Neil Young and Co. give the kids a great show, and Young gives his fellow performers a great example.

Reporting from Mountain View, Calif. - The direct impact of Neil Young's annual Bridge School Benefit Concerts is as plain as the joyful faces of the special-needs school's students, many of whom watch each year from an onstage riser placed right behind the performers.

Those faces were often captured by the video cameras that were otherwise trained on the stars of this year's shows, which got underway Saturday at Shoreline Amphitheatre just north of San Jose with unplugged sets by No Doubt, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Jimmy Buffett, Sheryl Crow, Monsters of Folk, Fleet Foxes, Wolfmother and Gavin Rossdale. Adam Sandler was scheduled to take over Buffett's slot as the only change on Sunday's lineup.

In a fairly understated way, Young and his wife, Pegi, the event's co-organizer, have a school of their own going in this show, one that trains newcomers in service to a cause higher than merely entertaining fans, and how to go about it with class and humility.

"Thanks for being here," Neil said when he finally took the Shoreline stage just before midnight on Saturday. His succinct statement applied as much to the other musicians as to the crowd, which appeared close to filling the 22,000-capacity amphitheater.

Coldplay's Chris Martin was in a particularly playful mood for his band-less set at the first of this weekend's two Bridge School Benefit Concerts on Saturday.

Martin, dressed ultra casual in jeans, a T-shirt and black-and-white-striped stocking cap, said,  "A lot of people are probably wondering, 'Why is that guy wearing such a stupid hat?'

"It's proof that now matter how rich and famous you become, it doesn't matter: You still can't shave your own head. Especially when you've got two major concerts to do two days later."

He never did remove it, leaving fans to guess whether he was teasing them.

Neil Young just kicked off the 23rd Bridge School Benefit this weekend in Mountain View, just north of San Jose.

After Young's wife, Pegi, introduced the Bridge School students, including their son, Ben, Neil Young offered the title number from his 1978 album "Comes a Time." He was joined by three members of the Dennis Alley Wisdom Dancers, a Native American troupe that provided a brief cleansing ceremony to set a spiritual tone for the evening.

On a balmy night with the sun setting behind the hill at the Shoreline Amphitheatre, Young played acoustic guitar and harmonica for the event that traditionally runs 100% unplugged.

This year's lineup also includes No Doubt, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Sheryl Crow, Jimmy Buffett, Adam Sandler, Fleet Foxes, Monsters of Folk and Wolfmother.

It was the start of what figures to be six hours of music for what's become one of the pop music community's most respected benefits. Proceeds from the two-day event benefit the Bay Area school for special needs children.

--Randy Lewis

Related: Bridge benefit: No Doubt's Gwen Stefani tears up; Neil Young wraps up
Related: Bridge benefit: Sheryl Crow's 'favorite gig in the world'
Related: Bridge benefit: Gavin Rossdale, Wolfmother, Fleet Foxes go unplugged
Related: Bridge benefit: Chris Martin goes Coldplay-ful

Photo credit: Randi Lynn Beach / For The Times

Who says the monolithic ticket-lords aren’t paying attention?

With the current economic climate taking an increasingly larger bite out of the concert business bottom line, Live Nation has been offering No Service Fee Wednesdays, when concert-goers can buy tickets to select shows without incurring those painful service fees that often discourage potential buyers from pressing the “send” button on expensive ticket orders.

On July 8, Live Nation will add even more incentive with All-In-One pricing for lawn tickets on Wednesdays, which throws in parking, a hot dog and a soda (on top of no services charges) all for only $29.99. Finally, the recession is working for fans of live music. There’s no word on a vegetarian option for those free hot dogs, though.

Tickets for the first edition of All-in-One Wednesday” (which includes shows from Blink 182 and Coldplay) go on sale at 12:01 a.m. PST on July 8 at www.LiveNation.com. Other concerts affected in the L.A. area include No Doubt (Aug. 4), Rock the Bells (Aug. 8), Toby Keith (Aug. 15) and more, including all shows at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine. 

-- Scott T. Sterling

Photo: Gwen Stefani. Credit: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times

2009 is shaping up to be Bob Mould’s kind of year. The former Hüsker Dü front man has a busy few months ahead of him, with teaser tour dates (including a solo acoustic show at the Hotel Café and a recently announced Coachella slot with his full band) culminating in the release of his new solo record, "Life and Times," due April 7.

“I got plenty going on right now,” he said last week via phone from his home in Washington, D.C.

No kidding. 

The singer-songwriter is writing a memoir, co-hosting a string of dance parties as a DJ in D.C., New York and San Francisco, not to mention playing a high-profile engagement at San Francisco’s Noise Pop festival later this month.

“I’m 55,000 words into the book right now,” he said of his forthcoming autobiography, which he is working on with Michael Azerrad.

“But what’s been taking up most my time [lately] is the Blowoff parties.”

Some casual Hüsker Dü fans might be surprised to know that Mould, along with collaborator Richard Morel, has been co-hosting parties under the name “Blowoff” in multiple cities over the last few years. Mould will DJ at four Blowoff parties this month alone, most of them on the East Coast.

On March 2, Mould will play an intimate local engagement at the Hotel Café (limited tickets go on sale today via the venue’s website), where he will play a set heavy on new material from “Life and Times.”

Songs off his latest solo work will likely translate nicely at the Cahuenga Avenue club, as most are guitar-driven offerings very much in the vein of his first solo record, “Workbook,” which was released 20 years ago this year.

“When I sat down and starting writing ‘Life and Times,’ I really wanted to try and get back to that deeper spiritual place [where I was with 'Workbook'] to write from that template,” he said.

