Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam Rock Bridge School Benefit
S. Stills, R. Furay and N. Young of Buffalo Springfield perform together during the Bridge School Benefit concert in Mountain View, Calif. Associated Press photo/Eric Risber.
The annual Bridge School Benefit has featured special acoustic sets by everybody from David Bowie and Paul McCartney to Metallica and
Phish. But for the 24th edition, on October 23rd and 24th, organizer Neil Young unveiled a stunning finale: the first set since 1968 by his old band Buffalo Springfield. “From my perspective, we just picked up where we left off many, many years ago,” says singer Richie Furay. “It was almost like going back in time.”
Over two chilly, wet days at the Shoreline Amphitheater near San Francisco, babyboomers and local dot-com kids gathered for a remarkable, eclectic lineup: Jackson Browne and David Lindley tackled Bruce Springsteen’s 1983 “Brothers Under the Bridge”; Kris Kristofferson broke out “Me and Bobby McGee”; Billy Idol revved up the crowd with a singalong on “Rebel Yell”; and Pearl Jam blasted through their eighth appearance at the benefit. At the end of their set, which included “Black” and “Better Man”, Young joined them on his new tune “Walk With Me.” “We played it for him backstage, and he said, ‘That’s basically it, but let me show you what you aren’t playing,’ ”says Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard. “We _____( I )_____ an interaction with him that __( II )__ a lesson in the sheer, raw love of rock.”
Rolling Stone
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