Review | Neil Young at the Santa Barbara Bowl

I’m always amazed at how much expectations can influence your enjoyment of an event. 

Moments before Neil Young took the stage at the Santa Barbara Bowl on Friday, July 7, I read a report from his show a few nights before at the Ford Theatre in L.A. that said his setlist was full of unrecognizable songs and “ultra-rarities.” Given that the 77-year-old singer-songwriter has 45 studio albums to his credit — on top of key contributions to multiple bands, including Crazy Horse; Buffalo Springfield; and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young — it’s no surprise that not everyone in the audience got to hear their favorite songs. 

I was fine with that, having gone into the concert with few expectations, just a willingness to go along for the (train) ride with a living legend. Neil Young’s “Coastal Tour,” as it was named, featured a train on the poster, a choo choo going round a fireplace onstage, and he even wore a conductor’s style cap — so that old school, stop-and-smell-the-roses mode of transportation was an apt metaphor for this particular musical journey.

Instead of “Rockin’ in the Free World,” it was more of a soulful serenade, an intimate, stripped down performance by an amazing musician, now an “Old Man” whose distinctive voice hasn’t lost a beat. Opening with an acoustic version of “I’m the Ocean” — quite a different sound than the Pearl Jam jam of a few years ago — Young made it clear from the get-go that this was going to be a quieter kind of night. 

“Homefires” was up next, followed by “Burned,” a Buffalo Springfield song which Young said was the first one he recorded when he got down to Hollywood. “I had never been in a studio that was real before,” he said of the 1966 tune. Another Buffalo Springfield oldie, “On the Way Home,” was next, then Young — who had zero accompaniment beyond his own harmonica — made his way from the guitar to the piano for “If You Got Love,” to a different piano for “A Dream That Can Last,” and yet a third piano for “My Heart.” 

And so it went, through “Song X” (with the lyrics “Hey ho, away we go. We’re on the road to never.”), “Prime of Life,” and the only song of the night with another musician onstage — Bob Rice on piano for “When I Hold You In My Arms” — featuring the poignant lyrics, “Well the older generation they got something to say, But they better say it fast or get outta the way.” 

Some of the older generation was a little grumpy by that point, with some yelling from the audience to play this or that, or play something happy. Young mostly ignored the peanut gallery, although he did call out one guy for staring at his cell phone the whole time and called another one “an asshole” for some comment I missed. 

Mostly Neil Young just did what he wanted, played what he wanted, and sounded pretty great (although I too could have used a little more tempo variation). 

He was once again a solo act for “Mr. Soul,” “Mother Earth,” “Ohio,” “Days That Used To Be,” “Don’t Forget Love,” and what was clearly the most beloved song of the night, “Heart of Gold.” That 1972 song was, believe it or not, Young’s only No. 1 hit in the U.S. — so far. Given Young’s enduring songwriting skill, distinct voice, prolific output, and impressive musicianship, I’m not quite ready to rule another one out.