The Significance of The Buffalo Springfield Reunion: The Lefsetz Letter

Neil Young, Rick "The Bass Player" Rosas, Richie Furay
Photo by Joe "The Drummer" Vitale

The significance of The Buffalo Springfield reunion is hard to understate ... and not just for Neil Young fans.

As we alluded to earlier, this past weekend's 24th Annual Bridge School Benefit Concerts was literally a bridge building experience between multiple generations. From the indie-folkies of Grizzly Bear and Modest Mouse to the veterans of Leon Russel and Elton John, there was a sense that bands were linked in time while onstage. Legendary bluegrass master Dr. Ralph Stanley -- at a spry 83 years old -- seemed to epitomize this chasm spanning capability with his renditions of old school gospel which was immediately followed by the nether worldly vocals of Nekko Case.

These truly head spinning, whip lash inducing, mind bending musical pairings were the order of the 2 day, 14+ hour events. Simply marvelous value in today's over-hyped/under-valued culture.

Which brings us to the bridge that Neil Young built between the eras.

Between the idealistic 1960's Southern California/Sunset Blvd fringe jacket revolutionaries and the 1990's Northwest Coast/Seattle flannel slacker rockers.

Both The Buffalo Springfield and Pearl Jam are/were original, organically formed bands. Not some studio, star driven, corporate music industry, machine manufactured hyped brand product. Both bands were the real deal of their times.

Elvis Costello, Stephen Stills, Jackson Browne, Kris Kristofferson, Eddie Vedder, and Neil Young
Photo by Misha Vladimirskiy - SPIN.com

Which brings us to the significance of The Buffalo Springfield reunion.



From the consummate music industry insider/outsider Bob Lefsetz -- one of the very few music writers today that begins to come close to understanding Neil Young -- on the The Buffalo Springfield reunion in Lefsetz Letter:

For What It’s Worth

The biggest story in music this week is not Taylor Swift, certainly not Lady GaGa, not even Greyson Chance showing his 13 year old chops on 'Ellen'. No, the big story is the Buffalo Springfield reunion.

Are you going to San Francisco?

Sure, that’s a Scott McKenzie lyric, but I can’t tell you how many times that question popped up in my inbox the last two weeks. Was I going up to Shoreline, for the Buffalo Springfield reunion?

It’s kind of surprising that there’s an act yet to get back together, but that’s the case with the Springfield, a band that had one hit and wasn’t recognized for its greatness until its successor act, Crosby, Stills & Nash, broke and everybody hungered for more of this sound and purchased Buffalo Springfield’s greatest hits album 'Retrospective' which included not only the CSN-similar 'Rock And Roll Woman', but Neil Young’s extended 'Broken Arrow' and 'Mr. Soul' and…

CSN and sometimes Y were the biggest band at the turn of the decade, but Neil Young ultimately emerged triumphant, and despite the critical drubbing, I love the initial Souther, Hillman, Furay band album and if you don’t own the two CD 'Forgotten Trail' Poco compilation, you’re missing out.

Every one of the surviving Buffalo Springfield members is still working, albeit intermittently for Richie, but they hadn’t been working together until last weekend, and now the Net is blowing up about it.

But no one else is. It’s like a secret story. I’m sure there’ll be a story in 'Rolling Stone', but that’s too long after the fact. Then again, 'Rolling Stone' broke from its anachronistic ways to follow this story on its Website.

So on one hand it’s just like the sixties all over again, word of mouth is king. But will this word sustain or die out?

Interesting story…

If this were broadcast live on television, it would have been this week’s biggest entertainment story. Or a live show on HBO. Did Neil nix exploitation or did no one even think of it or were they waiting to see how it all turned out before they booked the obligatory tour?

There are a zillion YouTube clips. I’ll link to a few. But none of them are exactly like being there. And that’s what you wanted to be after viewing them. You truly felt like you missed out. And in today’s on demand/DVR/instant replay world you almost never feel that way.

And everybody is owning their age. Stills, in remarkably good voice considering the recent CSN dates, looks like he’s dressed to go to dinner, not play in front of thousands. In other words, it’s about the music, not the trappings.

And that’s a beacon to the rest of the world. Create something great and it lives forever. And you know what is being produced by the major labels is not built to last, hell, even a GM car will outlast one of today’s hits.

