Neil Young has spent a portion of 2023 touring around the West Coast. The set lists from those shows have been career-spanning and exciting for fans of all his decades-spanning eras. But his September 20 gig the The Roxy in West Hollywood with backing band Crazy Horse was different.
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After running through the entirety of the classic 1975 album Tonight’s the Night, Young went ahead and played another classic album in full, 1969’s Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, the very first LP he ever made with Crazy Horse.
[RELATED: Neil Young Announces 50th Anniversary Release of ‘Time Fades Away’]
Fan-captured footage reveals Neil running through such deep cuts as “Tired Eyes,” the world-weary penultimate track from Tonight’s the Night that follows a drug deal gone horribly wrong. He blows his harmonica on the soul-melting “Mellow My Mind” and launches into that iconic drop D riff of “Cinnamon Girl.”
As Brooklyn Vegan points out, the show at The Roxy was held 50 years to the day after Young and his backing band for Tonight’s the Night, billed as the Santa Monica Flyers, headlined the venue on its opening night. That show was released on Neil Young Archives back in 2018.
It was also the first time Young had played the songs “Borrowed Tune,” “Lookout Joe,” and “Tired Eyes” in 50 years. When he performed “Come on Baby Let’s Go Downtown,” Rolling Stone notes, Micah Nelson took over singing lead on the tune originally penned and sung by late Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten. The song “New Mama” was dedicated to Young’s son, Zeke, who was reportedly in attendance.
This week, Young announced a 50th anniversary release of his 1973 live album Times Fades Away. It’s due out November 3 and will be pressed on a limited edition clear vinyl. The full album will be available in addition to a bonus track: a rare full-band recording of his 1968 psych-folk odyssey track “The Last Trip to Tulsa.”
Find the full set list for Young’s concert at The Roxy below:
Tonight’s the Night
Speakin’ Out
World on a String
Borrowed Tune
Come on Baby Let’s Go Downtown
Mellow My Mind
Roll Another Number (For the Road)
Albuquerque
New Mama
Lookout Joe
Tired Eyes
Tonight’s the Night
Cinnamon Girl
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Round & Round (It Won’t Be Long)
Down by the River
The Losing End
Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets)
Cowgirl in the Sand
Photo by Harmony Gerber/Getty Images
