The second day of Bumbershoot opened with a whimper. I woke to the sound of pouring rain that sucked my will to wander festival grounds. As this happened to be a Sunday, I had the benefit of free parking if I was quick enough to the area. I zipped up to the area around my office (which is a handful of blocks from the Seattle Center) and located a spot that was 3 or 4 blocks from the Broad Street entrance. It was about 10am, and I felt that fortification against the weather would be a great way to pass the time until the gates opened and shows started.
Working in the area definitely worked to my advantage as I knew exactly the dive to swaddle myself in until the day was to begin. I headed over to the Five Points Bar (affectionately known as the Knife Point, after dark, apparently), and cozied into a booth in the corner. The surly server came over and dropped a menu on the table which I promptly refused, instead opting for a fortification of the liquid variety, namely a double gin and tonic. There may also have been coffee, but that was more of a garnishment then actual substance. The drink arrived and I sipped cautiously (hell, perhaps I wasn't that cautious...) at it. The booze was strong in this one. The gin was cut in the most ineffectual way by a splash of tonic, and a minuscule lime wedge perched ineffectually on the lip of the pint glass that it came in. This was going to be a quick descent into madness.
An older couple got seated at the booth next to me, and it was from them I heard of the Five Point's particular reputation. They both appeared to be pretty well soused when they sat down, and added more fuel to their own fire's by virtue of double bloody marys. I worked my way through the gin and tonic with a fighter's tenacity, and took a cue from them for my second (and final) drink of the morning. A double bloody mary arrived, and the server indicated that, "They were unable to fit all the booze in, so I brought a shot as well." As with the gin and tonic, the bloody mary was practically flammable as it arrived, and drinking it down enough to add the shot was enough to put me in a fine fettle for the day. I finished up at the Five Points, paid up, and headed towards the gate.
First up on my list had been Handful of Luvin', but I had opted to skip this in light of morning shenanigans. Instead I moved on to number two on my list, Hey Marseilles. I had wanted to see them at the Capitol Hill Block Party but had showed up a bit too late on that occasion. I arrived with plenty of time to spare this go around and thanks to the weather was able to secure a spot near the stage. It is at the Hey Marseilles set that I saw my first two gingers of the festival. The set was amazing. Definitely not a four piece ensemble here. Their songs pull in accordion, cello, and fiddle amongst others. Their sound makes me envision a Wes Anderson film.
Next on the list was Cold War Kids. Unfortunately, sticking around til the end of Hey Marseilles only left 15 minutes to get to the Mainstage and hear a song or two before they wrapped up their set. I caught about a song and a half before they wrapped up, and I made my way to the Rockstar Energy Drink stage to catch a little bit of Volifonix. This was pretty bleh in terms of what I saw. I took the opportunity to gorge myself on samples of the stage's namesakes energy drink, before heading back to the main stage for Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
The set was decent, but didn't have the same pull as the Hey Marseilles set. I hung around through 6 or 7 songs. Karen O definitely has a hell of a stage presence. A handful of songs I've heard pulling radio time (not "Maps" though) and I scooted towards the Broad Street Stage to catch the tail end of the Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band. They finished up with "Albatross, Albatross, Albatross" which made for a gleeful terminus (and made me immensely glad that I cut out of Yeah Yeah Yeahs when I did).
At this point I had a hole in my schedule. I once again gorged myself on festival food and made my way to the line for Swollen Members. This was to be the hip hop leg of my weekend. The line took forever to wander into the Rockstar Stage venue. I saw three or four songs before I cut out on this one. Nothing particularly memorable. Almost more interesting watching security getting cues from their spotters on high and trying to find the sources of stray smoke at the indoor venue. At this point I found a spot near the Fischer Green stage where Common Market was playing. I took a bit of time to finish reading a book and hear a few songs. Definitely enjoyed this a bit more then Swollen Members.