So we’re getting back to the garden. This performance was not built on hype. By time it happened, we were not already tired of it. It snuck up on us, passed by word of mouth like the need to attend Woodstock. The mainstream was out of the loop. But those who needed to know did. This is the way it used to be, and this is the way it is right now. Hype is not everything. If this show had been hyped, we’d have already forgotten it. But now people are still discovering it. It feels like we’re in the middle of something. Like Stephen sings, there’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear.

More from the consummate music industry insider/outsider Bob Lefsetz Letter on Neil Young's influence:
- Reaction to The Archives: Into the Blu and Out of the Black
- Neil Young at Olympics Closing Ceremonies
- "Sugar Mountain Live" Reviews
- The Price of Neil: When Art and Commerce Collide

Jeff Bridges, T-Bone Burnett, Kris Kristofferson, Stephen Stills
Photo by Wearenot Helpless

Also, see complete reports on 2010 Bridge School Benefit Concert (24th Annual) with reviews, photos, YouTube videos and commentary.

Also, see The Triumphant Reunion of The Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam and Neil Young @ 2010 Bridge School Benefit Concerts.

More on 2010 Bridge School Concert Highlights: Pro Shot Video on YouTube.

Also, see Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam & Others: "Rockin' in the Free World" @ Bridge Concert.

Remember, Rust Radio is streaming BSB this weekend.

Also, e2f is sharing some BSB favorites.

ooo-hoo, ooo-hoo,ooo-hoo
"On The Way Home"
Richie Furay and Neil Young
Photo by Mary Hughes | Facebook

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2010 Bridge School Concert Highlights: Pro Shot Video on YouTube

Buffalo Springfield - 10/23/10
Photo gallery by Nan Philpot | Facebook

We're still floating after seeing The Buffalo Springfield reunite last Saturday.

No exaggeration, it was really that good.

Don't believe us?

Take a look at these pro-shot video highlights. If you're pressed for time, cue up Part #2 at 4:00. The complete "Bluebird" jam is included. And they do the huddle formation. So cool.


2010 Bridge School Concert Highlights Part 1


2010 Bridge School Concert Highlights Part 2

And remember the Blu-Ray Tip of the Moment. These clips should be played at full resolution on a wide screen with quality speakers/headphones @ 11.

Also, see complete reports on 2010 Bridge School Benefit Concert (24th Annual) with reviews, photos, YouTube videos and commentary.

Also, see The Triumphant Reunion of The Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam and Neil Young @ 2010 Bridge School Benefit Concerts.

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The Triumphant Reunion of The Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam and Neil Young @ 2010 Bridge School Benefit Concerts

Stephen Stills, Richie Furay & Neil Young
Buffalo Springfield - 10/23/10
Photo by John Green - San Jose Mercury/Bay Area News Group

When the dream came
I held my breath with my eyes closed

I went insane,
Like a smoke ring day
When the wind blows

Now I won't be back till later on
If I do come back at all
But you know me, and I miss you now.

~~Buffalo Springfield's "On The Way Home"

In our over 35 years of Neil Young concert going, we have to say -- without a shadow of a doubt -- that this past weekend's Bridge School Benefits were the most amazingly, awesomest, extraordinarily intense and emotionally satisfying Neil Young experience we've ever had the pleasure of attending.

And here's a just couple of reasons why...

• Buffalo Springfield reunites for their first performance in 42 years
• Pearl Jam totally nails the new "Walk With Me" with guest appearance by Uncle Neil
• Elton John and Leon Russell invite Neil onstage to perform "Shiloh" framed by two grand dueling pianos
• Elvis Costello cover's Neil's "Tell Me Why" with Emmylou Harris on harmony vocals
• Lucinda Williams performs "Ventura" with the lyrics "Put Neil Young on and turn up the sound"
• Elvis Costello and Emmylou Harris invite Neil onstage to perform "Brand New Heartache"
• Eddie Vedder introduces "Driftin'" as a song he wrote while riding down Neil's long driveway
• "Rockin' in the Free World" encore performed by The Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, Kris Kristofferson, Jeff "The Dude" Bridges, T-Bone Burnett, Ramblin' Jack Eliott, Leon Russell's backup singers, and about 2 dozen more as the lights turned on and the curtain fell down.

"Rockin' in the Free World" Encore Jam
Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam, and Neil Young's Friends
October 24, 2010
Photo by Thrashette

And when it was over, it felt like a dream.

