Neil Young and Stephen Stills joined forces Saturday night for the semi-annual Light Up the Blues charity show at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. They shared the bill with Billy Idol and Steve Stevens, Cat Power, Nathaniel Rateliff, Rufus Wainwright, and Linda Perry to raise money for Autism Speaks.
Young performed a couple of songs at a Bernie Sanders/AOC Fighting Oligarchy rally in L.A. a couple of weeks back, but this marked his first proper concert of the year. Taking the stage alongside his new band the Chrome Hearts – which features guitarist Micah Nelson, organist Spooner Oldham, bassist Corey McCormick, and drummer Anthony LoGerfo – Young kicked off his set with the live debut of “Let’s Roll Again” from his upcoming LP Talkin’ To The Trees.
The song, which isn’t to be confused with his 9/11 anthem “Let’s Roll” from 2002’s Are You Passionate?, is a plea for corporations to act responsibly, and for the country to come together. “Come on America,” he sang. “Let’s cover our back/Protect our children/Protect our children/Over in China/They’re way ahead/That’s hard to swallow/They’re way ahead/If yer a fascist/Then get a tesla/If it’s electric, it doesn’t matter.” (The Tesla line was greeted by roars of approval by the audience.)
He followed it up with the Monsanto Years deep cut “Big Box,” which he hadn’t played since the 2015 Bridge School Benefit. Leaving no doubt where Young’s mind is at these days, it’s another protest song about greedy corporations. “PlunderCo got in money trouble,” he sang. “Had to break the law/Had to balance the fine/Against the benefit to all/Made a business decision/To pay the fine/And break the law.”
The most stunning moment of the night came next when he kicked into “Ordinary People,” a This Note’s For You-era epic he hasn’t touched in concert since 1988, even though he released it on 2007’s Chrome Dreams II. The 17-minute song is packed with references to Eighties phrases and figures like former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca and Michelob’s “Make It a Michelob Night” ad campaign, but is otherwise still relevant today. The prior versions all prominently featured horns, but this is a new arrangement heavier on guitar. And at 17 minutes, it took up a large percent of Young’s entire set.
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For Young’s final two songs, “Human Highway” and “Rockin’ in the Free World,” Stephen Stills and his son Chris Stills joined them on guitar and vocals. It ended with Young and Stills trading furious guitar solos, and a revival of the “Take America Back!” chant that Young introduced at the Fighting Oligarchy rally.
Stills was also backed by the Chrome Hearts for his own set. It featured the Manassas favorite “Colorado,” where he was joined by special guest Nathaniel Rateliff, Buffalo Springfield’s “Hung Upside Down,” CSN’s “Dark Star,” and Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.” Young returned to the stage for the latter song, where he replicated his guitar part from the original 1966 recording.
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Earlier in the night, Billy Idol and Steve Stevens had the audience singing along to “White Wedding” and “Rebel Yell,” Rufus Wainwright performed “Going to a Town” with Chris Stills, and Linda Perry sang “Feathers in a Storm” from her 1996 solo LP In Flight.
Neil Young will next take the stage May 23 for a solo acoustic benefit show in Lakefield, Ontario. He’ll then head to Europe in June to kick off a world tour with the Chrome Hearts. If the setlist is anything like Light Up the Blues, expect some major surprises.
