I think it's very cool that Neil has this platform now to share how he felt about a particular show, that's something as fans we rarely get to hear about and if so, it's usually at a far later time. I think going to a show you can sometimes lose sight of the artist's perspective and how the artist feels their performance was or how the crowd affected them. I know I am guilty of often thinking only of how much I enjoyed or didn't enjoy a particular show. I think it's great.
The text won't allow copy & paste and I'm not gonna type it out by hand. 10 paragraphs - Neil very eloquently describes his feelings about the Detroit show. I would have just said there were some real asshats in the crowd that night. Can you imagine how much quiet time Neil had to spend alone composing those 21 acoustic songs, then he plays them to a crowd with people like that hollering and distracting him. I considered buying tickets for Detroit but I was lucky to see the final NYCH show in Bakersfield May 6, and I decided nothing could top that.
I can say that, despite the people in the crowd you describe (which I have seen and heard at every NY show I've ever been to-- they must have been worse up at the front where Neil could actually hear them), the Detroit show was incredible, too. I don't like that NY felt that way later, but, to me, the performances by NY were amazing. His version of Peaceful Valley Boulevard that night was one of the best performances I've ever seen.
I'm really surprised by his reaction in the post about his shows in St. Louis. Several reviews here complained about the shouting of song titles during the show. I guess St. Louis hasn't cornered the market on asshats! I thought the show was magical and loved the strong representation of Le Noise cuts.
Here you go: Last night in Detroit was a rough night for me. I think I did a good show, but it was not half as rewarding personally as the St. Louis and Chicago shows. Don’t get me wrong. I love Detroit. Because the St. Louis and Chicago crowds were all real listeners, the type of crowd I have come to love with the NYA shows, (shows where all tickets were bought through NYA and there was no advertising), those three shows were free and easy and I had the unbridled ability to lose myself in any song when the moment came. In Detroit, we had something going against that. It was the fourth of July holiday and some folks were celebrating, already high when they arrived at the show. Because it was a holiday, I could see it coming. They were focused on their celebration, kind of like a festival. Any subtle solo performance of songs is very challenged under those conditions. Of course, If I had a band, I could just blast out the show and rock on. So I came away from Detroit a bit mentally bruised and battered, yet still happy that so many people enjoyed the performance that I had tried to give them, even though they were somewhat short changed by circumstance. The St. Louis and Chicago crowds were distinctly different from the commercial shows I have been doing for the past years. At those commercial public shows. I have come to expect that people are as interested in celebrating their connection to the music as they are in actually listening. These are the people who yell out titles as loud as they can, during, or in between songs, or while I am talking, trying to tell a story about the music and where it came from or what it meant to me at one time or another. On night’s like last night in Detroit, It seems that the yellers are not with me. They are interested in celebrating their love of the music in another way. There is nothing wrong with that for them. They are having the time of their lives out there. Unfortunately for the audience, everyone else misses out on what might have happened while I am distracted by those celebrating their favorite song titles, yelling them as loud as they can. I could slip deeply into a song if not distracted, but I am just relegated to the surface while fighting off distraction, and so is the rest of the audience. Likewise, I may have told a story that sets up the experience of listening to the song, if I was not interrupted while trying. In St. Louis and the two shows in Chicago, I had the time of my life! It was so great to be able to lose myself in the music, sharing my experience with the audience, telling the stories of the songs to set them up, both for me and for the audience. There were some songs that shone through in spite of the obstacles and I am very happy they did. The Detroit audience got everything I had to give that I could get through to them. That said, I hope to return to Detroit someday and give them what I was able to give St. Louis and Chicago. Every time I go through this type of experience, part of me does not ever want to go through it again, yet it is a risk taken every time I walk out to a solo stage. Detroit was an NYA live stream so we may show it again for member subscribers at the Hearse theater. Like all of our Live-Streams it could return in the future. There were some very fine and engaged moments, ‘After the Goldrush’ on the pump organ, ‘Angry World’ on the White Falcon, Broken Arrow on the Burnt Grand, I am a Child on the Martin D45. Big thanks to the crowd. I always appreciate you. NYA NY (While the NYA site doesn't allow copy and paste, it can be bypassed by using reader view, if your browser has this function)
As a fan, yelling out song requests between songs doesn't bother me at all, though I don't participate (except on rare occasion). Neil should just embrace it, it's really not a sign of disrespect, it's all just a part of being able to see a musical hero and feel like you're an active part of it somehow. Sure, there are varying viewpoints, but if you want to hear "Last trip To Tulsa" etc, yell away (in my opinion). And again, Neil could easily engage with the crowd to calibrate their "enthusiasm" by humorously chiding them--it could take a perceived negative and turn it into a positive. NYF
"I could slip deeply into a song if not distracted, but I am just relegated to the surface while fighting off distraction, and so is the rest of the audience." Perfectly said. Many of Neil's fans are respectful, kind, and intelligent, but he also has this element of selfish, braindead, boors who have no respect for him or other fans. As he said, they can be drowned out at Crazy Horse or POTR shows, but they can really spoil these intimate acoustic shows. But it IS a sign of disrespect if he's trying to tell a story and some buffoon yells "POWDERFINGER!"
