Neil Young did a solo tour in 1971, following the release and success of After the Goldrush. He was →[More:]going to play at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Los Angeles Music Center, the poshest venue in the city, at the time. I saw the ad, and immediately drove downtown to the box office. There was a sign at the box office saying that Neil Young tickets were only available via the mail.

Panicking, I went to the main LA post office, not far away, bought a stamped envelop, and then, with some hippie logic, thought that if I put the money (I sent cash. . .I did not have a checking account at the time) in a street mailbox near the Music Center, someone might just carry it in. 9th row center seats came in the mail.

I had seen Neil at the Troubador, just after the breakup of Buffalo Springfield (saw them once, also), where, during his acoustic set to the half-filled club, he got out a set of pliers to fix a tuner on his guitar, and I had also seen him at the sold-out Santa Monica Civic, with Crazy Horse. I was an early adopter of Neil Young, I guess.

As per usual, I could not get a date for this concert, so sold a ticket to a friend, Cam, who just recently died of leukemia.

The concert was amazing, and a bootleg (the above-linked Young Man's Fancy) came out, and I got that, and still have it, although it's next to unplayable, due to wear.

Last week, I noticed that Live a Massey Hall had been released, an earlier show in that tour. In the Toronto concert, he played nascent versions of Heart of Gold, and A Man Needs a Maid, as a medley. By the time he hit LA, both of these songs were fully developed.

In Toronto, he also played Down by the River, apparently in response to audience requests. This classic song has been covered, most memorably for me, by the Indigo Girls, before they jumped my shark. This song absolutely works, sung by Amy Ray.

Of course, it is hard to improve on the original.