Neil Young performs at the legendary Massey Hall on Tuesday. (Jack Boland, Toronto Sun)

TORONTO - If it was Le Noise you wanted at Neil Young’s solo show at Massey Hall Tuesday night, it was Le Noise you got - in more ways than one.

In the first of two highly anticipated gigs at the venue long associated with the beloved 65-year-old Canadian folk-rocker, Young devoted a third of his concert - six songs in all - from his 2010 album, the Daniel Lanois-produced Le Noise.

But there was no hint of the plugged-in, feedback-laden display - at one point the second-floor balcony was vibrating - to come early in the hour-and-40-minute show as Young - decked out in a straw panama hat, creme linen blazer, black T-shirt, jeans and black boots - opened the night on an acoustic guitar with his classic My, My, Hey Hey (Into the Blue).

As Young sang, “Rock ‘n’ Roll will never die,” the crowd roared their approval, and when he trotted out another acoustic gem, Helpless, there really was no going back with this group clearly excited to see their hometown hero.

“There is a town in North Ontario,” indeed.

Adding to the excitement was the fact that this week’s Massey Hall concerts came 40 years after Young’s legendary 1971 solo Massey Hall concert in which he unveiled many of the songs that would form the body of one of his most celebrated albums, Harvest.

When Young, having now strapped on an electric guitar, sang during You Never Call, “I know you’re going to the hockey game, the Red wings are coming to town,” the crowd booed in unison, and when he sang during Love and War, “I sang songs about war, Since the backstreets of Toronto,” the audience went nuts.

I found myself stuck between what I like to call “a drunk male music nerd sandwich” with loud, chatty fans - both young and old - seated directly in front of and behind me.

It was kind of like being at movie screening where an irritating audience member shouts out what’s going to happen on screen right before it does.

“He’s strapping on Old Black,” one of the geezers intoned as Young geared up for one of the evening’s highlights, Down By The River, with his signature black guitar.

You get the picture.

Tuesday night’s stage was dimly lit and evoked intimacy despite the presence of cameras, including one on a track on the floor in front of the stage, as both of Young’s concerts - the final two in his tour for Le Noise - are being filmed by Jonathan Demme (Philadelphia, Silence of the Lambs, and Rachel Getting Married) as the final installment in a concert film trilogy, joining 2006’s Neil Young: Heart of Gold and 2008’s Neil Young Trunk Show.

Scattered about the stage were two pianos and an organ, plus a life size wooden Native Chief carving, which Young toasted with a glass of water at one point in the show, and a tree-evoking four paneled backdrop, with the musician moving around the stage between songs, hesitating before he headed in the direction of one of the instruments.

It was these tiny, quirky moments - like when Young stroked the sides of his piano like it was an old friend, or dedicated the pretty ballad, Leia, to “all the tiny, little, roundfaced, smiling people,” - that sets the so-called Godfather of Grunge apart from the rest.

“They’re too small to be here tonight,” continued Young during his Leia dedication, in his only real audience address of the night. “They wanted to be here but they’re not here. Mom said nope. Grandpa was able to make it though,” he joked, alluding to himself.

Other song highlights included the searing Ohio, Cortez The Killer and Cinnamon Girl, with Young in all his electric glory, After The Gold Rush on organ, and another delicate piano ballad, I Believe In You.

Young’s opening act was Scottish folk singer-songwriter Bert Jansch (Pentangle), who delivered a charming, well-played 45 minute solo set despite his own unintentional feedback early in his performance.

“I hope it’s not me!” he joked when a loud noise kept interrupting his opening song.

SET LIST:

My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)

Tell Me Why

Helpless

You Never Call

Peaceful Valley Boulevard

Love and War

Down by the River

Hitchhiker

Ohio

Sign of Love

Leia

After the Gold Rush

I Believe in You

Rumblin’

Cortez the Killer

Cinnamon Girl

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