My First Week Back, Pt. 1: The Rock

(Photo by Beana)

Within 2 days of getting back to SF my friend Beana landed in town for a weekend crammed with music and other assorted good times. It was one of the best 3 days of music I've seen in a while. We started with 2 of the 3 nights of Yo La Tengo at the Fillmore. Bean had never been to the Fillmore so it was a special treat for her and while I've been there many times, both to work and see shows, it's among my favorite venues in the world (and I've seen some venues), it's walkable from my house, and Yo La Tengo are among my favorite bands in the world (and I've seen some bands). So it was a special treat for me too. The first night was great but marred by REALLY inconsistent sound. The second night we were in a better sounding spot and the band played one of the best shows I've ever seen them do. If you aren't down with the Yo La, get with it. Their new album is amazing and has one of the best album titles of all time... I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass. Buy it. Apparently if you buy the vinyl you get a code for a free download. How sweet is that?


On Sunday we ventured south to Shoreline for my first Bridge School Benefit. This is a show put on every year (this was the 20th) by Neil & Pegi Young. It benefits the school that they started for their son Ben, who has severe physical disabilities caused by (I believe) Cerebral Palsey. The line-up is different every year with the only constant being Neil opening and closing the show (and sitting in with almost everyone). Everyone plays acoustic (mostly) and the back of the stage is packed with all the students and families of the Bridge School. The end result is a great day of music with a very special vibe to it. The weather was absolutely perfect as well. I love SF in October. The lineup this year went (in order):
Neil Young, Devendra Banhart, Gillian Welch, Death Cab For Cutie, Trent Reznor, Foo Fighters, Brian Wilson, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews and Neil Young. I'll run down the highlights for me...

Neil.

Gillian's whole set but particularly her version of Gram Parson's "Hickory Wind", by request for Pegi. Gillian is among my all-time favorites and I'll see her every chance I get.


Trent Reznor was easily the surprise bonus of the day. I'm not really a NIN fan but his set was amazing. It was him on piano and singing backed by a string quartet. It was some of the most harrowing music ever.

Dave Grohl doing Everlong. I'm not really a Foo's fan either but I have much respect for them, especially Dave. He's not known as the nicest man in rock for nothing. Here he did a beautiful acoustic version of one of their best songs.

Brian Wilson. His whole set was amazing, a mix of Pet Sounds classics and Beach Boys hits. The band he has is spot on with the vocal arrangements and it all sounded great. Brian was much more lucid than when I'd seen him at Roskilde a couple summers ago. Then he seemed unaware of where he was and it was almost embarrassing to watch. Here he was just a little awkward, which is the best you can hope for with him. Lucas thought he sucked, but he also thinks Anal Cunt are a great band. Sometimes we differ.

Pearl Jam is another band that I respect but have never been a huge fan of. Their set was solid front to back and had a few tunes (Masters of War, Betterman, Black) that gave me goosebumps. Black was possibly the best thing all day.

Dave Matthews was some of the most boring shit I've ever had to sit thru (sorry Allyson). Thankfully Neil came out for an extended version of "Down By The River" that redeemed the time slot.

Neil's closing set ended with an uber-jam version of "Rockin In The Free World" with about 50 people on stage. It was a perfect way to end.