Sunday, September 07, 2025
i'm shaky, cause i'm not quite sure/if i'm your man
i'm shaky, cause i'm not quite sure/if i'm your man
I made it down to Deer Lake Park last night to see Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts. Shout out to my friend Jon who decided he wanted to get back to Squamish the same night instead of staying overnight in Vancouver for driving us, because getting in and out of that place seems like it would blow otherwise.
When Neil and co hit the stage around 8pm and launched into "Ambulance Blues," I leaned over to Jon and said something about how "his hands (ie. his guitar playing) haven't aged, but his voice sounds a little rough." Turns out he just needed a bit of a warm up, because by the time he got to track two ("Cowgirl in the Sand"), he sounded exactly like your brain remembers him, with that trademark croon that doesn't really sound like anyone else but Neil Young.
I was stoked about the thought of seeing Crazy Horse at last summer's cancelled Neil gig, but the Chrome Hearts did a fantastic job as Young's backing band. It was a treat to see the legendary, Spooner Oldham--who was still playing at 82, despite breaking his pelvis about a week ago(!)--as well.
The setlist was almost all classics, with just a single song from Talking to Trees and that anti-Trump song he debuted live a little while ago. About the latter, obviously his heart is in the right place, but hearing it a couple songs after "Ohio" was a real "tale of two types of protest song."
Also, it turns out boomers love taking unwatchable concert videos even more than millennials, which is really saying something. But speaking of phones, during "Harvest Moon," a young man right in front of me FaceTime'd his partner, who looked like she was in a hotel brushing her teeth, and the two of them swaying along however many miles apart to one of the most beautiful love songs ever written was maybe the cutest thing I've seen in my life.
Album of the week
I tried to get more into that Big Thief record and I like about half of the Shame record, but nothing really grabbed me this week. I was going to force it and then the sane part of my brain was like "why?! You don't have to write about anything." So, no album of the week. Please do better next week, musicians.
Song of the week
My Wonderful Boyfriend - I'm Your Man
What if Weezer listened to the Replacements instead of being Kiss Army dorks and Rivers wasn't an incel when he wrote their two good albums?
Classic of the week
More heat
Guided by Voices - (You Can't Go Back To) Oxford Talawanda
Speaking of "so many hooks," Uncle Bob claims that he's been humming this one to himself since he was a kid, which means he's spent the last five decades writing approximately a million other incredible songs with this in his back pocket the whole time.
Fine - Portal
Real Mazzy Star hours, who's (cranking that reverb) up?
Ransom, Boldy James, and Nicholas Craven feat. Young James - Collection Plates
Sometimes a track sounds exactly like you expect it to and in this case that's a blessing.
Hatchie - Lose It Again
There's one single from every Hatchie album cycle that I end up jamming on repeat.
now playing: Kate Bush - The Saxophone Song
