At 78 years old, Neil Young is still breaking new ground: On Saturday, the iconic singer-songwriter debuted a new live band, The Chrome Hearts, at Farm Aid. The abridged festival set in Saratoga Springs, NY came three months after Young abruptly scrapped his summer tour with longtime backing band Crazy Horse due to illness.
The Chrome Hearts are organist Spooner Oldham (Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section), guitarist Micah Nelson (Particle Kid), and Promise of the Real‘s Corey McCormick on bass and Anthony LoGerfo on drums. Whereas Crazy Horse was heralded for high-octane, heavily distorted concerts with lengthy improv-friendly versions of classic songs, the first gig by The Chrome Hearts was a much more subdued and sentimental performance.
Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts — Farm Aid — Saratoga Springs, NY — 9/21/24 — Full Set
[Video: kathy e]
Young kicked off his 40-minute, eight-song set with a trio of Harvest tracks: “From Hank to Hendrix”, “Harvest Moon”, and “Unknown Legend”. Backed by an acoustic guitar, Young’s quivering vocals were more of a vocal point than at his summer concerts with Crazy Horse. The capabilities of his backing band remained a constant, however, as The Chrome Hearts deftly maneuvered the delicate compositions, contrasting Crazy Horse’s brute force.
Moving to the piano, Young un-shelved “Journey Through the Past” from 1973’s Time Fades Away for the first time since January 31st, 2019, per Setlist.fm. The at-times cantankerous Godfather of Grunge then engaged in a bit of crowd work, introducing the next number by asking the crowd what their favorite planet is ahead of “Love Earth”. Micah Nelson was given the space to shine on slide guitar on a rare full-band “Heart of Gold” before Neil finally brought out his “Old Black” Les Paul electric guitar.
Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts – “Heart of Gold” – 9/20/24
[Video: The Oldies Network]
“This is something we can to help all the farmers,” Young told the crowd of Farm Aid. “When the earth is solid and the earth is healthy, the farmers can really do their thing. Not the corporate framers. Not the factory farmers. Not the farmers with the big offices. The farmers, the real American farmers, all colors, all kinds of people on the earth together, all Americans, working together.”
The last two songs of the set took up a combined 12 minutes. First, Young cranked up the volume for “Homegrown”. The groovy title track to Young’s “lost” 1975 studio album again hit at the theme of the agricultural benefit concert while also letting out a bit of the leash for The Chrome Hearts to display their rock n’ roll chops. Ending the set with a blazing “Powderfinger”, Young’s distorted guitar playing was the star as he fired off a couple biting solos. The contrast between Crazy Horse and The Chrome Hearts was perhaps most noticeable here, where The Chrome Hearts remained on the tracks and avoided the delightful musical cacophony of their predecessor. In short, The Chrome Hearts kept it straight while Young went off into the overdrive-laden ether, whereas Crazy Horse followed him down the distorted highway. To each their own.
Other highlights from the first Farm Aid at Broadview Stage at SPAC since 2007 included Lukas Nelson performing with Del McCoury and The Travelin’ McCourys. A week before the concert, Nelson released a cover of Adele‘s “Someone Like You” with the McCourys and performed it at Farm Aid before being joined by the family patriarch for Willie Nelson’s “Man With The Blues”. R&B icon and Civil Rights legend Mavis Staples added a bit of soul to the lineup with her gospel-fueled set, while Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds brought out Lukas, Micah, and Nathaniel Rateliff for “The Weight”—a preview of what’s to come at next month’s tribute to The Band’s Robbie Robertson at the Kia Forum.
Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds, Lukas Nelson, Micah Nelson, Nathaniel Rateliff — “The Weight” (The Band) — 9/21/24
[Video: Mike Comet]
Mavis Staples — “If You’re Ready” (Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, Ray Jackson) — 9/21/24
[Video: Mark Lachovsky]
Setlist: Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts | Farm Aid | Saratoga Springs, NY | 9/21/24
Set: From Hank to Hendrix, Harvest Moon, Unknown Legend, Journey Through the Past, Love Earth, Heart of Gold, Homegrown, Powderfinger
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