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Deer Creek (Indiana), Aug 28, 1996
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The Computer Cowboy Review
The PHH Review
Joe the loner Berkemeier's Review
Sean McCorkle's Review
Reese Flying Feet Meyers' Review
The mayor of nashville Review
Sachie Big John Oshima's Mini-Review
Scott Edmundson's Exclamation
Also See:
The Deer Creek RustFest
The Set List
- Hey Hey My My
- Pocahontas
- Big Time
- Slip Away
- The Needle and the Damage Done
- Heart of Gold
- Sugar Mountain
- Cinnamon Girl
- Fuckin' Up
- Cortez The Killer
- Music Arcade
- Like a Hurricane
Encores:
- Sedan Delivery
- Roll Another Number
- Cowgirl In The Sand
Full Moon Over The Rust-Belt
Deer Creek (Indiana), August 28, 1996
review by Gary Computer Cowboy Wilson
(Lead-in for this review is in the
Deer Creek RustFest report.)
Jewel was really good. Played the tune that's on the radio, of course.
One other one that started out like TNATDD, lyrics even started with a "I
heard you knocking...". Hope I got that right - I was scoping out
t-shirts. Sure somebody will set me straight if I need to be:)
She's an echo.
Neil & Crazy Horse came out thumping. HHMM (ITB) started things off.
Everyone's on their feet, going wild. This is a good sign.
Pocahontas up next. I imagined (maybe) that there were a few puzzled
looks on that one. Luckily I was well prepared by previous rust reports.
Big Time and Slip Away were up next, with long, passionate jams at the
end. I think I can see now how the songs were made - Neil coming up with
the basic structure, the Horse feeding back their interpretation. I
think it was a great echo of the original album sessions.
Misty Mountain thought Slips Away was LAH. When I corrected him, he
protested that they all sound the same. Watch it buddy. That could be
heresy! :)
Neil was wearing an ECHOS t-shirt tonight. Haven't heard that mentioned
before - but for sure I haven't been able to read them all. :)
Anyway, at the risk of beating a dead horse (no way - at this point they are the
ones thumping us) the shirt was blank on the front, with the ECHOS poster
silkscreened on the back. Pretty stretched out, like maybe he'd been
sleeping in it.
Neil did TNATDD. I thought he put a lot into it - I liked it better than
the one at Farm Aid. During Heart of Gold I started to think about the
stage. Here's Neil, looking like Eddie Vedder, surrounded by candles.
Who's echoing who? Maybe it looked like OPL to people lucky enough to
make it there, but to me it looked like a Pearl Jam stage. A big
chandelier, and it woulda been nailed. Next up was Sugar Mountain. I
liked the guitar on that one - not like Live Rust, but good. More passion
I think, less emphasis on technique. Not rocket science, huh? I guess in
general that's where Neil has been headed for some time.
It works for me. I resonate to it. I echo.
Is it just me, or is *everyone* influenced by Neil? I don't recall ever
hearing so many acts pay tribute to him, but maybe I just wasn't paying
attention. All those echos of the music, cascading onward through time.
Ok, enough with the echos.
Cinnamon Girl was leviathon. Ok, maybe that's a noun, not an adjective.
Left my Webster's at home:) It was big, it lumbered, and the ground
shook. A long time favorite, and I think a unique version.
F@#*in Up was next. Pancho gave everyone the finger. Not many answered
back, hell I felt pretty self-concious. The crowd around us was pretty
laid back. I think Ted and I were the only ones forking them off from
back here. Several people down front got it tho:) Were there rusties
down there? I didn't check where everyone's seats were.
Cortez. I've always thought of this song as smooth. It was a little
crunchy tonight - particularly in one spot. Right after the first verse,
Neil was doing something with his guitar. Couldn't tell what - he had his
back to me. Hmmm.
Music Arcade - I was prepared for this to be the highlight of the
evening. Don't recall "sit down" being in the lyrics on the album.
Thanks, asshole. Not what I wanted to hear through the ENTIRE tune. He
couldn't see it, and I couldn't hear it. Guess that is fair, in a
perverse sorta way.
Great feedback jam. Has to be LAH. Yes, it is:) Never one of my top ten,
I'll admit. Neil has been doing something special with this one, tho and
Deer Creek wasn't disappointed. I especially liked what Molina was doing
towards the end of the end jam. Talbot was tearing at his bass, Pancho
was just leaning on the keyboard with both arms holding down the keys.
