Sonic Youth - Bridge School Benefit 1991 (live)

The infamous acoustic performance which ended as a disaster with the band getting booed off stage and Kim Gordon smashing her guitar.
1. Dirty Boots
2. Mote
3. Cinderella's Big Score
4. Personality Crisis (New York Dolls cover)

[@armedforces]

Was there on some of the cleanest strongest acid I've ever had, after watching the cheesiness of the audience in their response to Tracy Chapman's "Amazing Grace" cover, this was exactly the palate cleanser myself and my best friend were waiting for. Everything was perfect, totally connected to SY and their reaction to the morons in the stadium. "Personality Crisis" was on point and exactly what that audience needed and we felt every loving SY moment.

[@ethermod307]

A bunch of hippies booing a band who couldn't hear themselves playing on stage. Most people cheer up though, don't focus on the hooligans.

[@dummytree]

What stupid crowds don't realize is that most opening acts are there thanks to the main artists who actually like them/support them. Neil Young liked Sonic Youth and brought them on tour. Neil was never afraid to be controversial and not do what the audience expected of him (see "Journey Through The Past", "Time Fades Away", "Re-Ac-Tor" or his Geffen albums). His own audience would have booed him on several occasions because they didn't want him to change.

[@ralphdesmond]

ANd they weren't even an opening act. Bridge School Benefit is sort of a mini-festival format with 5-10 artists who co-headline and often sit in with each other. Neil and Elvis Costello together on Down By The River was one of the greatest things I've ever experience at a major concert.

[@dummytree]

You're right about this specific show. But Sonic Youth also did open on Neil's arena tour around that time too, and he chose them. To mixed receptions, apparently. But yeah, this was by far the worst one and they weren't even opening.

[@crypttonite]

Neil Young is not controversial. He is a towering phony. Canadian Order. He’s an insider from go.

[@AllanOstermann]

I was at the Bridge show. So was Don Henley and Willie Nelson, and, Neil, of course. I saw Sonic Youth get booed (they usually use non acoustic feedback). That year in the Bay Area I saw the same Yuppies booing the Sugarcubes, when they opened for U2 at A's Stadium (Oakland Stadium). They didn't boo the second opening band that night. Too frightened to. You see, Public Enemy was in the house, reminding them that that baseball field they're drinking wine on and eating brie on, on a blanket they bought at Pier 1 for the show..is locates on THE City of OAKLAND..a long way from BART train stops. Worse place to park at night than the Tenderloin or The Fillmore. So they got schooled leaving. Their blankets stood out, as did the wine bottle chillers.

[@crypttonite]

typically bullshit agitprop comment about race & class. Do you think Neil didn’t thank this very audience for attending & probably contributing to brisge?

[@crypttonite]

“yuppies”might be snobby dipshits, liking being a fan of sonic youth does not make you necessarily a better human being.Yuppies are not the RULING CLASS. Mr Neil Young is tho. He’s probably Nobility, the Bluest Blood, only they are crowned by the CANADIAN ORDER. None of these people are regular folks. Aiming your disgust at yuppies suits the rulers just fine, it means you are not throwing them out on their asses.

[@sharappa]

I WAS There. Lawn "seats". Me and Tony (who was a bigger fan) Loving it, while 98% of the crowd behind us Hated the Band And US for liking it.

[@AllanOstermann]

Remember Willie and Don Henley? I was there at the pre- Google outdoor arena in Mountainview, near Palo Alto. You could Bungee jump in the parking lot, too. Lee Renaldo, the bassist, came out at the end, holding his baby. A tradition for him. And they STILLKEPT BOOING LOUDLY.

[@Humanclock]

Thanks, I've had this on tape forever and was longing to hear the version of Personality Crisis from this show...but didn't want to spend 20 minutes digging up the tape and hooking up the cassette player.

[@abstractwater]

i actually liked the Personality Crisis cover. It's brilliant, punk rock to the core.

[@milkeydee5042]

abstractwater Me to I love Kim’s singing voice!!

[@sharappa]

I was THERE! Tony & I were practically ALONE, as fans. Most of the crowd HATED the band. Personality Crisis was REAL.

[@crypttonite]

sy is cheesy when the cover nyd or crime

[@morghan_with_an_h]

came here from Party Legends... Kim is a Goddess!

