Bumbershoot 2013

Some day I'll figure out how/why that is a synonym for umbrella . . .

but in the meantime I'll continue to enjoy it as the biggest, multi genre fest in the great Northleft (look at a map and think about it).

My friend D drove up from the land of hipsters to attend with 25 and I. We hung out at the house Friday night and created an attack plan for the next day.

Over the course of the weekend we saw:
ZZ Ward
Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience
Heart
Tegan and Sara
fun.
Vintage Trouble
Ra Ra Riot
Death Cab for Cutie
The Maldives
MGMT
The Sheepdogs

plus we heard part of:
Ayron Jones & the Way
alt-J
Cascadia '10

It was a fantastic weekend. The weather cooperated.  We walked to and from Bumbershoot from 25's apartment. He's not there much these days so we got a lot of use in with the three of us staying there. It was very nice not to have to pay for parking or mess with looking for a lot. We probably put in a couple of miles per day walking.

Last year, D had gold status for Starbucks. They are a major sponsor and have an area to get freebies and free drinks.  As I recall, the lines weren't bad last year and we had a few coffees.  This year we almost always had to wait to get in, and the lines for coffee fluctuated from almost non-existent to stupid long. I have a gold card so we had use of that special area. In the gold area there was instant coffee, tea, bottles of coffee + milk (caramel, vanilla or low fat). In the general area there were espresso machines running.  Both sections had changing areas and I think the plugs were full every time we were in there. In the gold section on day one they would open a bottle of the cold coffee you preferred and pour a 12 oz cup full, then hand you the rest of the bottle.  There were also individual packets of their instant coffees to take.  By day two they would pour you a cup but wouldn't hand you the bottle. By day three, all the instant packets were behind the counter. We reckon between the free instant stuff and the drinks we had, we had about $50 in goods.

Sunday was absolutely packed.  I noticed last year that the crowd seemed young and this year younger.  Maybe that's more indicative of the fact that I'm getting old, but I stand by it. The crowds Saturday for Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience and Heart back to back was definitely a little older and mellower than the show with Tegan and Sara & fun.. The line for the main stage wrapped through the grounds form over a quarter mile.  It only took 20 minutes to get in to the Key Area but they've got to work on that for next year.  I don't remember the lines being as long when the main stage was in Memorial Stadium.

All in all, lots of great people watching, excellent company, fantastic music.  Tickets that would have been 182 dollar plus tax if I bought the at the door were only $75 when I bought them presale months in advance. Only one trip to and from Seattle, low gas use and no parking to pay for. We took snacks to reduce the amount we spent on food.  Free Starbucks helped too.

It'll be interesting to see if 25 and I are back there again next year.

MusicFestNW

I had good timing for my Portland trip and I didn't even choose it. The company I interviewed with chose the date and time to meet me. It just so happened that it was the same time as MusicFestNW, an eleven year old, four day music festival in Portland. Wooooo! Instead of driving down, interviewing and driving back, I stayed two nights and suffered through two days. Danielle (from previous Bumbershoot blog) was gracious enough to host me and we made plans to do MFNW together on Friday.

I was left to my own devices on Thursday. At about 6pm I walked with Brittany (Danielle's sister) to a great local pub in an area PDX seems to be trying hard to regentrify. The place was beautiful, the jalapeno poppers homemade and fantastic, the local beers different and interesting. From there  I headed to McMenamins Crystal Ballroom to pick up our wristbands, then I stayed for two shows. Fort Lean replaced The Hundred in the Hands.  I'd never heard of them and apparently they are a local to PDX band.  They had a great sound, very up beat and a blend of good song writing with head bopping beats.  It took a while to figure out who they were, as MFNW wasn't good about posting changes like Bumbershoot.  McMenamin's owns several  locations in Washington and probably a dozen in Oregon.  The Ballroom was a pretty good venue; the acoustics were good, it was on the third floor and had a nice bouncy floor for when we jumped around.  There was a sectioned off bar on the audience floor and they had canisters of water out which was necessary considering it was about a million degrees by the time the second show let out.

The second show was Passion Pit. I'd missed their show the week before at Bumbershoot and was happy to catch them at the Crystal Ballroom. They had performed for MFNW at the Crystal the night before.  They didn't let the second show slide but put on an energetic, crowd roaring performance.  The audience was keyed up, singing along and jumping/dancing along. I only know who or three of their songs but thoroughly enjoyed the show.  Both Fort Lean and Passion Pit had something that a few of the Bumbershoot shows were missing - great music engineers.  The vocals were lost to overly reverbed guitars and thumping bass beats. The light show for PP kept the audience as rapt as their electronic feats.

