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.

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!!