"I've been in love and I've seen a lot of war"

Neil Young was one of the last turns I went to see before we left Nottingham in 2010. I think I covered it for the paper, but I can't remember now. It would've been around the time he released his 30th. studio album Le Noise. As with a lot of latter day Young, it pretty much flew under the radar - if the critics can't see a Southern Man on there or a Hey Hey, My My they tend to dismiss it. Their loss.

One day I would love to gather my thoughts on Neil Young and try and put into words what I think  makes him a true one of a kind; a maverick. But first I need to finish his autobiography which, along with about another dozen or so paperbacks, is currently weighing down my bedside table.

In the meantime, and because I heard it on RTÉ tonight while I was in the bath, here's a beautiful song from that album which harks back to a more stripped back, acoustic Neil Young and one that certainly pushes all my buttons.

Neil Young - Love and War (2010)

FYI this is post No. 1,000 to appear on my blog. Are We There Yet? (formerly Even Monkeys Fall Out Of Trees) became a thing on February 15th. 2010. And yes, I know there's a picture of Manchester City's Neil Young at the top of the page.

If it Walks Like a Duck

I very rarely read the comments lurking beneath YouTube videos; they are, for the most part, the ramblings of mad men. And women.

But when I saw the footer to this Buffalo Springfield clip: 'Stephen Stills is hillarious' (sic) I had to concur. The duckwalk is, by its very nature, a manoeuvre that can in no way be called graceful; there's a time and a place.

Whether or not Stills was in either zone, I'll leave up to you to decide. But he's having a blast, as is Neil Young. Well, it was 1967.

I see a little silhouetto of a man

© Jon Philpott 2013

My friend Jon went to see Neil Young in Newcastle last night. He managed to get down the front, bless 'im and, from his (near) perfect vantage point, took several photos of the man some call Shakey. And none better than the one above.

He played all the stuff you'd expect at a Neil Young gig - Hey Hey My My - but body swerved the stuff you only dream about him playing - Carmichael. Apparently Los Lobos didn't disgrace themselves either.