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What can I say about Neil that hasn’t been said already?  Few artists possess the intense purity and passion of voice and song such as Neil Young.  I suppose it’s not easy for Neil being Neil;  that is, how do you begin to appease the expectations of nearly 4 generations of fans who all love something different about Neil and his music.  For me, “I Believe in You” was the highlight of the evening.  His new songs are probably some of the best stuff he has written in years (Daniel Lanois [U2 "Joshua Tree"] is producing the new album due later this year.  Was that an old Gretsch Neil pulled out for “Ohio”?  Something tells me he first bought that guitar here in Winnipeg back in ’62…amazing sound!

If there were any disappoitments, it had nothing to do with Neil.  Too many people talking during the show, too many people who can’t sit still for a lousy 90 minutes, too many people who can’t hold their liquor.  Nobody’s saying you can’t express your appreciation for the performer and the performance, however save the screaming for when the song is finished.  Unlike a big arena show with Crazy Horse, there is a certain decorum one needs to observe for an intimate performance such as last night’s show.

Neil Young‘s annual Bridge School Benefit is set for October 23rd and 24th in Mountain View, California.

Sammy Hagar says he’ll pop into his Cabo Wabo Cantina in Las Vegas this Friday night after opening for Aerosmith that night in Sin City.

The Kinks have put their Konk Studio in North London up for sale. The asking price is just over $3 million.

Simply Red‘s Mick Hucknall, who is now singing in The Faces, says Rod Stewart is not singing with the band because he can no longer hit the high notes. “It’s a shame that Rod can’t do it, but then Rod isn’t the Rod of 1973. Those songs, the keys are so high and it’s pretty intense staying at that kind of pitch for the whole night.”

Jim Morrison‘s hand-written lyrics to The Doors‘ “L.A. Woman” and a painting by Jimi Hendrix are among the items that will be up for bids at an August 3rd auction of rock memorabilia at Cameo Fine Art Auctioneers in London.

• Hendrix painted and signed an acrylic depiction of a snake and a trio of eyes in 1967. The painting was used in a Hendrix exhibit at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York nearly 20 years ago.
• Morrison reportedly brought the yellow sheets of paper with the lyrics to “L.A. Woman” to the studio when he recorded his vocals for the song.
• The pictures taken of The Beatles by 1960s teenage fan Sue Barker are also included in this sale.

Neil Young lost one of his closest collaborators on Monday when pedal steel player Ben Keith died at the age of 73. No cause of death was revealed. Keith played on such country classics as Patsy Cline‘s “I Fall to Pieces” before hooking up with Young for the Harvest album in 1972. Keith played on 15 of Young’s albums and also did session work for Todd Rundgren, The Band, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Warren Zevon and produced Jewel‘s debut album Pieces of You.

Two years ago while performing at the MTS Center, Young told the audience he first met Keith on the set during taping of the Johnny Cash show in 1971; his first recording with Neil on  ”Heart of Gold”.

Young acknowledged Keith’s death at his concert in Winnipeg last night. Before playing “Old Man,” Young said, “This is for Ben Keith. One of the finest musicians I’ve ever known.  His spirit will live on. The Earth has taken him.”

Yoko Ono continues to oppose granting parole to John Lennon‘s killer. Mark David Chapman, who gunned down John 30 years ago this December, will again be considered for parole in August. But Yoko’s lawyer says she has again written the New York State parole board asking them to deny his bid.

Robert Gangi, who heads a prisoners’ rights group, believes Chapman won’t be released. He tells the Daily News of New York, “Given that he committed a high-profile crime and he killed one of the most famous and most-beloved figures literally in the world, it’s highly unlikely three parole commissioners would vote to grant him release.”

Originally sentenced to 20-years-to-life for Lennon’s murder, Chapman has been eligible for parole since 2000.

Tonight, PBS airs the June 2nd White House ceremony honoring Paul McCartney, when President Obama presented the Library of Congress’s Gershwin Prize for Popular Song to him. It’s part of the network’s In Performance at the White House series and comes on at 8:00 [ET].

Macca tells the Associated Press, “The idea of playing in the White House was very interesting. We wondered what the acoustics would be like, but they turned out to be great. So we had a great time.”

In addition to accepting the award, Macca also performed, singing “Michelle” in front of first lady Michelle Obama, as well as “Eleanor Rigby,” “Let It Be” and a finale of “Hey Jude.” He was also saluted by other performers.

• Last year’s Gershwin honoree, Stevie Wonder, did “We Can Work it Out” and joined the former Beatle on the first ever live performance of their 1982 his “Ebony and Ivory.”
• Dave Grohl did “Band on the Run.”
• Jack White chipped in with “Mother Nature’s Son.”
• Elvis Costello performed “Penny Lane.”
• Herbie Hancock gave his take on “Blackbird.”
• Emmylou Harris did “For No One.”
• The Jonas Brothers sang “Drive My Car.”
• Jerry Seinfeld provided some comedic relief, asking McCartney what he meant when he sang, “‘She was just 17 / You know what I mean.’ I’m not sure I do know what you mean, Sir Paul. I think I know what you mean. And I think there’s a law enforcement agency in a couple of states that might want to ask you a few questions.”

Jimmy Page visited Randy Bachman over the weekend as Bachman-Turner performed at the High Voltage festival in London. Bachman said the experience was “amazing.”

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell brought the Stanley Cup on stage at Alice Cooper‘s show over the weekend in London, Ontario. Peter Frampton also joined Cooper at the show, during “School’s Out.”

Former Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and his wife, Candice Night of Blackmore’s Night, recently had a daughter, Autumn Esmerelda. Blackmore is 65 and Candice is 39.

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry says he has contemplated hanging it up. He tells Guitar World magazine, “There are times I just want to get the [hell] out of this because I’ve done it all. I’ve been going long enough to prove what I wanted to prove, to get the girl I wanted to get, to make the money I wanted to make, to drink all the beer I wanted to drink. I’ve played not exactly everywhere, but I’ve played enough places, so sometimes I’ll just sit here and think, ‘What the [hell] am I doing?’”

What Perry is doing next is playing in Irvine, California with Aerosmith on Thursday.

Aerosmith brings their “Cock Locked and Ready To Rock” tour to Winnipeg September 8.

All Access VIPS can purchase their tickets through a special pre-sale on now, or exchange your rock points for a ballot and qualify to win!!

AC/DC‘s recently completed Black Ice tour grossed more than $440 million, making it the second-highest grossing tour of all time. The Rolling Stones‘ 2005-2007 A Bigger Bang tour is number-one with a gross of $558 million.