Bumbershoot Day 2 & 3

More Bumbershoot.  So after a full day of Bumbershoot, I was pretty tired.  Then some things came up and after that I just couldn’t motivate myself to head down to the Seattle Center.  So there is nothing to say about day two.  If anyone is dying to know what happened, the Seattle Weekly and the Stranger had professionals covering the event.  The Stranger has some nice pictures from day 1, here.  Full coverage on their ‘Slog’.

So on to Day 3…

The Blakes:  The band everyone in Seattle has been talking about.  The band was tight and put on a sweaty, rock n’ roll performace.  The crowd, as a whole, seemed really into it.  The highlight for me was the song “Vampire”, which was stuck in my head the rest of the day.  The Blakes

After the Blakes I left for a while, got something to eat, then headed back in the evening.

Das Llamas:  While I was waiting for Das Llamas to start, Thurston Moore’s solo album, Psychic Hearts, was playing over the PA.  Hearing this album made me think I might want to go see him when he plays at Neumos next month.  I believe members of Das Llamas were in Stabmaster Arson and that Das Llamas grew out of that project.  Das Llamas hvae a kind of lush, layered dance-punk sound.  At first I wasn’t impressed, but with each song I found myself liking them a little more.  The EMP light show was spectacular.  Why aren’t more shows put on here?  Das Llamas

My Brightest Diamond:  Here is something I never would have bothered with on its own.  But I had some time to kill, so I decided to go check them out.  They drawn on sounds from the first half of last century as well as something  a little sinister.  My immediate impression was PJ Harvey singing Tori Amos songs (later I saw the Stranger write-up also cited Tori Amos and the official bumbershoot guide cited PJ Harvey).   They seem to have a devoted following.  I’m glad a was able to see something new. 

The Whore Moans:  On my way back to the EMP, I caught a little of Steve Earl’s set.  He sounded fantastic!  When I reached the EMP the Whore Moans were already on stage.  They were dressed in red, white and blue, as were two of the their back-up dancers.  The other two “dancers” were dressed as Abraham Lincoln and were carrying US flags (there was also a great James Brown homage when one of the guitarists was down on his knees and one of the red, white and blue dancers threw a cape over him).  This was straight up rock n’ roll.  For entertainment, this set rivaled the Lashes set from two days ago. 

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists:  I only got to see a little of this set, but I thought they were great.  I see why so many people like them.  Also, of all the sets I saw at Bumbershoot, I thought these guys had sound quality.  Loud and bright with just the right amount of separation between all the instruments.

So my thoughts on this year’s Bumbershoot?  Better than last year’s and overall less frustrating than this year’s Capitol Hill Block Party (I thought the Georgetown Music Fest was by far the best festival I saw this summer).  Tiny Vipers were unbelievably good.  Some others were quite memorable.  Still I feel Bumbershoot could be so much better.  For years I’ve bought a 3-day pass (and when it was 4 days, a 4-day pass) before the line-up has been announced.  The last two years have made me think that’s not a good idea.   

Note:  In 2000, a one day pass bought at the gate cost $16.  This year it was $35.

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