Since this got much longer than I intended, I'll break Thursday's and Friday's reviews into two blog posts.  Friday is even longer.  Apparently, I like talking about music. Who knew? (wink, wink)

The Music of Bumbershoot - Monday

Sorry for the delay.  Here's  MONDAY

Monday was far and away the busiest day.  If I'd known then what I knew by the end of the day, I might have given it a pass.  Danielle returned to Portland Monday, so I had a new partner in crime, Michael. By the end of it, I felt bad he'd bought a pass and come because compared to Saturday and Sunday, it was disappointing.

There weren't any huge draws for Monday. It would have been nice to see Hey Marseilles or Passion Pit but they were at the end of the day (8 and 915 starts). Michael had to work Tuesday so we couldn't stay too late.  Honestly, but 730 I was well ready to go. 

I wanted to see the 4:30 show for The Wombats.  We went to get in line just after four and found that it was double the length of of line for the same venue for Civil Twilight.  Based on out estimation of a 45 minute wait in line, we gave it a miss. 

We tripped through Flatstock were I found a couple of great posters for Blitzen Trapper, SilverSun Pickups and The Polyphonic Spree.  There was so much great art there it as hard to stop at just three. 

We accidentally caught part of Omar Souleyman's show.  It was a little strange.  Heavy techno/electronic house music in the back ground.  My guess is that he's from Saudi Arabia and was in traditional dress, including the head covering.  There were a lot of folks who were bopping their heads along.  It left Michael and I sort of scratching our heads and moving along.

The Starbucks stage offered a place to sit and eat in the beer garden.  LP was good.  She was kind of singer-songwriter/folk which I like. She wasn't quite enough of a standout for me to look her up once I got home.

We caught Ana Tijoux on the Fisher Green stage.  The entire lawn was full.  We tried to get in to the beer garden there but again, found the line prohibitive. It was easily fuller than any time of the previous two days. She wasn't at all what I was expecting.  I knew a couple of songs from KEXP that were kind of pop/world.  She came out with a DJ and rapped.  Very M.I.A style both musically and in fashion.

We kicked around a little longer without a focus and finally gave in and went home.  The lines for Skrillex started at 5 (or maybe earlier) but by 6 wound through a huge section of the Seattle Center grounds. His show was set to start at 930.  Maybe I'm too old, but I don't get his sound.  I was happy to not be a fan and stuck in that colossal line.  The reviews after the fact were all raving about him, but it would have been pure suffering for me.

The Music of Bumbershoot - Sunday

SUNDAY

Ty Curtis Band: We didn't see this show but were milling about when it was on. They sounded good enough for me to check out on iTunes. http://www.tycurtis.net/

Niki & The Dove (Sweden): caught about five minutes of this and moved on.  Definitely not my style.

Eldrigde Gravy & The Supreme Court (local): Following in our newly established tradition of brass, bass and big bands, Eldrigde didn't disappoint.  There were at least eight members in the band. It was a funkin, rocking, soulful good time. They are almost as fun to watch as to hear. They are playing next month again in Seattle and I'll try to go catch them. One of my favorite acts of the weekend.     http://www.eldridgegravy.com/

Civil Twilight (South Africa): We went to these guys on a suggestion that proved well placed.  My only complaint was that they were in one of two indoor venues.  The music was compelling and well tuned (see AWOLnation). They have more of a classic "rock" sound - think Pearl Jam, or Soundgarden but less angry. They have been added to my play lists. http://civiltwilightband.com/

Deep Sea Diver: I didn't catch the whole show but it was an enjoyable twenty minutes, even though all I could see was the back of this kid on his dad's shoulders and next to them a tall guy in a big hat (don't get me started on that rant). A big folksy, a bit pop, it was a nice combo. http://thedeepseadiver.com/

Blitzen Trapper (PDX): This was the one show that I really, really, really wanted to see.  I am a big fan of this unclassifiable group.  Their music ranges from bluegrass and country to rock, folk and indie.  They definitely looked the PacNW part with unkempt hair and wiley beards but the music was as beautiful as they weren't.  I was two people back and sang along with those around me.  While there were a couple of songs I had hoped to hear and didn't, I was not at all disappointed in their show.  Lucky for me, they were the last act of the day on the SubPop stage and came out for a two song encore. http://www.blitzentrapper.net/

It would have been nice to see Keane but by the end of a second marathon day, Danielle and I were both happy to miss the massive crowds and head home at ten.

