The Bridge to Forever

Happy Halloween, boys and girls!

Halloween is T's favorite holiday so I'm sad he's not here to help me pass out candy to the little rugrats of Oldham County.

I've been hemming and hawing over my Bridge School Benefit post, and the sad truth is I don't even know what else to say! So I'll give you a quick recap and then you can scroll down and have a gander at my photos which probably speak way more eloquently about the experience than I am right now. You can see larger versions of these (and more) pics at my Flickr page.

Some highlights:

Regina Spektor's performance both days was phenomenal. I confess I'm not really into that sort of music but damn, she's a talented gal. As mentioned, she was my fave.

It was great to finally see Tegan and Sara live. I've been a fan of theirs for a little while now and I think I was most excited to see them perform. They seem like the nicest people, too.

Neil Young playing with Jerry Lee Lewis. The Killer is the last man standing now that Johnny Cash has passed away. Though he walks slowly and doesn't seem entirely mobile, his voice and piano skills are exactly the same. Bit scary, really. Makes one wonder if he made a pact with the devil or something.

Tom Waits with The Kronos Quartet was an MMJ fave. Closing Time is the only TW I'm really in love with so though it was neat to see him, it wasn't the transcendent experience for me that it seemed to be for them.

Another Neil moment - his solo version of "Sugar Mountain" that kicked off Saturday's show was sublime.

As for My Morning Jacket, what can I say that won't sound totally biased? I've seen them hundreds of times now so it takes something special to catch my attention these days. Luckily, they provide that often. Their performance embodied the spirit of what we were all feeling, I think. It's rare to be a part of something so unique. It was nice to see them interact with the kids and Tom even got to have his picture taken with one of them. Special thanks again to Trevor and Colin K for the most excellent dressing room signs. I'm keeping them safe until the band gets a studio of their own and we can hang them up once more.

Believe it or not, I never met Kirk Hammett!!! However, he did give me a smile when he was walking to the stage Sunday night. I figured that after walking in on him in our dressing room four times and apologizing like a goober, what could I really say? My whole speech about how he was the only person I wanted to meet would have sounded rather weird. Or, I guess that would have sounded strange no matter when I said it... I won't admit that I pulled a total stalker move by stealing his fork, though.

But, Barack Obama and Kirk Hammett... I'm on a roll now. I'll need to get a display case soon and everything. :)

Going to Neil & Pegi Young's house was something else and seeing KH was funny and slightly thrilling (even though I still can't name more than two Metallica songs). However, it was the kids that made it all worthwhile. Their sweet spirits made me forget how jaded I am about the music industry and for three days and nights we all got to experience something pure.

I hope MMJ gets the opportunity to play the Bridge School Benefit Concerts again someday so we can experience that magic again.

Trick or Treat,
Ms. P