popwreckoning

Sunday evening I witnessed short sets from two great bands, Active Child, and M83. It was a sold out show, the first of two the bands would play that night.

Up first were Active Child.  The lights went down, and three men came out, one sitting before a harp. I remember thinking: “OK,  a goddamn harp. This should be interesting.”  Then the guy opened his mouth, and the essence of pure beauty poured out.

Active Child is primarily the solo project of Los Angles’ Pat Grossi.  To a guy who has seen entirely too many god-awful opening acts in the last few months they might seem horrifying on paper: inspired by days as a choir boy, synths, drums, harps and… oh shit, another guy with a laptop.  Live it’s an entirely different story.

Active Child plays otherworldly music that dredges up the old cliché of being almost indescribable. Grossi knows what he’s doing, and he’s picked his sidemen well. The crowd around me seemed as impressed as I was. It was synth pop, in a way, but it was influenced by natural instruments as well, a lush, almost hallucination inducing blend of strings and machines.

If you get a chance to see Active Child, do so. They sound great on record, but to truly do them  justice they must be experienced in person.

Up next was the headliner, M83. I was a bit late to the party with this band, as I only came on board with their new album, Hurry Up We’re Dreaming. I was impressed however, because how many bands sell out two shows in one night?

The band opened  (not surprisingly) with “Intro” off the recent album.  They then tore through a set that was designed to get the crowd pumped. The highlight was “Midnight City,” which immediately turned the room into a dance floor.

The set was vibrant, exciting, and occasionally brilliant. It did seem like a bit of a cheat, though. It seemed more like a warm-up for the later gig, than an actual performance.  Though I enjoyed the set, I probably wouldn’t go see M83 again. Active Child, however… you’d have to fight to keep me away.

Monday was by far the longest of the three days gallivanting around the Seattle Center, as it started at 12 Noon sharp. I met up with some people over at the Fountain Lawn stage for Motopony, one of Seattle’s newer phenomenons. I saw them play live for the first time last summer and recently heard their song “King of Diamonds” on 103.7 The Mountain, which is pretty big actually.

Frontman Daniel Blue can really put on a show, I’ll tell ya. Their early (and I mean early) afternoon show made me wish they played more around the city.

My camera and I moved over to the Free Yr Radio stage for Lake’s acoustic set, since I knew I couldn’t make it to their main set later in the day because of such a full schedule. While I found several times that weekend the people doing the short impromptu interviews at the stage were quite awkward, Lake was so chill that it made the set that much more enjoyable. I’m sure it was easier for the girl doing the interview as well.

Curtains for You was next, and they were one of the main bands I was looking forward to on that Monday. They opened for the Head and the Heart back in January at Neumo’s, and the atmosphere at the EMP Level 3 stage on Monday was just as warm and inviting as the Neumo’s show. It felt so intimate and fun – almost like a living room show.

After that was a trifecta of local talent – starting with Grand Hallway, whose brand of indie pop can only be described as majestic, with the strong instrumental melodies and orchestral quality.

I then headed over to the Free Yr Radio stage again for Ravenna Woods, since I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it to their set later. I’ve seen them several times, so I didn’t feel that bad. But their acoustic set was fantastic. Again, dealing with the awkward interview, frontman Chris Cunningham laughed it all off with a giant smile, after rocking out to my favourite of their songs “We Want It All.” Which reminds me, I need to see if I can get into that Nirvana Nevermind exhibition, because Ravenna Woods is playing at it.

Back to the EMP Level 3 stage I went, and this time for Lemolo, who had quite a long line waiting to get in to see them by the time I got there, and it was already at capacity. It warmed my heart to see so them – like so many local bands that weekend – get such a strong audience. The two girls put on a lovely show, like always. The best part was when it sounded like everyone in the room started singing along to their song “Open Air.” It was a bit surreal, even for me.

After my heart was thoroughly warmed, I ventured into the Exhibition Hall for the first time that weekend for Eisley’s set. To tell you the truth, I used to listen to Eisley about 4 years ago, but have since moved on with my musical tastes. Because I hadn’t listened to them in forever, I was expecting something completely different at their show. I was not expecting them to rock so much. Thankfully I did see their show, or else I would have gone on thinking that they still did breathy lite indie pop. These girls have come a long way since Room Noises in 2005.

Vendetta Red was also in the Exhibition Hall that afternoon, and even though it wasn’t much of my style of music – this classic Seattle alternative punk band rocked the house. It definitely was nice for those fans to get to see Vendetta Red play live after their four-year hiatus.

The final act I got to see in daylight was Sharon Van Etten, who I had never seen before and didn’t know what to expect. While for the first couple of songs, it was only Sharon and her guitar on stage, her charm commanded the audience for a fantastic, rather stripped-down set.

