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Recommended If You Like: Animals

So you’re heading to Bumbershoot. Congratulations are in order. But what’s that, you say? You love animals? Well, my friend, you’re in luck! There are quite a few faux-inhuman artists at the Festival this year and with the aid of your helpful guide (me) you can get ready for a veritable sonic safari!

We head to the farm to start off with those North Carolina-nauts Band of Horses, playing the Samsung Mobile Mainstage. If you haven’t already listened to the free MP3 I posted a while back, go do that and you’ll enjoy swirling guitars and excellent summertime music (Like, if “Sitting-In-A-Lawnchair-Drinking-Lemonade” music was a genre, these guys would be the definitive S.I.A.L.D.L band).

Next we venture to the forests of the Northwest to find some local varieties of snakes and bears (I’m assuming they live together in some forest around here, I have no idea). From the ashes of Botch, Seattle’s former premiere metalcore outfit, come both These Arms Are Snakes and Minus the Bear. Both bands have come from the same place but now walk divergent musical paths. Fortunately animal lovers (and Botch fans alike), they’re not playing at the same time.

Now we travel under the sea to find Seattle-natives Velella Velella. The band takes its repetitive moniker from the scientific name for a kind of jellyfish with a sail on it (I just googled it, and boy is it weird). Upon interacting with a Velella Velella, here’s a quick guide to determine which one you’re dealing with: if the Velella Velella in question is creating blissed-out tonal grooves, you’re dealing with the band. If it floats in the open ocean propelled by a triangular float, comprised of sealed air chambers, the Velella Velella in question is the jellyfish.

What’s that? You’re wanting an animal-named artist, with some sweeeeet literary skills? I remain unstumpable! May I recommend Canary Sing, the spoken word duo comprised of Ispire (Hollis Wong-Wear) and Lioness (Madeleine Clifford) – that’s right, it’s an animal-named performer, in an animal-named performance duo. With that, and given their aforementioned spoken word skills, Canary Sing just became the all-star of this article (plus they’re performing with Saul Williams which is extra cool). So if you want to see Lioness spit some mad game in the area of spoken word (seriously what a cool sentence, I’m so glad I got to just write that) check out Canary Sing.

And while you’re in the aviary with Canary Sing, don’t forget to check out Langhorne Slim & The War Eagles or their distant relatives Ravens And Chimes. Either way, count yourself lucky animal aficionados, that Bumbershoot has you completely covered with a musical menagerie. See you there, and remember: please do not feed the performers.

posted August 08 '08 at 09:00AM by Evan in band of horses, canary sing, langhorne slim, literary arts, minus the bear, music, ravens and chimes, saul williams, these arms are snakes, velella velella

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