Packed with champagne, freshly squeezed oj, plenty of 'Rustic Bakery' fare and Lila's brownies for the journey, we boarded the black SUV with the Maier troop and headed south of SF to the 22nd Annual Bridge School Benefit at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. The festival is organised by Neil Young as an acoustic fundraiser in support of the Hillsborough school for students with severe learning disabilities. The disabled kids were up on stage throughout the day and grooved along to the laid back vibes. It was a great day - the lineup included Neil Young (who appeared with all acts - very cool especially "Sugar Mountain"); Wilco (yawn); Cat Power (great music, but not a great entertainer); Death Cab for Cutie ("Follow You into the Dark" brought a tear to my eye - awesome!); Norah Jones (hmmm interesting new hairdo though); Josh Groban (operatic pop star); Smashing Pumpkins (super cool); and the highlight, Jack Johnson whose presence just shone from the stage and got everyone up and rocking - Jack, Sam, Blaze and his mate West all loved it, they knew the words to all the songs and they rocked out up on their seats to "Bobbly Toes" and "Banana Pancakes"! Being Jane's old stomping ground (she was the band manager for The Grateful Dead and certainly knows a lead from a bass guitar) she scored us some great seats and backstage passes for the kids to tear around checking out the celebs and their pinball machines! We stumbled home around 10pm kids mostly asleep in the back seat, bleary eyed but still smiling.
