La raison d'être ici [The reason for being here ](or Light up the Blues Autism benefit 2015)

 

Hollywood & Vine

OMG. Where do I start?  I return to the hotel from the event that is 2 blocks away at 11:30 pm on Saturday.  I start typing, listing all the highlights at the beginning.

Ts Ts Ts ...

The Pantages Theatre

Sunday morning at 7am I have calmed down and intend to tell the story from the beginning, not naming names until the chronological order requires it ;-)



What's happening

OMG! What a concert !  Being held at The Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, an upscale version of Vancouver's The Orpheum, certainly does not hurt.



maybe 20 rows in front of me

 

The first 'Is-that-really-happening? moment arrives when the MC steps through a curtain. Jack Black, and yes, he can be funnyish.

Stephen Stills, formerly of Buffalo Springfield, and Crosby, Stills, Nash (& sometimes Young) has aged.  His voice sounds a bit off at the beginning but his song "I have to learn to live without you" still brings tears to my eyes.

 

Christina Applegate as an announcer

some young jazz pianist

dito

Someone from White Buffalo (excuse my ignance)

 

Another surprise in the ~20 minute intermission:  Unlike Vancouver, where they WILL NOT let you back in if you leave the venue for whatever reason (like having a cigarette), here they just tell everyone to make sure that they have their ticket. Civilized !  I make use of the come-back-in privilege and have two smokes and take some pictures.

After the intermission, there is some auction going on.  A Fender Stratocaster signed by everyone playing this evening. 

The guy in the middle will win the auction in the end for $25,000.  Does he look familiar?

How about now?

If you don't recognize him yet, you will later in this post.

The woman with the beautiful voice on the right apparently has autism and was  non-verbal until the age of 13

Mr. Guitar-auction-winner then appears through the side curtains and announces Neil Young with the words "Without him many of us would have had better high school grades but our lives would have been so much emptier". Thank you, Mr. Pitt, I concur.

Before Neil Young enters the stage, the Indian Head is carried in.  This thing is Well-Travelled !

 

After they finished a particularly Friggin Fabulous piece, Stills says something about age and Young says "50 is the new 20".  About to hit that hurdle this year myself, I'm glad hear that ;-)

Younger days

They also play 'For what it's worth' and 'Mr. Soul'.

 

The show ends with "Keep on rocking in the free world"

 

Oh, by the  way, if you haven't figured it out yet, that's IRONY !