I get what Neil's saying, but if he knew he was going to get a party crowd on a national holiday, why schedule the gig? Just to play Detroit in July? Neil's cultivated some good stories and when he remembers things, it adds a lot to the music. But Neil has a tendency when he starts ranting to get real heavy and negative. Its clear to me that Neil has been advised to stay away from that sort of thing on stage and keep it light and moving. The one really great thing about Neil writing about this is, it shows he cares, he puts a lot of thought into what he's doing, and he's living right there in that moment.
Look, it's a fine line. In my experiences, during the songs the crowds are quite respectful on the whole and Neil is able to give it his all. In between songs, it's a little different, but Neil doesn't handle it as well (or as easily) as he could. If he would just say I'm going to tell a little story here and I'd appreciate your listening quietly.....I'm pretty sure you would have been able to hear a pin drop. That's all I'm saying... NYF
With all due respect, I don't think you (or I) are in any position to tell an artist how they should respond to something or feel when something occurs while they are performing their particular art.
Of course we're not--I agree with you. I'm just saying he could likely easily diffuse the situation instead of letting it fester and frustrate him minute by minute. Neil is far and away my favorite artist of all time and his "Rough Night" post was heartbreaking to me. At this point in his life and career, every show he does should be completely on his terms and I'd hope he'd be filled with joy in connecting with his fans and vice-versa. It's sad that the show was tainted for him, but similar to us regular folks, every day is a little different in how we perceive and approach and/or embrace different things. Most first hand accounts said the St. Louis show was filled with rowdy and irritating fans, but Neil wrote that they were great... NYF
Interesting. I was at the St Louis show, and i did hear a few shout-outs - including a prompt of "linc volt" to which he bemusedly responded - but nothing disruptive. Now, i was sitting fairly close to the stage - row 7, right center section - so unlike one of my friends in the upper balcony, i did not perceive any rowdiness or unruliness - he did. I was mesmerized - totally captivated and literally "all ears", occasionally muttering a barely-audible "wow" as he brought a song to a perfect close, and Neil seemed in touch w his muse, undisturbed - it was a remarkable show. What is also remarkable is Neil's articulation of his response to the Detroit crowd. He clearly put a lot of thought and consideration into his post, and it is really an eye-opener to have this kind of immediate interaction w the artist. Interesting how he characterized those folks as more interested in celebrating their favorite song titles than just listening and receiving. I have the sense that he makes every effort to build a cocoon or capsule on his stage, to put him in that open frame of mind that can move beyond a static set list and let him really relate and set the stage for the songs, but the one variable he really can't control is the audience behavior. I also suspect that his expectation may be have been heightened by the first 3 shows, and what may have been a marginally more rowdy crowd just brought him down. Wow, ya just gotta hand it to him, having followed his muse all these years - erratic as that path has been - and delivering on-stage as he does. And now this NYA platform - it really is something out of the ordinary, innit?
His crowd definitely can be that way, I remember the Beacon Theater ‘92 show I caught and Oakland Fox Theater on the Le Noise tour being particularly bad that way. On the other hand, solo audiences at two Berkeley shows I’ve seen were pretty respectful.
I’m calling bs. Neil could ask for silence, but there are certain “fans” that don’t shut up no matter what.
This is hardly unique to Neil.There is a segment of fans who think they are the show and feel it is their right to engage with an artist one on one during a concert.This is sometimes worse during acoustic shows because the relative quietness from the stage makes them feel they are more likely to be heard.
This is definitely true but still, I don't remember Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan getting this treatment when I saw them in theaters. Is it because Neil has a crossover rock/folk appeal and when he's in a quiet setting the rocker fans don't know how to adapt? I mean, the shouts are usually always for things like Cinnamon Girl or DBTR, never Depression Blues or Will to Love. I don't know, just speculating.
If I buy a ticket to see Neil with Crazy Horse, I will rock out and be taken away by the music and the force of it. I will whoop and applaud! If I buy a ticket to see Neil solo, I'll relax into the space of being transported by the man and his songs. It's called being respectful to the performer and hopefully the crowd in turn. It seems most of the audience in Detroit were not. I'd think a supposedly dedicated fan as yourself would understand that.
In my experience, 99% of the time the yelled out song requests are never played, unless they were one of the artists more popular songs. In which case they'll got played sooner or later in the set anyways. If I was on stage dealing with 20 people yelling 20 different songs, I might say "I heard you. No need to repeat yourself."