In a strange game
I saw myself as you knew me

When the change came,
And you had a chance to see through me

Though the other side is just the same
You can tell my dream is real

Because I love you, can you see me now?

For us, the essence of the significance of this weekend's 24th Annual Bridge School Benefit Concerts was how many different generations of bands were linked in time while onstage.

And the key link in the chain from the 1960's super-nova band Buffalo Springfield to the grunge pioneers Pearl Jam is none other than "Uncle Neil" himself.

And not to put too fine a point on it, but Neil Young built a bridge this weekend between the eras. Between the idealistic 1960's Southern California/Sunset Blvd fringe jacket revolutionaries and the 1990's Northwest Coast/Seattle flannel slacker rockers.

Both The Buffalo Springfield and Pearl Jam are/were original, organically formed bands. Not some studio, star driven corporate music industry machine manufactured product. Both bands were the real deal of their times.


Eddie Vedder and Neil Young
Photo by Eric Risberg, AP

And here we are seeing Pearl Jam celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band -- a remarkable achievement for any band -- but even more so given the toll of the era and the few remaining survivors. Obviously, the 1990's band survival rate is incomparable to the burn out rate of those of the 1960's.

So we have the age old question of whether to burn & rust out or fade away?

Can Neil Young have it both ways before our very eyes? Is he burning out? Or is he fading away? Well, we'll argue that he is neither. Neil is the quintessential survivor. period.

The fact of the matter is that the bridge that Neil built this weekend managed to heal the wounds inflicted by the bitter dissolution of The Buffalo Springfield and the hard feelings which ensued over the past 40+ years.

There was Richie Furay ... front and center, singing lead vocals. Just like back when there was magic in the air when they played. One only had to look into the eyes of Richie as he stepped back from the mic after "On The Way Home" to the audience's rapturously ecstatic applause.

He could feel it. We could feel it.

Now.

And hence all of our joys as tears streamed down our faces as we danced, twirled in the aisles and heard The Buffalo Springfield sing:


Though we rush ahead to save our time
We are only what we feel
And I love you, can you feel it now.

~~Buffalo Springfield's "On The Way Home"


Photo by Misha Vladimirskiy - SPIN.com

Also, see complete reports on 2010 Bridge School Benefit Concert (24th Annual) with reviews, photos, YouTube videos and commentary.


"Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" - Buffalo Springfield, 10/23/10

This YouTube is by far the best video of shows so far surfaced. Excllent audio quality. Definitely worthy of head phones.

We've already played multiple times. We were behind the guy filming. It's that good. A beautiful, gorgeous performance of Clancy. Like a flashback of a very good trip, indeed.

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Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam & Others: "Rockin' in the Free World" @ Bridge Concert - UPDATED

"Rockin' in the Free World" Encore Jam
Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam, and Neil Young's Friends
October 24, 2010
Photo by Thrashette

Another entry into the "Never Thought We'd See That" file this weekend.

Here's a clip of the rowdy and exuberant final encore jam from Sunday's Bridge Benefit concert of "Rockin' in the Free World".

Just imagine seeing Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam, and others singing RITFW with Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, Kris Kristofferson, Leon Russell's backup singers, and others closing out the weekend?!

The lyric verse trade offs between Eddie and Neil are just amazing.

Also, note the Indian Dancer that jams out with Neil @ ***5:50*** mark. Insane.

Way cool.



UPDATED with Full YouTube video.

Also, see complete reports on 2010 Bridge School Benefit Concert (24th Annual) with reviews, photos, YouTube videos and commentary.

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ATTENTION: Saturday Bridge Attendees - Please help!

For those attending the Saturday Bridge concert, please pass along...

From a comment on TW:

My Loving boyfriend proposed to me last night while Neil Young was on stage. Harvest Moon will be our first dance song at our wedding.

On the way to the car, the ring box fell out of my purse and it was lost in a matter of 5 mins from me noticing it was gone.

PLEASE, to the person who picked it up , I have been sick and crying for 2 days because of all the time and trouble he went into the saving for this ring and the thoughtfulness that went into it.

Please return the ring.

Post on this site or go to Craig’s list to find me. I will be under lost ring at Neil Young and from Sacramento.

Elizabeth

Please pass along if you attended the Saturday Bridge concert.

Last year, readers of this blog made the miracle in Hyde Park, London happen.

C'mon, we can make a difference if we all try really hard.

peace,
thrasher & thrashette

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