Then a trip over to the Sky Church to stand in line for Sleepy Eyes of Death, which was quite different then what I thought it was going to be. Not completely unpleasant, but not quite as interesting as I thought it would be (and definitely not as interesting as the half hour spent in line.... its a shame that lines play so much into some of the venues. It definitely puts a bit more pressure on the band to make the wait worthwhile). I left early again to see Holy Fuck at the Broad Street stage.
This was a nice interlude. Holy Fuck is a band that plays around in that space called Electronica. I found a spot to sprawl out on a dry patch for a bit and enjoyed the energy that they brought to their set. An hour later I meandered on to see Brett Dennen.
Nothing unexpected here. I've heard Brett Dennen before and live he is much as he is on albums. Niceish songs sung by a nice kind of guy for nice folks to feel nice to.
I headed back over to the Broad Street stage for The Helio Sequence when that time rolled around and finished off the day in the same place as I had Saturday. The Helio Sequence wasn't quite in the same league as The Long Winters on my to see list, but they were a damn fine way to end Sunday. Definitely a close second to Hey Marseilles in terms of what I saw on Sunday.
I did not stay til the end of their set though. PAX had wrapped up earlier, and there was the promise of Munchkin, pizza, and beer at home with Derek and the Canadians that were to crash at our house that night. I rushed home after 6 or 7 songs.
Unfortunately, none of the three promised things were to be. Apparently some sort of plague had popped up at PAX and Derek was firmly entrenched in his room when I got back with said plague. Undaunted, I prepared myself for the final day of Bumbershoot, which had added a new wrinkle in that I now had the task of trying to sell his ticket as well.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Bumbershoot Day 1 or How I Definitely Did Not Find Myself Face Down In A Urinal. Nerd.
I've thought about how to present this and think I'll settle for the standard day 1, day 2, day 3 format. I wrestled with the idea of making it episodic content which would make for more digestible chunks of text, but there's some overhead associated with that I just didn't feel like tackling. So the somewhat stream of consciousness ramble will begin in 3...2....1.
Saturday started out as an exercise in herding cats. Or dogs. Actually. With Derek up at PAX for the weekend, I had the (dare I say?) privilege (on second thought, maybe not) of taking care of Nikita in addition to Lance. Because of the extended time away ( gates opened at 11am and the last show ended at 11pm, plus travel time), it seemed like a longish walk would be of some benefit on the not shitting and pissing on the carpet front (and oh how wrong I was). And after walking there was the feeding, and then trying to wrestle her into her kennel. And then scurrying about for schedules, water, anything that might need to be packed. I got out the door around 11 and laid a patch from a smallish side street in Federal Way all the way up into Seattle.
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Seattle parking? Yes? No? Well, I do. Prior to last year, the previous Bumbershoot I had been to had resulted in my car being towed. On that occasion, I parked south of a sign that said "No Parking North of Here" only to find later that while the sign indicated one orientation, both were equally ticketable and towable. This time I didn't fuck around. I found one of the Pay to Park spots, which every where else in the world are free on weekends and holidays. I hopped out, double checked the meter and found that in the wonderful scheme of Seattle parking, they're free on Sundays and Holidays. Which meant they wouldn't suffice for free parking on that particular day. I roved the streets for a bit, and gave in to a pay lot, dropping $16 on parking for the day. I hopped out of my car, gave a Seattle Parking Enforcement officer the finger (with my mind), and began walking the handful of blocks to the Broad Street Entrance.
I have to admit up front that I had no specific plans for the early part of Saturday. Nothing in particular had stood out (although I had checked a few things off that I didn't think I'd care for .... Kristen Ward, Everest). I lucked myself into getting a ticket from KEXP for Telekinesis at their music lounge at noonish (a lucky turn of events, given later occupancy issues). They played a handful of songs and were damn good. I think I linked a KEXP performance of theirs in the post on the CHBP, so I'd direct your gaze down in that direction if you're inclined. The set was short, and left a bit of time before anything else that I had wanted to see.
