1. Tenacious D preceded Ryan.  Jack Johnson followed.  See http://www.hyperrust.org/Bridge/Bridge16.html for other set lists.
2. Ryan Adams (vocals/guitar/piano/harmonica); Ruth Gottlieb (violin/vocals); Sarah Wilson (cello/piano).
3. * Thom Yorke, Ryan Adams, Jack Johnson, James Taylor, and Tenacious D's Kyle Gass joined Neil Young on stage to sing the show finale.

Neil Young's annual all-acoustic soiree, which benefits children with severe speech and physical impairments, presented a moral dilemma for some of the more colorful lyricists 
in attendance on the opening night of the two-night affair. With many of the Bridge School children watching with their parents from the stage itself, watching one's mouth became a theme of the evening.

Foo Fighter Dave Grohl opted to merely mouth the word "shit!" in "Monkey Wrench," while Ryan Adams chose songs for his set with "no cuss words." On the other hand, LeAnn Rimes had no trouble belting out a new track, "Damn," at the top of her lungs and Tenacious D's Jack Black was … well … less than sacred. Besides the cause itself, these types of contrasts among artists consistently make the Bridge School Benefit one of the year's top bills.

After an announced three-song set from Young and a spirited six-song set from piano chanteuse Vanessa Carlton, the Foo Fighters turned in the first of the evening's memorable performances. Although Grohl moaned throughout the set that the Foos' music was not "conducive to the acoustical style," he couldn't have been more wrong. While the dynamics of new tracks like "Overdrive," "Tired of You," and "Times Like These" may have been altered, the results -- twangy, jamboree-like -- rivaled any act from the alt-country set.

Tenacious D ran through a typically hilarious set next, the highlights of which were a cover of Neil Norman "Flash Gordon" and actor-musician Jack Black's stand-up humor.

Adams followed with a gorgeous eight-song set that proved the evening's most poignant. From "Oh My Sweet Carolina" to country staple "Lovesick Blues," Adams won the mostly older crowd over. Gold 's "When the Stars Go Blue" even silenced those in attendance with portable radios, who had been collectively screaming out randomly each time the San Francisco Giants scored a run in the World Series. Oblivious, Adams was stunning.

Jack Johnson paled in comparison, although his set was nothing to be ashamed of, and LeAnn Rimes followed, equally less palatable than Adams. Although her voice, on new tracks "Love Is an Army" and "Suddenly" and radio staple "How Do I Live," was gorgeous, her between song epitaphs on her music proved distracting from the cause and her stage presence nonexistent.

Radiohead's Thom Yorke's task at hand -- converting tracks from the band's electronic opuses Kid A and Amnesiac into acoustic offerings -- proved the most difficult of the lineup. But Yorke soared on the piano on "Everything in Its Right Place" and "Spinning Plates."  New songs "Sail to the Moon" on saloon-style piano and "There, There" on acoustic guitar showed promise of good things to come. Yorke closed with a cover of Young's "After the Gold Rush," a beautiful choice to cap an impressive set. 

James Taylor followed with a predictable, hit-laden collection of tunes that has been his staple for years now, and was joined by Young on the latter's "Heart of Gold" to segue into the evening's finale. Young slumped through his catalog of classics ("Don't Let It Bring You Down," "Needle and the Damage Done") before inviting the entire bill out for "Comes a Time." Yorke, Adams, Johnson, Taylor, and Tenacious D's Kyle Gass all 
accepted, and the evening's one spontaneous moment ensued. But where the night lacked surprises, it made up for in musicianship. All in all, pretty damn good.