Rocker Neil Young tore through new and old favourites Monday night in a rousing return to the historic Canadian music hall that bore one of his most celebrated performances.
  
The first night of Young's three-night stand at Massey Hall in Toronto was greeted by an enthusiastic standing ovation from the affectionate crowd, a mix of young and old fans who eagerly filled the intimate venue with shouted requests and more ovations throughout the night.
  
"Welcome back, Neil!" one fan yelled as others hooted from an audience that included Canuck singers Ron Sexsmith, Tomi Swick and Dallas Green.

Neil Young takes the stage to perform at Massey Hall in Toronto on Monday. Several Canadian celebrities were in the audience.
(J.P. Moczulski/Canadian Press)

  
"Good to be here," Young said in one of his few addresses to the audience.
  
"I appreciate you all coming down to see me, too."
  
The 61-year-old ambled through an hour-long solo acoustic set featuring sentimental gems that elicited whispered sing-a-longs from the crowd. He followed it with a charged electric set drawing heavily from his new disc, Chrome Dreams II.
  
Dressed in baggy pants and a rumpled white dress shirt, Young spent much of the first set seated on a folding chair with a guitar on his lap and a harmonica at his lips.
  
He strummed through openers From Hank to Hendrix and Ambulance Blues, his knees bopping up and down and side-to-side on pivoting toes. Later he picked up a banjo for Mellow My Mind and moved to a baby grand for A Man Needs a Maid.
  
A brief intermission was followed by an electric set that offered several new songs including the garage bash, Dirty Old Man and a 16-minute guitar tear through No Hidden Path.
  
For this segment, Young was joined by longtime collaborators Ben Keith on dobro, pedal steel and guitar; Ralph Molina on drums; Rick Rosas on bass and wife Pegi on backup vocals.
  
The show came more than 25 years after Young appeared on the same stage to debut songs from his now-classic disc, Harvest. A CD and DVD of that famous solo acoustic night was released earlier this year.
  
On Monday, Young revisited several songs he played in that 1971 show, including Cowgirl In the Sand and Bad Fog of Loneliness.

Rousing encore

He kept the audience on its feet with encores Cinnamon Girl and Like A Hurricane.
  
Young's wife Pegi opened the show with songs from her self-titled debut album.
  
The Toronto shows are the only Canadian stops on Young's 18-city tour.
  
Young returns to Massey Hall Tuesday night and on Thursday before heading to Buffalo and a three-night stand in Boston.
  
The tour wraps up with a five-night stand in New York, ending Dec. 18.