© Jonathan Scott Shensa Photography

Greetings and welcome back to my latest blog for “The Outsiders Guide to the Inside of Hollywood. This blog is a concert review and tribute, to the musical legend Neil Young. The Godfather of Grunge debuted his new band “The Chrome Hearts”, on Friday September 12, 2025 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View California.

Young who lives in the Bay Area, is backed up, the Chrome Hearts, which consists of legendary organist Spooner Oldham, Micah Nelson (guitar, vocals), Corey McCormick (bass, vocals), and Anthony Logerfo (drums). Nelson, McCormick, and Logerfo are former members of the band Promise of the Real, which previously served as Neil Young’s backing band.

The evening kicked off with an opening set from “Reverend Billy & The Stop Shopping Choir” is a radical performance community based in New York City that uses performance art and gospel-style music to protest consumerism and environmental destruction. The group is led by performance artist William Talen, who portrays the flamboyant persona of “Reverend Billyom Reverend Billy & The Stop Shopping Choir. The “Church of Stop Shopping” believes that manic consumerism, or the “Shopocalypse,” is a major threat to humanity and the environment.

The choir’s songs often draw attention to these environmental and consumerist issues.Direct actions: The group performs guerrilla theater, staging musical protest actions inside stores and at corporate headquarters, including those of Starbucks, Chase Bank, and Monsanto. Some of their creative, carnivalesque protests have led to arrests. The bands 6 song set included, “Hey Kid”, “La La La”, “Strange Enough to Change Enough”, ” Fabulous Unknown” and “Beautiful Earth”.

As the show got closer my anticipation grew. This was actually a milestone for me. It was 25 years ago in October, that I saw my first Neil show and my first show at the historic venue. This was also the first time seeing Neil play Electric guitar since all my Neil shows were Acoustic Bridge School Benefit shows. the Bridge school was organized by Neil Young and his then‑wife Pegi Young. The Bridge School +2 Wikipedia +2 The concerts were acoustic and non‑profit. Wikipedia +2 The Bridge School +2 The proceeds benefitted The Bridge School, a school for children with severe speech and physical impairments, to support them in communication, assistive technology, and education. The reason that the Young’s were involved with the school Ben Young – Ben was born with cerebral palsy. Neil has spoken publicly about how raising a child with disabilities shaped his life and inspired much of his activism and work, particularly in the field of technology for people with disabilities.

© Jonathan Scott Shensa Photography

Although Talkin’ to the Trees, their recent album, had just dropped, the set list leaned heavily on classics and deeper cuts. Only one new track, “Silver Eagle,” was played from the new album. Most of the night was given over to fan favorites spanning the ’70s and beyond

As the lights dimmed Neil walked on stage and picked up his guitar and played the opening song “Ambulance Blues” from Neil’s 1974 Album “On The Beach”, next up was “Cowgirl in the Sand” a Neil Young & Crazy Horse song from Neil’s “Everybody knows This is Nowhere. The show featured a number of deep album cuts like “Vampire Blues,“Powderfinger”,and “Long Walk Home”.

The 7th song of the set picked up the pace. Neil sang a powerful “Southern Man” followed by the crowd favorite “Ohio” The song “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young is a protest anthem written by Neil Young in response to the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970, when the Ohio National Guard killed four students during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration. The song, released shortly after the massacre, became a powerful rallying cry for the anti-war movement and a symbol of national outrage and sorrow over the incident.

Next up was a new song “Big Crime” and one of my highlights of the evening. “Big Crime” is a 2025 protest song by Neil Young and his band, The Chrome Hearts, that directly criticizes then-President Donald Trump and the deployment of federal troops in Washington D.C. in late 2025, with Young singing “No more great again/ There’s big crime in DC at the White House” and calling for the removal of fascists from power. The song was premiered at a Chicago concert in August 2025.
The set continued with “Silver Eagle” and “Sail Away”. After that Neil played one of his hits “Harvest Moon” to the crowds delight. “Looking Forward” (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cover) was followed by “Sun Green”. Then Neil erupted with a rocking version of “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)” followed by “Like a Hurricane”. Neil then played another rarity this time it was a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song “Name of Love”.

Neil then closed out the set by playing the crowd favorite “Old Man” which the crowd sang along to. Neil thanked everyone for coming be for he ripped into a hard rocking “Keep on Rocking in the Free World”. With everything going on in the US it was the perfect song to close out a stellar show. As I got to my car I could still hear the crowed yelling “Keep on Rocking in the Free World.”

Although “Talkin’ to the Trees”, their recent album, had just dropped, the set list leaned heavily on classics and deeper cuts. Only one new track, “Silver Eagle,” was played from the new album. Most of the night was given over to fan favorites spanning the ’70s and beyond.

Young’s next show is September 15 at the famous Hollywood Bowl. Next month Neil will be headlining Farm Aid Farm Aid is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The fundraiser show is happening September 20, 2025 at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Also playing the charity concert are Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Margo Price, Billy Strings and more!It’s a full day event with music, food from family farms, and farm/food/agricultural experience.

For all things Neil Young check out his official site at:

https://neilyoungarchives.com/

All Photos © Jonathan Scott Shensa Photography

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