‘Wolf Moon’ rises in Missoula

Neil Young and POTR play sold-out October show

By Eric Ladd EBS Publisher

MISSOULA – A sold out Adams Center crowd welcomed Neil Young with a standing ovation on Oct. 1 as he started a 12-stop, West Coast tour.

Young has teamed up with the band Promise of the Real to deliver a preachy, hard-driving new album called “The Monsanto Years” as they attack issues like genetically modified organisms and corporate greed.

The musicians arrived in Montana a few days early to practice songs from the new album as the musicians enjoyed hikes up Missoula’s “M” trail, and jammed under the harvest supermoon looming above town.

The 69-year-old Young started the concert with a four-song solo performance before Promise of the Real joined him for an unscripted three-hour concert that left the crowd cheering for more. Young has taken POTR on the road, and acted as mentor for this up and coming band led by Willie Nelson’s son, Lukas.

Throughout the show, Nelson and Young exchanged powerful guitar riffs including a nearly 20-minute rendition of “Down by the River.” Nelson is quickly becoming a crowd favorite and received a strong ovation as he concluded a solo piano performance.

One of many show highlights included the new song “Wolf Moon,” that includes lyrics giving praise to the moon and the “big sky” – an appropriate song for the Montana crowd.

The fall tour includes stops along the West Coast, concluding with an Oct. 25 performance at the Bridge School Benefit Concert. Young co-founded the event to raise funds for the Bridge School, a Hillsborough, Calif., organization that educates children with severe speech and physical impairments.

‘Wolf Moon’ lyrics

Wolf moon thank you for risin’
Big sky I’m grateful for your parting clouds
I know some hearts were broken
Big crows still flying in your sky
Herds of elk roam upon your meadows
And your eagle soars across my eyes
While you withstand the thoughtless plundering

Wolf moon keep on shinin’
Your days rolling by in timeless grace
Your heart just keeps on beating
Inside the beauty of this place
Less fish swimmin’ in your oceans

Old ice floating in your seas
Still you hold against the constant plundering
Wolf moon

Wolf moon thank you for risin’
Big sky I’m grateful for your parting clouds
Seeds of life your glowing fields of wheat
Windy fields of barley at your feet
While you endure the thoughtless plundering