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Pegi Young & the Survivors in Washington

Pegi Young & the Survivors
The Hamilton
Washington, D.C.
April 7

Pegi Young rarely covers songs by a certain artist, but on this night she couldn’t resist.

“I don’t usually do ones my husband wrote,” said Young, referring to Mr. Neil Young. “But this one was screaming to be done. Screaming.”

With that Young and her band –rock royalty one and all – launched into a blazing hot version of ‘Fuckin’ Up.’

Pegi Young may consider herself something of an upstart compared to her much-lauded spouse of more than three decades, but her vibe was all confidence and cool as she bounded about the stage during the 11- song set and three-song encore of mostly original material.

At various times during the show she traded licks with lead guitarist Kelvin Howard and bassist Rick Rosas, pounded out a beat on a wood block with an extra stick from drummer Phil Jones, and played a second set of keyboards in accompaniment with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Spooner Oldham. What made the show exceptional, though, was the musical breadth Young and her band the Survivors – supplemented by multi-instrumentalist Larry Cragg on saxophone, harmonica, and more – displayed as they moved from alt-country to blues, to soul to hard-pounding rock.

Of course, that’s a reflection of Young’s songwriting. The first three songs in the set were the first three songs on her November 2011 release “Bracing for Impact:” the alt-country “Flatline Mama,” the blues weary “Med Line,” and the stand-out soul-infused “Trouble in a Bottle.”

Other than offering basic commentary about these and the other songs they performed, Young let the music tell her audience all it needed to know.

Little wonder the band left the stage to a standing ovation that lasted well after the last notes faded.