Neil Young concert review: Icon brings raw power to Forest Hills

Mother Nature has a sneaky sense of humor.

On Tuesday, May 14, she tested Neil Young and his band Crazy Horse at Forest Hills Stadium when a light rain came down during their raucous ‘Love Earth’ concert. At other outdoor shows, this minor inconvenience might have put a damper on the evening; everyone knows wearing ponchos is never cool. However, on an eco-friendly, earth-loving night such as this, the drizzle was a welcome reminder to not only be present but appreciate the simple pleasures the planet has to offer.

More than anything though, the sprinkle added a bit of texture to the 78-year-old Young’s inimitable guitar talents and otherworldly, warbly vocals at the tennis stadium turned concert venue.

Over the course of the warm yet wet evening, the Godfather of Grunge ripped through 16 songs — a handful of hits and a slew of deep cuts — in a set shortened by his entertaining, eccentric opening act Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping going a touch long (the preacher sermonized about “the earth coming into us”) and unexpected technical difficulties.

Let’s start at the beginning of Neil’s set, though.

To kick things off, Young humbly ambled onstage with the imposing “crazy horse” large looming large on a backdrop behind him. Never one for grandiosity, the Toronto native wore an unassuming trucker hat and jean jacket. If he wasn’t one of the world’s most gifted musicians, one might have mistaken him for a trucker emerging from a rest stop bathroom.

The two-time Rock Hall of Fame inductee — for his solo work and Buffalo Springfield tenure — quickly jumped into his downbeat 1975 classic “Cortez The Killer.” For the next ten or so minutes, Young and Crazy Horse delivered their trademark searing, unassuming sound. 49 years later, the quartet sounded just as fresh and dripping with raw, authentic power as when the track appeared on “Zuma” nearly a half century ago.

Only one question remained as the guitars soared for the first few minutes of the song: was Young’s unmistakable voice the same at 78-years-old?

In a word, yes.

As soon as Neil intoned “He came dancing across the water,” the enthusiastic crowd knew they were in for a treat. Young sounded just like he did in his heyday; nothing has changed. Neil Young will always be Neil Young. This is a good thing.

“Cinnamon Girl,” the lead track on 1969’s “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” came next and fans burst into applause after the first few strings. Bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina — who have been with Crazy Horse since 1968 — along with Willie Nelson’s son Micah on guitar, shredded the feel-good jam as the wall of sound of their guitars produced bled throughout the unique venue.

After that, Young dipped into his plaintive ’90s rocker “Scattered (Let’s Think About Livin’)” with its catchy refrain “I’m a little bit high/I’m a little bit low” which made for an easy singalong. In between songs, onstage banter was minimal; twice, Neil asked “how’s everyone doing” and “what’s your favorite planet” before slipping back into the music.

Really, the night was all about the music, catering to Young’s whims.

While he is known for timeless hits like “Old Man,” “Ohio,” “After The Goldrush” and the 1982 oddity “Transformer Man,” Neil refused to dip into that well. Instead, he opted for the sludgy, grunge-country rock operas “Like A Hurricane,” sadly sweet “Don’t Cry No Tears” and imposing, soulful “Vampire Blues” next.

Young made it clear — this is a show for real fans (and possibly himself); those who have only heard his Greatest Hits album can check their bags at the door.

That being said, later in the show, Young and co. made sure to pay their respect to fair-weather admirers when the backing band took a break and Neil came out with his acoustic guitar and harmonica.

For a moment, the rock portion of the show was over; now, the spotlight shone solely on Young and he delivered three melancholy country gems. First, his simple “Comes A Time” settled the crowd. Following a bit of polite applause, Neil went into the famous “Heart of Gold” harmonica riff. Nearly everyone sang along in the night’s most unified moment that felt more campfire jamboree than concert. It was raining and we were all right there with Neil “searching for a heart of gold.” Beautiful. This is why you go to live shows. This, this, this.

Unfortunately, as the night came to a close the sound system shorted out a handful of times. First, it was during his final acoustic song “Human Highway.” Then, when Crazy Horse came back to rock out to “Hey, Hey, My My” problems persisted.

“Nothing is under control,” Nelson quipped.

Just when it seemed as if the show was over, Young and co. came back for a two-song encore; first up was the punk-y “Sedan Delivery” and finally his 1989 anthem “Rockin’ In The Free World.”

The lights came on; the show was over.

Everyone returned to their smartphones, most were checking the Knicks score. For a few hours though, Neil and Mother Nature brought us all together to ‘Love Earth.’ That might have been their sneakiest trick of all.

Final verdict: Whether you love Neil for his unfiltered rockers or sensitive country ballads, the ‘Love Earth Tour’ is for you as he makes sure to spend time in both sounds.

This tour isn’t for fans that merely like Neil Young (although those that only know the hits likely will want to dive deeper into his catalog); however, devotees of his vast grunge/country/rock discography will be more than pleased.