The Music of Bumbershoot - Saturday

Chronologically:

SATURDAY

Polecat (local): nice bluegrassy/folk local group. Just saw about fifteen minutes but nice first tunes.

King Khan & The Shrines: Awesome.  They started what because the theme of the shows for Saturday and Sunday - driving bass beats, brass and big voices.  They are showy and his voice (King Khan) reminds me vaguely of Little Richard or the like. The costumes were appreciated though I'm not sure how King Khan didn't collapse from heat exhaustion from running around on stage and the weight of the gold sequins.
I had heard a song or two of theirs before arriving.  There wasn't anything they played that I didn't like. They were the day's biggest and best surprise.  http://www.hazelwood.de/kingkhan/index.php

The Heavy (UK): Same stage as King Khan and stellar.  I was barely to the right of center stage and about twenty feet back.  They were really good.  More bass beats, two saxophones.  They had upbeat tunes as King Khan did but with more rap/hip-hop mixed in.
They were using a fill in guitarist, someone local who seriously rocked a handlebar mustache. The frontman worked the crowd with about four songs involving crowd response.  They were well placed at late afternoon when the sun was still up and people we up for dancing.
 I knew more of their songs than I thought and happily sung along. I was hopeful when I saw them listed and they didn't disappoint.  I'm a fan.  http://goodman.theheavy.co.uk/

Awolnation (Los Angeles): This was our first main stage show.  I like the band and know many of their songs.  They span several genres.  My complaint with this show was that the music engineer and lights engineer must have been partaking in the plentiful amounts of cannabis that were around because the quality of the sound and production were not good.  The reverb was high, the bass and kick drum drowned everything else out.  The lighting was too dark blue and from above for the first half of the show so even on the big screens to either side of the stage it was really difficult to see the band.  Then there were also lots of shadows cast from the scaffolding above on to the screens. The end result was disappointing though the band couldn't be blamed for it.


The end of the day was a bit of three different shows.   
The Helio Sequence (PDX) was very mellow and a good pick for the end of the day.  It was probably more enjoyable for the folks who were half off their heads. The screen projections reminded me of the option on Windows Media Player to see lazers or other graphic imaging to go along with the music.

The Jayhawks(Minneapolis) were ok.  They are very predictable and mellow.

M. Ward  (PDX) was the last we saw before going.  I didn't see much of the show though we were in the beer garden at that stage.  I like his/their sound, though the name gives me less than ideal flashbacks. He had a much bigger sound than I expected.  The songs I knew were more singer/songerwriter-folky mellow but he threw out a couple good rock tunes too.

Bumbershot

It was a fantastic extended weekend.  The weather couldn't have been much better, especially considering it's September in a fairly northern city.  No rain at all.  The evenings did get a little chilly but it was mostly cloudless and lovely.

Danielle made it up from Portland and was a great concert buddy for Saturday and Sunday. We saw a lot of shows together and a few solo ventures.  Michael joined me on Monday for a shorter last day.  The crowds were much worse on Monday and someone said it was because Skrillex (the show you couldn't have paid me to go to) was performing Monday night.  We had to pass on The Wombats because the line was so long. Some of the beer gardens were the same.  Saturday and Sunday were much more manageable and in terms of crowds, more enjoyable. 

The food was mostly as expected.  The most disappointing food were the Parmesan garlic fries which managed to look and smell of both Parmesan and garlic but taste like neither.  The pork skewer from Monday was probably my favorite, though the Thai coffee and tea was stellar too.

Strangest moment: ooo, tough one.  The Unicorn in gold platforms? The Elvis impersonator on a tall unicycle carrying juggling batons who never juggled? Watching Lovebomb a go-go, a marching band and dance troupe dressed in varying degrees of white and sparkle? I'm going to go with the people watching.  There were lots of different and interesting folks to look at, or avoid looking at as the case might be. It was another example of the fact that Seattle accepts all comers.  You name it, we saw it.  Colored hair, bad hair cuts, too much/no enough clothing, costumes, face paint, piercings, a default tattoo show, pets, a parade of bad fashion choices, etc, etc. 

