Neil Young and Stephen Stills dug deep into their collective history during a charity concert in Lake Hughes, California on Saturday night (Oct. 5).
The event – dubbed Harvest Moon: A Gathering – benefited The Painted Turtle, a summer camp for children with life-threatening and chronic illnesses. Additional funds benefitted The Bridge School, an organization Young has been involved with for decades.
Other artists on the lineup included John Mayer, Lily Meola and world music ensemble Massanga, but it was the former CSNY bandmates who were the main attraction.
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Their set began with “Long May You Run,” the title track from their 1976 collaborative album. The rockers then delivered “Human Highway,” a tune originally intended for CSNY’s Deja Vu follow-up, which instead was released on Young’s 1978 solo LP Comes a Time.
Still, it was the third song of the set that really turned heads, as Young and Stills played the Buffalo Springfield song “Hung Upside Down” for the first time in 57 years.
“The worst four words you can hear in a live performance are ‘here’s a new song,’” Stills declared before starting the tune. “But this is actually a new version of an old song that took two centuries to write. It’s called ‘Hung Upside Down.’”
Watch Neil Young and Stephen Stills Perform ‘Hung Upside Down’
Originally released on 1967’s Buffalo Springfield Again, “Hung Upside Down” had not been played in concert since Buffalo Springfield’s heyday. According to Rolling Stone, the 57 year gap between performances broke a personal record for Young, who had previously gone 48 years without playing “If I Could Have Her Tonight” (which he finally revisited in 2016).
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Other highlights from the Harvest Moon gig included “Love The One You’re With,” “Heart of Gold,” “Harvest Moon” and Buffalo Springfield’s timeless “For What It’s Worth.” Meanwhile, Mayer joined for the final song of the night, a rousing rendition of “Rockin’ in the Free World.” The full set list from the show can be found below.
Neil Young and Stephen Stills, ‘Harvest Moon: A Gathering’ Set List, 10/5/241. “Long May You Run”2. “Human Highway”3. “Hung Upside Down”4. “Helplessly Hoping”5. “Field of Opportunity”6. “Helpless”7. “Love The One You’re With”8. “Heart of Gold”9. “Harvest Moon”10. “For What It’s Worth”11. “Bluebird”12. “Vampire Blues”13. “Rockin’ in the Free World”
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They can’t all be ‘After the Gold Rush’ and ‘Harvest.’
Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
