There's something happening here
http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_16394068?nclick_check=1
By John Orr
10/21/2010
CHANCE OF A LIFETIME DEPT.: I was playing Scrabble online with a
friend of mine the other day, and he said he wasn't sure if he would
go to the Bridge School Benefit this weekend at Shoreline
Amphitheatre. He was worried about having to spend a day in the rain.
I was shocked! If we'd been playing traditional Scrabble -- sitting
at a table with a board between us -- I'm sure the letter tiles would
have gone flying as I bonked him with the board. (Unless I was ahead
on points or something, in which case I would have hit him with my
walking stick.)
Because Buffalo Springfield has reformed to play at the show!
Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay will be there as Buffalo
Springfield. That's amazing. The only surviving member of that great
band who won't be there, according to rumors, is Jim Messina, which
is too bad, but three out of four is fine!
My Scrabble-playing buddy is too young to really understand how
important a band Buffalo Springfield was to those of us old enough to
be sentient when it existed, 1966-68, even though he has worked as a
pop music critic and at least knows some of the history.
Jim Harrington's story talks about some of that, so I won't go on too
much about it.
I will say that most of the first songs I learned to play on guitar
were Buffalo Springfield tunes, including "Kind Woman," "Bluebird,"
"I Am a Child" and "For What It's Worth."
And of course, I followed the careers of these guys and learned other
songs they wrote over the years, such as "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,"
"Cowgirl in the Sand" and many others.
In the late '60s and the early '70s, Stills and Young and their
friends were a huge part of the anti-war and free speech and
anti-segregation movements.
They were the good guys who took a stand and encouraged the rest of
us to do so.
So, it's a big deal that Buffalo Springfield has reformed for this
show, and I certainly wouldn't let a little rain -- or even a lot of
rain -- stop me from going to see them.
If I could afford the tickets, that is, which I can't. So, I won't be
going, either.
Not that the tickets are overpriced, they aren't. I'm not sure which
seats are still available, but a quick look showed general admission
for just short of $50, and better seats for around $89.
For that, you get not only Buffalo Springfield but, on Saturday,
Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello with Emmylou Harris (just added), Kris
Kristofferson, Lucinda Williams, Jackson Browne and David Lindley,
Billy Idol, Modest Mouse and Grizzly Bear; and on Sunday, Buffalo
Springfield and Pearl Jam again, and T-Bone Burnett's Speaking Clock
Revue featuring Elton John & Leon Russell, Elvis Costello, Ralph
Stanley, Neko Case and Jeff Bridges, Kris Kristofferson, Modest Mouse
and Grizzly Bear.
I love the fact that Jeff Bridges, who is one of my favorite actors
of all time, is going to make music at the Bridge show. He was
excellent in the movie "Crazy Heart."
And, of course, money from this show goes to benefit the Bridge
School, which is a fine operation founded by Young's wife Pegi.
It's a wonderful event. You should go.
By the way, Merle Haggard, who was going to perform on both days with
Kristofferson, has dropped out "due to a current battle with high
blood pressure," said the note from LiveNation.
Speaking of LiveNation, go to www.livenation.com to order tickets.
--
E-mail John Orr at j...@dailynewsgroup.com.
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