Bridge School Benefit Concert 2003

"That kind of caring and family connection helped make the 17th annual Bridge benefit the kinder, gentler rock concert and, inevitably, the feel-good show of the year. From young groups such as Dashboard Confessional, Wilco, Incubus and Counting Crows acting humble and deferential, grateful simply to have been included, to old Bridge concert hands Pearl Jam, Indigo Girls, Willie Nelson and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, every single half-hour performance was sculpted for the setting and the purpose.

Neil Young established the tone from the start Saturday when he walked onstage for his three-song solo opener at the beginning of the concert and gave his wife a kiss after she introduced him.

Pearl Jam went right to the heart of it, starting by Eddie Vedder and the band's two guitarists, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready, unleashing a snarling, enunciated version of Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War.' Vedder tacked a quote from Young's 'Hey Hey My My' on the end of Pearl Jam's own 'Daughter,' by which time the rest of the band joined them. The group played a new song ('Man of the Hour'), covered the Ramones' little-known 'I Believe in Miracles' and Johnny Cash's '25 Minutes to Go,' and then turned and performed the band's flukey 1999 hit to the Bridge honor student. In a short span of songs, the band made a powerful, sweeping statement and, with Vedder getting personal with the kids, made it all real. "

"Willie Nelson's penultimate sets proved a highlight of both days, with the veteran artist performing with accompaniment from harmonica player Mickey Rafael. The artist mixed such tracks as 'Funny How Time Slips Away,' 'Nightlife,' and 'Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground' with favorites like 'Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys,' 'Crazy' and 'On the Road Again' in sets that pleased young and old alike."

"Pearl Jam next performed a stirring version of 'Daughter,' during which Vedder deftly interjected lyrics from Young's 'My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue).' The band then unveiled a melancholic new ballad, 'Man of the Hour,' which Vedder introduced as 'a father and son story thing,' before delivering inspired versions of the Ramones' 'I Believe in Miracles,' Johnny Cash's defiant '25 Minutes to Go' and J. Frank Wilson's 'Last Kiss.'

Vedder, more than any other artist Saturday, interacted with the Bridge School students, who were seated on stage directly behind the performers. He dedicated 'Last Kiss' to a female Bridge alum, Maricor, whom he proudly noted was now in her third year at UC Berkeley.

Calling her 'my girlfriend,' Vedder told the audience that 'Last Kiss' was her favorite song. The video cameras, which projected the concert onto several screens throughout the venue, zoomed from Vedder to Maricor, who was seated in a wheelchair. Her radiant smile was well worth the price of admission. "

"Dashboard Confessional took the stage next, strumming and drumming through angsty tunes such as 'Screaming Infidelities.' Singer Chris Carrabba started the upbeat love ode 'Hands Down' with a whisper while drummer Mike Marsh chattered on the cymbals.

Wilco eased the crowd into a country vibe. Frontman Jeff Tweedy introduced a new song, 'Company in My Back,' which opened with the guitars picking a ringing melody over a laid-back groove. The band stomped through Woody Guthrie's 'Christ for President,' with Tweedy calling for 'the Carpenter' to replace 'the money-changers' in the White House.

'Every year we waste enough/ To feed the ones who starve/ We build our civilization up/ And we shoot it down with wars/ But with the Carpenter on the seat/ Way up in the capitol town/ The U.S.A. be on the way/ Prosperity bound.'

With black dreadlocks piled high atop his head, a meaty-looking Adam Duritz led Counting Crows through the brooding 'Rain King' and 'All My Love (Richard Manuel Is Dead),' before dedicating a dirge-slow take on the Grateful Dead's 'Friend of the Devil' to the Dead themselves."

"One of the most wonderful aspects of these benefit shows is the diversity of the artists involved. Bridge Benefit first-timers Dashboard Confessional and Wilco lead the way each night, starting the concerts off with percussive emo-rock and achingly deliberate alt-country respectively. The Indigo Girls and the legendary Willie Nelson provided simple, barebones acoustic songs, while on the other end of the spectrum Incubus incorporated a DJ into their set (acoustic turntables?) and Counting Crows had a veritable jam fest with 7 members on stage, including an accordion player.

