Setlist (Listed after review)

Hi all. A frequent reader of this board, though an infrequent contributor. Thought I'd share my Palace of Auburn Hills experience with anyone interested.

Just arrived back home, after a 750 mile-round trip to see Neil in Auburn Hills Thursday night. Still on that convert high...the Neil High that takes a day or two to recover from (if one ever really wants to recover). The show was magnificent.

We arrive in Auburn Hills around 3, check in, rest a bit, and then go out for a nice dinner. We arrived at The Palace around 6:30. The parking lot was pretty full even then. Mingle around inside, have a drink, and then head to our seats (2 in 7th row, 2 in 14th). As we find out seats, my brother says, "You know, this is cool and all...but I just don't have that excitement we get when we see KISS" (We're both big KISS fans, having seen the band 16 times). I told him to just give it time, and see. (what did he think after the show? Here's a direct quote: "Holy sh**!! That guy is amazing!!")

Then the spotlights shine on Neil...

Of his three news songs, which he played eight songs into the show, I was very impressed with two. "Home Before Dark" and "Pretty Amazing Grace" came off very well in concert. "Don't Go There" didn't do a lot for me.

I'm a recent convert to what a great song "Crunchy Granola Suite" is, so it was wonderful to hear it last night. A very powerful performance. Then comes "Done to Soon", a song I absolutely love. Last night's version was flawless, so powerful and moving. And to end the massive onslaught of three wonderful songs, "Brooklyn Roads". Amazing, simply amazing. The video accompaniment was a magnificent touch, and more than a few people in our row wiped away a tear through it. This three-song onslaught was the highlight of the night for me.

Another favourite, "I Am, I Said", brought the packed house to their feet. Neil's emotion brought the song to new levels. Personally, I like the original album version of "IAIS" much better than some of Neil's live recordings of the song, where he seems to over-sing the song. Last night the first verse somewhat fit the over-sung version, while the second verse was much closer to the original. Either way, the emotion of the song was wonderful.

"Forever in Blue Jeans" brought the crowd to near-delirious heights. I looked around to the highest parts of the stadium, and it seemed as if not one person was sitting, and everyone was clapping and singing.

And then there is "Sweet Caroline". We all know about that one. No matter how many times it's played on tour, it seems to be that one song that everybody wants to hear. At the end of the song Neil's battery died, so he called up a tech to replace it. It took the tech almost two minutes to do so, and while he was doing it sections of the crowd were chanting, "Neil! Neil!", or "We love you, Neil!" As the tech was fumbling around Neil's back, Neil said, "I'm not sure what he's doing back there, but I kinda' like it". That drew a roar of laughter from the crowd.

In a surprise for me, "Song Sung Blue" didn't seem to be all that well-received. The crowd was polite and all; but there was little crowd energy for that song.

And what a pre-encore show-ender "Hell Yeah" is! I had never heard the song in its entirety until last night, and, WOW!! It works so well where it is at in the setlist. The crowd went bananas, and Neil walked off into the adoring cheers and screams of 20,000 of his closest friends in Michigan.

The 'encore three' ("Cracklin...", "America, "Brothers...") brought the house down. Neil's last minute of "Brother Loves..." is the stuff legends are made of. It's why, quite simply, the entertainment world is made up of two types of people: those who are Neil Diamond, and those who are not.

The crowd, overall, was so cool. The age differential was amazing. We sat next to a group of younger kids, probably ranging in age from 16 - 25 or so, and they new EVERY WORD to almost every song! They worshipped the guy like he was a rock god. I think that all comes from the fact the music industry today is so vacuous, so shallow, that kids today see Neil Diamond, and know instantly they are seeing something real, something true. The diversity of age of that crowd at the Palace was inspiring, to be honest.

Don't look now, but a new generation has just discovered Neil Diamond.

Setlist

Holly Holy
Beautiful Noise
You Got To Me
Love On The Rocks
Play Me
Cherry, Cherry
Thank The Lord For The Night Time
Home Before Dark
Don't Go There
Pretty Amazing Grace
Crunchy Granola Suite
Done Too Soon
Brooklyn Roads
I Am...I Said
Solitary Man
Kentucky Woman
Forever In Blue Jeans
Sweet Caroline (3 reprises)
You Don't Bring Me Flowers
Song Sung Blue
I'm A Believer
Man Of God
Hell Yeah
(Encore)
Cracklin' Rosie
America
Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show