TORONTO - If it's too loud, then you're too old, goes the saying, unless obviously you're Neil Young who makes rock 'n' roll seem like a sixtysomething musician's game.

The Canadian folk-rock legend arrived at the Air Canada Centre last night for the first of two back-to-back shows just as the 63-year-old Toronto native garnered a Grammy nomination late Wednesday night for best solo rock vocal performance for No Hidden Path from his latest studio album, 2007's Chrome Dreams II.

Young, who shows absolutely no signs of senior citizenship approaching, is currently in the middle of a North American arena tour but has seemingly has been on the road for ages.

Most memorable in these parts was his three-night stand at Massey Hall just over a year ago around the time of Chrome Dreams II's release. (Although it was actually Sugar Mountain - Live at Canterbury House 1968, a document of Young's first solo tour 40 years ago, that was released just days ago.)

So for anyone who attended one of those remarkable, intimate shows at Massey - the man who painted on stage during those gigs was back again last night too - the ACC concert might have loomed a bit too large and yet Young has a knack for creating a welcoming atmosphere and inviting the audience to join in, whatever the size of the venue he plays.

Just the sight of him walking on stage in a paint-dripped blazer, t-shirt, jeans, and runners with those fuzzy, grey sideburns more evident than ever with his long hair slicked back, was enough to make you smile before he even played a note.

Actually, the audience roared as the Toronto-born, Winnipeg-raised Young made his entrance.

Joined by the so-called Electric Band - guitarist-pianist-and pedal steel guitarist Ben Keith, bassist Rick Rosas, drummer Chad Cromwell, backup singers-pianists Anthony Crawford and Neil's wife Pegi - Young opened with the 1990 Crazy Horse tune, Love And Only Love, weaving, and bobbing and dipping as he happily rocked out on his electric guitar.

But it was the followup song, the 1979 Crazy Horse classic, Hey Hey, My My, that was downright astonishing, as Young seemed to be vibrating alongside his instrument as he played like a possessed twentysomething kid in a yet-to-be-discovered garage band while Cromwell bashed away on his drum kit.

Other Crazy Horse songs from various eras - Powderfinger, Cortez The Killer, Cinnamon Girl, and Cowgirl In The Sand - plus his own anthemic Rockin' In The Free World which was the evening's undisputed highlight - provoked similar shiver-inducing reactions.

In other words, there's definitely no fading away for this still impossibly youthful musician.

It's not easy to grown old in rock 'n' roll and yet Young makes it seem effortless.

"How ya doing Toronto," said Young, who kept the stage banter to a minium over the course of two hours. "Nice to see you. Thanks for being here. "

Among the covers played during the concert were Don Gibson's country classic, Oh, Lonesome Me, which saw Young strap on acoustic guitar and mouth organ for the first time, and The Beatles' A Day In The Life, which made for an exciting encore as Young ended the tune with his electric guitar creating feedback near a speaker.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Crazy Horse "natural anthem" Mother Earth, saw Young play an old organ and harmonica while Keith, Crawford and Pegi gathered around a microphone to sing choir-like backup vocals.

There was also just Young and his acoustic guitar for the 1972 gem, The Needle And The Damage Done, which drew the crowd into a major singalong, as did later acoustic-driven classics Heart Of Gold and Old Man.

Opening last night - Young plays his second show at the ACC tonight - were Chicago's alt-rock veterans Wilco and rising California indie-rock oufit Everest.

Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy and his five bandmates - Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt are the group's only remaining original members - unveiled a fun, feedback-laden 50-minute set that leaned towards songs from their most recent 2007 disc, Sky Blue Sky, although some tunes stretched back much further.

But it was L.A. guitar god Nels Cline, who reinvigorated the group when he joined Wilco for their live 2005 album, Kicking Television, followed by Sky Blue Sky, that provided the most excitement on stage with noisy distortion and impressive solos on Handshake Drugs, Jesus Etc., Impossible Germany, Via Chicago, Hate It Here, Walken and I'm The Man Who Loves You.