Members Of Grateful Dead, National, Walkmen Come Together For 'Bridge Session' Webcast

Sam Cohen, Thomas Bartlett, Aaron Dessner, Conrad Doucette, Bob Weir, Bryan Devendorf, Scott Devendorf, Walter Martin and Josh Kaufman perform during the Yahoo! Music Presents 'The Bridge Session.'

An assemblage of East Coast indie rockers flew to the Bay Area to collaborate with the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir for a one-time-only performance on Saturday night. Called the Bridge Session, the nine-person collective included three members of the National – Aaron Dessner, Bryan and Scott Devendorf – along with Walt Martin from the Walkmen, Sam Cohen and Josh Kaufman from the Yellowbirds, Conrad Doucette of Takka Takka, and National contributors Thomas "Doveman" Bartlett and Kyle Resnick. The performance took place in front of a live studio audience of just over 100 at Weir's TRI Studios in San Rafael, California, and was webcast live on Yahoo! Music.

"For us, the night definitely exceeded expectations," Scott Devendorf told Rolling Stone immediately following the show. "We were surprised that it was even going to happen in the first place, and then as we were rehearsing it became more and more real."

Devendorf says that he and his National bandmates were "big fans of the Grateful Dead for a long time" and recently got back into them. Working with Weir – and seeing his dedication to the music during several 10-hour rehearsal sessions – "kinda blew our minds ... It was definitely inspirational for us."
Saturday's two-set performance drew mostly from the Grateful Dead's vast catalog. Weir led the pack through what was no doubt familiar territory to him but strange waters to his sudden bandmates, as they ripped through jams such as "The Other One," "Brown Eyed Woman" and "Friend of the Devil."

But given the nine-person ensemble – and the musicians' somewhat disparate musical backgrounds – Weir was forced to rethink some of his approaches and, in some cases, alter the arrangements on tunes he's been performing for decades. Instead of morphing into "Slipknot," as was the Grateful Dead's custom, "Help on the Way" segued into a cover of Cass McCombs' "Love Thine Enemy." And in "Standing on the Moon," Weir even experimented with the melody, deviating from the way Jerry Garcia used to approach it when he sang it with the Dead.

"This next one, I had to park for 20 years," Weir told the audience while introducing the buried rarity, "My Brother Esau," explaining that it was a song the other guys specifically asked him to dust off for the show. "And I'm kinda glad they did," he said, "because it forced me to rework the bridge." No pun intended, of course.

The Bridge Session included two National tunes – "Daughters of the Soho Riots" and "Fake Empire." Weir handled vocals for the former, which he tinkered with in a way that referenced the original but which met him halfway towards his more characteristic vocal delivery. It proved a great match. The group also covered Bob Dylan's "Most of the Time."

For their encore, the entire ensemble ventured into the middle of the audience and huddled around a microphone, holding all acoustic instruments, for a singalong to "Ripple," "Uncle John's Band," and "Brokedown Palace" – all of which appear on the Dead's stripped-down 1970 albums, Workingman's Dead and Reckoning.

The Disco Biscuits' Marc Brownstein served as the night's emcee. As he told the audience at the start of the show, the idea behind the Bridge Session was to literally bridge the gap between genres, geographies and ideologies. Images of both the Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge – which reflected the musicians' two distinct home bases – served as a backdrop.

Between sets, Weir joined a roundtable political discussion moderated by Andy Bernstein of the voter registration group, HeadCount, which produced the event as a benefit for their organization. The discussion also featured independent presidential candidate Buddy Roemer, climate change activist Jessy Tolkan, No Labels cofounder Mark McKinnon and Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow. They debated topics such as money in politics, personal freedom and the upcoming presidential election. But, as Weir told Rolling Stone a few days before the show, his main goal for the night was to just "have fun." Mission accomplished.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Members Of Grateful Dead, National, Walkmen Come Together For 'Bridge Session' Webcast

Sam Cohen, Thomas Bartlett, Aaron Dessner, Conrad Doucette, Bob Weir, Bryan Devendorf, Scott Devendorf, Walter Martin and Josh Kaufman perform during the Yahoo! Music Presents 'The Bridge Session.'

An assemblage of East Coast indie rockers flew to the Bay Area to collaborate with the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir for a one-time-only performance on Saturday night. Called the Bridge Session, the nine-person collective included three members of the National – Aaron Dessner, Bryan and Scott Devendorf – along with Walt Martin from the Walkmen, Sam Cohen and Josh Kaufman from the Yellowbirds, Conrad Doucette of Takka Takka, and National contributors Thomas "Doveman" Bartlett and Kyle Resnick. The performance took place in front of a live studio audience of just over 100 at Weir's TRI Studios in San Rafael, California, and was webcast live on Yahoo! Music.

"For us, the night definitely exceeded expectations," Scott Devendorf told Rolling Stone immediately following the show. "We were surprised that it was even going to happen in the first place, and then as we were rehearsing it became more and more real."

Devendorf says that he and his National bandmates were "big fans of the Grateful Dead for a long time" and recently got back into them. Working with Weir – and seeing his dedication to the music during several 10-hour rehearsal sessions – "kinda blew our minds ... It was definitely inspirational for us."
Saturday's two-set performance drew mostly from the Grateful Dead's vast catalog. Weir led the pack through what was no doubt familiar territory to him but strange waters to his sudden bandmates, as they ripped through jams such as "The Other One," "Brown Eyed Woman" and "Friend of the Devil."

But given the nine-person ensemble – and the musicians' somewhat disparate musical backgrounds – Weir was forced to rethink some of his approaches and, in some cases, alter the arrangements on tunes he's been performing for decades. Instead of morphing into "Slipknot," as was the Grateful Dead's custom, "Help on the Way" segued into a cover of Cass McCombs' "Love Thine Enemy." And in "Standing on the Moon," Weir even experimented with the melody, deviating from the way Jerry Garcia used to approach it when he sang it with the Dead.

