Young and McCartney Join Forces in Hyde Park

Neil Young may be the hardest rocking original still in the game. Though the Boss may have a bit more energy, at 64 years old, Young is the elder.

Neil Young may be the hardest rocking original still in the game. Though the Boss may have a bit more energy, at 64 years old, Young is the elder. The guy goes out there night after night, ending each set in a haze of distortion and snapped strings. Amps stacked high, his thinning, but still lengthy hair flows with electricity. As Young closed out Hyde Park on Saturday night, he brought forth that same energy one should expect from him in addition to a very special surprise. After a set that included most of Neil’s staples and concluded with a rousing rendition of “Rockin’ in the Free World,” Young emerged for his one song encore. The Ontario-born folk-rocker has been performing his noise rock take on The Beatles’ “Day in the Life” for about a year now, concluding each show chanting the song’s wordless ending melody atop crunchy distortion.  On Friday night, Neil lapsed into his version of the tune as usual, however, mid-song none other than Paul McCartney walked out on the stage to rub heads with the Canadian king. It takes a few seconds for the crowd to comprehend what they are witnessing, but once they do, the performance turns into an epic sing-along. McCartney and Young look like the best of pals during the collaboration, before McCartney exits, allowing Young optimal space to destroy his guitar.

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