Merriweather back in the day: September 2011

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Neil Young - August 20, 1987

His first appearance at this venue on the "Life" tour with Crazy Horse. Neil played several more shows over the next two decades here and was a consistent draw at Merriweather. This concert also hosted the song debut of "One of These Days", released on the subsequent "Harvest Moon" album later in 1992. The "Life" album was released a month earlier and was Neil Young's first album with Crazy Horse in almost a decade. It was also his final album with Geffen and remains his all-time least successful studio album.

Although not a great album or time for Neil's recording achievements, this concert still appears to have been classic Neil Young and featured many of his best known material played with some of his favorite collaborators.

This is audio from that August evening:

"Cinnamon Girl"

"Down by the River"

More pics from that tour...

Merriweather Memories

Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland has a rich history of diverse concerts dating back to it's opening in 1967. Some of the the most memorable shows were in the 70's & 80's, when the venue attracted major acts whose shows at the forty acre wooded venue provided many fans with experiences to remember for a lifetime. I was lucky enough to have worked there during many of these classic shows. By sharing the sights and sounds of some of those actual concerts decades ago, the memories of those times can be relived once again - Chuck.

Merriweather History

Merriweather opened in July 1967 as the second public building in Columbia, a planned city. It was designed by architect Frank Gehry, known for his design of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. It took eight months and $1 million to build the simple pavilion and grounds. With top-notch acoustics, the amphitheater was initially created to be the summer home of the National Symphony, and it was named for one of the group's key patrons, Marjorie Merriweather Post. In 2010 it was named the second best amphitheater in the country by Billboard magazine. The venue has struggled at times over the years and flirted with closing a decade ago, until new management and an appreciation by the local community for it's legacy has made it vibrant once again.