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The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

Neil Young still rocking the free world

Neil Young and Crazy Horse roared and shredded their way into the United Center last Thursday, rocking their audience “like a hurricane,” and creating the controlled chaos of rock ‘n’ roll distortion and feedback that has made Young’s work with Crazy Horse some of the best in his career.

This is Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s “Alchemy” tour, and there was some definite magic made on stage.

Los Angeles-based Chicano blues rock band Los Lobos opened the show, playing their muddy blues and Latin rock fusion to a mostly empty crowd. Due to the poor sound quality, it was difficult to fully listen to their set, and it was especially hard to listen to guitarist David Hildago’s solos as well as the saxophone player. Their cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “300 Pounds of Joy” was a definite highlight and was a nice edition to the set and a nice tribute to Chicago blues. They closed their set with their most popular song and fan favorite “Will the Wolf Survive?” which got the crowd onto its feet and ended their set on a high note.

As the lights dimmed and the smell of pot smoke filled the air, several roadies donned in lab coats scrambled across the stage. As the American flag dropped behind the stage, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was piped in over the sound system, but this reverie was quickly broken as Young and Crazy Horse stormed the stage with the feedback laden “Love and Only Love” off of their album “Ragged Glory.” The ragged and raw essence of the song set the perfect tone for the evening and gave audience members the glimpse of the magic they would hear and experience.

This is the first tour in eight years that Young has gone on the road with Crazy Horse, and his upcoming record “Psychedelic Pill” also features the band. Even though it has been eight years since they toured together, the chemistry on stage shared among the four members sparked some of the best feedback laden jam sessions, and Young frequently exchanged smiles with rhythm guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sanchez.

Young’s set list included new songs from his upcoming album, as well as fan favorites like “Hey Hey My My” and “Cinnamon Girl,” which got the crowd chanting the lyrics and stomping to the beat.

During “Walk Like a Giant,” one of his best new songs, Young stalked the stage, stomping his feet to the pounding beat and hunching over his guitar, like a mad scientist hunches over an experiment, furiously shredding and soloing. Fans were then taken on a “time machine trip” to go “way, way back,” and as the opening riff of “Mr. Soul,” a Buffalo Springfield song, filled the arena, the stadium erupted into song, as psychedelic lights cascaded over Young and Crazy Horse. It sounded just as great if not better than it did back in 1967.

The show did have its softer moments. Halfway through, Young came out solo with his acoustic guitar, performing one of his greatest songs “The Needle and the Damage Done” as well as a new song “Twisted Road.” This was a much-needed break from the intensity of the first half and fully illustrated the incredible songwriting Young’s known for.

The encore, “Tonight’s the Night,” started a crowd sing-along. And tonight was definitely the night as Neil Young and Crazy Horse stormed into glorious rock and roll action. Even though he is 67 years old, Young and Crazy Horse will never grow too old for rock and roll, and they sound just as loud, aggressive and phenomenal as they did back in the glory days of 1969.

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