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The pianist and electric guitarist have transcended new age boundaries to create majestic, rock tinged masterpieces that press the groove button as they enchant the listener's spirit. Their mid-'80s recordings, Natural States and Desert Vision, are widely regarded as benchmarks in the genre, and while the dynamic pair have never stopped working together on each other's solo projects, Bridge of Dreams shows what can happen when they each contribute equally. Lanz' gentle ivory graces and soaring symphonic textures nearly make contemporary classical music from grand and eloquent statements like the title track and its follow-up pieces "She Stands on the Mountain, Still" and "Veil of Tears." Yet Speer's biting electric riffs, which underpin them, turn the Lanz sparks into unquenchable wildfires. Speer wrote the bouncy, guitar driven "Walking with Alfredo" and turbocharged "Out of the Shadows" as great counterpoints to Lanz's whimsical motifs. A cover of the Beatles' "A Day in the Life" is given the royal treatment, a many-years-ahead preview of Lanz' all-cover album of the late '90s, Songs From an English Garden. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
MP3.com Live: Stars take it to the Bridge
Neil Young gathers a who's who of artists for a marathon concert of fantastic acoustic music to benefit the school he helped found.
It's safe to say that the glee of "Fun, Fun, Fun" and the despair of "Hurt" have never before shared a stage.
Neil Young
But that's exactly what happened at the 20th annual Bridge School benefit this weekend near San Francisco, as Neil Young gathered an all-star cast of friends as disparate as Brian Wilson and Trent Reznor for a marathon day of splendid acoustic music.
In addition to a Beach Boys hit-laden set from Wilson and Reznor's tension-filled performance with a classical jazz ensemble, the night included delightful folk rock sets from Devendra Banhart and Gillian Welch and a glowing performance from Death Cab for Cutie. Bridge School stalwarts Pearl Jam and Dave Matthews Band were both in the house, as were past guests the Foo Fighters, who put on the performance of the night.
Save for a handful of spectacular moments, which often came with Young jumping on stage to bring some extra fire to someone else's set, the music was rarely mind-blowing. But it was consistently good, lasting for more than nine hours, and an inspiring spirit and energy glowed from the stage from both the performers and the Bridge School students past and present that gathered at the back of the stage throughout the night. Young and his wife Pegi helped start the school in 1987 for people with severe speech and physical impairments, like their son Ben, and have been holding this two-day event every year since then.
Under bright blue skies and a fading sun, Young opened the show at the Shoreline Amphitheatre at around 4:30 p.m. with a brief set, starting with the song "Flags of Freedom" from his antiwar album Living With War that hit stores in April. He was joined by his wife Pegi for classics "Long May You Run" and "Comes a Time," and he told the crowd he was excited by the collection of performers.
"I feel like Conan O'Brien up here--'It's gonna be a great show tonight, lots of surprises,'" Young joked.
Here's a brief account of each performance:
Devendra Banhart
Flower child Devendra Banhart set the feel-good, retro tone of the day, covering David Crosby's "Traction in the Rain" and playing his own Woodstock-era songs like "Heard Somebody Say." Banhart was joined by folk veteran Bert Jansch, who performed two of his own songs, "Empty Pocket Blues" and "When I Get Home," the latter of which he recorded with his band Pentangle. Banhart dubbed his band "the Bridge" for the weekend and caused laughs when he said, "I was going to say that we're big fans of everybody playing today and everybody that's played here, but that's like saying that the sun is hot."
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
Joined by longtime collaborator David Rawlings on guitar, Gillian Welch played a brief set that showed off her angelic voice and her unique take on Americana music, including the charming "I Want to Sing That Rock 'n Roll." Rawlings' guitar licks perfectly complemented Welch's seemingly effortless songs, most notably on a version of "Revelator" that ended with a Rawlings solo, which brought the crowd to its feet. The pair then brought Young out for a cover of Young's "Country Girl," and the master didn't disappoint, using some scorching harmonica riffs to drive the song in a completely new direction.
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie
Seattle rockers Death Cab for Cutie continued the trend of CSN&Y covers--as well as the not-so-subtle antiwar vibe--with a rendition of Graham Nash's "Military Madness." Frontman Ben Gibbard gave the lyrics a fresh gleen: "Military Madness was killing the country / Solitary sadness creeps over me / And after the wars are over / And the body count is finally filed / I hope that the man discovers / What's driving the people wild." The band also played some sweet indie pop from their own catalog, including "Title and Registration," "Summer Skin," "Photobooth," and their breakout hit, "Soul Meets Body," one of the best pop songs of the past year.