Neil Young 2024 tour schedule

A complete calendar including all tour dates, venues and links to the cheapest tickets available can be found here:

Neil Young tour dates
May 17 at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA
May 18 at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, CT
May 20 at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto, ON, CA
May 22 at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, MI
May 23 at the Huntington Bank Pavilion in Chicago, IL
May 26 at the Germania Insurance Amphitheater in Del Valle, TX
May 27 at the Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas, TX
July 4-14 at the Ottawa BluesFest in Ottawa, ON, CA
July 8 at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto, ON, CA
July 13 at Harris Park in London, ON, CA
July 17 at Blue Cross Park in Winnipeg, MB, CA
July 20 at Fort Calgary in Calgary, AB, CA
July 22 at Deer Lake Park in Burnaby, BC, CA
July 23 at Deer Lake Park in Burnaby, BC, CA
July 25 at the Hayden Homes Amphitheater in Bend, OR
July 26 at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, WA
July 28 at the Idaho Center in Nampa, ID
July 29 at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre in Salt Lake City, UT
July 31 at the Fiddlers Green Amphitheatre in Greenwood Village, CO
Sept. 19-22 at the Bourbon and Beyond Festival in Louisville, KY
Sept. 27-29 at the Ohana Festival in Dana Point, CA
Sept. 29 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA

Neil Young 2024 festival appearances

On top of their tour, Young and Crazy Horse will drop into a trio of major multi-day music festivals.

For a closer look, here are all the dates, venues, headliners joining Neil and links to buy tickets:

Neil Young festival dates
Ottawa BluesFest July 4-14 at LeBreton Flats Park in Ottawa, ON, CA Mötley Crüe, Tyler Childers, Maroon 5, 50 Cent, Zac Brown Band
Bourbon and Beyond Sept. 19-22 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY Dave Matthews Band, Tyler Childers, Zach Bryan, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Black Pumas
Ohana Festival Sept. 27-29 at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, CA Pearl Jam, Garbage, Alanis Morissette, The Breeders, Turnpike Troubadours

Neil Young set list

According to Set List FM, here’s what Young performed at Forest Hills Stadium on Tuesday, May 14:

01.) “Cortez the Killer”

02.) “Cinnamon Girl”

03.) “Scattered (Let’s Think About Livin’)”

04.) “Like a Hurricane”

05.) “Don’t Cry No Tears”

06.) “Vampire Blues”

07.) “The Losing End (When You’re On)”

08.) “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”

09.) “Powderfinger”

10.) “Love and Only Love”

11.) “Comes a Time”

12.) “Heart of Gold”

13.) “Human Highway”

14.) “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)”

Encore

15.) “Sedan Delivery”

16.) “Rockin’ in the Free World”

Neil Young new music

On April 26, Young released his 46th album, the nine-track “FU##IN’ UP,” which features live versions of classic cuts from Young’s storied catalog.

“In the spirit it’s offered, (we) made this for the Horse lovers,” he shared. “I can’t stop it. The horse is runnin’. What a ride we have. I don’t want to mess with the vibe. I am so happy to have this to share.”

None of the songs on the record were performed at the show we attended but, in typical Young fashion, they rock. Hard.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, you can give “FU##IN’ UP” a spin here.

About Forest Hills

For our money, Forest Hills Stadium is one of New York’s premier concert destinations.

Located in the heart of a cozy Queens neighborhood, the venue is perfect for live music; it’s otherworldly when it gets dark at the open-air space. Magical isn’t a word we throw around lightly here but there’s no better way to describe a nighttime show at the 13,000-seat tennis stadium.

In order to get there, you’ll have to walk with throngs of fans — depending on how crowded the show you attend is — for a few blocks through neighborhood streets until you reach the tennis stadium. Make sure you have your tickets pulled up when you arrive, they’ll be checking at the gate.

Once inside, you’ll see food options for days. It’s highly likely they’ll all have lines that stretch 15-30 customers deep. Skip those. Go farther into the venue and you’ll be able to grab your food or drink, hassle-free.

Now that you have your goodies, it’s time to enter the concert area. While walking in, you’ll notice something. It gets eerily quiet out of nowhere. Don’t worry, you aren’t the only person experiencing this phenomenon. Signs read “these walls were specifically designed to minimize the sound that reaches our neighbors across the street.”

Climb to your seat and watch tennis being played behind the stage (depending on your view); it’s a sight to behold.

Want to go to a show?

Click here to find all upcoming events at Forest Hills Stadium, which includes headliners like Hozier, Goose, Pixies with Modest Mouse, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, The National with the War on Drugs and Khruangbin.

Classic rockers on tour in 2024

Young isn’t the only star who took the world by storm in the ’60s and ’70s performing live again this year.

Here are just five of our favorite classic rockers you won’t want to miss live these next few months.

• Rolling Stones

• Robert Plant with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson

• David Gilmour

• Ringo Starr

• Electric Light Orchestra

Who else is touring in the near future? Check out our list of the 52 biggest classic rockers in 2024 here to find out.

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This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed Bruce Springsteen and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.

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