So the next few hours were spent wandering and reacclimating to the locations of the various stages, food stands, etc... I caught a song by the Olympic Sound Collective at the Fisher Green Stage on my way by (decent, but didn't stand out enough to get me to stick for any more), and decided to head towards the Northwest Court Stage for the Not-Its.
The description that I had read indicated that they were punk. So with this bit of information in mind I rolled up to the stage. Two ladies and two fellas fleshed out the band. The lady-type folks were in pink tutu dealies. This of course was punk rock. In my mind. Not so much in reality. What I had failed to process from the write-up in the Stranger's Bumbershoot Guide was that members had been in punk bands in the past, but children, middle age, etc, etc.... had resulted in them playing some fucktarded brand of bubblegum punk for children. They were a kiddie punk rock band. Sing-a-long style. Calling out for the kids to perform dance type actions. There was no raging against machines here. No anarchy. Nothing of any substance. One song played and I hadn't quite had an aneurysm yet, so I decided not to press my luck, and hurried away from the stage towards the Broad Street Stage where Natalie Portman's Shaved Head was going on at 2:30.
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head didn't seem to have a very polished sound live, but they definitely had an energetic (read: great) show. They had a blast through the entire thing, and the crowd fed off that resulting in a happy happy bounce fest. And there was some kind of nautical theme going too. So happy happy sea captain-y bounce fest. Minus the scurvy, but plus a giant crowd surfing turtle. Hooray turtle!
Onwards the day went. This time I headed to the EMP Sky Church for Past Lives. Band bio wise, Past Lives apparently spawned out of the hardcore corpse of Blood Brothers. Not positive about this, but I'm pretty sure I saw Blood Brothers when I was going to UPS (and was far more hardcore - although, the next band up makes me feel way more hardcore now). All of this is likely besides the point, as I can't recall how I felt about the Blood Brothers if I in fact felt anything at all.
The new incarnation though is something that I can say tickles me in a way that is completely appropriate. Much like Feral Children last year, I ended up nodding along viciously. If there were a little person inside my head, it would have suffered an aggravated case of Shaken Baby Syndrome. If in fact they had CDs outside the venue, I would have purchased one immediately. Unfortunately, I never found the FYE booth associated with the Sky Church venue. So I didn't (but I will).
And then I had a brief intermission. Rather then go else where, and come back 30 minutes later for Akimbo, I just stayed in the Sky Church in between sets. I had a spot on the rail right in front of where the singer/bassist John Weisnewski was set up. Little details that stick out. On a piece of Weisnewski's equipment, a sticker that said I Love Lamp. The guitarist Aaron Walters reminds me of Judah Freilander (from 30 Rock), albeit way more ripped. And the drummer Nat Damm has a ridiculously amusing countenance. Also a lot of hair, which whips around like something alive as he beats his way through song after song. They finished their planned set list early and launched into a bunch of Black Flag covers to round out the time slot. Much like at the Capitol Hill Block Party, they smashed me in the face with their awesomeness.
Next up, Matt and Kim. Not quite sure what to expect here. I went in with very little in the way of expectations. The description in the Stranger's preview had been indicative of happy indie dance like things. Which I suppose was about spot on. The bit that really stood out for me were Kim's arms. She was the drummer in the drum and keyboard pair, and her arms definitely displayed a musculature that was intimidating. And as they flexed and strained through the powerful beats, she had this insane smile going. I was intrigued. Also, intimidated. I stuck around for a few songs. I feel sort of like this wasn't something that I'd get particularly worked up over, but wouldn't complain if I was bouncing around in a party like atmosphere with ladies of indie repute. I left early to see a folk singer Eleni Mandell and grab a beer over at the Northwest Court Stage. The beer was overpriced (and small) and the music was essentially the kind of thing that you'd catch in any coffee shop. The rain started up at this point and I huddled under an umbrella at a table in the beer garden through a song or two, before deciding that the meager protection of the table's umbrella wasn't worth hanging around for something I wasn't particularly enthused for. I headed towards the Main Stage.
