Bridge School Benefit Weekend

When: Saturday, October 26 & Sunday, October 27, 2013
Venue: Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View CA
Accompanied By: Lisa, Tiffany, Sarah, Cosmo, Debbie
Genre: Rock, Folk, Acoustic, Jazz - a plethora of music




Man, what a weekend. Too much fun to put into words. Let's just say it was worth the long ass drive (thanks Tiff for driving) and lack of sleep!!  Tiff, Lisa and I hit the road Friday night, arriving in Sunnyvale shortly before 2am. Sarah had flown in a few hours earlier and was relaxing upon our arrival. Got up somewhat early Saturday morning to make enough time to get in a little cardio (that was the only day I managed that feat) and grabbed a quick bite at the hotels gratis breakfast buffet. 

For Day #1, with a 5pm start time, the goal was to head to Shoreline Amphitheater by 1pm. We hit up the bagel shop and market for a few last minute snacks and were on our way. Thanks to Sarah, we had "fast pass" tickets that allowed us to line up in a shorter area giving us the advantage in securing a spot on the lawn rail. It worked flawlessly. 

Day #2 was a bit of an earlier start. The show was set to begin at 2pm, so we hit the road a little after 11am. Oddly, the lawn Nazis were out in full force and gave our group a hassle for trying to set up enough space for the rest of our peeps who would be meeting up with us momentarily. We stood our ground, but not without getting a speech about a jar filled with rocks and pebbles and that the sand would soon be trickling in, filling up the cracks and grooves.Whatever. We had our spot and we were golden.

The weather was perfect, the people were perfect, the spot on the lawn was perfect. Everything about these two days pretty much ranks up there with all of my favorite things. Looking down on the seating area of Shoreline, which was my home away from home when I lived in the Bay Area in the 80s, I recalled many of the shows from my past. And how much smaller the venue appeared to me now, as an adult. Back then, the lawn seemed so far away, and now, it was the perfect place to be.

No complaints at all about any of the acts on the bill. I'd say my least favorite of the weekend was My Morning Jacket. Can't say exactly why, but they just didn't do it for me. Jenny Lewis was pleasant, as was Diana Krall. 

I was surprised that Heart didn't have a higher placement in the lineup, but regardless, they kicked ass!!  Their version of Zeppelin's The Rain Song pretty much brought me to tears. 

The band fun. were exactly that... fun!! I absolutely loved their version of The Stones You Can't Always Get What You Want, which they did Saturday. And then on Sunday, they covered Queen's Somebody to Love.

Elvis Costello hit the stage for the latter part of his wife's set and finished up with a with a Hollies cover of King Midas in Reverse with Graham Nash. 

Jack Johnson was a Saturday only act, as was Arcade Fire and both sounded spectacular. Jack Johnson is as nice to look at as he is to listen to. Arcade Fire took up the majority of the stage with as many various instruments as there were people in the band. They debuted a song titled "I Dreamed a Neil Young Song" while Neil joined them on stage. 

It turns out that it's been 5+ years since Tom Waits has performed, so the number of people there to see him on Sunday was enormous. After he finished his set, I could understand why. With his extremely distinctive voice and Les Claypool rocking the upright bass, it was 45 minutes of enjoyment to my ears. Plus he was just a funny guy. 

QOTSA, my reason for being at Bridge this year, did not disappoint. With a semi acoustic set, the boys were dressed to impress and managed to dazzle the entire crowd. Two days of this was simply not enough.  Josh managed to keep the cussing to a minimum, with the exception of Sunday night when he expressed his joy of seeing Tom Waits perform. While both days were spectacular, I'd have to say that Sunday was slightly more perfect with My God is the Sun and The Vampyre of Time & Memory being added to the set list.

CSN&Y - the only disappointing part of this was it was EXACTLY the same set list for both nights, right down to the narrative in between songs.  But it didn't matter. They sounded amazing and I enjoyed both nights all the same.

