I am a big music fan, mostly some version of rock. I guess my tastes are pretty eclectic. Heck, liking Neil Young is eclectic, in and of itself. He has tried so many styles over the years.

I have seen Neil Young over twenty times in concert, through his various permutations with various bands, in small venues and big outdoor stadia. The Neil Young Across America Tour has been going on for a quarter century, since I first saw the ill-fated, short-lived Stills-Young Band in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Everyone, well everyone who cares, asks me which permutation of Neil Young do I like best: with Crosby, Stills, and Nash, solo, with Crazy Horse, doing country rock, harder rock, the techno-Neil, the 50s rockin' Neil.... Well, I like it all. It is like the four seasons (not Frankie Valli), it depends on my mood. I enjoy the variety. When push comes to shove, though, you cannot beat Crazy Horse.

I have seen Neil Young a number of times over the past quarter of a century and the price of admission has gone up, just a little.

The Stills-Young Band, Springfield Civic Center June 1976 (ticket was $7.00)

The Stills-Young Band, Colt Park Hartford Connecticut July 11, 1976 ($7.50)
Opening act: Poco (and no, Rusty Young and Neil Young are not brothers)

Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Palladium, New York, November 19, 1976 (I missed my law school classes to go) ($8.50)

Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Palladium, New York, November 20, 1976 ($8.50)

Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Uniondale Coliseum, Long Island, September 1978 ($9.50) (and I saw Little Feat the night before in Springfield). Rust Never Sleeps tour

Neil Young, Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, Ohio, January 21, 1983 ($11.00). Trans tour

Neil Young, Convocation Center, Ohio University, Athens, March 3, 1983 (postponed and rescheduled) ($11.00) Trans tour

Neil Young and Shocking Pinks, Lenox Music Shed, Lenox, Massachusetts, September 2, 1983 ($17.50) Shocking Pinks tour

Neil Young and the International Harvesters, The Newport, Columbus, Ohio, September 11, 1984 ($15.00) Old Ways tour

Neil Young and the International Harvesters, Music Festival, Cleveland, September 14, 1984 ($15.00)
Opening act: Waylon Jennings Old Ways tour

Neil Young, Indiana State Fairgrounds, August 19, 1985 ($11.00, plus admission to the fair)
Opening act: David Allan Coe

Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, October 18, 1986 ($17.50) Garage Band tour

Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, October 23, 1986 ($15.00) Garage Band tour

Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, August 19, 1987 ($17.50) Life tour

Neil Young and the Blue Notes, Sports and Music Center, Indianapolis, August 1988.
Opening act: Tracy Chapman. Sponsored by No One tour

Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, January 26, 1991 ($20.00) (and a flat tire on the way home)
Opening act: Social Distortion/Sonic Youth

Neil Young, Riverport Amphitheatre, St. Louis, September 13, 1992 ($29.00)

Neil Young & Crazy Horse, New World Music Theatre, Chicago, September 6, 1996 ($35.00, but parking was included)
Opening acts: Gin Blossoms/Dave Matthews Band (Do It For Fenton)

Neil Young, The Fox Theatre, St. Louis, April 14, 1999 ($60.00) Silver and Gold tour

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Kiel Center, St. Louis, April 19, 2000 ($201.00)

Neil Young, Polaris Amphitheater, Columbus, Ohio, August 25, 2000 ($79.00)
Opening act: The Pretenders/Tegan and Sarah. Friends and Relatives tour

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Savvis Center, St. Louis, February 15, 2002 ($203.00)

Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Chastain Park Atlanta, June 11, 2003 ($79.00). Opening act: Lucinda Williams.

Here are some more linkages to Neil Young: Depression Blues and MOTUS Ultimate Neil Young Page
 

In addition to Neil Young, I am a big fan of Jackson Browne. His first few albums, particularly For Everyman and Late for the Sky are just brilliant. I have seen Jackson Browne a number of times between 1975 and 2000.

No one puts on a better concert than Bruce Springsteen. He is best with the E-Street Band. Just think, Nils Lofgren played with both Neil Young and the Boss.

I am a big fan of the Allman Brothers (with Dickey Betts), The Band, and Little Feat (I was a big Lowell George fan). I recently read an article that compared the music of The Band and Little Feat. I did not see (hear) the comparison, but it is interesting that they are two of my favorites. What is it about Neil Young and Robbie Robertson two Canadians who did a better job of capturing the American pysche and history than their American contemporaries.

I am a big fan of Warren Zevon, the excitable boy. It was with great sadness that I learned of his recent passing. I saw him in concert a couple of times and he was always excellent. His music was incredible, the lyrics were hilarious, in places and touching in others. "Lawyers, Guns, and Money" and Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" are two of my favorites.

I enjoy The Clash and The Ramones for some pure energy. The Ramones are credited with inventing punk rock. It was no frills, no arrangements. Just straight basic rock. The Clash was made up of punks with a social attitude. Great music. Both the Clash and the Ramones lost members of their groups in the past few months. As you can tell, I live in a musical timewarp.

