encore.

Watch “Heart Of Gold” from last night’s show captured by fan TapeheadToo:

Check out fan-shot footage of “Dance Dance Dance” courtesy of Borrowed Tune:

Setlist