Crafty Young throws Hard Rock audience a curve

Spencer Patterson

Monday, July 28, 2003 | 8:19 a.m.

Apparently, Neil Young needed to get out of Greendale for the weekend. And what better place for a quick getaway than Las Vegas?

Just when the unpredictable rock icon seemed to have settled into a routine -- presenting soon-to-be-released concept album "Greendale" in its entirety each night on tour -- Young bucked the trend in a big way Saturday night at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.

For only the third time in 48 performances this year, Young and his longtime band, Crazy Horse, left their "Greendale" props in their suitcases, instead surprising fans with a set long on classic material.

The two other exceptions came at summer festivals, where time limitations rendered the ambitious, 90-minute stage production logistically impossible.

Young offered no explanation for his Vegas variation. A spokesperson for the Hard Rock's public relations firm said that as recently as Thursday representatives for Young indicated they would be bringing his full "Greendale" stage setup to town.

A few diehard fans were probably disappointed with the switch. Critics have hailed "Greendale" as his best album since the early 1990s, and the accompanying theatrical elements sounded intriguing.

From the moment the opening chords to Young's 1990 warhorse, "Love to Burn," rang out, however, you'd have been hard-pressed to find anyone in the crowd of 1,800 complaining.

The 57-year-old Young and his three Crazy Horsemen -- second guitarist Frank Sampedro, bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina -- roared through a 16-minute version of the opener. That was followed by another fan favorite, the punky "Sedan Delivery."

By the night's fourth number, a mighty, 15-minute jaunt through early Young classic "Cowgirl in the Sand," the audience had all the confirmation it needed that, for a night, "Greendale" had officially been abandoned.

For two hours and 40 minutes, the four musicians unleashed a curtain of sound. It was delightfully dense and crackling with feedback, yet clear to the ear, enough so that it was possible to pick out each instrument's particular textures.

It was as if the band was releasing pent-up energy after weeks of performing the same, tightly constructed set. Jams stretched well beyond their usual length, led by the grizzled Young, who continues to produce some of rock music's choicest chops.

The last time I saw Young play with Crazy Horse, in 1996, the singer shouted, "Smell the Horse!" at various points during the show as his longtime mates thundered behind him.

This time, no such order was issued, but the Horse was powerful nonetheless. Visibly delighted to be playing old favorites -- some of them seldom performed anymore -- in an intimate setting before appreciative fans, the three men partied like it was 1979.

As has been their custom for more than two decades, Sampedro and Talbot stood toe-to-toe with Young near the front of the stage. The two guitarists thrashed in place, while Sampedro bobbed his head in time with his rumbling basslines and Molina's heavy drumbeats.

The classics piled up, among them: Buffalo Springfield throwback "Mr. Soul," crowd favorite "Cinnamon Girl" and the majestic, slow-burning "Cortez the Killer."

Young even led the crowd through a sing-along during "Homegrown," a long-forgotten cut off 1977's "American Stars 'n Bars," unavailable on CD until this year.

"American Idol, eat your (expletive) heart out," Young cried out after his fans happily chanted a chorus few had likely heard before.

The anthemic "Rockin' in the Free World" closed the main set, but not before Young slipped in a few ad-libbed lyrics about the war in Iraq. He ended the song by seguing into "Taps," in a style reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner."

For their first encore, the band finally sojourned to "Greendale," performing two songs that usually conclude the piece, "Be the Rain" and "Sun Green."

Both fit in comfortably with Young's older material, showing musical promise despite sometimes hokey lyrics ("Save the planet for another day/Save Alaska/ Let the caribou stay").

The "Greendale" numbers' lone theatrical device -- a young, scantily clad woman in army fatigues, shouting into a megaphone -- drew cheers, but lacked the necessary context to have a real impact.

"The Loner" finished up the first encore, before the foursome returned for raucous renditions of "Powerderfinger" and "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)," both off 1979's "Rust Never Sleeps."

It was the end of a long night, one that began more than four hours earlier with one of the year's top support acts, singer Lucinda Williams.

Williams' 40-minute performance mixed elements of country, folk and rock, her voice opening up gradually to reveal its many charms. Young's fans showered her with applause throughout the set, prompting her to praise them in kind.