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.
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