You missed it. I attended it last night with my wife and litle Steven at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA.

http://www.thrasherswheat.org/ritfw/bridge2004.htm

For those who don't know, this is an annual benefit concert put on by Neil Young to benefit the Bridge School. He invites bands and musicians from widely varied backgrounds to play. The catch is it has to be acoustic (i.e. no electric guitars or distortion).

This year's band list was:

Tegan & Sara
Eddie Vedder
Los Lonely Boys
Sonic Youth
Ben Harper
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Tony Bennett
Pegi and Neil Young
Paul McCartney

We arrived just as Tegan and Sara were getting off the stage.

Eddie Vedder was awesome, as expected.

Los Lonely Boys were disappointing. It's not like they aren't a solid band with great skills. It's just that their songs are pretty trite.

Sonic Youth were able to make some great noise with their acoustic guitars. Lotsa dissonant noise. I enjoyed it, but I don't think I'll be buying their CD.

Ben Harper was great, but I'm biased. I love that guy.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers set was the best of the night so far. They did a cover of Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) that kicked butt. They closed out ther set with a very fast version of the Robert Johnson song "Hot Tamales." Great stuff!

Tony Bennet was the biggest surprise of the evening. He's a great entertainer and he really connected with the crowd. We were on our feet the whole time. I danced with Steven.

Pegi and Neil Young did some great songs. Neil is a love him or hate him songwriter. I'm lucky to belong to the former group. His set was awesome.

Finally, e come to Paul McCartney. I wasn't sure what to expect, but he ended up wowing me. From the first chord the opening song "Baby You Can Drive My Car" to the last words of the super extended sing-along rendition of "Hey Jude", I was riveted. You know how annoyingly long the "Naaaaa na na NA NA NA NAAAAAA" ending of Hey Jude is when you listen to it on the radio or a CD? Well, it's definitely a whole different story when you're singing along with thousands of other Beatle fans.

Oh, and McCartney had the best line of the evening, which brought the crowd to its feet: "Let it be can mean a lot of things. This year, let it be Kerry!" Heh. Sorry for the politics.

Pretty damn !

In reply to:

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You know how annoyingly long the "Naaaaa na na NA NA NA NAAAAAA" ending of Hey Jude is when you listen to it on the radio or a CD? Well, it's definitely a whole different story when you're singing along with thousands of other Beatle fans.

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Peter, as a long time performer, and having attended many concerts, I can tell you there are few things in life as magical as thousands of voices raised in unison, particularly if the song happens to be one you love. It's definitely a goosebump experience, and one that absolutely THRILLS most performers. Paul probably enjoyed it even more than you.

you thought the los lonely boys were trite??

those guys are from my hometown, and i have been watching them for about 3-4 years now. maybe it was because it was an acoustical set, but henry and jojo(guitar and bass) are two of the finest musicians i have ever heard. and as far as their lyrics being trite, i dont agree.. they sing of love, success, fame, and everything inbetween. their mix of rock/blues/ and tejano is a new, pure sound that has no match in the music scene today.

it is unfortunate that you might have not seen their best performance. but i assure you, the los lonely boys are far from "trite".

just my opinion, you are entitled to yours too..

bigjohn

I don't mean to knock your musical taste. There's something to be said about following a band from their "infancy," escpecially if they're locals. (How else can you explain why KFOG plays Train songs so often???)

When I said trite lyrics, I was referring to their "Senorita" song.:

I've got to say there's something on my mind
About the way you've been for a long long time
You've got your mind set up on what your going to do
Let me tell you baby Momma didn't raise no fool
You're my little senorita. Tu eres la mas bonita
You got it going on hey hey hey
Momma warned me about a girl like you
Said a girl like that is gonna break your heart in two
Your sexy legs and hair and nasty looking walk
Stop right there Momma you know that's what I want
You're my little senorita. Tu eres la mas bonita
You got it going on hey hey hey

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I was referring to their "Senorita" song

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i can dig it.. certainly not their best song on the album. i thought they could have put a much better song as the album opener. but, their overall guitar work on the album, is really second to none.

and yes, i guess you could say i am a little bias. i been diggin on these guys for a while now. i seen them play some clubs here local to 30-40 people. now, they are playing stadiums, and 100,000 at bonnaroo.. thats just cool.

if you get a chance to see their FULL live set, dont miss it.. the experince just might change your perception of them.

bigjohn