Last night at Feast, Brooklyn Reading Works’ annual benefit reading for the food pantry at St. Augustine’s Church, Eliot Wagner, of Now I’ve Heard Everything told me that Neil Young played at the Bell House on Wednesday night with his wife, guitarist Pegi Young, who was playing with guitar legend, Burt Jansch.
Dang, I wish I’d followed my own bloggy advice and gone to the show. Dang, I hope you followed my advice and went to the show. I’ve been to two shows recently at the Bell House and I’m becoming quite a fan of the place. You can’t miss over there: it’s a wonderful place to hear music.
Bklyn Vegan and he has a review and mountains of pictures. Here’s an excerpt and just one pix from BV.
Young made the surprise guest appearance as part of his wife Pegi’s backing band, the opening act, and kept to the shadows most of the night. Bathed in dark crimson light, he filled in his wife’s rollicking, twangy sound with subdued yet accented guitar licks, that unmistakable gritty rhythm style, and on one occasion harmonica. Even in just a supporting role, his focus was impenetrable. When Neil Young raises his guitar neck and dons that irascible stare, it commands attention like a force of nature. Pegi finished off her set with a version of Neil outtake “Doghouse,” graciously letting her man share the spotlight as he sang backup and finally splayed out a solo.
But the highlight of the show was Jansch; his complex acoustic ruminations sprang to life like a Celtic fable, and his vocals, softer with age, tranquilly voiced stories that were equally anguished and joyous…