Bumbershot!: A Recap of Seattle’s Best Music Festival

Let me preface this by saying: I LOVE BUMBERSHOOT! I go nearly every year. This year was as good as always: the talent, the Indie Mart, Flatstock, and my friends. Good job, everybody!

Day One: Saturday
I got there late so I missed Crowded House. And I heard they were great. Crud. So, got there when I got there and met up with my friend Jamie from LA and we watched the Shins. With those guys, you might as well just put on their CD. They threw a pretty dull live show, but they sounded perfect. We were starving, so we got a huge brick of undercooked curly fries and a Polish dog that was mostly bun. As usual, Bumberfood bumbersucks. There was a lull in the action after the Shins; it was unbelievably crowded and there was nothing I was dying to see, so we went and hung out by the fountains and laid in the grass. So peaceful and relaxing, that is, until some moronic hippie girl ran into me while trying to play hackey sack. Hackey sack? Really? Still? Give it a rest, stinky hippie douchebags.

After having dealt with the unwashed masses for a little too long, we went to the Starbucks VIP area. Yeah, you may not have known this about me, but I'm a Starbucks VIP. I signed up to be a Bumberfan (sigh) on the internet and you get some spiffy things like this. It was set up next to this outdoor stage, so we listened to the Avett Brothers (a so-so alt country outfit) and had free drinks, sitting in the shade. I went back to the VIP area a few times over the weekend and got some free beverages, so right now I am a big fan of Starbucks.

Next I went to The Moth: Sex, Drugs, & Rock 'n Roll stories. SO awesome. Dan Kennedy, a McSweeney's writer, was HILARIOUS about rock 'n roll and "not selling out," and Dan Savage had one of the funniest acid trip stories I've ever heard (and I have heard a LOT of them). Another great thing about The Moth show is that it was in Bagley Wright Theater. Fabulous venue to check out during the sometimes taxing Bumbershoot: it's cool, dark, and the sensory input is limited to the show in front of you. Highly recommended.

Next, Jamie and I met up with Julissa.* We went to a Phucket Thai; the Phad See Ew (sp?) was tasty but nothing special, but the bathroom was incongruously brilliant, with a tv playing sports and soft mood lighting and candles and cool Thai decorations. I give the food a 6 but the restroom knocks the overall experience up to a 7.

The last show of the night was Gogol Bordello, which was by far the high point of Saturday. High energy Gypsy rock 'n roll craziness. How fun! The only downside is the people doing that yucky ska pogo dance thing. Eww. Oh yeah, and the homoerotic heiney dance that these frat boys were doing right in front of us was awful to behold. Not hot. So not hot.

After that, Julissa and I hung out at an Irish bar (McMinemans?), where the bartender sweetly made sure that my club soda never ran out. Aww!

Day Two: Sunday
Started off with the last half of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. BRMC delivered the goods though they're a bit slow and droney for an afternoon out in the sunshine. I think of them as more of a nightclub band, but they're great and I'll never turn down a chance to see them live. After they finished, for some reason the jerkoffs at the mainstage decided to hose everyone in the audience. It was so freaking lame. It wasn't even that hot, and the crowd wasn't thick or unruly. There was absolutely no reason for them to do it, and it ruined my hairdo and got my suede boots wet. Jerks.

Kings of Leon came on the mainstage next. I was excited to see them, because I'd heard such good things, and then when they came out onstage, I was even more excited, because those guys are really cute. But then they started playing and it was this southern-fried blandly icky rock, and so we left. Kings of Leon, you may have a cool name, but you're no Fountains of Wayne.
Next we went to the Fucking Eagles. This Tacoma-based garage band seem like really nice guys, the kind of guys I'd like to go to a car show with. Their first song was really good, but then they played it again two more times. Or maybe their songs are all similar sounding. Hey Fucking Eagles, thought of doing covers? I bet this band would rock with some good songs.

So, I went to Stars of Track and Field by myself and they were one of my favorite bands at Bumbershoot. They are three guys, doing amazingly rich swirly pop, with beautiful harmonies – absolutely the perfect Bumbershoot show. Lazy, hazy sunshine music. I'm smiling just remembering it.