Neil broke the strings, just when it looked like old black was going to
take flight, the hardhat guy took it away from Neil. He picked up the
big candle, poured out the wax, then slammed it to the floor.
That was the end of the show. The band came back to take a bow, threw
water on the crowd instead. Dan's pretty sure that meant something.
Encore 1 - Sedan Delivery. Brent says he emphasized Sacred Roots
again. I can't verify that - I didn't notice it, but I wasn't really listening
for it.
Roll Another Number started off appropriately mellow, I really like the
solos he did in this. It was a nice closer, expecially with such a
mellow crowd.
Crowd is still clapping, lights come on. People start streaming out.
Here in the heartland, house lights up *always* means time to go. I stayed.
And I'm glad I did.
Cowgirl In The Sand! One of the tunes that
captured me (if he'd played DBTR,
he'd have hit all three). It was too short - maybe Neil was rushed
by the 11:00 curfew. Just as I was really rolling with the guitar, it
was over. *sigh* I liked the sound on his guitar - I really fell in love
with that as a kid. I've done a lot of Neil shows - I'm pretty sure this
is the first time I've actually seen this one.
Hoosiers moo! Get these folks in a crowd, all of us trying to get to our
cars, they're mooing like cattle. Pretty realistic. :)
Couple of baaaa's too, must have been the folks from Kentucky...
Gary Wilson
the Computer Cowboy
Deer Creek (Indiana), Aug 28, 1996
review by PHH
I don't think I'm a "Rustie", but I've followed Neil since
Springfield days (probably makes me twice as old as you guys...damn it)
and attended the show at Deer Creek August 28, 1996. I didn't take notes,
but here is a brief rundown.
The first opening act, whose name escapes me, was quite
mediocre, though I see why Neil selected them. Walls of sound with brief
moments of melodic slow paced heavy guitar riffs - think of Mazy Starr
on qualudes.
Jewell was the second opening act and was much better received by the
audience of 20,000. She has a very likeable personality and talked with
the audience throughout her set. At one point between songs a technition
was on stage adjusting her microphone as she was talking to the crowd
and accidentally bumped into her. Instead of ignoring him she said "Great
Scott, I'm sorry", it was refreshing to see she also is well mannered &
polite.
On to Neil. Neil & the Horse were very tight and were obviously
having fun. Although all the songs were very good, Cortez seemed
a little slower than usual, which gave it a strangly mystical feel. This
seemed appropriate. I was especially impressed with the rendering of
Music Arcade, which had Neil strumming his accoustic guitar with
his thumb, sans pick. The effect made this song sound more "folkie" than
Sugar Mountain, which is probably Neil's ultimate song in the genre.
As reported here in other reviews, Frank gave the crowd the finger
during Fuckin Up, laughing and obviously having fun. Billy Talbot gave
a "fist up salute" to the crowd several times while beaming, obviously
enjoying the reception of the capacity crowd, which remained on its
collective feet from the first note of Hey Hey... through the last note
of Cowgirl in the Sand. In other words, Neil's entire set.
The last song of the regular set was Like a hurricane, which was
spectacular. At the end of the song, the whole band created a wall of
sound/feedback by literally beating the shit out of their respective
instruments. This finale' of feedback lasted several minutes, with Neil
ripping the strings off of old Black, then flogging the guitar body with
the broken strings, coaxing more sound out of it. He then drug the guitar
by its neck across the stage, creating even more sound and handed it off
to a roady. Neil then walked over to one of the ten lit candles and
carried it back to center stage and poured the wax accumulated in it
(still lit) all over his foot switches. He then poured the rest of his
beer (standard Bud long neck) into the mess (this time it looked like it
was NEAR the foot switch, not on it). All the while Crazy Horse kept up
the barrage of sound. Neil finally blew out the candle and the song came
to an end.
After a few minutes Neil & the Horse again took the stage, each with
a couple of Evian water bottles (full) and walked to the edge of center
stage and first poured the water onto the crowd, then tosed the empty
plastic bottles out to the crowd. Neil was beaming, which I have only
seen one time before, and that was at the Bridge School benefit
concert in '89.