Pearl Jam played the roll of showstopper on this, their 6th Bridge Benefit appearance. The Seattle rock legends brought a majority of the quietly appreciative crowd to their feet. During their two sets, Pearl Jam strummed out classics like “Daughter” and “Better Man”, cover songs like Johnny Cash’s ? Minutes to Go”, as well as a new song, “Man of the Hour”, which will appear in an upcoming Tim Burton film. "

In a world full of war and hate, greed and deceit, it is a joy to witness people helping people. The Bridge Benefit concerts are a beautiful reminder of the good that humans can do. "

"CSNY were ON! Stephen Stills still has the chops and licks! They were magnificent and they knew. You could feel the electricity of a dimension that I haven't seen in years (if ever) of an all acoustic CSNY show. The harmonies were spot on and it felt like I was watching them in their youth! Helplessly Hoping, Harvest Moon, Teach Your Children, All Along The Leeshore, For What It's Worth(New Deeper Bluesy Voice-Stephen) and a couple of more of which I cannot remember right now dammit! I know I almost cried they were so good though! Thanks guys for a perfect end to a very emotional week. "

Neil Young Setlist Day #1, 10/25/03

solo: Sugar Mountain, Mother Earth, Comes A Time

with CSNY: Human Highway, The Lee Shore, Helplessly Hoping, Harvest Moon, Our House, Deja Vu, For What It's Worth,

All performers: Teach Your Children

Neil Young Setlist Day #2, 10/25/03

solo: Sugar Mountain, Mother Earth, Comes A Time

with Pearl Jam : The Long Road

with Willie Nelson: Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain, I Can't help It If I'm Still In Love With You, Jambalaya

with CSNY: Human Highway, The Lee Shore, Helplessly Hoping, Harvest Moon, Our House, Deja Vu, For What It's Worth, Long May You Run

All performers: Teach Your Children

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More info on the International Rust Fest '03.

photos by stawamus

Pearl Jam Setlist and Review

From The Sky I Scrape:

setlist 10/25/03: You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, Small Town, Better Man, Dick Cheney Improv, Down, Crazy Mary, Masters of War, Long Road (w/ Neil Young on Organ) "

setlist 10/26/03:Masters of War, Daughter/(Hey Hey, My My), Man of the Hour, I Believe in Miracles, Black, 25 Minutes to Go (Johnny Cash), Last Kiss

MP3's of Pearl Jam's Bridge set can be downloaded from The Jamily.

From tnamuddy on Pearl Jam Fanviews:

"As you can see from the set list they opened with the deeply poignant and emotion filled Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' which could have been written about our current leaders and Ed addressed this by changing 'You play with my world' to 'You play with OUR world' and also changed 'You hide in your mansions' to 'You hide in your WHITE mansion.' As protests took place in Washington D.C. and San Francisco on the same Saturday, Pearl Jam never misses a chance to be deeply, socially conscious. A great version of 'Daughter' was accompanied by the tag My My Hey Hey by Neil Young. Eddie voice and the band sounding as good and polished as ever. They then introduced a new original song 'Man of the Hour,' a heartfelt song about the power of fatherhood. This was followed by a beautiful acoustic version of the Ramones 'I Believe in Miracles.' (By the way, Eddie is the voice of transcendence...) 'Black' came next and Mike McCready was ridiculous. He may the best guitarist around right now...

After 'Black' PJ got down and dirty as they covered Johnny Cash's version of Shel Silverstein's '25 Minutes to Go.' A fast paced country blues version that had the entire crowd rocking, proving once again that Eddie and the rest of the boys from PJ can handle any genre of music like masters. Many fans that I talked to are hoping they add this version to their live set lists in the future. They finished in typical Pearl Jam Bridge School fashion by turning around and singing 'Last Kiss' directly to the children on stage, one girl specifically whose face lights up as that is her favorite song. In just 7 songs they pulled of the Pearl Jam magic. Amazing & emotional acoustic covers, fan and children connection, new original material and a live craftsmanship that is quite possibly unrivaled in the current music world.

How many bands can cover Bob Dylan, a little Neil Young, Johnny Cash and The Ramones in a setting like Bridge School and blow everyone in the audience away? "

More information on the musical collaborations of Pearl Jam and Neil Young over the years recording and touring.

photos by stawamus

Wilco Setlist

From VIA CHICAGO:

setlist 10/25/03: One By One, New Madrid, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, She's a Jar Company in My Back, I'm The Man Who Loves You, We've Been Had, Christ for President

setlist 10/26/03: Airline to Heaven, Sunken Treasure, War on War, Late Greats, Bob Dylan's Beard, When the Roses Bloom Again, California Stars, Be Not So Fearful

Bridge School Benefit - Concert Reviews

Reviews of Neil Young Concerts

A Neil Young Archives - Thrasher's Wheat