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LONDON, Ont. -- Nine thousand Rusties can't be wrong -- Neil Young never gets old.
Canadian rock icon Neil Young and a jammed John Labatt Centre communed in downtown London last night.
On a night when he plays miles of great guitar, Young saved his big, folk style hits -- Heart of Gold and Old Man -- for late in the main set. By that time, the star had doffed the checked shirt he wore for most of the show and was in a mystifying T, apparently celebrating somebody called Mr. Fiesta.
No matter. Just as his hard-rocking classics such as Cinnamon Girl had roused the crowd mid-set, the quieter songs produced singalongs and huge cheers.
"How you doin'?" Young said at least twice, one of the few times he spoke during the main set. "Good to see you," he said after the first time. It might have been an acknowledgement that London's Rusties have waited a long time for Young to return here. It seems likely that his last visit was a sold-out concert at Alumni Hall in 1973 when he was riding Harvest and other folk rock hits.
Young has shifted gears so many times since then, it's hard to keep up. That is part of the genius of the 63-year-old with the jagged face, strong voice and a kid's joy in punching out the last crushing chord or riff from his guitar.
Young may have set a record at the downtown arena for guitar switches early in a set. The opener, a jangly, driving When You Dance I Can Really Love had its guitar. Three or four songs later, it was a revisit to one of his early hits Everybody Knows This is Nowhere and 2007's Spirit Road and more guitars, more guitar gurudom and more questing.
Joining the star in his touring band are his wife Pegi, bassist Rick Rosas and guitarist Anthony Crawford, drummer Chad Cromwell and slide/steel guitarist Ben Keith. Aside from Young, Keith is the one holdover from the star's 1973 show at Alumni Hall.
Early on, when Young went to piano for Are You Ready for the Country, Keith was searingly strong. At points, Young and Keith faced off in guitar duels with neither backing off.
"Bonus track," Young announced late in the set before a beautiful duet with Pegi Young, who played vibes during the numbers. The love song included lyrics about the lights of the city swimming like a sea and a mansion on a hill.
Whatever it's name, the song showed that Young is never afraid to take his devoted Rusties to new places. Sure, there were stops like Change Your Mind when the combination of Beatleseque harmonies and jam band soloing didn't stop where it might have.
But when it came time for something from Young's new album, the eco-car friendly Fork in the Road he chose the lovely don't-curse-the-darkness ballad Light a Candle.
Last night, that message and Young's amazing songbook made everything brighter while never ignoring the darkness inside and out.