By Louie Ferrera

By now the anticipation level was pretty high. Think kid in a candy store. Think six year old at Christmas. Over the past week I’ve tried to keep my expectations in check but sitting here at UC Berkeley’s Greek Theater, the scene of so many evenings dancing to the Grateful Dead, I’ve reached the point where I just couldn’t wait any longer. In 15 minutes Neil Young would be taking the stage.

It’s hard to overstate the impact that Neil’s music has had on my life. I was 14 when Deja Vu came out (I still have my original vinyl copy). There’s not a dead spot on that album. I loved it all but there was something about the Neil Young songs Helpless and Country Girl, that really grabbed me back then. The high pitched whine of his voice, the inscrutable lyrics, his unique approach to acoustic guitar playing, the distorted tone and manic electric guitar solo on Woodstock all set Neil far apart from the other parts of the CSNY equation.

In the summer of 1974, I caught a show on the big CSNY reunion tour. This was the first time I’d seen Neil Young live. What really stuck in my mind that night was Neil’s brooding presence and the way he stalked the stage. It was evening and he was wearing sunglasses. His songs brought a dark biting edge to the show. Neil was part of the band but I could tell he had one foot out the door, prowling around the edges already thinking where his next musical journey would take him.

That fall I entered my freshman year of college. I had always wanted to learn how to play the guitar. Fortunately I quickly fell in with a kind and welcoming group of friends, all of whom had varying levels of proficiency on guitar. We had many common musical interests and Neil Young’s music was one thread that ran through us all. Denise and Carol had worked up a unique arrangement of Old Man, Laurie could sing like Joni Mitchell, Tim, Ben and Bruce were all solid pickers and singers. I was determined to play and sing like them so I went out and bought my first guitar, a Yamaha steel string model for $90. My new friends showed me some chords and gave me a few pointers on how to play. They tolerated a beginning hacker like myself and it was their patience and friendship that gave me the encouragement to keep playing.

However, the learning curve on guitar is steep. I had to really be committed in order to get over that hump. What eventually got me there? The music of Neil Young. I was 18, I had my own guitar and a copy of Neil’s seminal album Harvest. This is the perfect record for a beginning guitarist. The chords are basic folk type chords that could all be played in first position, the melodies and arrangements fairly straight forward and easy to follow. I basically locked myself in my room and played along with Harvest until I could play all of the songs. Needless to say I was obsessed and driven. I copied Neil’s percussive acoustic guitar style. I wanted to play like Neil, hell I wanted to be Neil!

There’s no end to learning on guitar, but I remember when I could comfortably get all the way through Heart of Gold without any mess ups as being a key moment in my musical development. I’ve been playing guitar, performing and writing songs ever since. I’ve recorded three albums of original material. One of the musical highlights of my life was playing to a packed club in Santa Cruz as part of a tribute to Neil Young. I led the band as we closed the show with a rollicking version of Rockin’ In The Free World. Music is a deeply integral part of who I am. Neil Young’s music continues to inspired me and has been a thread that’s run through my life. I am eternally grateful to him for that.

So, it’s a warm summer evening, the setting sun casts a pink glow on puffy clouds that dot the darkening sky. Towering eucalyptus trees frame the lawn at the top of the amphitheater. The place is packed. Tiny blue lights line the stage which is set up like a living room. There are four pianos, an old fashioned weather vane and a faux fireplace circled by a running set of trains. The stage backdrop is lit from below in a fiery orange hue to match the sunset. It’s weird and wonderful and as it should be and here comes Neil. He strides onto the stage in that slightly stooped, shambling style of his. He’s dressed like a train conductor from the 1800s. The long narrow brim of his cap obscures his eyes so I can only see his face from the nose down. His denim jacket is blue and pinstriped and appears to have white paint stains on it. His t-shirt reads: “Support Local Music”. Jeans and sneakers round out this unique fashion statement. The place is going nuts but I can only sit there and breathe it all in. One of the most influential people in my life grabs his 12-string Taylor acoustic guitar and begins to sing.

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