Live Review: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Husky

It's a slightly odd pairing having Melbourne indie outfit Husky opening proceedings tonight, but the four-piece do a solid job in the circumstances and definitely win some new admirers over the course of their relatively brief set.

It's fair to say that Neil Young has nothing left to prove. His career has spanned more than half a century, he's penned some of the most memorable songs of all time, he's recorded some forty albums – as a solo artist, with Crosby, Stills and Nash, with the Bluenotes, the Shocking Pinks, and of course, with Crazy Horse. He's a behemoth, and so he's earned the right to basically do whatever the hell he wants, and tonight he does exactly that. In a set that lasts a touch over two hours, Young and The Horse play only four 'hits' – Cinnamon Girl, Heart Of Gold, Powderfinger and Hey Hey My My. Filling the gaps were a number of cuts from new album Psychedelic Pill, a couple of brand new songs, and a few so obscure it fair boggled the mind. Young knows he's got nothing to prove so he plays just what he wants, and the result? An absolutely stunning set.

They set the scene early – opening with Love And Only Love, Young and guitarist Frank 'Poncho' Sampedro immediately clicking into the groove they inhabit so well, a seven-minute jam opening proceedings with squalls and wails, a wall of feedback which barely abates, followed by song after song of extended guitar-fed exploration, a veritable cacophony to which there often seems no end. Powderfinger, Born In Ontario and Walk Like A Giant all got the same treatment, the latter descending into a maelstrom of chunky feedback, thunderstorm-esque complete with lightning flashes, and eventually, rain, before they bring it down with relatively calm new track Hole In The Sky. He's in solo acoustic mode for Heart Of Gold (by far the crowd favourite), then at the piano for another new one, Singer Without A Song. An extended Fuckin' Up begins as some solid riffing, yet another prolonged electric sojourn into the depths of the Horse's collective mind, before a bit of call and response with the crowd falls a bit flat.  They offer Hey Hey My My to close, before encoring with Opera Star and Roll Another Number, two very odd choices on which to finish, and then they're done.

Young takes the (almost bemused) accolades with a smile on his face that basically says, 'I'm Neil Young, cop that'.  And we do, and goddamn, it's good. A lot of people don't dig on what Neil and The Horse lay down tonight, but it was always going to be like that, and it's epic.