The band, and by now it was a band, not just Neil and the band, played
Sedan Delivery and Roll Another Number, after which they
again left the stage. After a few seconds the house lights came up and
the roar of the crowd began to subside. People were beginning to file
out when the band again took the stage, house lights still glaring.
Perhaps it was the rising full moon, clearly visible to the band, but
they hadn't had enough yet. Next came a very clean version of Cowgirl
in the Sand, which was flawless.
Deer Creek (Indiana), Aug 28, 1996
review by Joe the loner Berkemeier
Last night's concert was the greatest musical
experience of my 19 years. From the moment Neil started HHMM he was
ON.
I made it to Ted' Excellent Rustfest
a little bit before five and found the party in high gear already.
By the time we left for the show, there were at least 40 people and
everybody was rockin'. I met so many Rusties that I was struggling
to keep track (and I'm pitiful with names to begin with): Jeff, several
Joe's, Ken, Angie, Tom H. (who brought along his brother who looks just
like him), Galen, Chris, and some more whose names I'm forgetting.
Someone whose name I forgot showed up with some shirts that had a
picture of Neil and said Canadian Freeloaders Society. He sold the
whole batch almost immediately. I saw the MORE BARN! shirts; now I
HAVE to have one! Ted had a raffle and gave away a framed poster of
Neil, and a Crazy Horse CD (I think Left For Dead), which
was cool.
Finally, the time to leave for the show came and we all piled into cars
and took off for the show. Got there to find Spiritualized wailing away
on stage; they were OK. Jewel played a good but long opening set; we
were getting worried about her cutting into Neil's time before curfew.
Neil was incredible. The only downer was the setlist, which didn't
have any surprises until CITS, which was incredible. (Did my
grovel a couple of days ago to play that song get through? Nah..... :)
Was hoping they would play The Loner -- oh well... Got to flip off
Pancho (who still has the Hendrix shirt on) during F$%&'in Up -- seemed
like we were the only people doing it. Did anyone else notice Ralph playing
Slip Away with a mallet? During Hurricane, Neil was trying to get
feedback from taking the torn off guitar strings and whipping the pickups
with them. The whole show was incredible.
My only complaint was with the sound. From where we were (30 feet from
the board) we couldn't make out the vocals that well. Volume-wise, it
only got bad during Hurricane, and even that wasn't that bad. It was
loud for a outdoor show; my ears can still feel it this morning. BTW,
saw an audience mic at the board; dunno if this is standard procedure for
miking crowd noise or if Neil's into the audience-DAT thing now.
Headed back to Ted's afterwards, where his wife (Mrs. Ted) whipped up
some damn good burgers and had "10 tons" of potato salad. Ted got a huge
bonfire going with some gasoline (!), so soon we were all around the
bonfire watching Ted's friend Lloyd and three others play some acoustic
Neil. I had to get going after two or three songs because I had to get
back to Purdue, so someone else will have to report on that. If anyone
else needs copies of the "Neil at Purdue 1978" packet I put together, let
me know and I'll mail it to you.
All in all, great fun and a damn good time. See some of you at Tinley
Park; see the rest of you down the road.
the loner
p.s. After bouncing around all night, I finally caught a whiff of myself
before CITS. Now I know what Neil means by
"Smell The Horse"!
Deer Creek (Indiana), Aug 28, 1996
review by Sean McCorkle
Hello Everybody,
I couldn't get to sleep last night. I was so excited after last night's
show. The setlist was predictable, well unleast til the end. Neil was in a
great mood, despite only saying a total of 9 words all night:
"Thank you"
"It's good to be here"
and "Crazy Horse".
Here are the highlights...
A solid HHMM always gets the crowd going. Pocahontas was
played well, though the crowd didn't recognize the song til the vocals
started. Big Time was awesome. Longest ending solo I have heard
so far on the tour. My brother really enjoyed that one.
I went with my brother (it was his first Neil show) and my 11 yr. old son.
Decked out in his 1993 Booker T & The MG's tour shirt and his
brand new Neil & Crazy Horse hat.
Anyway, Slip Away was next. I still can't get into this song. The
next 3 were the acoustic regulars. And then, what followed was
pure heaven for your's truly. CG, then a great Fuckin Up,
complete with the now regular feature of Poncho giving us the finger and
us returning the favor. Then my all time favorite song Cortez.
