I always got tired of people who only talked about their kids. And, there I was on this blog, being one. So we'll veer away from Produce Section Sizing and talk about something else. If only for a bit.
We're headed to San Francisco this week for our official Last Hurrah Before The Baby.
Now, i've been going to the Bay Area in late October every year since 1999 for Neil & Pegi Young's Annual Bridge School Benefit Concert. [More about the Bridge School, a cool and worthy cause, try going here] It's an all-acoustic concert with a bunch of great artists at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View.
1999. My friend Billy and I make the maiden voyage across the desert and Sierra Nevadas of I-80. My Aunt Georgia & Uncle Dave were kind enough (and have continued to have their kindness renewed year after year) to let us crash with them in Walnut Creek. With just lawn seats, we got to the venue around 1 pm to sit in line before the gates opened at 4 to claim a prime spot to see:
Neil Young, The Who, Brian Wilson, Tom Waits, Pearl Jam, Sheryl Crow, Billy Corgan & James Iha (with Jimmy Chamberlain), Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Green Day.
That was a pretty ridiculous, hard-hitting line-up. Even if it doesn't pass your self-righteous hipster test, you'd have a hard time dogging it.. And we were hooked. Tom Waits, to this day, was one of the most insane, stirring, incomprehensible performances that I have ever seen. We headed back on I-80, cranking Sunday football on the AM radio, vowing to make it a tradtion.
2007 In the years since, we have had many friends come and some have stuck around. We have a crew of regulars that includes us, the Watts, the Wheelers, Dave Owens, Ben Curtis, and a heap of others who are always invited. Ticketmaster only allowing us to buy 2 tickets together has dampened our spirits, but we all still count on it every fall. So this year we go to see:
Neil Young, Metallica, Tom Waits w/ the Kronos Quartet, Jerry Lee Lewis, My Morning Jacket, Regina Spektor, John Mayer, Tegan & Sara.
Not bad.
The list of who we've seen at the Bridge School shows over the years is pretty silly. Below are all the artists that Watts and I have seen (including this year even if the Watts are out for good reasons), number of times in parentheses:
Neil Young (11)
The Who - Pete Townshend made some terrible comment about John Lennon, in jest, that backfired.
Pearl Jam (4) - consistent
Eddie Vedder solo - angry
Sheryl Crow (2) - solid
Green Day - pre-American Idiot.
Billy Corgan & James Iha - covered Tom Waits, the same year he was there
Tom Waits (2, with Kronos Quartet this year)
Emmylou Harris (2), sang with Lucinda, Neil, Brian Wilson, and Bright Eyes
Lucinda Williams
Brian Wilson (2) - one of the most sincere performances I've ever seen
Crosby Stills Nash & Young (3) - always far better without the first three names
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - headed for a throwdown with Wilco for best American band
Red Hot Chili Peppers (2) - covered Cat Stevens
Beck - one of the better performances
Dave Matthews Band (2)- inevitably leads to a 15 minute Cortez The Killer jam. Where's Built To Spill when you need them?
Dave Matthews solo - better alone
Foo Fighters (3) - always great.
Tegan & Sara (3) - the first time, Watts and I mocked. I'm now a fan.
Robin Williams
Crazy Horse
REM - classic
Ben Harper (2) - played the hits, which are the weaker part of his catalog
Tracy Chapman - for whatever reason, I remember her set as really getting to it for me.
Billy Idol - one of the most surprisingly entertaining sets
Jill Sobule
James Taylor - makes it all look easy
Ryan Adams - in Awesome Ryan mode. Captivating.
Tenacious D – Foo Fighters played before them due to an L.A. gig, and Jack Black said, "Thanks to the Foos for opening up for us."
Thom Yorke - one of the best sets ever. He covered "After The Goldrush" on Neil's piano.
LeeAnn Rimes
Jack Johnson (2) - covered Harvest
Vanessa Carlton
Willie Nelson - at one point, Willie started playing a song he'd already played before his harmonica player clued him in.
Wilco (2)
Indigo Girls
Counting Crows
Incubus - covered Massive Attack's "Teardrop," but didn't exactly convert me.
Dashboard Confessional
Paul McCartney - Hey Jude with thousands of people singing the Na Na's? Come on. You'd have to have a heart of stone.
Tony Bennett
Sonic Youth - translated surprisingly well.
Los Lonely Boys
Los Lobos - the best of the Los bands. By a tierraslide.
Norah Jones (2)
Jerry Lee Lewis (2)
John Mellencamp - high school assembly material
Bright Eyes - converting
Good Charlotte
Devendra Banhart
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings - always good
Death Cab For Cutie (2)
Trent Reznor - played with a double quartet and blew us away
Linda Rondstadt
John Mayer
Regina Spektor
Metallica
My Morning Jacket
UPDATED
Cat Power
Band of Horses
Gavin Rossdale - from Bush, not good
Wolfmother- hire a bassist, friends
Fleet Foxes- ruled- amazing harmonies and the way their songs develop is unreal
Monsters Of Folk (Bright Eyes + M Ward + Jim James of My Morning Jacket)
Chris Martin- from Coldplay, very good
Jimmy Buffett (see also: ex- Carnival cruise employees fronted by that drunk guy with the guitar you and all your sweet bros loved during that one spring break in Cancun)
No Doubt -surprisingly good
That's just ridiculous.
No comments:
Post a Comment