Neil Young at Glastonbury 26 Jun 2009

So the legend that is Neil Young finally graced the legendary Pyramid stage at Glastonbury this past week. And after reading countless shellshocked attempts at describing the spectacle by reviewers and forumers, i think its safe to say it was worth the wait.

Apparently the energy was ridiculous, the setlist was crazy with plenty of Neil classics and amazing extended jam outs and Neil was just himself, ie fucking awesome. And he played A Day In The Life for the encore! Yes, as if the set wasn't crazy enough. At the end of the video he breaks every string on his guitar Old Black, shouts the melody into the mike and hits Old Black with the stand, then walks over and plays a few notes on the xylophone before walking off nonchalantly to end the concert; classic Neil. Here's Rockin In The Free World , the only other decent quality video i could find so far, check out part 2 of it for countless additional jams and choruses. Beat Surrender has 5 audio rip mp3s from the BBC highlights.

I would have given a big toe or a thumb to have been at this gig, seriously. To see Neil come on and explode straight into Hey Hey, My My. And the lyrics were probably never more apt, a day after the King of Pop's passing (It's better to burn out, than to fade away) To see Neil do that harmonica solo on Heart of Gold. To see the whole band blow the audience's brains to bits jamming to Down By The River. To see him own a Beatles' song like no one has ever done before, on the encore. If Neil Young isn't rock and roll i don't know who is. Okay i really really need a bootleg of this.

Tracklist:
Hey Hey, My My
Mansion On The Hill
Are You Ready for the Country?
Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
Spirit Road
Words
Cinnamon Girl
Mother Earth
The Needle and The Damage Done
Comes A Time
Unknown Legend
Heart of Gold
Down By The River
Get Behind The Wheel
Rockin In The Free World
A Day In The Life

AND, the very next day Neil played at the Hard Rock Calling Festival at Hyde Park, with a similarly awesome set, with a few differences. Just a couple of songs he swopped here and there. Oh.. and Paul McCartney joined him on stage for A Day In The Life. Unreal.