As many of you know, I was one of those fortunate ones who
attended the Ryman shows last August. I took a chance and
went to Nashville ticketless and, through fortune and some
help from my rusted comrades, I was able to score tickets
for both nights. It was an incredible experience; a couple
of the best days of my life.

I finally got around to watching the film that was spawned
by those concerts, Neil Young: Heart Of Gold, this week.
It was beautifully filmed. The musicianship of Neil and
the band and everyone involved was incredible. Demme did
get to choose from two nights of identical music (except
for the fantastic closing-credits solo The Old Laughing
Lady which was performed after the audience had left on
the second night) but there were no double-takes either
night.

What was different about the film after seeing the
concerts live? Well, of course there was a lot of pre-song
dialog that was left on the cutting room floor. Between
songs, there was an interval of time, something Neil
called 'limbo', during which the stage would be rearranged
and Neil would crack a few jokes. Then, making all of us
present completely aware that this was more about making a
film than a concert, we would applaud *before* the song
started (after 'limbo) to provide continuity in the film.
I loved the version(s) of He Was The King at the Ryman
shows and I was disappointed they were not in the movie,
though I guess that's the director's prerogitive.

I liked the film, found it to be entertaining and even a
bit moving. However, overall it just came across too slick
for me. Those outfits, which were somehow not as gaudy
from my balcony seat, were in-your-face corny on the film.
Every time I saw Emmylou on stage, I was overwhelmed with
desire: the desire to thoroughly scrub her face with a
wash-cloth. As far as showing an audience what Neil Young
is all about, where was the edginess? Where was the ragged
intensity? We know Neil still has it (just check out the
performance of Southern Man at Farm Aid last year which I
also attended, a performance Wilco's Jeff Tweedy called
the most incredible live performance he's ever attended.)
Contemplating this, my mind wanders to Demme's previous
Neil-filming, Complex Sessions which in only 4 songs
expresses a more genuine impression of what is great about
Neil's music. There are moments in Change Your Mind in
which it seems and feels like Neil and the band are about
to lose it; they take it right to the edge and somehow
hold it together in glorious fashion. And the twisted
inclusion of the throw-away Piece Of Crap was just so
Neilish...

I left the theatre feeling that someone attending this
film to find out about Neil Young is something like
someone going to Disney World's EPCOT center to visit
Paris. You get an idealized, costumed slice of a much more
complex and multi-faceted entity than what is experienced.
And the good stuff is in those places that are outside
those pretty presentations.

Mike
Expecting To Fly

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com