Then I saw my good friend Barbara and we hung out and waited in the sun for the Apples in Stereo. Talk about fun summer music! One of the best parts of this show was watching all the really young kids dancing energetically and getting really into it. I remember seeing these guys years ago; it's great to watch a new generation of kids feeling their psych pop vibe.

I cut out of Bumbershoot early; so lucky because Alex was passing through so he gave Barbara and me a ride home in his yellow Mustang. I know it's silly but riding in hot cars gives me a cheap thrill. Yeeeoowww!

That night, I went to a really great party thrown by Sound magazine at Solo. Nick from Death Cab was one of the DJs, and there were a lot of fancy people whose names you'd recognize. I'll not bore you by listing them, because that would be silly. Anyway, great party, great magazine. The only drag was that Heinekens were free for people…. But my drink, Red Bull, cost $3.50. Not fair! Word to the wise: if you want Heather Rogers at your party, please, make sure Red Bull or Rock Star is one of your valued sponsors. Got that?

Day Three: Monday
Time to do other stuff… Getting a little Bumbered out. But, I can't stay away 100% because I have VIP tickets…. Real ones, not just Starbucks VIP. So I got a late start, caught a few minutes of Lyrics Born, and took a good look around Flatstock. Great artists this year. I bought a fantastic Danny Danger print made for a Silversun Pickups concert. I got lucky, finding affordable artwork I love by an east coast artist, featuring a band I'm really into. Yay!
Then I ran into the Ice Cream Man and got free ice cream! I love you, Ice Cream Man. You and your tasty, cold, ice-creamy goodness.

Then, the band that I think wins the Bumbershoot 2007 Most Inspirational Award: The Frames. The Frames is this amazing alt band from Dublin that apparently everyone else in the universe knew about except me, but then I saw the stellar movie Once which features the lead singer/guitarist of the Frames, and now I'm a big fan. I say The Frames were Most Inspirational not only because of their moving music and lyrics, but also the way they had a woman in the audience sing their big hit "Falling Slowly" and it worked out so beautifully. It was one of the most affecting musical performances I've seen in a long, long time. If you're too cool or too hard for this music, well, fuck you. What a wonderful band.

Next was Steve Earle. Steve Earle is allegedly an alt country favorite. Why then were most of the audience fat white trash? Isn't the main difference between alt country and good ol' regular country that the fans of the former are hipsters and the fans of the latter are stupid people? Apparently I'm missing something, but I thought it was crap. Oh, sorry. I'm being mean again. I meant, "not my cup of tea."

The last thing I saw was a couple of songs by an experimental band, My Brightest Diamond. That was awesome. And then I went to the Indie Mart, which was closing up shop for the night and I got a copy of a back issue of McSweeney's for only $6! Yay. I Heart McSweeney's.
Monday was a bit bittersweet because it had that "circus is leaving town" melancholy feel. Also sad was the fact that I had to miss Miranda July (too crowded) and Wu Tang Clan (too late).

In all, Bumbershoot was awesome, like always. There are certain facts about Bumbershoot that have been true every single year since I've started going ten years ago. Follow these rules and you will be fine.
Bumberrules
1) You will not get to see everything you want to see.
2) Expect some physical discomfort (rain, heat, footwear issues, some asshole hackeysacking into your head).
3) The food is crappy and expensive.
4) Take the bus or get a ride. Parking's a bitch.
5) Check out some things you haven't heard of. The point is to check out new things without already knowing you like them. Every year, I do this and every year, I get into a new band as a result. Some good examples of this for me are Brazilian Girls, Gogol Bordello, Cat Power. Before Bumbershoot, I hadn't heard them and now I'm a fan.
6) Wear layers and sunblock!
7) Have fun.
8) It's all happening for a reason.

Until next year, I'll just be happy with the great memories. Bye-bye Bumbershoot!
*Funny story. Saturday morning, Julissa jokingly wailed over the phone about her clothes and shoes that she'd look like Enid from Ghost World. I said, "Oh, don't worry… I look like her friend, the blonde." She said, "Oh, you mean SCARLETT JOHANSSON!??" So funny. I forgot she was Thora Birch's friend in that film. Some comfort I am! Anyway, Julissa ROCKS and she's a huge part of why Bumbershoot was so fun for me this year.