Fresh Bumbershoot

09.10.2008 BENT Is Better Than Food

Monday was a day of decisions, for me. Should I walk across the entire Festival grounds to see two Jon Vanderslice songs? Should I postpone work to watch Death Cab For Cutie, and probably end up working until about 3 AM as a result? Should I ask Sondre Lerche to autograph my lower back, and then have it made into a tattoo? (The answers to those questions are Yes, Yes, and I should have but didn’t).

So, I was ready to make one more executive decision on Monday, around 5 PM: should I go get free, delicious Indian food on my dinner break, or should I go to the Bumbershoot Music Lounge (and KEXP live broadcast from a top secret venue) and enjoy the frenetic punk-rock of Black Eyes And Neckties? The other decisions were easy enough to make (I had a tattoo artist all picked out and everything!) but this one concerned one of the more important aspects of my existence: eating. And not just eating, but eating Indian food, that was free (that took it to a whole ‘nother level). I read the book Sophie’s Choice in high school, and this reminded me of that. Like, it made my head hurt. (I only got about 40 pages into it. Was it good?)

I’ve seen Black Eyes And Neckties before. I’ve had Indian food before. I made my choice accordingly. I snuck into the Music Lounge just before the show started, hungry and hoping for my choice to be validated. I could not have gotten a better show if I tried, in exchange for my dinner. Bradley Horror, confined to a wheelchair after a recent spill at Totalfest, was in top form, ringed by his wildly thrashing band-mates, more than making up for his lack of mobility with his frantic vocals. In case you weren’t there, here’s a little taste. You can tell me whether or not that’s worth going hungry (YES, IT WAS).

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09.08.2008 I Met My Man-Crush!

Part of my job at Bumbershoot was to be a stage escort for the out-of-the-way sanctuary of softness that was the Wells Fargo Stage in the Northwest Court. It was very nice to head out there every now and then, make sure everything was working out well (since I would totally be able to fix any problem going on, and not just frantically yell into my radio and wave my arms like a maniac at the slightest hint of trouble) and enjoy some relaxing jams by the likes of Final Fantasy (who was absolutely mesmerizing!), Arthur & Yu, and of course, my man-crush, Sondre Lerche.

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08.15.2008 Evan's Guide To Bumbershoot: Monday

So after two full days of Bumbershoot already gone by, I have one more day to cram myself full of art and fried food (not that fried food isn’t an art in and of itself). You’d better believe that I’m up to the challenge.

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08.01.2008 Recommended If You Like: The Emerald City

You’ve already read about Bumbershoot’s international acts, flying in from all over the universe to play this year, that’s a given. But what about our distinctive hometown heroes? (Yeah, when I said The Emerald City I was talking about Seattle, not The Wizard of Oz. Sorry.) The much-lauded Seattle sound will be at Bumbershoot in force, and with a little guidance, you can be in the front row for every fresh local act.

I’ll start with some local punk. We’ve got the pop-punk upstarts Speaker Speaker this year, embodying what one critic called a “nosebleed on overdrive” as best they know how. They’ll be alongside Bellinghamsters Black Eyes and Neckties (yeah, they’re from Bellingham, but I’m claiming them local, okay?), who are known not only for their kinetic live shows and spoooooky subject matter (like ghosts and werewolves and whatnot), but also for their black eye makeup (oh – and neckties). Perhaps there’s a connection… but I’m no Miss Marple, so I won’t worry about it too much. I’ll just file that under C for coincidence.

We’ve also got local indie kids Throw Me The Statue playing this year. They play just that perfect brand of fresh-faced pop to take home and introduce to your family. You know, some music that’ll treat you right for a change and make you happy. You deserve it! Check out this video of them playing “Lolita” on a Washington State Ferry while apparently completely freezing (can you blame them, seriously?).

Okay, so you knew I was going to have to get to this band, obviously if I’m talking about awesome local things… 4 words: Death Cab For Cutie (OMG!). That was my basic reaction when I heard they were added to our lineup. Not just added, but they are closing the entire festival on the Samsung Mobile Mainstage. Man, their bass player Nick has come a long way from being a garbage man in Tacoma (that’s right, I did research). Fun fact: I personally believe that somewhere around 60% of college students have a copy of Transatlanticism, and that is a conservative estimate. They mail it out with your acceptance letter. It is also the perfect album to listen to on the bus while you pretend to be in a music video. Not that I’ve ever done that.

So if you’re going for Seattle flavor, you can’t go wrong with Seattle School (it has Seattle right in the name). And to sweeten the pot, they are performing their show RECESSION! about a J-pop band trying to rescue America from our “macroeconomic frownzies” so we start spending money again. Seattle School also won The Stranger’s Genius award, ensuring a show that is not only awesome, but actually genius.

So now Seattle gets to share its sweet arts with the rest of the world, through Bumbershoot, in exchange for the world giving us their best acts for the Festival (you know I’m looking at you, Sondre Lerche. Answer my letters!). I say it’s a fair trade.

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06.19.2008 They Ain't From These Parts: Bumbershoot's International Flavor

Foreign countries can be scary places. They have languages that I don’t know how to speak, their writing can use letters that all look like the pound sign to me (#), and sometimes they eat things like lutefisk or alligator or enchiritos. But I’ll be damned if some countries don’t keep putting out awesome bands, one after the other. And this year’s Bumbershoot has some of the best bands the world has to offer. Lucky for you, my dear reader, you have me to guide you through the international milieu and help you discover these superb foreign artists.

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05.28.2008 T.I., Keyshia Cole, Minus the Bear and dozens more announced

The lineup keeps getting bigger! The list of bands just added to the 2008 Bumbershoot lineup include:

T.I. / Keyshia Cole / Adele / Minus the Bear / Battles / Aiden / Unearth / Sondre Lerche / The Whigs / Thao with The Get Down Stay Down / Langhorne Slim & The War Eagles / These Arms Are Snakes / The Blakes / Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hands / Barcelona / Kinski / Throw Me The Statue / J-Boogie’s Dubtronic Science / Tyrone Wells / Howlin Rain / Monotonix / The Shackeltons / Star Anna / West Indian Girl / Ravens & Chimes / Hadley Caliman Quintet featuring Thomas Marriott / Grynch / The Hands / Joshua Morrison / Matt Jorgensen +451 / Chester French / PWRFL Power / The Girls

View an up-to-date list of all artists announced so far here.

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