Then the next hour of my evening went like this – ran over to Phantogram, stayed for a few songs and they were amazing. I was surprised because last year when they played Musicfest Northwest it was a bit underwhelming. After that, a couple of my fellow photographers and I ran across the Seattle Center to see Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside at the EMP Level 3 stage, and she was adorable, even if she admitted to being a little hungover. Then literally as soon as we were done shooting, we skidaddled over to the Key Arena to find some seats for Hall & Oates. Yes, Hall & Oates.

The main reason I saw Hall & Oates was not because I had been dying to see “Maneater” live, but merely the fact that I could say that I’d seen Hall & Oates play. The audience inside the Key Arena was hilarious – the exact opposite of the teenagers the day before. It was a bunch of middle-aged women singing their middle-aged little hearts out, which was endearing to say the least.

So it was the end of Bumbershoot 2011. It was a wild ride, but my week was far from over, as I’d be driving to Portland two days later for Musicfest Northwest the rest of the week. Stay tuned for that coverage coming soon!

For more photos from Monday, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbigshmail/sets/72157627482031965/

I anticipated for Bumbershoot to be crowded on Sunday, since for some reason the days where hip-hop artists headline the place fills up like the community pool in 100-degree weather. Thankfully we didn’t have 100-degree weather on this particular Sunday, but oh lord was it crowded.

My first stop of the day – after getting an iced coffee to both cool and down and warm me up – was the Fisher Green stage for Mad Rad, whom I saw part of their set at Sasquatch, but didn’t get the full effect. This Seattle band is absolutely everywhere – Sasquatch, Capital Hill Block Party, Bumbershoot, Musicfest Northwest, City Arts Fest – it’s crazy. But it’s well-deserved, because even if their albums and EPs and singles are hard to come by, you don’t even need to know the songs for them to get you pumped. “Party Mountain” and “I Want Your Blood” were definitely the two most well-received songs of the set. The band was full of an exorbitant amount of energy and it was still early in the day!

After that I went to my new favourite stage the Fountain Lawn stage for San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees. This was one of two bands that day that I had no prior knowledge of, and I was thoroughly impressed. Frontman John Dwyer jumped around the stage, licking his guitar and shouting out lyrics all while keeping the crowd engaged for this early afternoon punk show. An odd juxtaposition, I know.

Next was Portland’s AgesandAges at the EMP Level 3 stage, which was a perfect small venue for them since the crowd that day was overwhelmingly hip-hop fans. I couldn’t stay for too long for the Portland indie pop band, but what I saw I liked.

The rest of my evening was a bit of a blur, as I was running from stage to stage at a lightning pace (not really, but roll with me here). Tennis was at the Fountain Lawn stage, who were good, but I would have sadly forgotten had I not taken photos of them.

Then I ran over to Fisher Green, really looking forward to Das Racist’s set because they were so good at Sasquatch, but I was sorely disappointed. After what seemed like a ten-minute DJ intro, the trio took the stage, lackadaisical and possibly drunk, and they didn’t even seem like they wanted to be there. It saddened me because I knew a friend that came to Bumbershoot for the first time partly just to see Das Racist, and they let her down. I don’t know if it was because it was early in the day, if they hadn’t had much sleep, or just because the new songs suck, but I wish I hadn’t made time in my schedule to see them.

Thankfully my mood was uplifted when I caught the Lonely Forest’s acoustic set at the Free Yr Radio stage. I was too late that day to see their performance at the main stage, but I’ve seen them oh….at least 6 times so I figured it was okay. That band is seriously the warmest and most likeable band around. I can never say anything bad about the Lonely Forest, because they rock. Even in an acoustic setting when a borrowed guitar craps out.

As the afternoon sun started to take its toll and the line for the main stage grew and grew – wait, I’ll backtrack for a second. By the mid/late afternoon, the line for the Key Arena wrapped all the way around it and down the main walkway in the middle of the Seattle Center. I hadn’t realized that many people were there to see Macklemore (or Wiz Khalifa). I mean, Macklemore deserves all the attention that he gets, but wow.

Okay, back to the present. Warpaint was next on my list, and they blew my expectations out of the water. When you hear them on record it’s not music that you would think played out well in a live venue, but these girls – for the lack of a better term – shredded. I wish I’d seen them when they opened for The xx last year, and I’m hoping they’ll come back at some point this year. It’s always nice to see an all-girl group rocking harder than their male counterparts.

I made a quick pit stop to see my favourite new white soul singer in Seattle – Allen Stone at the EMP Level 3 stage. Seriously, this guy is amazing. He doesn’t even have a full-length album out and was already featured in USA Today. Completely unassuming in his appearance, Stone is like Ray Lamontagne on spicy steroids. This guy, I can tell you, is going places.

