My new pal, David Cevoli, wrote earlier this week about the influence Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and others of that era have had and continue to have on him. He’s a gifted musician and though I’ve not had a chance to listen to him in person, I’ve listened to the demos he’s posted on ReverbNation and I’m looking forward to his first full-length album – it’s currently in progress.

Meanwhile, I began thinking of the first time I ever heard/saw Neil Young, which happened to be on the same night at the Beacon Theatre in 1990.

Two of my housemates scored some last minute tickets street-side as we were walking past the venue after dinner and next thing I knew I was listening to Victoria Williams getting booed off the stage to chants of “Neil, Neil, Neil”

Something about that weird, negative vibe got to me, BIG TIME. That, plus the seemingly extreme incline of the Beacon’s balcony made me just get up and leave for awhile – I rushed out and ended up somewhere else, halfway up a stairwell, where I found some space and which I realized later led up to some sort of room for media VIPs. I sat on the stairs for a good hour at least, well into Young’s set, trying to calm down enough to return to my seat and the rest of the show.

That’s when Neil started to play “Heart of Gold” and immediately I knew I’d heard this music somewhere before. It instantly calmed and reassured me and I returned to my pals and enjoyed the next 2 hours before we were dumped back out into the breezy summer night with that tune stuck in my head like glue for the next few days.

Thanks for jarring the memory, Cev. Cheers.

=
c