Great version. Nobody in rock hits a better POWER CHORD than our man.
The usual Music Arcade was next and then Like A Hurricane.
This went on for about 13-14 minutes. The ending lasting longer than the
recently circulated BBC tape. This song shakes the ground. Neil, in
the good mood he was in toward the end of the song, picks up the big candle
like he is worshiping it. Looks at it, dances with it and then pours the
wax on the stage before he finally blows it out. My brother who has seen
over 125 concerts in his life said he had never seen nor heard
anything like that before. He was now seeing what I have seen in Neil all
these years. Neil won him over.
The encores came and went as usual with solid versions of Sedan Delivery
and Roll Another Number. The house lights went up and I got dejected,
but was happy that I'd seen a great show, anyway. I turned to see who was
shaking my brothers hand and then I heard The crowd cheer...
Neil came back out. He startes tuning and hitting notes. It sounded like he
was going to play Change Your Mind, then I started to recognize it.
Cowgirl In The Sand! I LOST IT!!!! After the first solo, I literally
got choked up. Awesome. Never heard it done better. A+++++.
Neil is better than ever folks. His voice was strong last night and he played
with great intensity. I can't wait for the rest of you to see him. Now I've got
to find a way to Tinley Park.
Shawn McCorkle - Just Riding My Llama
Deer Creek (Indiana), Aug 28, 1996
review by Reese Flying Feet Meyers
My wife, Mickey, and I drove a couple of hours south to Indianapolis on
Wednesday, August 28 for the show at Deer Creek. As we arrived at Deer Creek,
dusk was settling and a full moon was rising on a warm summer evening. We went
to meet some old friends as Jewel opened up with a very nice set. After talking
with Gus and the boys from Maxwell through the Jewel set, the lights went up and
Mickey and I made our way back to our seats as the stage was prepared. I became
restless as I could hear the sound of hoofbeats in the distance fast
approaching. The moonlight was beating down. Where were they?
Then the stagelights went down as the herd stampeded onto the stage. Neil was
wearing a pair of baggy khaki shorts that fell just below his knees. Black
socks and shoes and a dark T-shirt. Pancho had one of those Jimi Hendrix shirts
which made it look as if Jimi was looking down on Pancho's guitar as he was
playing. The band immediately jumped into Hey Hey with the guitar blasts
punctuated by bright white and brilliant red strobes. At times the herd ran
together. Often, though, they recklessly lurched around the stage, charging at
each other.
Without a break they moved into a great electric version of Pocahontas.
I thought about the artwork of Neil's that was for sale in a booth earlier
showing the Indian character from Zuma who looked to be flipping
off the modern world. The crowd sung along on the Marlon Brando lines.
After that, Slip Away was next in line. What a beautiful tune.
The herd split up for three songs as Neil performed Needle and the Damage Done
with a special wavering emphasis on
"oohhh oohh, the DAMAGE done". The
obligatory Heart of Gold followed, and then a great Sugar Mountain
on which the crowd sang along so loudly that Neil just played his guitar and
smiled for awhile.
More hoofbeats... The other three horses charged out of a side canyon and were on
the stage again...
The initial blasts of Cinnamon Girl blew me back in my seat as
the lights again punctuated the assault. My ears were bleeding but I had a huge
grin on my face. The band wandered in and out of the song, Neil Indian-dancing
around on stage, Billy wailing on the bass, Ralph pounding messages out on the
toms, and Pancho watching Neil's lead.
When the opening beats and guitar phrases of Fuckin' Up broke, cold
chills ran down my spine. I looked up at the full moon which seemed to be
laughing at me. After this tune, Neil and the boys launched into some mixed
up jam out of which emerged a killer version of Cortez.
The stage was drenched in an eerie red light. What a killer.
The herd split again as Neil did an acoustic version of Music Arcade.
My buddy Gus really identifies with this song. Not the sidewalk but Main Street...
Then the herd charged back on stage as an incredible storm of feedback, white
noise, flashing strobes, and note dust rocked the whole of central Indiana.
