MOUNTAIN VIEW Austin, Texas, country trio Dixie Chicks helped elevate the energy in an otherwise low-key opening night Saturday at the 29th annual Bridge School Benefit concert at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View.
The group spent much of the past decade on hiatus, with Saturday’s show marking their first appearance on American soil not for a TV audience since 2011 and their first Bay Area stop since 2006. (At right: Neil Young starts the weekend with "Comes a Time.")
Any rust was hard to find Saturday as the group blasted through hits such as “Goodbye Earl” and “Cowboy Take Me Away” as well as unveiling a new, surprising cover of Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games.”
It was the Texas ladies who finally got the Shoreline rocking. A rousing, banjo-flecked “Sin Wagon” earned a standing ovation, kicking up the evening’s intensity.
The group closed with the defiant “Not Ready to Make Nice.” Despite its message being nearly a decade old, singer Natalie Maines' assertion that she's still "mad as hell" feels no less genuine.
Ben Harper, too, worked to lift the audience. He passionately delivered “Call it What it Is” and his band provided energy to make a cover of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s “Ohio” a quality closer. His highlight, however, was a piano-based reading of “I Shall Not Walk Alone.”
Nashville-based rock/country singer Sheryl Crow relied on guest appearances to pepper her six-song set, inviting Dixie Chicks, St. Vincent and Gary Clark Jr. to join her. Miscommunication muddled “Strong Enough,” as Maines, Emily Robison and Martie Maguire seemed unclear when to enter the song. St. Vincent fared better on obscure Crow gem “Riverwide,” using her ax to compliment the melancholy mood.
The mood for much of the night's first half was heavy. Some of that owes to the event’s traditional all-acoustic setting. It was a setup that sank St. Vincent, who struggled to find a foothold without the mighty weight of amplification.
Ryan Adams was quiet, but also captivating, drawing on his early, intimate work. Reaching all the way back to his time in Whiskeytown, — “I know that none of you clapping ever saw that band live,” Adams joked — the multi-talented singer unearthed “Jacksonville Skyline.”
At another juncture, Adams improvised a humorous song about a shirtless man in the crowd.
The low-key mood worked in favor of Gary Clark Jr. during a mystical sunset appearance, casting a spell with the likes of “When My Train Pulls In” and “Catfish Blues” as night fell over the Shoreline.
Fans hungered for a pick-me-up after Adams, St. Vincent and Clark played consecutively. They followed Spoon, which packed seven songs into its 20-minute set. It closed with a strong run of “The Underdog,” “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” and a surprising, horn-filled cover of Van Morrison’s “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile).”
Nils Lofgren, E Street Band member and former member of Crazy Horse, turned in a three-song set, including his hit “Keith Don’t Go” and a rendition of “Believe” with Young joining him.
Neil Young opened and closed the night. He flew solo to start, opting for old standbys “Comes a Time” and “Sugar Mountain.” His day-ending set with Promise of he Real concluded near 1 a.m., highlighted by a “Southern Man” on which he took the reins as the band circled around him for his solo.
The second and final day of this year's event is today at Shoreline Amphitheater. All performers except Lofgren return. For more information, visit BridgeSchool.org/concert.
Setlists
See the following post for a complete list of the first day's setlists.
Vines
Neil Young and Promise of the Real play “Only Love Can Break Your Heart”
Dixie Chicks play “Not Ready to Make Nice”
St. Vincent plays a guitar solo on Sheryl Crow’s “Riverwide”
Ben Harper plays “I Shall Not Walk Alone”
Ryan Adams plays “Oh My Sweet Carolina”
St. Vincent plays “Digital Witness” to open her set
Spoon covers Van Morrison’s “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)”
Edited 10/26/15 12:25 p.m.: Corrected link to "Not Ready to Make Nice" Vine