The Main Stage on Saturday had both the Old 97s and Sheryl Crow. I was interested in seeing a bit of the Old 97s (not so much Sheryl Crow). I secured a seat in the stadium and waited for the set to start. An interesting bit. The crowd for the Old 97s was the smallest crowd that I saw for any of the main stage shows. The mass of people didn't even make it halfway back to the secondary barrier. The crowds at the Starbucks stage and the Broad Street Stage were larger for various shows. Which I suppose is a bit sad. Especially considering how good the Old 97s actually are. I was at the main stage for 5 or 6 songs. Rhett Miller is a fucking rock star. If Telekinesis weren't on at almost exactly the same time, I would have caught the entire set. But such was not the case.
And because I knew that the Sky Church was relatively small, I rushed over in its direction hoping to catch a longer set of Telekinesis. Alas, this was in vain. The venue was full. And I didn't get to see them. Instead, I found food, and drowned my sorrow in garlic fries. Basil Garlic Fries. Mmmm....
And I moved over to the Broad Street Stage for the last show of my night, The Long Winters. This was probably one of the best shows I saw all weekend. On top of the quality of the music, John Roderick is one hell of an amusing guy. I hadn't realized, but The Long Winters had apparently been on hiatus for a bit. The show at Bumbershoot marked their intent to put out a new album and start touring again. So, look forward to that in the near future. I got a call from Derek before things started up (he was over at PAX) and he said I should meet him and some of his friends for some beers at the Taphouse. I opted not to leave early, and said I'd meet them later. He said to call before heading over to see if they were still there. I said okay and through my phone in my pocket.
I singalong and all that fun stuff for over an hour and a half. When the set ends, I'm giddy. Minus The Long Winters, the day might have been much inferior. Instead, I'm ready for a beer or two with friends followed by a short night of sleep and another day of music.
I pull my phone out of my pocket to call Derek, and find it to be dead (I guess pictures and videos suck a lot of juice). Undaunted, I head to the Taphouse anyways. Or at least, in the direction that I think the Taphouse is (because Derek and Co. are operating without cars, I imagine that they're within walking distance of the convention center). I home in on its exact location using the valet of a hotel in the area. I wander about inside for a bit, and can't find them, so I sit down at the bar and grab a beer anyways. Then its back home, dog walking, etc...
Saturday started out as an exercise in herding cats. Or dogs. Actually. With Derek up at PAX for the weekend, I had the (dare I say?) privilege (on second thought, maybe not) of taking care of Nikita in addition to Lance. Because of the extended time away ( gates opened at 11am and the last show ended at 11pm, plus travel time), it seemed like a longish walk would be of some benefit on the not shitting and pissing on the carpet front (and oh how wrong I was). And after walking there was the feeding, and then trying to wrestle her into her kennel. And then scurrying about for schedules, water, anything that might need to be packed. I got out the door around 11 and laid a patch from a smallish side street in Federal Way all the way up into Seattle.
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Seattle parking? Yes? No? Well, I do. Prior to last year, the previous Bumbershoot I had been to had resulted in my car being towed. On that occasion, I parked south of a sign that said "No Parking North of Here" only to find later that while the sign indicated one orientation, both were equally ticketable and towable. This time I didn't fuck around. I found one of the Pay to Park spots, which every where else in the world are free on weekends and holidays. I hopped out, double checked the meter and found that in the wonderful scheme of Seattle parking, they're free on Sundays and Holidays. Which meant they wouldn't suffice for free parking on that particular day. I roved the streets for a bit, and gave in to a pay lot, dropping $16 on parking for the day. I hopped out of my car, gave a Seattle Parking Enforcement officer the finger (with my mind), and began walking the handful of blocks to the Broad Street Entrance.
