Pages

Thursday, October 20, 2016

2016 Bridge School Benefit Concerts: October 22 & 23

NOTE: Excellent ticket offer in Comments section below.



Roger Waters, Neil Young & Jim James


"Don't Be Denied" - Norah Jones w/ Neil Young


"Piece of Crap" - Neil Young + Promise of the Real

Setlist via Sugar Mountain:

2016-10-22
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California, USA
Bridge School Benefit 30
w/ Promise Of The Real


1. Blowin' In The Wind
---
2. Believe (guests with Nils Lofgren)
---
3. Helpless (guests with My Morning Jacket)
---
4. Don't Be Denied (guests with Norah Jones)
---
5. Forever Young (guests with Roger Waters)
---
6. Mr. Soul (guests with Metallica)
---
7. Peace Trail
8. Out On The Weekend
9. Show Me
10. Comes A Time
11. Terrorist
12. Only Love Can Break Your Heart (accompanied by Nils Lofgren)
13. Piece Of Crap (accompanied by Nils Lofgren)
14. Are There Any More Real Cowboys? (accompanied by Willie Nelson)
15. On The Road Again (accompanied by Willie Nelson)
16. Rockin' In The Free World


"Forever Young" - Roger Waters w/Neil Young, My Morning Jacket, GE Smith


‘Mr. Soul’ - Metallica w/ Neil Young


"Helpless"
Neil Young & Jim James




This weekend is the 30th Annual Bridge School Benefit Concerts. Here is the 2016 lineup:

  • Neil Young + Promise of the Real
  • Metallica
  • Roger Waters
  • Dave Matthews
  • case/lang/veirs
  • Willie Nelson
  • My Morning Jacket
  • Norah Jones
  • Cage The Elephant
  • Nils Lofgren

The 30th Annual Bridge School Benefit Concert will be on October 22 & October 23, 2016.

bridgeschool_logo

More on last year's 2015 Bridge School Benefit Concert (reviews, photos, videos, etc.).

Also, see The Essence of Bridge School Benefit Concerts.


Also, see our Memories & Reflections on Our 2015 Bridge School Benefit Concerts Weekend. (Incidentally, FWIW, this is why we do what we do here @ TW.)


Neil, Pegi & Ben say "Good Night. Thanks for coming. We love you all."
(Click images to enlarge)

A recent interview with Pegi Young from Speakers In Code:
As we're winding down our twenty-minute chat over the phone, Pegi Young pauses and, calmly, gets to the heart of the matter.

"This is my life's work, and it has to survive," she tells me. "It's too important, and it's made a huge difference in so many people's lives."

Young is speaking about the Bridge School, an organization co-founded by Young herself. Its mission "is to ensure that individuals with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities through the use of augmentative & alternative means of communication and assistive technology applications and through the development, implementation and dissemination of innovative life-long educational strategies."

This weekend is one of the School's biggest fundraisers, and it's a special one: the 30th Annual Bridge School Benefit Concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California.

The lineup, as usual, is terrific: Neil Young + Promise of the Real, Metallica, Roger Waters, Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson, My Morning Jacket, Norah Jones, Cage The Elephant, and Nils Lofgren will perform. All proceeds directly benefit the operations of The Bridge School.

Also, as usual, the benefit concert will be all acoustic, challenging bands like Metallica and My Morning Jacket to alter their normal set.

"We have made a couple of exceptions over the years," Young admits. "We let John Lee Hooker play electric. We're not going to tell John Lee Hooker he can't play electric. (laughs) But very, very, very few (exceptions). Like Metallica, they come -- I think this will be their third time playing -- and play acoustic, and they get it, you know? And they still put on a powerhouse show, as have so many others like Green Day, The Who, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters -- a lot of bands you just don't see playing acoustic. It's a beautiful thing."

Also beautiful is the stage's backdrop, which features students of the Bridge School sitting behind the musicians, enjoying the show.

"It's a wonderful experience," Young says. "Very heartwarming to have the kids on the stage -- a constant reminder of why you're there. Why the audience is there, why the musicians are there -- they are the stars of the show, and everybody gets that."
Because -- as everyone knows this is everywhere -- you know that the annual pilgrimage to the Bridge School Benefit Concerts can be a life altering and transcendental experience.