Of course, I like the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Jimi Hendrix. Did you know that Stephen Stills played bass with Hendrix and later tried out for the Monkees? The face of rock n roll could have been changed. How would Crosby, Tork, Nash, and Young sound? Actually, it probably would have been John Sebastian, who was the first choice before CSN chose former Buffalo Springfield guitarist Neil Young. A few summers ago, Fenton and I visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Now personally, I think there is something a little bit strange about a formal, ostentatious building to honor rock 'n roll, given its  roots. But I sure enjoyed it. It was great to see the history and the relics of the 50s and 60s and more recent times. You could spend a few days in there. There is everything from the hilarious (Elton John's wardrobe) to the macabre (John Lennon's blood stained glasses).

Some of my favorite albums are Who's Next? by The Who (great music, every track, and a great cover), Desperado by the Eagles (joined by J.D. Souther and Dan Fogelberg) the life of the rock star as outlaw, Neil Young's Everybody Knows This is Nowhere and Live Rust and Rust Never Sleeps. On The Beach is also an underrated, excellent album. Some of my other favorites are Blood on the Tracks by Dylan, Greetings from Asbury Park and Born to Run by the Boss, London Calling by the Clash, and In the Court of the Crimson King  by King Crimson. I cannot decide which Jackson Browne album is my favorite. Is it Saturate Before Using (not the real name) or For Everyman or Late for the Sky? It changes from day to day. They are all excellent.

Favorite Live Albums
Fillmore East  Allman Brothers: this is often said to be the greatest live album. Who am I to disagree?
Live Rust/Rust Never Sleeps  Neil Young: one of the many Neil Young live albums. It combines acoustic and electric, new and old. And there is a DVD/Video of the concert
Live in New York City Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: amazing energy. Also on DVD.
Waiting for Columbus  Little Feat: the quintessential Little Feat album. All the great songs recorded in Feat Heaven: D.C.
Four Way Street  Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young: a nice sampling of the group alone and together.
The Last Waltz  The Band, now reissued on CD and DVD

Honorable Message:
Time Fades Away Neil Young: the first of its kind, a live album of all new material. It is raw and reflects the recent deaths of Danny Whitten and Bruce Berry.
Running On Empty Jackson Browne: a postcard from the road.
 

I seem to be going in the wrong direction. Many people tell me that anyway. When I was younger, I liked the peaceful, acoustic folk music. As I get older, I find myself reaching for more electric music and music with an edge. Maybe it is my hearing.

Twenty to twenty-five years ago, here are some of the individuals and groups I was listening to. Have you ever heard of any of them? I didn’t think so.

Aztec Two Step                         Danny O’Keefe       
Batdorf and Rodney                  American Flyer
Fool’s Gold                                Jimmy Spheeris       
David Bromberg                        Triumvirat
The Poussette-Dart Band          Eric Andersen        
Andy Pratt                                 Tom Rush

I need to get a new turntable and listen to them again. A turntable was a mechanism used in the late twentieth century to play records. Records were large petroleum based disks (they looked like CDs, but they were much larger). The records spun around on the turntable and an arm with a needle dropped and "played" the record. Ask your parents, they probably remember.

I went through my synthesizer phase when I liked Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, King Crimson, and Yes (until Tales from Topographic Oceans). Neil Young even did a synthesizer album, Trans.

These days, I find myself rediscovering the Jayhawks. They are supposed to be a cross between Neil Young and the Flying Burrito Brothers (with the great Gram Parsons), but I see or hear more of the latter than the former. I got to see the Jayhawks in a small venue and they were awesome.
 

I like jazz, mostly fusion. I enjoy going to the Jazz Museum in Kansas City. It is connected to the Negro League Museum. In between trips to see the Royals and to Arthur Bryant's and Gates for barbecue, I can be found in those museums.

I went through the fusion stage: jazz and rock with Weather Report, Return to Forever (and the solo projects of Stanley Clarke and Al DiMeola), Pat Matheny, Grover Washington, Jr., George Benson, Earl Klugh, John Klemmer, and Jean Luc Ponty).
 

I used to go to concerts all the time, all over the Northeast. I used to be into rock trivia. My nickname on the softball team was Rocky for my extensive knowledge of who played on what tracks of what album. I used to read and memorize Rolling Stone magazine before it sold out and became a slightly more interesting version of People magazine.

Favorite Concerts
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 2000: unbelievable, awesome energy
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young 2001: it should have been billed Young, and Crosby, Stills, Nash. Neil dominated the proceedings.
Neil Young/Little Feat: great concert weekend and there are albums (Live Rust and Waiting for Columbus) to allow me to relive it
Neil Young at the Palladium: the first time I saw the great man with Crazy Horse in a small intimate venue. I went back the next night.
Jackson Browne Bushnell in Hartford: just before the release of his third album. A small setting and all the great songs.
Billy Joel Philadelphia 1977, before he sold out (and I do not mean the seats). He did impersonations and played with one hand tied behind his back. He had an edge back then: listen to Captain Jack and the Piano Man.
Elton John, Dave Mason, and John Miles: the bicentennial (7/4/76) Schaefer Stadium. I went to see Dave Mason and he was great, but Elton John was fabulous.
Jefferson Starship/Fleetwood Mac on the same bill at the height of their popularity.