 Bumbershoot 2009 Review
Monday, September 7, 2009
Every year Seattle either trades their 4th of July weather for their Memorial Day Weekend weather or vice versa. Since we had a great 4th, it seemed only fair for the weather to be crappy for Bumbershoot.
On the flipside,
crappy weather means less people and less people means I got to see
more in the span of 10 hours than I ever had at this festival: The Cave
Singers, The Knux, The Minus 5, Say Hi, The Lonely Forest, The New
Mastersounds, Mirah, Oren Lavie and three art installments. The only
thing I couldn't get into was the comedy. Apparently people like to
laugh.
Arriving via shame
train - the number 5 bus - the weather kicked into absolute downpour as
soon as I got off. Being from Seattle I have the ability to walk
between raindrops, which is why I (like other locals) do not own an
umbrella, so the weather didn't really phase me.
First stop was the on-air KEXP concert with The Cave Singers. With
my rain-dodging ability steadily losing ground to the day's
actual weather, a women in-line (ironically named Hope) shared her
umbrella. This is how the whole day went - not only were performers
better at Bumbershoot than I remembered them sounding elsewhere, they seemed relatable, endearing and downright hilarious at times.
Take the Cave Singers for example. I've been a fan of their blend of one part Fleetwood Mac and one part O Brother Where Art Thou since picking up their album Invitation Songs, but
I had never seen them live. Not only did this rag tag bunch of locals
impress me, but they had the entire water-logged crowd mesmerized to
their hillbilly stomp. They played all their familiar hits and towards
the end of "Dancing On Our Graves" came to a hilarious crashing
halt. Tank-top wearing lead singer, Pete Quirk, pointed out that this
was the first time their drummer had been trapped in a panic room
(regarding the Plexiglas panels surrounding him) and went on to promise
that, their evening show, "something would be put in someone" then he
paused and laughed to himself... "well that's what she said."
 Next I headed towards The Knux
only to catch the part in every rap show where they say "get money
money... somebody scream." This time it was to House Of Pain's "Jump
Around" (a song that needs to be boxed up and buried) with the onstage
crowd and familiar audience jumping. I heard no rap, just hype, and
then it ended. To be fair I asked a few of the crowd members and they
said it was a great show.
Sub-pop comedian Eugene Mirman
was next on my list, but the line extended too far and my pass was only
good if I arrived 15 minutes prior. I decided to walk around and caught
Peter Buck's The Minus 5 and a straight-forward Modest Mouse sounding Say Hi before heading over to the EMP to see 2006 Sound Off! winners, The Lonely Forest.
The Lonely Forest has the crowd draw of the Jonas Brothers and the showmanship of Coldplay,
but their music is what makes them a strong band. Part pop, part rock
with poetic lyrics that kick the emotion bone, the Anacortes Four
are of the same ilk as Pearl Jam and Death Cab For Cutie. With
the right exposure these guys are destined to be huge yet they remain
firmly grounded and family oriented (the drummer's dad acts as
their guitar tech during the shows).
After playing all
their hits, hat swapping, and singing with the crowd they ended their
set with the tremendously catchy "We Sing In Time". There was something
quite beautiful as the young and the old sing the chorus "In time trees
die and light will fade. But I hope for a new breath, a new life to
take me away" together.
Mirah's
dreamy shoeless ballads flowed with innocence out into the largely
female crowd. As the wind blew through the stage it acted almost as a
back-up singer to the mid temp music creating the perfect combination
of nature and artistic expression.
 The New Mastersounds
were plugging away at some deep funk as I headed over to the Rockstar
Energy Drink Vert Ramp. I couldn't believe the sheer bravery of these
X-gamers. Not only were they performing on an incredibly insane ramp,
but it had just stopped raining. I watched for about 15 minutes then
headed to Northwest Court Stage to catch Oren Lavie.
Lavie's show was a combination of Leonard Cohen
and Tom Waits and a level of fun sophistication that reminded me of
those KCTS Michael Buble specials. I caught about 5 songs then
disappeared into the deeply tucked away art galleries. The most
impressive was the interactive life model drawing, sowing, graffiti
wall and music. Not being diagnosed with ADHD this quickly became too
much going on for the size of the room and I needed to escape to my
home and food. A fitting end to a day at Bumbershoot.
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