Funny how sometimes falling feels like flying

Even if it's just for a little while.

One of the memorable lyrics from a song played yesterday at the Bridge School benefit. I have not been to such an amazing concert in a long long time, if ever. Despite the fact that it rained 70% of the time, it was so worth it - a 7 hour show that felt like 2 - in a relatively small setting. You can see the lineup if you go to the link.

Memorable moments:
- Elton John and Leon Russel truly rocking the ampitheater. First off, just to have those two legends on one stage, and then for one song joined by Neil Young, blew my mind. And, like I said, they ROCKED. Elton and Leon have a new CD together, and we are certainly going to buy it, but it won't compare to the energy that exuded last night. Incredible.
- Pearl Jam playing one song in which Neil Young came out and jammed on guitar with the two other guitarists in the band - I'm not even sure Eddie Vedder was singing at that point - it didn't matter because the energy of those guitars amazingly played was just incredible. Eddie Vedder said after that that he should just stop right then and there because he had the shakes, and I understood.
- Pearl Jam had 4 stringed instruments - I think all violins. I think after he introduced them he picks up a guitar and said he was playing a classical piece and then played an AMAZING head banging all out screaming assaulting your senses song.
- The final song "Keep on Rockin' in the Free World" brought everyone out on stage who was left. Again, ENERGY. Eddie Vedder and Neil Young trading the main lyrics, and EVERYONE singing the chorus. One microphone had Eddie Vedder, Jeff Bridges, Kris Kristoferson, and Stephen Stills. And that was just one microphone.

OK those are the incredible memories. Everyone else was really really good, though I hate to say it but Ralph Stanley maybe should retire. He's a legend, but he should sit back a little. He's not horrible, but not great either.

Modest Mouse was a surprise to me. I would really like to see them in concert. Unfortunately as they were band #2 I still had earplugs in and it didn't sound as great as when I gave up trying to protect my ears. The last song of their set was really great - tight and interesting and powerful.

We were lucky as we were in a nice section where people didn't stand up all the time. And there were nice people around us. One had flown in from North Carolina just for the show. The others from Colorado. And it is so worth it. One guy did come late in the show and sat right in front of me in an empty seat. Which would have been fine except he was a stander and a big guy. I was having none of that. Poked him in the back and told him to sit. He mutters something to me when I told him to move over to the aisle like he's not allowed to do that, but tough crap. He did it a couple more times and kept poking him. In between sets he turns around and says he works for some magazine and taking polls on how people are enjoying the show. What a load of crap. Whatever - he finally walked away...thankfully.

All of this was to benefit a school that works with extremely disabled children, and has pioneered methods of teaching them.