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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Hey, hey, my, my... why do some fans behave like boors?

By: Gordon Sinclair Jr.

Posted: 07/29/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

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Neil Young deserved better from his audience. (PHIL.HOSSACK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA)

I don't know where I've been lately -- obviously not to a concert at the Centennial Concert Hall.

But I was surprised to see fans at the Neil Young concert lugging their beer into the seating area Tuesday night.

And then trudging back and forth to get more, as if they were at a stadium concert instead of what's supposed to be a more intimate and refined venue for a one-man show from a man who truly deserves the overused term "artist."

Others in the audience were more than surprised by some of the inconsiderate beer-swillers among them.

They were angry.

Two people, who happen to be Free Press employees, were slopped on in the normally sober surroundings that the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra calls home.

In fact, one man had some over-imbibed dude land in his lap as security escorted the lout out.

Apparently, prior to that, the boor had been spilling more than beer. He was puking in his seat.

Which might have been what alerted security.

Then there was the other annoying segment in the crowd -- the yellers and screamers.

Signs posted at the entrance asked people, at the artist's request, not to call out from the audience, perhaps because of the antics of a few on Monday night.

The Globe and Mail's Patrick White alluded to some of what happened in his review.

"Welcome home," screamed several loudmouths in the audience towards the seated figure in the white blazer and panama hat. Neil Young ignored them.

Young's only retort to the chorus of calls of affection from the crowd was, "I'm not really here."

Tuesday's concert opened with a middle-aged guy who looked like a stagehand casually carrying a guitar onstage and sitting down.

At which point, one guy in the crowd just couldn't contain himself.

"NEIL!" he screamed.

That was followed quickly by another guy shouting back.

"THAT'S NOT NEIL!"

In fact, it was the opening act.

And so it went.

Later, during a lull between Young songs, another male voice in the crowd shouted.

"You're the best."

That wouldn't have been so bad, if the sign at the door hadn't asked for quiet. But then the comments escalated.

"We love you, Neil" was as cloying as it was annoying.

And then one guy went right over the edge. His voice sounded like it belonged to a grown man, but his comment was the vernacular of teenagers, for crying out loud.

"You're awesome," he shouted out, as if he were talking to Justin Bieber instead of Neil Young.

This, I remind you, was during a quiet time between songs, not during the standing ovation Young received when he walked onstage, or when he departed an hour-and-a-half later, when it would have blended in with all the deserved adulation.

What I find curious is I don't recall hearing any female voices shouting out to their idol during the performance.

The women in the crowd seemed to be more reserved and respectful of Young's request for quiet.

One of my colleagues, editorial writer Catherine Mitchell, did overhear a woman behind her say something, but it was more of a whisper than a shout.

A sweet and hushed tribute to Young and the moment.

"I've been waiting for this since I was 16," the middle-aged woman said, perhaps as much to herself as to the person beside her.

As for the object of her affection, Young is infamous for saying little, if anything, from the stage, although there were some mutters and musings from the man Tuesday night.

And finally, near the end, a few words that some in the audience didn't hear, but we all should. At least those of us who like to think of Neil Young as one of ours. They were simple words of acknowledgement, and perhaps even affection from the kid from Kelvin High.

"Thank you, Winnipeg."

Neil was really here, after all.

gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 29, 2010 B1

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