Neil Young Busts Out ‘Broken Arrow’ In Detroit
By Andy Kahn Jul 5, 2018 • 7:38 am PDT
Photo by Julie Gardner
Following stops in St. Louis and Chicago, Neil Young’s short run of solo concerts continued Tuesday night at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. The audience in attendance that evening and those watching a webcast witnessed Young performing the classic Buffalo Springfield rarity “Broken Arrow” for the first time since he appeared with the legendary band at Bonnaroo in 2011.
According to the Neil Young setlist database Sugar Mountain, Tuesday’s “Broken Arrow” was Young’s first solo performance of the song originally issued on the 1967 album Buffalo Springfield Again since 1992. Young played the Buffalo Springfield song “One More Sign” live for the first time in Chicago prior to the Detroit show.
Young wrote a message on his Neil Young Archives website regarding the Detroit concert which he titled “Rough Night.” The note explains that while Young felt it was a “good show” his experience at the Fox “was not half as rewarding personally as the St. Louis and Chicago shows.” Here’s an excerpt of the note from Neil:
Because the St. Louis and Chicago crowds were all real listeners, the type of crowd I have come to love with the NYA shows, (shows where all tickets were bought through NYA and there was no advertising), those three shows were free and easy and I had the unbridled ability to lose myself in any song when the moment came.
In Detroit, we had something going against that. It was the fourth of July holiday and some folks were celebrating, already high when they arrived at the show. Because it was a holiday, I could see it coming. They were focused on their celebration, kind of like a festival.
Any subtle solo performance of songs is very challenged under those conditions. Of course, If I had a band, I could just blast out the show and rock on. So I came away from Detroit a bit mentally bruised and battered, yet still happy that so many people enjoyed the performance that I had tried to give them, even though they were somewhat short changed by circumstance.
The St. Louis and Chicago crowds were distinctly different from the commercial shows I have been doing for the past years. At those commercial public shows. I have come to expect that people are as interested in celebrating their connection to the music as they are in actually listening. These are the people who yell out titles as loud as they can, during, or in between songs, or while I am talking, trying to tell a story about the music and where it came from or what it meant to me at one time or another.
On night’s like last night in Detroit, It seems that the yellers are not with me. They are interested in celebrating their love of the music in another way. There is nothing wrong with that for them. They are having the time of their lives out there. Unfortunately for the audience, everyone else misses out on what might have happened while I am distracted by those celebrating their favorite song titles, yelling them as loud as they can.
I could slip deeply into a song if not distracted, but I am just relegated to the surface while fighting off distraction, and so is the rest of the audience. Likewise, I may have told a story that sets up the experience of listening to the song, if I was not interrupted while trying.
In St. Louis and the two shows in Chicago, I had the time of my life! It was so great to be able to lose myself in the music, sharing my experience with the audience, telling the stories of the songs to set them up, both for me and for the audience.
Young went on to thank the Detroit audience, stating “I always appreciate you” and he wrote that he hoped to return to perform a show more to his liking. Young mentioned “After The Goldrush,” “Angry World,” “I Am A Child” and “Broken Arrow” among the highlights of the Fox concert. Follow this link to read Neil’s complete message.
Young will perform in his native Canada with Promise Of The Real tomorrow for a set at Festival d’été de Québec. His solo tour concludes with shows in Boston on July 11 and 12.
Setlist (via Sugar Mountain)
Set: On The Way Home, Homefires, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Love Is A Rose, Cowgirl In The Sand, Mellow My Mind, Ohio, There’s A World, Broken Arrow, I Am A Child, Are You Ready For The Country?, Tonight’s The Night, Speakin’ Out, After The Gold Rush, Angry World, Love And War, Peaceful Valley Boulevard, Out On The Weekend, The Needle And The Damage Done, Heart Of Gold
Encore: Tumbleweed
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