Happy non-music moments: The inflatable T-rex (until Danielle ruined it!!), finding a coconut earring shop that had business cards with guys who must have been from Bali on them, cute free monster stickers, getting 45 free shampoo samples that I'll donate, free silk screened canvas bag with a cool Bumbershoot logo (worth the 45 minutes in line), randomly bumping in to some girls I know. Most important -  laying on the grass, in the sun with GREAT company listening to good music and enjoying being back in Seattle. 

Music recap tomorrow!!

Singapore Shuffle

Now that I am firmly planted in the recovery ward, I can, as promised, fill you in on the recent Singapore trip.

As expected, it was really nice to be there for more than six hours.  Many people here have little or no interest in Singapore because it is such an oft visited site.  Since I'd never gotten out of the downtown area, I couldn't really tell you what else was there before. This Singapore rehash will be a two-potentially-three-parter I imagine as I try to keep my posts a reasonable length.

I left for Singa on Friday and made the flight by the skin of my teeth as the taxi driver insisted it was terminal three more persistently than I said it was terminal two.  To which we went to the wrong terminal and then I made him take me, fare free, to the correct terminal.  Luckily, the plane was actually at terminal three so after checking in at terminal two and going through security we all had to bus on over to the plane.  Don't ask me.  The only customs center is at Terminal two but the parking spaces are at terminal three.  Welcome to flying budget airlines in Jakarta.

Upon arrival, I headed to the hostel, had the same conversation three times with three different people about my reservations before I got a key and left my bag to head to the concert.  This concert was the catalyst for the trip.  Erin asked if I would be interested in seeing John Legend and (her favorite) Imogen Heap on Saturday.  After looking at the line up I immediately decided that I must also go for Friday as Bob Dylan and Michael Franti and Spearhead were playing.  I'm not a Dylan fan to be honest, but he's 69 and going to die soon.  Now I can say I saw him.  On the other hand, I am a huge HUGE Michael Franti and Spearhead fan.

The concert was strategically located between the Singapore Flyer (think London Eye/huge Ferris Wheel) and the waterfront, a placed called Marina Promenade.  The show is called Rock and Roots; its in its second year.  Attendance each night was probably 400-600, but I'm lousy at estimating that kind of thing.  Compared to Bumbershoot in Seattle it was small and cozy.

Singapore Flyer lit up right above the stage

Pros:  The venue was small, lots of toilets, sufficient food stall, multiple beer stalls to control lines, easy crowd flow, great stage view from the right side, big video screens, breezes from the ocean.

Cons: Lousy line of sight and acoustics on the left side, large VIP section that was cordoned off, Dylan requesting the video screens be shut off.

Dylan was awful.  One part him, one part poorly adjusted acoustics.  I nearly fell asleep during his show and only endured it to get to the performer after. After Dylan many of the VIP folks left and at Franti's request, they opened the front section up for the real fans.  I spent the nearly two hours of his show at the front bar, jumping around like crazy.  By the end I was drenched in sweat and couldn't wipe the smile off my face.  His positivity and joyful sound are contagious.  He was out in the crowd, walking through and high fiving everyone.  He brought people on to the stage. He brought two other performers from earlier in the night out to play.  It was an AMAZING show. To think, only two years ago I had no idea who they were.  I stumbled upon them at the Bumbershoot Festival of 2009.

Michael Franti and Spearhead were kicking off their world tour here.  This is the logo.

Michael Franti glows from the inside out.

Saturday was fun because my friend Erin, her friend Loni, Loni's friend Kevin and my friend Alysson all joined me for the show.  We divied up a bottle of duty-free vodka in mixers before the show and trouped in.  We weren't especially transfixed by the music the way I'd been the night before. The notable exception was Erin when Imogen Heap was on.  I really enjoyed the music of Trombone Shorty, an up-and-coming artist with energy to spare and a hot body.

Trombone Shorty.  Look at those guns.

Alright dear reader.  I'll leave you there and carry on in the next installment.  If you are interested to see me in the same photo as Michael Franti go to http://www.rockandroots.com.sg/.  Go to the gallery and click on April 15, 2001.  Then you'll have to scroll through to a photo of Franti in the crowd.  Look on the right at the tall shirtless guy and see if you can find me between him and Michael.  If anyone can tell me how to steal that photo, I'd be grateful!