Neil Young / Sheryl Crow / Dave Matthews Band: Rock In Rio

Some believe the world was created in six days. And it's on the sixth day of Rock In Rio - a festival that carries rock in its name and had witnessed naked musicians onstage, broken instruments and a lot of swearing - that we're reminded what rock'n'roll is all about.

All courtesy of a 54-year-old musician who just gets onstage, plays his songs and has a lot of fun in the process. Neil Young doesn't swear, has no appetite for destruction and certainly doesn't get naked. But he proves he knows how to rock and the audience of 110,000 people that made their way to the City Of Rock witness one of the best performances ever seen in Brazil. Young gets onstage with his old Crazy Horse pals Frank Sampedro (guitar), Billy Talbot (bass guitar) and Ralph Molina (drums) and without much ado starts his set with 'Sedan Delivery', followed by 'Hey Hey, My My', 'Cinammon Girl' and 'Fuckin' Up'. During the performance of 'Like A Hurricane', Young gets so enthusiastic he cuts his finger, but carries on regardless. He remains a legend.

As for the other two attractions of the night... well, they certainly try. Dave Matthews, amazingly, seems to have a big fan base in Rio, and he manages to get the audience shaking for his mix of blues, jazz, old school funk and pop. Sheryl Crow gets more of a cold shoulder from the crowd, who don't seem to think much of her long blond hair and her few hits, like 'All I Wanna Do'. She even tries to change the tide in her favour with Guns N'Roses' 'Sweet Child O' Mine', but it doesn't work. After all, the night was Young.

Valeria Rossi and Luciano Vianna

Images: Valeria Rossi