Neil Young and Crazy Horse Budweiser Stage Monday night RATING: ***1/2 (3.5 out of four) Down by the lake on Monday night, Canadian folk-rock legend Neil Young wowed his hometown fans. And it was during the classic Down by the River that 78-year-old Young — alongside his longtime rock outfit Crazy Horse featuring original rhythm section Billy Talbot on bass and Ralph Molina on drums joined by more recent member Micah Nelson (youngest son of Willie Nelson) on guitar for their Love Earth tour — finally hit his loud, lumbering and loveable stride at Budweiser Stage.
After the gates had been closed temporarily due to fear of a thunder and lightning storm, there was a crowd bottleneck to get into the amphitheatre’s summer season opening show with Young’s set time pushed back 20 minutes to accommodate that delay. On the positive side, despite no parking left on the Lakeshore Blvd. side because of construction on the site, it was easy getting into CNE parking — you just have to have the Green P parking app or go to greenp.
com to pay. A rousing opening set by Reverend Billy (and his choir) was followed by a crew of white lab coat-wearing roadies preparing the set dominated by a large white horse on a black back screen and Fender speakers before Young and Crazy Horse casually walked on stage and proceeded to leisurely jam on the show opener, Cortez the Killer, standing close together in a semi-circle in front of Molina’s drum kit. Jams coming! #neilyoung and #crazyhorse le.