"This next one, I had to park for 20 years," Weir told the audience while introducing the buried rarity, "My Brother Esau," explaining that it was a song the other guys specifically asked him to dust off for the show. "And I'm kinda glad they did," he said, "because it forced me to rework the bridge." No pun intended, of course.

The Bridge Session included two National tunes – "Daughters of the Soho Riots" and "Fake Empire." Weir handled vocals for the former, which he tinkered with in a way that referenced the original but which met him halfway towards his more characteristic vocal delivery. It proved a great match. The group also covered Bob Dylan's "Most of the Time."

For their encore, the entire ensemble ventured into the middle of the audience and huddled around a microphone, holding all acoustic instruments, for a singalong to "Ripple," "Uncle John's Band," and "Brokedown Palace" – all of which appear on the Dead's stripped-down 1970 albums, Workingman's Dead and Reckoning.

The Disco Biscuits' Marc Brownstein served as the night's emcee. As he told the audience at the start of the show, the idea behind the Bridge Session was to literally bridge the gap between genres, geographies and ideologies. Images of both the Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge – which reflected the musicians' two distinct home bases – served as a backdrop.

Between sets, Weir joined a roundtable political discussion moderated by Andy Bernstein of the voter registration group, HeadCount, which produced the event as a benefit for their organization. The discussion also featured independent presidential candidate Buddy Roemer, climate change activist Jessy Tolkan, No Labels cofounder Mark McKinnon and Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow. They debated topics such as money in politics, personal freedom and the upcoming presidential election. But, as Weir told Rolling Stone a few days before the show, his main goal for the night was to just "have fun." Mission accomplished.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Bob Weir, the National Team Up for Politically-Minded Webcast

Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and the National join forces for live webcast.Fred Hayes/Getty Images/Roger Kisby

Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir has teamed up with members of the National – Aaron Dessner, Scott and Bryan Devendorf – for a collaborative night of music and voter education. On Saturday, the musicians will congregate at Weir's TRI Studios in San Rafael, California for the Bridge Session, a live webcast featuring two musical sets and a political discussion. The performances will include selections from both band's catalogs, as well as some politically-minded cover songs. 

"I'm really looking forward to this," Weir tells Rolling Stone of the program, which will stream for free at 9 p.m. ET on TRI's website and Yahoo! Music. "I was unfamiliar with these guys until this started coming together, and I've been listening to them and I've been learning a bunch of their stuff. You put a couple of disparate – relatively; we're not all that disparate – but you put a couple of disparate elements together and mix it up real good and see what you get. I'm smitten by some of the tunes that I’ve been wanting to do with them."

Weir says that he's been enjoying learning the National's songs so much, some of their selections could make it into his set when he embarks on a solo acoustic tour, following his current commitments with his band Furthur.

Additional members of the one-time-only band include Walt Martin of the Walkmen, Conrad Doucette of Takka Takka, the Yellowbirds' Sam Cohen and Josh Kaufman, and National contributors Thomas "Doveman" Bartlett and Kyle Resnick. Between sets, a panel of politicals figure and activists will engage in a debate about issues facing voters this election year. Panelists include independent presidential candidate Buddy Roemer, Mark McKinnon (former media advisor to George W. Bush, John McCain, Bono and Lance Armstrong), climate change activist Jessy Tolkan and Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow. The Disco Biscuits' Marc Brownstein will serve as MC.

The event is being produced by HeadCount, a non-partisan grassroots organization that has aligned itself with live music events for voter registration drives. Weir sits on its Board of Directors.

Check out this video for a preview of the Bridge Session.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Amazon MP3 Download Center

Read more »

Bob Weir, the National Team Up for Politically-Minded Webcast

Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and the National join forces for live webcast.Fred Hayes/Getty Images/Roger Kisby

Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir has teamed up with members of the National – Aaron Dessner, Scott and Bryan Devendorf – for a collaborative night of music and voter education. On Saturday, the musicians will congregate at Weir's TRI Studios in San Rafael, California for the Bridge Session, a live webcast featuring two musical sets and a political discussion. The performances will include selections from both band's catalogs, as well as some politically-minded cover songs. 

"I'm really looking forward to this," Weir tells Rolling Stone of the program, which will stream for free at 9 p.m. ET on TRI's website and Yahoo! Music. "I was unfamiliar with these guys until this started coming together, and I've been listening to them and I've been learning a bunch of their stuff. You put a couple of disparate – relatively; we're not all that disparate – but you put a couple of disparate elements together and mix it up real good and see what you get. I'm smitten by some of the tunes that I’ve been wanting to do with them."

Weir says that he's been enjoying learning the National's songs so much, some of their selections could make it into his set when he embarks on a solo acoustic tour, following his current commitments with his band Furthur.

Additional members of the one-time-only band include Walt Martin of the Walkmen, Conrad Doucette of Takka Takka, the Yellowbirds' Sam Cohen and Josh Kaufman, and National contributors Thomas "Doveman" Bartlett and Kyle Resnick. Between sets, a panel of politicals figure and activists will engage in a debate about issues facing voters this election year. Panelists include independent presidential candidate Buddy Roemer, Mark McKinnon (former media advisor to George W. Bush, John McCain, Bono and Lance Armstrong), climate change activist Jessy Tolkan and Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow. The Disco Biscuits' Marc Brownstein will serve as MC.

The event is being produced by HeadCount, a non-partisan grassroots organization that has aligned itself with live music events for voter registration drives. Weir sits on its Board of Directors.

Check out this video for a preview of the Bridge Session.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Amazon Music and MP3 Center

Read more »