“If the stories aren’t there, it’s pointless because it really has to have those stronger stories with a deeper spirit... it’s a really cool record, it moves by really quickly and it feels like a complete album.”

U2 has put a holiday spin on its inaugural contribution to (Red)Wire, the new digital magazine and music subscription service launched this month to help combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The group has recorded a shimmering version of prog-rock hero Greg Lake’s 1975 holiday offering “I Believe in Father Christmas.”

In the shadowy, back-lighted video, which can be viewed at U2’s website. Bono sings Lake's impassioned plea over the Edge’s jangling electric guitar lines, which incorporate the main melodic motif of Prokofiev’s “Lieutenant Kije.” All the while, bassist Adam Clayton plunks single notes and drummer Larry Mullen pounds mallets on a floor tom.

Money from the (Red)Wire monthly subscription fee of about $5 is split between HIV/AIDS relief efforts and royalties to the artists whose music is featured. Other musicians who have signed on to contribute tracks to the effort include Coldplay, Elvis Costello, Jay-Z, Sheryl Crow, Death Cab for Cutie, Keith Urban, R.E.M, Faith Hill and Ziggy Marley.

--Randy Lewis

Related: Holiday albums: Prizes and duds

Photo credit: Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times

Coldplay says it's just coincidence if parts of the group's newly Grammy-nominated hit song "Viva La Vida" sound like "If I Could Fly," a 2004 instrumental by guitarist Joe Satriani, who has sued the band, alleging copyright infringement.

"[With] the greatest possible respect to Joe Satriani, we have now unfortunately found it necessary to respond publicly to his allegations,” the band said in a statement posted today on its official website.

"If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him," the statement said. “Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write or have any influence on the song ‘Viva La Vida.’ We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavors.”

“Viva La Vida” was nominated last week for record and song of the year, and the album “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends” is a contender for album of the year. The day after nominations were announced on Wednesday, Satriani filed his suit in Los Angeles federal court, alleging that Coldplay’s song appropriated “substantial original portions” of “If I Could Fly.”

"I did everything I could to avoid a court case with this situation," Satriani told Music Radar. “But Coldplay didn’t want to talk about it. They just wanted this whole thing to go away. Maybe they figured this little guitar player guy will leave them alone after a while, I don’t know.”

-- Randy Lewis

Photo: Associated Press

Greg Kot at our sister publication the Chicago Tribune has the details:

A day after hauling in seven Grammy nominations, the members of Coldplay should've been celebrating. Instead they were served with a copyright-infringement lawsuit Thursday that claims they ripped off guitarist Joe Satriani to write one of their biggest hits, "Viva La Vida."

The song, nominated Wednesday for song and record of the year by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, incorporates "substantial original portions" of Satriani's 2004 instrumental "If I Could Fly," according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court.

A comparison of the two songs, available at buzzfeed.com/akdobbins/cold play-plagiarism, adds credence to Satriani's claim. Satriani, a virtuoso guitarist who tours frequently and has been recording steadily since 1986, is seeking a jury trial and profits from the band. "Viva La Vida" is one of the cornerstones of Coldplay's latest album, "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends." It is a composition credited to all four band members: Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Will Champion and Jonny Buckland.

Read more on Kot's Turn It Up blog.

Photo credit: Coldplay's Chris Martin, courtesy of the Associated Press

New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne, defying the trend of an industry in retreat by selling 1 million copies of his third album, “Tha Carter III,” in a single week last July, was rewarded with a field-leading eight Grammy Award nominations tonight, including album of the year.

Lil Wayne galvanized rap fans in the months leading up to the album’s release with a seemingly never-ending series of mix tapes distributed over the Internet, pointing the way toward new methods of generating excitement at a time when consumers’ overall enthusiasm toward the record industry’s offerings continues to erode.

Recording Academy voters who decide on nominated artists and recordings, while taking the position that Grammy recognition does not hinge on sales or chart position, nonetheless heaped the most nominations on acts that continued to sell solidly and chart high during 2008. They include Coldplay, which collected seven nods, and Jay-Z, Kanye West and Ne-Yo, tied with six apiece. The rappers benefited from their many collaborations in categories dominated by recordings featuring guest performers.

Coldplay, however, was the only act to complete the hat trick of nominations in the three top categories of record, album and song of the year from its hit album “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.” Lil Wayne’s other nominations came primarily in rap categories.

Adele, the 20-year-old British singer and songwriter sometimes tagged as “the next Amy Winehouse,” also snagged nominations in three of the Grammys’ four marquee fields. She received a best new artist nod (along with Duffy, the Jonas Brothers, Lady Antebellum and Jazmine Sullivan) as well as record and song nominations for “Chasing Pavements,” a track from her album “19.”

One of the biggest surprise hits of recent years, “Raising Sand,” the collaboration between Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and bluegrass darling Alison Krauss, generated five nominations.

The track “Please Read the Letter” from “Raising Sand” is nominated for record of the year, along with “Chasing Pavements,” Coldplay’s "Viva La Vida," M.I.A’s "Paper Planes" and Leona Lewis’ "Bleeding Love." The nomination of Lewis’ single brought “American Idol” sourpuss Simon Cowell his own nomination as one of the producers of the recording.

Along with the Wayne, Coldplay and Plant-Krauss efforts, the other album of the year nominees are Ne-Yo’s “Year of the Gentleman” and Radiohead’s “In Rainbows,” which set the industry abuzz last fall when the band issued it initially only as a digital download and allowed fans to pay whatever they thought it was worth, even if that was nothing.

Jazmine Sullivan, a 21-year-old R&B singer from Philadelphia, marveled backstage at her five nominations. "I was signed when I was 16,” she said, adding that nothing materialized and she was dropped. “My story is one of perseverance, picking yourself up.”