I have to admit up front that I had no specific plans for the early part of Saturday. Nothing in particular had stood out (although I had checked a few things off that I didn't think I'd care for .... Kristen Ward, Everest). I lucked myself into getting a ticket from KEXP for Telekinesis at their music lounge at noonish (a lucky turn of events, given later occupancy issues). They played a handful of songs and were damn good. I think I linked a KEXP performance of theirs in the post on the CHBP, so I'd direct your gaze down in that direction if you're inclined. The set was short, and left a bit of time before anything else that I had wanted to see.
So the next few hours were spent wandering and reacclimating to the locations of the various stages, food stands, etc... I caught a song by the Olympic Sound Collective at the Fisher Green Stage on my way by (decent, but didn't stand out enough to get me to stick for any more), and decided to head towards the Northwest Court Stage for the Not-Its.
The description that I had read indicated that they were punk. So with this bit of information in mind I rolled up to the stage. Two ladies and two fellas fleshed out the band. The lady-type folks were in pink tutu dealies. This of course was punk rock. In my mind. Not so much in reality. What I had failed to process from the write-up in the Stranger's Bumbershoot Guide was that members had been in punk bands in the past, but children, middle age, etc, etc.... had resulted in them playing some fucktarded brand of bubblegum punk for children. They were a kiddie punk rock band. Sing-a-long style. Calling out for the kids to perform dance type actions. There was no raging against machines here. No anarchy. Nothing of any substance. One song played and I hadn't quite had an aneurysm yet, so I decided not to press my luck, and hurried away from the stage towards the Broad Street Stage where Natalie Portman's Shaved Head was going on at 2:30.
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head didn't seem to have a very polished sound live, but they definitely had an energetic (read: great) show. They had a blast through the entire thing, and the crowd fed off that resulting in a happy happy bounce fest. And there was some kind of nautical theme going too. So happy happy sea captain-y bounce fest. Minus the scurvy, but plus a giant crowd surfing turtle. Hooray turtle!
Onwards the day went. This time I headed to the EMP Sky Church for Past Lives. Band bio wise, Past Lives apparently spawned out of the hardcore corpse of Blood Brothers. Not positive about this, but I'm pretty sure I saw Blood Brothers when I was going to UPS (and was far more hardcore - although, the next band up makes me feel way more hardcore now). All of this is likely besides the point, as I can't recall how I felt about the Blood Brothers if I in fact felt anything at all.
The new incarnation though is something that I can say tickles me in a way that is completely appropriate. Much like Feral Children last year, I ended up nodding along viciously. If there were a little person inside my head, it would have suffered an aggravated case of Shaken Baby Syndrome. If in fact they had CDs outside the venue, I would have purchased one immediately. Unfortunately, I never found the FYE booth associated with the Sky Church venue. So I didn't (but I will).
And then I had a brief intermission. Rather then go else where, and come back 30 minutes later for Akimbo, I just stayed in the Sky Church in between sets. I had a spot on the rail right in front of where the singer/bassist John Weisnewski was set up. Little details that stick out. On a piece of Weisnewski's equipment, a sticker that said I Love Lamp. The guitarist Aaron Walters reminds me of Judah Freilander (from 30 Rock), albeit way more ripped. And the drummer Nat Damm has a ridiculously amusing countenance. Also a lot of hair, which whips around like something alive as he beats his way through song after song. They finished their planned set list early and launched into a bunch of Black Flag covers to round out the time slot. Much like at the Capitol Hill Block Party, they smashed me in the face with their awesomeness.
