Seasick Steve, photo courtesy of Jo Metson Scott.
Here's a man who most have probably never heard of, but he is a legend in his own right. I went yesterday to the Neil Young concert in Hyde Park and Seasick Steve was definitely one of the most memorable performances. Neil Young was incredible beyond words, but I'll get on to that later. My brother bought the tickets and queued up early, making sure we got to the front row. And so we did. "We'll be so close to Neil Young... I want to feel the dribble fly off his harmonica!" he told me as we ran through the gates, guaranteeing us a place in the front row. We sat down, waited and waited until finally there was music. There was a lot of waiting around, legs and feet getting stiffer and more numb (I genuinely felt like a caged "battery" chicken sometimes). I'll fast forward you to the more interesting parts. The Pretenders put on a show and a half! And then there was the Fleet Foxes, think of them as a barbershop quartet, crossed with a 1970's folk/rock band. Most of the band members wore long, thick beards (and dressed equally dapper) apart from one, who made up for it by playing some of the most unusual instruments. He played his electric guitar with a violin stick and later played something I've never seen before. Imagine what may result of a piano keyboard and a flute if they had sex.
Now, back to Seasick Steve. What a crazy old man! He wears a faded denim dungaree, a cap most of the time and he's got a thick grey beard. This man really knows how to carry an audience, telling stories and introducing wacky intruments. "This piece of shit only got one string. I made it myself and I call it the Diddly-bow." Oh, that was a show to remember! He played his famous Cut My Wings, Dog House Boogie and some I've never heard before. To find more of his music, visit him on myspace, or iTunes. Search "Seasick Steve" and look for an old man with a bushy beard. That's him.
Finally, a good three of four hours later. It was the moment we'd all been waiting for... There was silence. Fifty-five minutes had passed since the last performance. For a brief moment, silence again, then all of a sudden the crowd went wild! There were cheers and whistles and clapping, people were shouting, hands waving all over. It was the sort of noise you might expect to hear from a pack of wild monkeys at the zoo, when faced with a bus-load of bananas dropped right in front of their cage. Can you imagine the reaction? This time, however there were no bananas, instead there was NEIL YOUNG! On stage, in front of us. The King, the God, the LEGEND we had all been waiting for was finally here (we stood almost nine hours just to see this man). Neil held that excitement well into the night. He played for two whole hours! That is incredible for a man of 62. He played a whole range of songs, including his most famous Heart of Gold, Old Man and finished off with Rockin' in the Free World. Even after he had left the stage, we kept singing along. "I'M ROCKIN' IN THE FREE WORRRLLLDDD.... I'M ROCKIN' IN THE FREE WOOORRRRLLLDDD..." After that, all I could hear was "WE WANT MORE. WE WANT MORE!!!" And so it continued until Neil finally got back on stage. Can you imagine the crowd's reaction by this point? I was so excited, clapping and cheering so hard I might have peed myself a little bit. Neil played one final song, then something even more incredible happened. I thought I was seeing things, with all that adrenaline pumping through my body, I thought I may have been seeing this. But I was not, I was wrong. Neil Young left the stage, gave someone a hug, got back on the stage and moments later Paul FUCKING Mc CARTNEY joined him. Praised and sang A Day in the Life in tribute with Neil. It was absolutely amazing.
Words cannot even begin to describe how I felt that moment. I witnessed something legendary. Two legends joined by praise. Even better, my brother and I were in the front row, so close to Sir Paul and Neil,only feet away! This is an experience I will carry with me all my life. My first ever proper concert and a story I wish to tell even my grand children when I'm older and rotting away and maybe a step closer to Neil Young, Clint Eastwoor, Fred Astaire and my other heroes in life.
Almost 50, 000 people attended Hard Rock Calling yesterday at Hyde Park. My brother and I were in the front row! Only feet away from Neil Young!
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