Trent Reznor
Trent Reznor
The night's most intriguing--and not surprisingly its most tense--performance belonged to Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, who flipped the script by showing up with a string quartet of two cellos, a bass, and a violin. A bearded Reznor played piano and sang, with the dueling cellos adding a dark tinge to songs that never quite got the release they receive when given the full NIN treatment. It was a mesmerizing set in some ways, to see one of hard rock's icons singing softly at a grand piano and conveying the deep emotion of his songs without the throttling of guitars all around him. But it also felt more appropriate for a methadone clinic than a sunny day of acoustic music to benefit severely disabled kids. Led by violinist/arranger Martin St. Pierre, the ensemble peaked on "Hurt," the Reznor song famously covered by Johnny Cash before his death, but it was surreal to hear Reznor crooning lines like, "I will let you down / I will make you hurt" with the Bridge School students gathered behind him.
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
With two Bridge School shows under their belt and at the tail end of a lengthy acoustic tour, the Foo Fighters delivered the standout performance of the night. Buffeted by the exquisite Petra Haden, the daughter of jazz bassist Charlie Haden and an accomplished singer and violin player in her own right, Dave Grohl and the boys took the energy up a notch, sending a palpable surge throughout the 22,000-plus crowd. It helped that the band's catalog is full of the sort of catchy songs that build to a crescendo, leaving ample room for the kind of exhilarating live moments that Young has made a tradition of bringing to the annual Bridge shows. Foo Fighters played songs like "Everlong," "My Hero," and "Times Like These," while Hayden and Grohl sang an incredible rendition of the band's "Big Me," a song that showed off a surprising amount of melody and finesse.
Brian Wilson
Sitting on a stool as opposed to playing piano, the legendary Brian Wilson fronted a band that mimicked both the vocal harmonies of the Beach Boys and the band's craft musicianship. The set started with "Our Prayer," a gorgeous bit of wordless vocal harmony from the infamous Smile album that was released 37 years after it was conceived as the Beach Boys' follow-up to the iconic Pet Sounds album. The set also included some of the most famous songs ever written, including "Surfin USA," "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "I Get Around," "Help Me, Rhonda," and the aforementioned "Fun, Fun, Fun." Young came back out to play keyboards on "Good Vibrations," adding some lengthy instrumental sections to an otherwise vocals-dominated set.
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam has been almost as much of a constant at the Bridge School shows as Young himself, showing up nearly every year to rock with "Uncle Neil." The band played solid versions of their songs like "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town," "Man of the Hour," and "Better Man," but the expected collaboration with Young came on "Throw Your Hatred Down," a track from the Mirror Ball the band made with Young in 1995. Prior to a fantastic version of the song "Daughter," Vedder drew laughter when he sang a brief rendition of the traditional drinking song "I Used To Work in Chicago" with the lyrics: "A lady came in for some liquor / Liquor from the store / Liquor she wanted / Lick her I did / I don't work there any more." "I was trying to slip one by the kids there," Vedder joked. The band also covered Tom Waits' parenting song "Picture in a Frame" before closing with "Crazy Mary," during which the band's touring keyboardist Kenneth "Boom" Gaspar played a scorching solo.
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews has also been a longtime Bridge School performer, both solo and with his band. His voice hoarse due to a cold, Matthews leaned heavily on his band, letting violinist Boyd Tinsley and the band's horn section play extended jams on tracks like "Warehouse," "Ants Marching," and Young's "Cortez the Killer," during which Young joined the boys for a full-throttle guitar assault. Young wields a mean axe, even when it is an acoustic, and Matthews gallantly tried to hold his own during the jam. It was a decent set overall, setting the stage for Young's finale.
Neil Young and friends
Neil Young and friends.
Even a concert as star-studded as this one had a hard time sustaining momentum for more than a few hours, so by the time Young and his Prairie Wind bandmates started the night's final set, many fans had already headed home. It didn't help that Young picked some of his lighter fare to start the set, playing nice but not compelling versions of songs like "Fields of Opportunity," "After the Garden," and "Human Highway." Most of the night's entire roster of performers joined Young for the inevitable close-out "Rockin' in the Free World," and watching some of the biggest stars in music play backup singer was a treat. Although the energy had already fizzled, it wasn't enough to even remotely sour what had been a profoundly great day of music.
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