The Dude Abides at the Marin Center

Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges strummed a guitar at the  Wednesday night with his new band, Jeff Bridges and The Abiders.

The silver-haired 61-year-old, known for his roles as jobless slacker the Dude in The Big Lebowski and washed-up country musician Bad Blake in Crazy Heart, announced in April that he will be continuing his interest in music.

“I’ve done the acting thing, and now I’m shifting to the music thing, for how long I don’t know,” he told the crowd at the Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium. 

The actor teamed up with T-Bone Burnett, the songwriter who won an Oscar for production work on the soundtrack to Crazy Heart, and released his album Jeff Bridges on Aug. 16. 

Wednesday night’s performance featured songs from the new album and Crazy Heart. As for his stage presence, it fell somewhere between the Dude and Bad Blake. 

“The river is wide/deeper than deep/on one side they’re cryin’/On the other they’re asleep,” Bridge’s raspy bass sang “Slow Boat,” his brow furrowed and expression somber. 

Then, Bad Blake disappeared and The Dude entered. 

"It's great to be here in San Francisco, oh wait, this isn't San Francisco. Where am I? Marin! That's close to San Francisco, right?" He laughed, looking for a yellow guitar pick because he can’t play the song without it, man. 

Then he trilled in the upbeat “What a Little Bit of Love Can Do.” “I can tell that someone needs a little help/Having trouble getting on with someone else/I'm here to tell you everything is gonna be fine!”

The Dude abides again tonight in Saratoga, Calif. and then on to Woodinville, Wash. on Sunday, Aug. 28.