[@ralphdesmond]

Just found this at setlist.fm: "Note: Bridge Benefit Concert held by Neil Young. The band struggled through every song and after Personality Crisis Kim screamed "FUCK!" and smashed her bass. The band was subsequently booed off stage. Sonic Youth claim that Neil Young's roadies sabotaged their gear due to bad comments the band made about them in interviews from earlier in the year."

[@morghan_with_an_h]

she just told this story on party legends tonight, she didn't mention anything about the roadies and that they couldn't hear themselves in the monitors

[@SD_Marc]

I was at that show, and was a big Sonic Youth fan, but man, they did not pull off the acoustic thing, and it really turned sour. I felt shitty when people started booing. That weekend was also a Dead show for Halloween in Oakland, and the day after the Bridge show was the Bill Graham Memorial show in Golden Gate Park. I went to all of them, and I was only visiting. This recording is waaaayyy better than it felt that night. People were NOT into it, but it was my first time seeing them, so I was excited.

[@ralphdesmond]

me too. Neil played WITH the Dead at the Bill Graham memorial, which was an awesome concept even if it didn't sound that great. Did forever young after neil had just done it twice the night before ;) It was excellent that the show was free in Golden Gate Park, SO many people were there.

[@crypttonite]

Steve Shelley acknowledges they blew it, but that their return to bridge school years later was magical.

[@andrewmorris2641]

Bad day for Kim. I actually liked the way the bit for Cinderella's Big Score was sounding but it obviously pissed Kim off in a way she wasn't going to recover from, thanks to the crowd. Thurston tried to keep it cool, but that would have sucked royally to be on stage at that moment. Glad I got a chance to hear it though.

[@crypttonite]

they are CHEERING AFTER CINDERELLA’s

[@ralphdesmond]

I was there. I liked SY, but as you can hear, it wasn't their night. If I remember correctly they stopped and started mid song a few times, swapped instruments and complained that they had never played acoustic before and never rehearsed acoustic. They were already discouraged with their own performance and not having a good time before the booing started.

[@SD_Marc]

Yeah, that's how I remember it. I loved them, and it was hard hearing them booed. The guitar smash sealed the deal though. Harsh.

[@sawdustanddiamonds99]

8:06 on the right "i dont,,, like them" lmao

[@Ziraffe2]

Is this clients from the school takin' the stage. . If so, GREAT. . . !

[@alexwalton593]

rock and roll

[@crypttonite]

Kim Gordon, how many times did she repeat 91 is the year punk broke. Someone thought of a new thing to say OVER & OVER AND OVER. They had just done the Year Punk Broke vid 10day tour.

[@MilanVoorhees]

did they get booed because this was an acoustic concert or was it something else

[@Everclearfan86]

PUNK ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@israel1166]

Kim rocks

[@crypttonite]

they are getting booed for taking forever to start the last tune & sounding like they don’t know what they are doing. Before the last song it’s all cheers.

[@alexwalton593]

version of mote rocks

[@crypttonite]

sonic youth covers BLOW. In the year punk broke, Thurston shit talks motley crue’s candy ass cover of anarchy in the uk. Sonic Youth’s covers of CRIME & New York Dolls are both all cheese whiz to the max.

[@memphisgarageband]

I looked this up because I was at this show. SY was a disaster. The rest of the show was amazing. Don Henley (memorable performance of The River by Joni Mitchell), John Lee Hooker, Tracy Chapman, Nils Lofgren and of course Neil.

[@ralphdesmond]

YUP. I was there too. I felt bad for SY because of what happened and how it happened, but I was also ready for the next act to come on. Great Night !

[@erikdickey5193]

This fucker said Don Henley smfh that man is trash

[@ricardoromagosa138]

WOW, me and my brother were there that night, my first big concert in the Bay Area. Amazing that someone actually recorded it. We booed, Neil Young came out and saved the show and was a true professional that made Sonic Youth look like amateurs.

[@drayewilson2]

Your were an asshole then.. why would you not be respectful to a band that was asked to perform?? Sonic Youth was a great band, they were unique.. and this is a great performance because it offered something different. Neil has stood by the decision to ask them. Neil knows better than you!

[@NOWtheband]

Booing is not cool. :-)

[@VENUSWU]

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! (Just thought I'd join in).