The show had begun with Young singing “Sugar Mountain” and “Comes a Time.” Super abbreviated sets by Grizzly Bear and Modest Mouse followed, and then Jackson Browne and David Lindley took the stage. Their set featured “For Everyman,” “These Days” and a beautiful cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Brothers Under the Bridge.”
Lucinda Williams came out next, accompanied only by her guitarist, Doug Pettibone. Emmylou Harris surprised the crowd when she came out to accompany Williams on “Greenville,” as Harris did on the 1998 original.
Kris Kristofferson was scheduled to perform with Merle Haggard, but Haggard has cancelled his tour dates and other shows for health reasons.
Perhaps inspired by Young’s return to Buffalo Springfield, Bridge School vet Billy Idol devoted five tracks from his six-song set to the music of his Seventies punk band Generation X. While few in the crowd seemed to know any of these songs aside from “Dancing With Myself,” Idol and his longtime guitarist Steve Stevens played with such intensity that the crowd stayed on their feet for most of the set, with the finale, “Rebel Yell,” eliciting a huge response.
After Pearl Jam and Buffalo Springfield played, most of the evening’s performers came back out for a sloppy but fun “Rockin’ in the Free World.” Young and Vedder traded off vocals, while Stills and Jackson Browne helped out on guitar. Richie Furay clapped along, grinning hugely, clearly overjoyed to be back on a stage with his band mates after so many decades. If the Buffalo Springfield story ends after the second night of the Bridge School Benefit, it will be the perfect final chapter.
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