Next up, Matt and Kim. Not quite sure what to expect here. I went in with very little in the way of expectations. The description in the Stranger's preview had been indicative of happy indie dance like things. Which I suppose was about spot on. The bit that really stood out for me were Kim's arms. She was the drummer in the drum and keyboard pair, and her arms definitely displayed a musculature that was intimidating. And as they flexed and strained through the powerful beats, she had this insane smile going. I was intrigued. Also, intimidated. I stuck around for a few songs. I feel sort of like this wasn't something that I'd get particularly worked up over, but wouldn't complain if I was bouncing around in a party like atmosphere with ladies of indie repute. I left early to see a folk singer Eleni Mandell and grab a beer over at the Northwest Court Stage. The beer was overpriced (and small) and the music was essentially the kind of thing that you'd catch in any coffee shop. The rain started up at this point and I huddled under an umbrella at a table in the beer garden through a song or two, before deciding that the meager protection of the table's umbrella wasn't worth hanging around for something I wasn't particularly enthused for. I headed towards the Main Stage.
The Main Stage on Saturday had both the Old 97s and Sheryl Crow. I was interested in seeing a bit of the Old 97s (not so much Sheryl Crow). I secured a seat in the stadium and waited for the set to start. An interesting bit. The crowd for the Old 97s was the smallest crowd that I saw for any of the main stage shows. The mass of people didn't even make it halfway back to the secondary barrier. The crowds at the Starbucks stage and the Broad Street Stage were larger for various shows. Which I suppose is a bit sad. Especially considering how good the Old 97s actually are. I was at the main stage for 5 or 6 songs. Rhett Miller is a fucking rock star. If Telekinesis weren't on at almost exactly the same time, I would have caught the entire set. But such was not the case.
And because I knew that the Sky Church was relatively small, I rushed over in its direction hoping to catch a longer set of Telekinesis. Alas, this was in vain. The venue was full. And I didn't get to see them. Instead, I found food, and drowned my sorrow in garlic fries. Basil Garlic Fries. Mmmm....
And I moved over to the Broad Street Stage for the last show of my night, The Long Winters. This was probably one of the best shows I saw all weekend. On top of the quality of the music, John Roderick is one hell of an amusing guy. I hadn't realized, but The Long Winters had apparently been on hiatus for a bit. The show at Bumbershoot marked their intent to put out a new album and start touring again. So, look forward to that in the near future. I got a call from Derek before things started up (he was over at PAX) and he said I should meet him and some of his friends for some beers at the Taphouse. I opted not to leave early, and said I'd meet them later. He said to call before heading over to see if they were still there. I said okay and through my phone in my pocket.
I singalong and all that fun stuff for over an hour and a half. When the set ends, I'm giddy. Minus The Long Winters, the day might have been much inferior. Instead, I'm ready for a beer or two with friends followed by a short night of sleep and another day of music.
I pull my phone out of my pocket to call Derek, and find it to be dead (I guess pictures and videos suck a lot of juice). Undaunted, I head to the Taphouse anyways. Or at least, in the direction that I think the Taphouse is (because Derek and Co. are operating without cars, I imagine that they're within walking distance of the convention center). I home in on its exact location using the valet of a hotel in the area. I wander about inside for a bit, and can't find them, so I sit down at the bar and grab a beer anyways. Then its back home, dog walking, etc...
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Music Forthcoming! Bumbershoot Three Day Pass, Take Two!
For the second year in a row, I've bullied myself into buying a three day pass to Bumbershoot. So, for the next few days, I'll be checking schedules, listening to random bits and pieces, crosschecking, collating, and dissecting the schedule in the hopes of giving myself some semblance of a game plan for the weekend.
The schedule doesn't seem quite as favorable this year (last year, I had no problems finding 12+ bands to see for all three days), but I'll be making some wild flailings in random directions to fill the days. Check back after the weekend (or possibly during the weekend...) for updates on who I saw, how they were.
The schedule doesn't seem quite as favorable this year (last year, I had no problems finding 12+ bands to see for all three days), but I'll be making some wild flailings in random directions to fill the days. Check back after the weekend (or possibly during the weekend...) for updates on who I saw, how they were.
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