I wasn’t planning on venturing into the black hole of teenagers that was the main stage at this point, but I figured I’d try to see Macklemore, because his set at Sasquatch was so grand and he’s such a nice guy. Thankfullyy I did, because I have never seen the Key Arena this crowded, and this full of life. It was magical, seeing all these (mostly) teenagers so excited about this local artist who isn’t even on a label yet. I’m sure after this month though, Macklemore will have labels lining up at his door. I could tell that it was mostly teenagers when Macklemore started out his song “Crew Cuts,” which is all about the 80s. He shouted out to the crowd asking who was born in the 70s (like 10), who was born in the 80s (maybe about a third of the room), and who was born in the 90s (the entire place exploded with sound). It made me feel old, and I was born in 1989. My favourite moment of the night came when he did “My Oh My,” the love song to the Seattle and Dave Niehaus, and the whole room lit up with lighters. Like at Sasquatch but even more so, it made me tear up just a little. Later on Macklemore’s Twitter page, he proclaimed that the evening’s performance at the Key Arena was a “dream come true.” I can see why.

Apologies for the slow updates, but I will have Monday’s post up tomorrow. I’ve been running around Portland for two days for Musicfest Northwest – and you can look forward to those posts coming next week.

To see the full set of photos from Sunday, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbigshmail/sets/72157627594039780/

Somehow Seattle managed to make it through Bumbershoot without a drop of rain, so it just goes to show you that you shouldn’t assume something is going to happen. At that, I missed several of the acts I planned on seeing this weekend, but that’s okay. I saw plenty of small acts that blew my expectations away, and they were all local. Imagine that!

Literally, on Saturday I only saw one band (with the exception of STRFKR, who is from Portland) that wasn’t a Seattle band.

It began with Brite Futures at the main stage, which in my mind was ridiculous, since the first time I ever saw them they were still Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head and they played on the now dearly-departed Broad Street Stage (more of this later). Not that I didn’t enjoy their set. I really did. All the new songs they played made me that much more excited for the new album, but the main stage at 1:30 in the afternoon was just not the right venue for them.

Back to that whole venue thing. This year shall go down in my Bumbershoot history as a “building” year. A.) They moved the main stage from the awesome Memorial Stadium to the less-than-spectacular Key Arena. B.) The Fountain Lawn and Fisher Green stage were way too close together. And C.) the new EMP Level 3 stage was not nearly big enough for some of the bands that played there.

Which brings me to my next band – Kris Orlowski and the Passenger String Quartet. I love this band. I love Kris Orlowski’s music, and he’s a super cool guy. And it was great to see him in such an intimate venue. But even as relatively unknown as he is in the larger scheme of Bumbershoot, there was a line outside the EMP. Thankfully they were regulating the number of people going in and out of the venue, but it made it that much harder for people to see those local bands who were well worth a larger venue for a festival. Usually, the great thing about Bumbershoot is that there aren’t any lines for people to stand in. That changed this year.

Next up was Champagne Champagne on the Fisher Green Stage – one of my favourite hip-hop acts of Seattle. The duo is incredibly fun, down to earth, and not the least bit cocky, which is something that I’ve found with Seattle artists. They rocked the lawn with the huge group of teenagers and 20-somethings alike, and it made for a great afternoon set.

KEXP, Seattle’s local independent radio station had a couple stages up for grabs this year – the Music Lounge and the Toyota Free Yr Radio Stage housed some of Seattle’s brightest up-and-comers. At the Free Yr Radio stage I finally got to see Campfire OK, who released their first album Strange Like We Are last year, and they were just as amazing live (even better) than they were on record. Plus they made some great jokes about their band name. Frontman Mychal Goodweather said, “We’ve come up with Bonfire So-So,” and the crowd snickered.

Finally branching outside of the Emerald City, San Francisco’s Vetiver hit the new Fountain Lawn Stage (which was perhaps my favourite stage all weekend). As much as they had a jam band vibe, they still had a very tight sound, and it made me glad that I listened to several recommendations to see them this weekend.

After Vetiver’s set, I made my way to the Words and Ideas stage to sit in at a panel with Colin Meloy and his wife Carson Ellis. This panel was all about the new book the two of them collaborated on – “Wildwood” – an illustrated novel about Portland, Or. But not only was it about Portland, it was about if Forest Park was a secret civilization where coyotes walked around in Napoleon-era military outfits, and badgers walked around with rickshaws. The panel was led by former Harvey Danger frontman and current music writer Shawn Nelson, and discussed everything from the beginnings of Meloy’s collaboration with Ellis to the extent of the mythical map of Forest Park. I walked into this not knowing that Ellis and Meloy were married, but it slowly occurred to me as they kept getting more and more adorable. I almost wanted to stand in line to get a book, but I figured I’d be in Portland the next weekend and I can just pick it up at Powell’s when I’m there.