21 comments:

  1. From our dear Farm-Aidian friends up north in Canada...
    ***
    Hi,

    We upgraded our seats and I have 6 Tickets available for the Sunday show.

    Section 200 - Row N - seats 14 to 19

    If you know someone worthy or want to put them on Thrasher's Wheat and put the money to the site, Bridge School or Farm Aid.

    Thanks
    Renee & Paul
    paul@silverlinecommunications.ca
    519-791-1004
    ***
    Please get in touch w/ Renee & Paul if interested, make an offer, and they'll make sure $'s go to the right cause.

    enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Any word of a live stream happening? Wasn't there one available with a donation some years back? I'd throw in 10 bucks for Neil and Roger at least.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "This is my life's work, and it has to survive," she tells me. "It's too important, and it's made a huge difference in so many people's lives."

    True greatness ... underlying it all are two people, Neil and Pegi, with huge hearts .. so huge that their divorce didn't derail this heartwarming event ...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pegi and Neil challenged all of us to look at the ability and potential of each and every child instead of seeing disability and helplessness. They remain a light at the end of the tunnel for each and every parent struggling every day to bring meaning, purpose, and dignity into the life of their child challenged by the disability label he or she wears. God bless Pegi, Neil, The Bridge School, and all the wonderful people who keep the program going. May their efforts, vision, and advocacy remain a shining example for all. Rock on.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Im in 200 also row K. getting stoked. some good prices still available on stubhub, especially Sunday. enjoy

    ReplyDelete
  6. A little off topic here. Just read the latest Rolling Stone article about Desert Trip and it mentioned a "New acoustic album by Neil" to be released in December. Is this old news?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks to the kindness of a good friend, I'll be sitting in the 100 section on Saturday night. Looking forward to seeing all the great acts, especially Willie, Metallica, and of course Neil and the boys.

    REALLY psyched to see Roger Waters, though. I've never seen him live before, so this will be a special treat. I know he won't do it, but I'll be secretly praying that he plays a Syd song. Wishful thinking I know, but one can dream, right?

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Prediction: acoustic band version of Like An Inca.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sure wish this was on pay per view.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good review up on Jambase!

    http://www.jambase.com/article/metallica-my-morning-jacket-norah-jones-perform-with-neil-young-at-bridge-school-benefit

    ReplyDelete
  12. Had a great time last night at the show, one of the better all around Bridge shows I've seen.

    Got there right as Neil was doing "Helpless" with My Morning Jacket, so that was good timing. Willie Nelson was great as always, but Norah Jones REALLY impressed me. She has a unique stage presence and a fine band backing her up. One of the most special moments of the night was Neil coming on and playing "Don't Be Denied" I've never seen that song live, and the combination of two cool artists telling it's tale had me in tears. Great moment.

    Dave Matthews really isn't my thing, but his guitar player, Tim Reynolds, nearly stole the show from everyone else that played. An incredible player who really elevated Matthews's material.

    Roger Waters played a cool, unique set, backed by My Morning Jacket, GE Smith, and two lovely and awesome backup singers. One of the girls hit an opera note on "Bring The Boys Back Home" that got one of the biggest cheers of the night. Also cool to see Waters play a song off of his fine solo album "Amused To Death", plus a John Prine cover, and then the stunning ending of Dylan's "Forever Young" with Neil......maybe the most EPIC moment of the evening.

    Metallica was good fun, playing a sloppy but spirited set of cool covers, newer stuff, and a couple of golden chestnuts from their early era. Then Neil comes out and played a "Mr Soul" at such a breakneck speed, I thought the train could go off the tracks at any moment, but they held on. Neil looked happier than a pig in shit playing with them, seriously.

    And of course, Neil and POTR came out and did their thing. As far as the new stuff went, I really enjoyed "Peace Trail" and "Show Me". The terrorist song didn't do much for me, but I think Neil was having problems with his special harmonica that he uses for that tune. The band made up for it with a blistering "Piece Of Crap", then Willie came out, then we got the huge "RITFW" finale.


