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a&e | = music

Young blazes = adventurous,=20 familiar paths

By=20 Ricardo Baca
Denver Post Pop Music = Critic

Article Last=20 Updated: 11/07/2007 02:59:10 AM = MST

Neil=20 Young, pictured here Monday at the Wells Fargo = Theatre,=20 also performed at the venue Tuesday. (Laurie = Scavo |=20 Special to The Denver = Post)

Fans of Neil Young who listened to his = excellent new=20 CD, "Chrome Dreams II," before his Denver show = Monday=20 knew he would favor either "Ordinary People" or = "No=20 Hidden Path" on his tour.=20

The two songs - 18-plus minutes and 14-plus = minutes,=20 respectively - are written from that classic, = sprawling=20 Young perspective that tells a rambling story in = between=20 simple yet celebratory guitar solos. They are = the kind=20 of songs Young loves to play live, and sure = enough, he=20 gave "No Hidden Path" the treatment at his first = show in=20 Denver on Monday night at the Wells Fargo = Theatre. He=20 also performed Tuesday.=20

The song may have reached the 20-minute mark, = with=20 Young indulging his penchant for the classic = rock jam,=20 and the fans couldn't get enough. It is amazing = that an=20 artist whose solo career has lasted for nearly = 40 years=20 can still demand such respect and adoration for=20 brand-new material.=20

Other new tracks throughout the night were = well=20 received by the sold-out crowd, especially the = tousled=20 rager "Dirty Old Man" and the soulfully hushed = "The=20 Believer."=20

Young started the evening with an acoustic = set,=20 moving briskly with "From Hank to Hendrix" to = "Ambulance=20 Blues" and "Day and Night We Walk These Aisles," = playing=20 solo guitar. He looked and moved like a being = from=20 another world, his white outfit complemented by = his=20 silvery mane. He ambled over to a = vulnerable-sounding=20 piano for "A Man Needs a Maid," and his voice = sounded as=20 clear and frail as it ever has.=20

Oddly, Young's problems with the sound system = came=20 during the acoustic set, but even then they were = minimal. After "A Man Needs a Maid," Young took = a deep=20 gulp from a water bottle and told the crowd, "My = sponsor. ... This show is brought to you by = water."=20

The second set, played with a band and a = couple of=20 backup singers, was louder and more reckless. = Both set=20 lists included a few unexpected B-sides, but the = show as=20 a whole was anchored by the familiar rock that = has kept=20 Young's flame so bright over the decades.=20

"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" was = outrageously=20 sunny, with the band managing the "la-la-la's" = and Young=20 riffing his way throughout the familiar chorus. = The=20 opening piano chords of "After the Goldrush" = have a way=20 of immediately quieting an audience, and Young's = note-for-note rendition of the song was as = pretty as the=20 faint hum of the audience lightly singing along. =

"Winterlong" was played patiently and = perfectly=20 sloppily, and while the intensity of "Cinnamon = Girl"=20 didn't seem as sincere as the rest of the music, = it was=20 still nice to hear that song's unforgettable = guitar=20 line. The encore of "Like a Hurricane" provided = a=20 meaningful exit point for Young and his band, = which was=20 potently led by guitarist Ben Keith.=20

Ricardo Baca: 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com=20

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