The following message is copied with permission from the Lee-Shore list. It
was written by Dzimmer24@...


Last night (Friday) I went to a screening of Neil Young's Greendale film at
the Walter Reade Theatre in NYC. A friend at Warner Bros. had kindly added
me to the guest list. My wife had to cancel out at the last minute to take
my son to a party, so what was to have been a pre-Valentine's Day date
became a solo trip. On the off-chance that Neil wouldn't be mobbed after the
screening, I brought along a 11 X 14 glossy C-print of a striking
Bluenotes-era shot of NY with Old Black (his trusty Les Paul guitar) that
was used on the cover of BAM Magazine for the interview I did with him back
in 1988. Picked up my ticket (stamped "First Class") at the guest table,
then chatted for a bit with "Suite"
Lorraine K. A half hour later, after settling into a seat a couple down
from Alan Light, the editor of "Tracks," a guy from Film Comment stood at a
microphone in front of the screen and introduced "Bernard Shakey." As he
sauntered down the far left aisle, I noticed he was wearing the same jacket
I had on
-- the Deja Vu brown leather "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Established in
1969 " one from the CSNY2K tour. He also had on a floppy Dr. Seuss-like
brown leather hat, pulled low. The audience erupted with applause. Neil
cracked, "I can tell you're going to be a tough crowd tonight. Hope you
enjoy the film."
I won't take up bandwidth with comments about Greendale, other than to say
that it was a sensory delight and added appreciation for as well as depth
and understanding to the music. Hearing/seeing the climactic "Be the Rain"
in the context of the film reinforced my feeling that CSNY could do a killer
arrangement of the song if the group does indeed tour this year. There was
a Q & A with Neil as soon as the film ended. He fielded roughly 20
questions, from a Film Comment guy and the audience, about Greendale,
bootlegs, digital sound and other things. One guy stood up and told of the
birth of his children in relation to when he and his wife had been to Neil
Young concerts, adding, "You're better than Viagra!" Everyone laughed.

The Greendale "after-party" -- which I thought was going to be a somewhat
small affair -- ended up being loaded with Film Comment and film festival
guests, many of whom hadn't even been to the screening. Just as I was
thinking that Neil probably would not venture into such a crush scene, I
looked over and there he was ... off in a corner of the room, hat still
pulled low, talking to a woman, with Elliot Roberts next to them. Winding
my way through the crowd to where Neil stood, waiting until a couple of
other people had said a few words, I leaned in with a greeting. There was a
flash of recognition: "DAVE! How ya
doin' ..." He said he'd received the copy of 4 Way Street (the book) I'd
sent to his home, but hadn't had a chance to read through it yet. I
reminded him about the 1988 BAM interview I'd done with him and reached into
my bag, pulled out the C-print and asked if would mind signing it. One of
the actors from Greendale saw the photograph (by Aaron Rappaport) and said,
"Johnny rocker!"
Neil smirked, kindly took the black Sharpee pen I handed him (after I first
dropped it, then luckily retrieved it from my bag). He paused for a moment
to look at the print again, then signed his name large with a flourish in
just the right spot. The Greendale actor saw how Neil had shaped the loop in
the "g"
in his name, and said, "There's a heart trip happening there." "Heeeyyy,"
Neil said and handed me back the Sharpee. I thanked him and then noticed (as
did Elliot) the crowd that had gathered behind me. Others pressed in as I
stepped back. A nice series of moments. It was time to head home.

My wife (who has become quite a Neil/CSNY fan herself) was thrilled when she

saw Neil had signed the print and noticed the "heart trip." Happy
Valentine
's Day!
LOL, Dave Z.