10 / 10
score
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Neil Young

After the disappointment of the Pixies, we get to the closing act of the whole festival. Now my knowledge of Neil Young is pretty poor, it merely extends to the following list of things. A good friend of mine rates him as his favourite artist of all time, but our tastes in music don't cross too heavily so that says little to me. Young has apparently released an album every year since 1966, was born in Canada, has strong left wing political views and doesn't care who knows it.

So not knowing what to expect, I watch as a very uninspiring rig appears slowly on stage, along with what look like the oldest stage equipment I think I've ever seen. This is quite a shock after all the shiny new stuff we've been used to over the last few days.

Some of it looks like old amps which are so brown and aged, they could well be from the 60s, having long since lost any manufacturers labels. And then Young comes on stage, playing acoustic guitar and a mouth organ, he does a pleasant enough track, probably about war, I can't really remember. Then he dumps the mouth organ, plays another gentle track, does a further one alone on an ancient organ.

Now joined by the rest of his band, he does one final acoustic number, and I have to confess at this point that I'm pleasantly enjoying it all but really unsure as to why this really old looking guy in gingham plaid shirt is the final and biggest act at this festival, let alone the other two (maybe more) he is also appearing at this summer.

And then he puts down the acoustic and picks up the electric guitar, after which point the entire crowd becomes part of a moment. Those who study popular music history to any sort of degree will be aware of the moment Bob Dylan went electric for the first time at a live concert, the Newport Folk Festival, this being in America. During the headline of that festival, many fans booed the artist when he switched, yet here in another Newport far away in both place and time, the reaction was different.

Young began a track called Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black), and proceeded to produce the most amazing guitar rock I think I have ever heard. From there on in, it was a performance that sent shivers down the spine, as a 63 year old man gave us one blazing guitar solo after another, and pretty much showed anybody that might even be remotely unsure, what the hell rock and roll was about.

He ended the main set with what can only be described as an epic rendition of Rockin' In The Free World, which every time it appeared to be ending, threw us all back into the chorus, time after time, and everyone loved every second of it. The encore finished with a cover of Beatles track A Day In The Life, during the finale of which he broke all the strings of his guitar, and walked off, leaving everyone wanting more.

Alas all we got was a nice tune over the sound system, synchronised to a really decent fireworks display. A poor second best, but only because Young was so good.


Final Thoughts

For atmosphere, friendliness, organisation and artist line up, this year was an excellent one over on the Isle of Wight. Sure, commercialism has become an important part of the festival, but it never crossed the line of being too intrusive. Yes, whoever directed the video screens often picked a shot of no relevance or interest, which might have annoyed anyone who couldn't see the stage, but that is a minor niggle.

This could be a hard act to follow for next year, but I wish them every luck, especially as I hope to be there again.

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