As the sun set, I was back at the Fountain Lawn stage for STRFKR, who went on quite late, and it made all the rowdy teenagers behind me incredibly anxious, and thus, more annoying. I hadn’t seen STRFKR before, and had no idea what to expect, but they were as they are on record – very loud and very fun. The vocals were virtually indistinguishable, which I’m not sure if it was intentional, but that’s just about the only bad thing I can say about their performance.

To finish out the night, I did as I planned, and checked out Minus the Bear at the Fisher Green stage. And oh boy am I glad I did. The band was celebrating ten years together, and it showed with how seasoned the guys were on stage. Playing to a hometown crowd probably didn’t hurt much either, but the pioneers of math rock hit it hard that night, with me, and with the energetic crowd that stood behind me.

Since I was completely satisfied with my Saturday, I headed home shortly after that to get some rest for Sunday. Little did I know what was to come. Stay tuned!

For more pictures from Saturday at Bumbershoot, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbigshmail/sets/72157627592015416/

As a long time veteran of Bumbershoot, I definitely try to take advantage of the plethora of arts that Bumbershoot offers- everything from Flatstock (a giant poster sale), to comedy and performing arts shows, to (my personal favorite) the music. From local to international, metal to rap and everything in between, Labor Day weekend at Seattle Center’s biggest festival of the year is always a party. Set underneath the prolific Space Needle and amidst the Mural Amphitheater and the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum, it has always been my favorite way of kicking summer out the door and getting ready for fall.

My picks this year are not as varied as I may have liked or have tried to plan in the past. In all honestly, looking at the lineup, I could not be happier with my choices. With that being said, for me, this weekend is mainly metal and electronica, per my usual tastes. (Abby’s all over local Seattle acts on Saturday, check it out!)

1:00 pm – Witchburn: This is definitely going to be one of the best ways to kick off Bumbershoot, for any of you rock/metal fans, especially for locals. With their prog undertones and Southern rock style, this powerhouse of scorching guitar riffs, heavy bass, and exquisite lyrics, this Seattle-hailing band is sure to be rocking the Exhibition Hall.

2:00 pm – The Great Mundane: Portland, OR based electro/house/hip-hop beatmaster The Great Mundane is downright one of the best producers I have heard in a long, long time. Lacing instrumentals and synthesizer to make a downright epically imaginative mix of sound, he still maintains a very minimalist approach to beatmaking. The tracks are full of emotion and will definitely fill the Skychurch at the EMP for one heck of an electronic experience.

2:45 pm – Red Fang: A long-time favorite of mine, Red Fang brings metal back to its heritage with their urgent lyrics and the general fuzz that good metal has. Every song is a hard rock anthem, designed to get you headbanging and rockin’ along with the band, growling out their lyrics to the accompaniment of LOUD. Reminiscent of PNW The Melvins or the more prevalent Black Sabbath, these fist-pumpers are definitely going to shake the Exhibition Hall down to its very foundation. On the plus side, chances are that you still will have their lyrics stuck in your head on the way home that night (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing…).

3:00 pm – Natasha Kmeto: Another PDX based act, Natasha Kmeto refers to herself as “futuristic soul.” I couldn’t agree more as her newest release Expressor is saturated in between IDM, hip-hop, soul, and trance. With her enigmatic voice and the blatant genre-bending tracks that form her repertoire, I have a feeling that the Skychurch is going to be dancing their collective asses off.

4:00 pm – Emancipator: If you’re looking for some amazing melodies and some downright immaculate production, Emancipator’s beats are completely clean and crisp. With organic sounds, folk instrumentals, and a haunting woman’s (choir?) vocal track, these layered pieces sport some major Asian influences (probably due to his immediate success in Japan back around 2006), as well as some incredibly playful and anthematic tracks. This is going to be one immersive, intricately crafted set- and definitely one you won’t want to miss, filling the Skychurch with some intense sound.

5:00 pm – Nice Nice: Nice Nice can be summed up fairly easily: guitarist, drummer, loops. Their dreamlike tracks are full of ambient, psychedelic sounds and are presented with startling fluidity and an amazing ability to sound a lot bigger than they really are. Once again, the Skychurch is definitely the place to be for amazing electronica all day.

6:00 pm – Beat Connection: This local Seattle duo is one of my ABSOLUTELY MUST SEE acts, mainly for the fact that I have not gotten the chance to see them before. All in all, they play a saccharine synth pop, overlaid with chillwave and 80’s influences, reminiscent of a lighter version of The xx or possibly some Asura and Anon. By now, I would just plan on hanging out in the Skychurch for the rest of the night- trust me, it will be well worth it.

6:15 pm – