Neil Young Opens Solo Tour At The Fox Theatre In St. Louis

Neil Young opened his first solo tour since 2014 on Thursday night at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis. Young used a variety of instruments including electric guitar over the course of the 18-song performance.

The Omemee, Ontario native began the show with a pair of songs referencing “home” in the title before two referencing “love.” Neil opened with “On The Way Home,” a tune he wrote for Buffalo Springfield in 1967 and hadn’t performed since 2014. Next came the return of mid ’70s chestnut “Homefires,” which Young only played once over the past 25 years back in 1997. Young used an acoustic guitar for the first four songs of the night including “Love Is A Rose” and “Only Love Can Break Your Heart.” Both “Homefires” and “Love Is A Rose” were originally earmarked for the “lost” acoustic album Homegrown recorded by Neil in 1974 and 1975, yet the record was never officially released.

Young picked up a banjo to strum “Mellow My Mind” off Tonight’s The Night and then went electric for the beloved CSNY favorite “Ohio.” The evening continued with Neil moving over to the piano for a five-song segment in the middle of the set. First up was the recently revived Harvest gem “There’s A World.” Young then went with “Love In Mind,” which he had last played during his 2014 Solo Tour. Neil also plucked “Are You Ready For The Country?” off Harvest before ending the piano portion of the night with the title track and “Speakin’ Out” from Tonight’s The Night.

Last week, Neil Young teamed with Promise Of The Real for three warmup performances and a set at the second annual Arroyo Seco Weekend in Pasadena, California. Young offered the live debut of Le Noise track “Angry World” at the first of the four concerts and wound up playing the song at the three shows that followed. Last night, Neil treated fans to his first-ever solo rendition of “Angry World.” While Young used an electric guitar for “Angry World,” he went acoustic for two more songs from Le Noise: “Love & War” and “Peaceful Valley Boulevard.”

The main set came to a close with “Out On The Weekend,” “The Needle & The Damage Done” and “Heart Of Gold” off Harvest. Neil Young returned for an encore with a ukulele in hand. Young pulled from 2014’s Storytone for “Tumbleweed.” Tomorrow, the Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer plays his first of two shows at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago.

Watch last night’s “Tumbleweed” encore captured by toclement:

Here’s fan-shot footage of “Heart Of Gold” shared by Skynange:

Listen to Neil’s rendition of “Love & War” thanks to Mikey Noll:

Setlist (via Sugar Mountain)

Set: On The Way Home, Homefires, Love Is A Rose, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Mellow My Mind, Ohio, There’s A World, Love In Mind, Are You Ready For The Country?, Tonight’s The Night, Speakin’ Out, Angry World, Love & War, Peaceful Valley Boulevard, Out On The Weekend, The Needle & The Damage Done, Heart Of Gold

Encore: Tumbleweed