Neil Young - Malahide Castle,Dublin 29/06/08 Review

That was it another Tick off the list of Gigs I must see before I Die. We entered into the gig early and caught Neil’s sound check and from the first strum I knew this was going to be a great experience, the grounds of the castle was beginning to fill up and for a 24 year old it was a strange atmosphere of young and old and really old.

The first band to adorn the stage was “Everest”. These guys hailed from California and I must say had a very impressive sound for such a young band. They spent most of their time saying how pleased they were for the opportunity to tour with Neil and during one part of their short set the lead singer said it was the happiest day of his life.
During their set Glen Hansard join the lads to give a hand in one of their songs.

Glen entered the stage once again a little while later this time accompanied by the Full Band “The Frames” plus newbie Oscar winner “Marketa Irglova”. They were very pleased to be there and played some old and new stuff. (Set Below). Revelate for me was the highlight and they steered away from the usually favourites and played mellow numbers instead but all in all the sound was pitch perfect.

The crowd were then treated to the first half of the Euro 08 final sans Commentary but we got the best of the match by the sounds of it. While the Spanish were battling hard to fight off the german attack the screen went black and the inevitable happened.

Neil walks on stage with a cocky stride that is only capable after years of touring and just literally lashed into the best song of the night “Love and Only Love”. He commented on the Canadian flag that adorned Malahide Castle and thanked the crowd for being there.
The set itself had songs from early albums to new ones but with a back catalogue that would take a solid day to get through, no one was going to get exactly what they wanted.
My highlights were “Hey Hey My My”, “Old Man”,"Needle and the Damage Done"and “Mr. Soul”. There were complaints of long outros and solos but isn’t that what Neil Young does? Fair enough 26 minutes on “No Hidden Path” was a bit extensive but it was a pleasure watching the genius at work just enjoying it.
When closing your eyes during some solos it was just amazing the sound that was being made and it truly was one of the greatest gigs I have ever witnessed.
Neil plays Cork tonight and you are truly in for a treat.
Enjoy!

The Frames Set :
Red Chord
Seven Day Mile
The Moon
When Your Mind's Made Up
The Stars are Underground
Revelate
Santa Maria
Happiness
Fitzcaraldo

Neil's Setlist was:
Love and Only Love
I've Been Waiting for You
Mr. Soul
Spirit Road
Powderfinger
Hey Hey My My
Too Far Gone
Oh, Lonesome Me
Mother Earth (pump organ version)
Needle & The Damage Done (Video Below)
Old Man
Unknown Legend
Words
Get Back To The Country
No Hidden Path
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A Day In The Life (Beatles Cover, My Own Video Below (will post when youtube finishes uploading it))


Neil Young- Needle & The Damage Done - Malahide Castle


Neil Young - A Day In The Life, Malahide Castle, 29/06/08


To Visit The Bands :
Everest : http://everestband.com/
The Frames : http://www.theframes.ie/
Neil Young : http://www.neilyoung.com/