    Great show all around, but one kind of funny note to end my rambling. I noticed that Neil was always coming from stage left and Pegi was always coming from stage right. Very noticeable, but they did have two nice hugs at the end, which was cool to see.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nora, Neil, and Power of the Real have a very earthy & natural sound. Nora & Neil's harmonies are as good if not better than when Pegi, Linda, Nicolette & Emmylou backed him up.

    "Don't be Denied" by Neil, Nora, & POTR is a gamechanger.

    ReplyDelete
  14. absolutely epic show. one of my all time favorite concerts of all time. i admit I dont get Jim James. hes trying to show me something but I cant see it. his songs are like these fist pumping anthems. Dave & Tim and Nils were highlights for me. Neil and Willie , fantastic. Waters seemed to need 14 ppl in his band but he was ok and cheereful. we had a great group in 200 K. good seats. nearly always on lawn so sort of a special treat. Bravo BSB! just grand time all around.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Young wrote and recorded Peace Trail not long after the release of Earth, a massive record featuring songs recorded during his 2015 tour with Promise of the Real and mixed with wildlife sounds. The more conventional Peace Trail was recorded at Rick Rubin's Shangri-la Studios and is reportedly a primarily acoustic effort, with Jim Keltner on drums and Paul Bushnell on bass. Young co-produced the LP with John Hanlon, who also mixed the record.

    Peace Trail LP to be released 2 December

    ReplyDelete
  16. The follow-up to 2015’s The Monsanto Years will launch on December 2 via Reprise Records – and it was written and recorded shortly after he released live album Earth earlier this year.

    Peace Trail was recorded at Rick Rubin’s Shangi-la Studios, with Rolling Stone reporting that it’ll feature mostly acoustic tracks. It’ll also include bassist Paul Bushnell and drummer Jim Keltner. Young co-produced the album with John Hanlon.

    Earlier this month, Young played at California’s Desert Trip festival, which also featured The Who, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters and the Rolling Stones.

    Following his set with Promise Of The Real, Young appeared onstage with McCartney to play A Day In The Life. It segued into Give Peace A Chance, and Why Don't We Do It in the Road? – a song McCartney had never played live before. Young also took to the stage with Waters.

    ReplyDelete
  17. In reply to Mother nature on the run:

    I came here to say the same thing! Did Neil ever fit in another band like he did with Norah's? The groove was perfect for Neil. We rarely see Neil singing back vocal in a seamless way like he did with Norah. I would love to see them make an album together. It really looked like he was part of the band. Like Micah's shirt says:

    F*CK YOU ITS MAGIC!

    Simon Buck

    ReplyDelete
  18. Very nice Comment Richie, and I totally agree that Forever Young was the highlight of an incredible Bridge show with so many highlights. I flew out early Sat am with about 3 hrs sleep and was approaching the 24 hrs with no sleep point when they played that one, and then it was all good.

    ReplyDelete
  19. And how about Neil and Norah and Don't Be Denied, with such an unhurried back beat, so sweet!

    ReplyDelete
  20. @Mr H - You were @ Bridge concerts?! Excellent. We're looking for your full report. :)

    Please use multiple comments and we'll be sure to highlight as a TW CotM! promise.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi T, thanks for the nice words. Yes, I finally made it to a Bridge concert and it was everything I'd hoped for and more. Almost had to cancel due to illness, but (as noted) flew out Saturday morning. I will follow up soon as I get the thoughts from my mind to my fingers, and will also email you--is it still okay to say "email"? :) Thanks again and keep on keepin' on!

    ReplyDelete

*CLICK ON ABOVE LINK & SCROLL DOWN TO COMMENT BOX*
Please observe Comments Policy for Neil Young News. All commenting requires a registered ID using an OpenID or a Google Account to provide a validated signature.

Inappropriate comments can be flagged for review by e-mailing date/time stamp and post title to: thrasher@thrasherswheat.org

We will work to deal with such comments in a timely fashion. Failure to do so immediately, however, does not constitute endorsement.

Thank you for your participation, cooperation, and keep on rockin'!