Shakey On The Hops

Ronnie Parry sees 30,000 farmers go hopping mad for Neil Young

The Hop Farm Festival, Kent, Sunday, July 6, 2008

The Crowds gathered expectantly, the clouds they scattered reluctantly until the moment when Neil Young took to the stage. It was as if nature and man had, for hours, been simultaneously scurrying around eagerly awaiting the moment for Shakey to appear at the Hop Farm Festival. A wet old day in the Garden of England had earlier been brightened thanks to performances from a wealth of talent.

The shining example of Rufus Wainwright thrust to the fore in a rousing rendition of Hallelujah. Hardly a dry eye remained at the Hop Farm by the time Neil Young had rounded off an evening with a Day in the Life as his encore piece. Young had fleshed out Vince Power's gutted festival. Power's return had stripped the scene bare of the ornamental logos, the branded interference. A clearout long awaited to allow the minds of festival-goers to be freely conscious of the real reasons for being there...the music and the company.

Hop Farm had it all in abundance. The happy programme sellers, the friendly bars, the make shift shelters, the hidden cars. Young motored into his set with much gusto just after 9pm as the moon appeared on the low west horizon. A monumental introduction with a 15 minute Love and Only Love. The main man in a Jackson Pollock styled jacket asking how we all were as he steadied the energy descent to provide a tingling middle set filling of acoustic laid classics from his 1972 Harvest album. The straight performances of such were exemplified by the sheer headiness of Old Man. A strain of sensation in one's senses.

Back in July 2001 as the thunder clouds rolled out west above the Rocky Mountains an old man told me whilst strumming a tune on a Denver downtown hostel veranda how he'd been to 45 Neil Young shows.....never one too many. My first experience of seeing and having a new angle on Neil Young has been an experience shared with friends and hop farmers. You never forget the moments. They return and remind you just as those old radio tunes from the distant past come back to lift you clear once again.

Salute to Vince Power. It's been a worthwhile exercise to remind us what a festival should be about. Bring it all back again. How about the Garden of Wales The Vale of Clwyd sometime?

ｩ 2008 Ronnie Parry

SET LIST:

Love And Only Love

Hey Hey, My My

Everybody Knows T

his Is Nowhere

I've Been Waiting For You

Spirit Road Fuckin' Up

Oh, Lonesome Me

Mother Earth

The Needle And The Damage Done

Unknown Legend

Heart Of Gold

Old Man

Get Back To The Country

Words

No Hidden Path

A Day In The Life

© Miwsig