This was probably the best Bridge School I’ve been to. Maybe. How can I even think about writing that sentence when I’ve seen Bridge Schools with Pearl Jam? With Counting Crows? With Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young? Maybe it’s just the fresh-in-my-memory-aspect, but it was a great show.
Cat Power: Arrived during the set, didn’t really listen much. OK.
Death Cab for Cutie: Solid … but nothing incredible. I Will Follow You Into the Dark and Title and Registration got my attention.
Sarah McLachlin: Surprisingly good. Her songs seem self-indulgent with all the vocal gymnastics … but the City of Angels soundtrack song was pretty riveting. Go Sarah.
Wilco: Good. See my previous post about Wilco and large venues: more of the same feeling. Nicely (at least for me), Wilco didn’t play any of the long solo-stuff standard for their headlining gigs. As usual, listening to California Stars at Shoreline on the lawn is an experience that I wish everyone could enjoy. Hearing that song when Wilco opened for REM in ’03 is a moment I will never forget.
Norah Jones: Wow. So good. I love her voice. Why haven’t bought her new album yet? Also, she covered Wilco’s Jesus, Etc … which Wilco had performed earlier that night. Never seen that happen. fwiw: Wilco’s was better but props to Norah for a nice rendition that was all her own. In fact, every one of Norah’s covers were very distinct from the original. I’d buy an album of her covers. Will have to look out for that…
Neil Young: My favorite Neil Young set thus far among Bridgeschools. The song about how a song can’t change anything was topical … and the country/bluesy song was nice … and the classics were classics. I need to round out my Neil Young albums and learn.
I went into this Bridge School with low expectations since Death Cab and Wilco were the only ones I was interested in … but all the performers I wasn’t there to see there the ones I remember best.
p.s. I like the night timing of the Saturday show better than the afternoon Sunday show … but I am a bit bummed I missed this!