I have never experienced anything like this mesmerizing blast and stood frozen
in awe as Neil pulled incredible sounds from his guitar which seemed in synch
with the flashing strobes. Billy was on his knees, pounding on his bass and
Pancho was standing at the electric piano, wavering back and forth. Ralph's
drums pounded erratic beats, tempest-tossed. After what must have been 5 minutes,
Neil's guitar wailed out the opening lines of Hurricane to bring the herd
together. They wound their way through this song for at least 20 minutes and
got caught up in the storm again.
Neil shook the last strains of feedback from his guitar and left the stage with
the Horse. After a short break they came back on the lit stage, took a well
deserved bow, pulled some water bottles out from behind their backs and threw
water into the front rows, laughing. They reassembled and quickly went into
Sedan Delivery. The old man in white clothes had been tending to the
instruments all evening. The familiar strains of Roll Another Number
took me back to some good times and great memories (if only I could remember).
Finally, a great extended version of Cowgirl in the Sand, and the the
band waved as the hoofbeats disappeared into the night. We left the music center
stunned and smiling. Thanks once again to Neil and Crazy Horse.
Reese with Flyin' Feet in Indiana
Deer Creek (Indiana), Aug 28, 1996
review by the mayor of nashville
the mayor here again. i just want to add a brief review.
1. the show was stellar -- marc allan, pop music/concert reviewer for the
indianpolis star, gave the show 4 stars (top rating) and called it the best
concert at deer creek this summer! i concur.
2. slip away just knocks me out.
3. cortez was fabulous -- 12 minutes of mournful melancholy -- dancin'
across the water!!
4. like a hurricane could have been subtitled billy spies the cockroaches
and takes over stomp patrol. Or maybe billy says "i can beat my bass harder than you
can beat your drums, ralph", then neil says "i can beat my guitar harder than
either of you can beat your instruments", then ralph says "oh, yeah?! well,
i'll outlast all of you". this was awesome -- 18 minutes of sonic pandemonium
-- it provided my first whole body shake of the night -- in fact, my glasses
were vibrating right off my nose!! wow!
5. neil followed it up with some wacky hot-wax pouring ritual, from the most
mondo candle i've ever seen someone try to carry. from my vantage point (sect. e,
row k), it looked like he was pouring the wax right onto his effects panel.
is that right? i mean "is that correct?"
6. before the first encore, the band came out, greeted the audience arm in
arm, then proceeded to splash water from plastic bottles, all over the front
center 5 or so rows -- quite amusing to those of us further removed.
'til rust do us part, your humble servant,
the mayor of nashville
p.s. the rustfest was terrific. i only
made it to the pre-show fest, but ted did a great job. met many rustoids, saw
many MORE BARN! and canadian freeloader society tee-shirts, took
many pix (ted should have some on his home page by now). let's see, there was
ted, ginger (mrs. still the searcher), joe and joe's brother from phoenix, galen
clavio and his friend jason, arnie and friends from chicago, joe (loner) b. and
his friend from northwestern, gregg and david from siu, numerous others, the
professor and maryanne, here on gilligan's isle.
Deer Creek (Indiana), Aug 28, 1996
mini-review by Sachie Big John Oshima
Neil didn't rock the entire free world Wednesday
night, but he sure came close! He started the show with an electric set
that included Pocahontas - a special treat, indeed. Then by
highlighting a short acoustic set with Sugar Mountain, he really
got the crowd going.
But when the Horse came back on stage and Neil issued forth the familar
chords of Cinnamon Girl, nothing short of bedlam ensued. And except
for a brief (yet sublime) Music Arcade the barrage on Old Black
continued uninterrupted until the shows completion.
The climax for me, and I'm sure all die-hard fans, was the final encore -
an extended version of Cowgirl In The Sand. Neil's great performance
may have been spurred on by the full moon (that Jewel had pointed out) rising
high above the park. Or by the fact that a nowhere-near capacity crowd of only
apx. 9000 showed up. But whatever the reason, it was undoubtably a
classic concert. Indianapolis' own local rock critic gave Neil's
performance four stars and called it the best show at Deer Creek this
summer.
Big John
P.S. I hope the Rust crew had a great time at the post-concert bonfire.
Deer Creek (Indiana), Aug 28, 1996
exclamation by Scott Edmundson
Oh my...
NY @ Deer Creek...
WOW! YES!! NEIL!!!
You are the man.
Next stop, Polaris...
Scott
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