“Want to bring some Radio Nova competition winners to see Neil Young live in Copenhagen”, they said?
“Where better to see the man who wrote Cinnamon Girl than in the home of the cinnamon roll”, we said! But seriously, we also jumped at the chance to check out one of Radio Nova’s core artists: the man whose musical career has spanned seven decades and who’s given the world tunes such as Rockin’ In The Free World, Comes A Time and Harvest Moon. The good news is all of those tracks were included on his set list at Tiøren, Copenhagen on Sunday - a great indicator of what to expect at Malahide Castle this Thursday.
It was very special to get a sneak preview of Neil Young before he gets to Dublin on the Love Earth World Tour and, of course, before he rocks Glastonbury this weekend! There’s no doubt Neil Young has earned his legend status over the years, but that does mean there’s high expectations for performance.
He did not disappoint. While the hair may be thinner, and his words to the crowd few and far between, his vocals are the same as they ever were, his guitar and harmonica control still at expert level and attitude of defiance still present. “Pretty telling that he had the entire audience in the palm of his hand with no big screens and no fancy backdrops: just himself and his music. You could hear a pin drop during the quiet moments”, said Dee.
And Neil wasn’t the only legend on stage, Marty was blown away upon seeing Willie Nelson’s son Lukas as part of his Chrome Hearts touring band, as was as Spooner Oldham: the organist who plays on Wilson Pickett’s Mustang Sally, Percy Sledge’s What A Man Loves A Woman and Aretha Franklin’s I Never Loved A Man.
As for the venue: if you’re ever thinking of going to Copenhagen, it definitely lives up to its reputation for being a clean and friendly city and the 24-hour automatic Metro makes getting around so easy. The journey to and from the gig was a breeze. There are no train drivers though, a glimpse of the future! Although it’s pretty much all picturesque, spend time people-watching in the beautiful Nyhavn area, of course sample the pastries and watch out for cyclists! You’re never far from one.
To see a living legend like Neil Young in the flesh means a lot to many people, but none more than our Radio Nova competition winners Arlene and Gavin Rooney from Laytown in Dublin. The couple were chosen to ‘See Neil For Free With Marty and Dee’ after sending a heartfelt plea into both Marty and Dee’s shows.
Neil’s 1992 signature tune ‘Harvest Moon’ was the first dance at their wedding, but because the couple tied the knot in the height of Covid, it’s safe to say a lot more people watched them dance to it in Copenhagen on Sunday night rather than their restricted big day of 25 guests. When Neil strummed the first few notes, Arlene says “there were a lot of tears and the way he performed it was exactly the way we’ve always heard it, it was brilliant”. Gavin has vowed to ask for her hand in another dance when Neil plays it this Thursday at Malahide Castle.
