Neil Young & Crazy Horse road into Bridgeport, Connecticut, on Saturday, May 18, for the latest concert on their 2024 Love Earth Tour. The show, at Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, featured Young and his longtime backing band playing an 18-song set that mixed classics and deep cuts from their long and storied history.
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As they have throughout the tour, Young and Crazy Horse kicked off the Bridgeport show with an extended rendition of their 1975 fan favorite “Cortez the Killer” that featured a lost verse recently added back into the tune.
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Young’s recognizably warbly voice was strong throughout the show, and his powerful guitar riffing was as transcendent as ever. Crazy Horse features the ever-reliable co-founding rhythm section of Billy Talbot on bass and Ralph Molina and drums. Rounding out the current lineup is Willie Nelson’s son Micah on second guitar. Micah is filling in for Crazy Horse multi-instrumentalist Nils Lofgren, who is touring now wit hBruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. Talbot, Molina, and Nelson also contributed backing vocals.
The Band Played Two Songs Played for First Time in Years
The concert included performances of two songs that Young and company hadn’t played live in more than six years. The tunes were “When You Dance, I Can Really Love,” from Young’s classic 1970 solo record After the Gold Rush, and show-closer “Big Time,” from Neil’s 1996 album with Crazy Horse, Broken Arrow. Interestingly, the last time Young & Crazy Horse performed the songs was at the same May 2018 concert in Bakersfield, California.
[RELATED: Upcoming Archival Neil Young & Crazy Horse Album Delves into the Band’s Early Daze]
About Some of the Classics Young & Crazy Horse Played
The Bridgeport show also featured three songs from Young’s first album with Crazy Horse, 1969’s Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere—the classics “Cinnamon Girl” and “Down by the River,” plus the title track.
Another major highlight of the concert was “Powderfinger,” one of the most popular tracks from Young & Crazy Horse’s 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps.
Ragged Glory Was Represented
Young & Crazy Horse’s latest album, Fu##in’ Up, which was released in April, is a live record capturing the band playing its full 1990 studio album Ragged Glory at a concert at a Toronto club in November 2023. Neil and the band included two Ragged Glory songs in their Bridgeport set—“Love and Only Love” and “F—in’ Up.”
Some of the Deep Cuts That Were Performed
Other deep cuts featured at the concert included “Barstool Blues” and “Danger Bird,” from Zuma (1975); “Scattered (Let’s Think About Livin’),” from Broken Arrow; and “I’m the Ocean,” from Young’s 1995 collaborative album with Pearl Jam, Mirror Ball.
Young’s Acoustic Set
As the show neared its end, Crazy Horse left the stage, and Young strapped on an acoustic guitar for a three-song mini set. He played his 1972 signature tune “Heart of Gold,” and two songs from his 1978 album Comes a Time, the title track and “Human Highway.”
The Finale
The band then returned to close out the show with a rollicking rendition of the Rust Never Sleeps classic “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black),” followed by the aforementioned encore tune, “Big Time.”
Young & Crazy Horse’s Upcoming 2024 Tour Dates
The next stop on Young & Crazy Horse’s Love Earth Tour takes place Monday, May 20, in Toronto.
The outing is plotted out through a September 29 concert at the famed Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
Tickets for the shows are available now via various outlets, including StubHub.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse Set List, 5/20/2024, Bridgeport, CT, Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater:
- “Cortez the Killer”
- “Cinnamon Girl”
- “When You Dance, I Can Really Love”
- “F—in’ Up”
- “Scattered (Let’s Think About Livin’)”
- “Barstool Blues”
- “Danger Bird”
- “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”
- “Roll Another Number (For the Road)”
- “I’m the Ocean”
- “Down by the River”
- “Powderfinger”
- “Love and Only Love”
- “Comes a Time” (Neil Young solo acoustic)
- “Heart of Gold” (Neil Young solo acoustic)
- “Human Highway” (Neil Young solo acoustic)
- “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)”
Encore:
- “Big Time”
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