Canadian folk-rock icon Neil Young performed at Deer Lake Park in Burnaby on Saturday (Sept. 6), first of two Live Nation-booked nights there, with another sold-out concert Monday (Sept. 8).
Here are 5 things I learned Saturday night:
1. Variety is the spice of life for Neil Young right now: With last year's Crazy Horse dates cancelled due to illness in the band, the "Love Earth" tour was rescheduled with Chrome Hearts as his backing band. The change probably makes for a more diverse set, with some of Young's softer acoustic hits ("Harvest Moon," "Old Man") positioned next to gloriously loud, guitar-heavy songs ("Hey Hey, My My"). The pacing and diversity was a delight.
2. Neil Young turns 80 in November and can sing like he's 40: OK, some people think Young never could sing, but his clear, high voice has always set him apart, in a good way. "Powderfinger" was powerful in its tour debut, and "Ohio" raged as an appropriate response to current events in the U.S.
3. Some of the Chrome Hearts band members are more than half Young's age: Sharing the stage these days are the very capable Micah Nelson (guitar, vocals), Spooner Oldham (organ), Corey McCormick (bass, vocals) and Anthony LoGerfo (drums). The 82-year-old Oldham is the "new" guy in a group was first introduced at Farm Aid in 2024, then bolstered for Young's 2025 tour, and they're all a good fit for Young's many musical moods. Of note, Nelson is the youngest son of Willie Nelson and Annie D'Angelo.
4. Young played a very old guitar lost to him, now found: Prior to the opening chords of Buffalo Springfield's "Mr. Soul," Young told the crowd about the Gretsch 6120 electric guitar strapped on. "I found this guy who tracked down guitars, and this guitar here is my guitar that I used in The Squires in Winnipeg," Young said as the crowd applauded. "I'd been looking for it for awhile, just wondering what happened, you know, because I sold it in Toronto in a pawn shop or something. I was gonna be a folk singer, so I didn't need this anymore — that's right, I figured it out. So Randy (Bachman) introduced me to this friend of his (White Rock resident William Long, according to a CTV News story), and the guy went on the internet with an old picture from Winnipeg with this guitar, and found it, because of the grain in the wood is just so unique, and this matched it absolutely perfectly."
5. Deer Lake Park is a great concert venue on a late-summer night, but… the parking stinks, so we ride-shared to Burnaby from Delta. By 6:30 p.m. the line of ticket-holders trying to enter the venue stretched well down a park road, causing many to grumble about the experience as the opening bands played (Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir, and another whose name I missed * see below). Leave your lawn chairs at home, because they're not allowed. Blankets are, but don't bother with those. Saturday, we stood near the front of the stage and enjoyed every note of a legend during what could be his final Vancouver concert. Remember, Neil Young is 80 in November, but still rocks, so who knows, maybe he'll tour here again. I certainly hope so.
* Addendum: The other opening band was led by Astrid Young, Neil's sister, who for many years sang backup and played with Neil, going back to Harvest Moon. "This is my first time opening for him but won’t be the last," she emailed me to say, after seeing my omission above. Apologies to all.