Yet another memorable weekend to add to a most amazing year of shows!  And to think, 2 years ago when we bought our home, I thought that going to concerts would become a thing of the past...I am thrilled to have been so completely wrong.  Rock on!!!

Friends - Bridge 2013

Set Lists:

Jenny Lewis
Saturday: Head Under Water, Rise Up with Fists, You Can Out Run 'Em, Buffalo Springfield Again, Acid Tongue

Sunday: Run Devil Run, Rise Up with Fists, unknown, unknown, unknown, Silver Lining

Heart
Saturday: Even It Up, The Rain Song (Zeppelin), Nothing But Love, Rock Deep, Dear Old America, Crazy On You

Sunday: Even It Up, The Rain Song (Zeppelin), Nothing But Love, War Of Man (w/ Neil Young), Dear Old America, Crazy On You

fun.
Saturday: Carry On, Some Nights, The Gambler, We Are Young, You Can't Always Get What You Want (Stones)

Sunday: Some Nights, Carry On, The Gambler, Somebody to Love (Queen), We Are Young

Diana Krall
Saturday: There Ain't No Sweet Man That's Worth the Salt of My Tears, We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye, A Man Needs a Maid, Sulphur to Sugarcane (w/ Elvis, Wall Flower (Bob Dylan; w/ Elvis)

Sunday: On the Sunny Side of the Street, Simple Twist of Fate (Bob Dylan) I'm Gonna Sit Down and Write Myself a Letter, A Man Needs a Maid, Let It Rain, Sulphur to Sugarcane (w/ Elvis), Wallflower (Bob Dylan; w/ Elvis), Salt of My Tears

Elvis Costello
Saturday: (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes, New Amsterdam/You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, A Slow Drag w/ Josephine, Jimmie Standing in the Rain, Brother Can You Spare a Dime, Alison, King Midas in Reverse (w/ Graham Nash)

Sunday: Radio Sweetheart/Jackie Wilson Said, Tripwire/(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love & Understanding, A Slow Drag w/ Josephine, Brilliant Mistake, Love Field, Blame It On Cain, King Midas in Reverse (w/ Graham Nash)

My Morning Jacket
Saturday: Circuital, Pastures of Plenty, Victory Dance, Harvest Moon (w/ Neil Young), I'm Amazed

Sunday: Wonderful (The Way I Feel), Welcome Home, The Way That He Sings, Gideon, Golden, Harvest Moon (w/Neil Young), Oh! Sweet Nothing (w/ Neil Young, Elvis Costello, & Jenny Lewis)

Arcade Fire (Saturday Only)
Saturday: The Suburbs, Relektor, Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice), Normal Person, I Dreamed a Neil Young Song (w/ Neil Young), Wake Up

Jack Johnson (Saturday Only)
Saturday: Good People, Sitting Waiting, Wishing/Just What I Needed, Home, Better Together, Tape Deck, Banana Pancakes, Mudfootball, Out On The Weekend (w/ Neil Young)

Tom Waits (Sunday Only) 
This set featured Les Claypool on the upright bass, David Hidalgo on guitar & accordian
Sunday: Raised Right Men, Singapore, Talking at the Same Time, Chicago, Lucky Day, Tom Traubert's Blues, Lucinda/Ain't Going Down, Last Leaf, Cemetery Polka, Come On Up to the House

Queens of the Stone Age
Saturday: Long Slow Goodbye, Make It Witchu, I Sat By the Ocean, ...Like Clockwork, Kalopsia, Go With The Flow

Sunday: Long Slow Goodbye, Kalopsia, My God is the Sun, The Vampyre of Time & Memory, Make It Witchu, Burn the Witch, Go With The Flow

Crosby Stills Nash & Young
Saturday & Sunday: Just A Song Before I Go, Human Highway, Don't Want Lies, Singer Without A Song, What Are The Names, Deja Vu, Long May You Run, Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, Teach Your Children (w/ everyone)

A Few Pix from Bridge 2013 - Courtesy Debbie Flaska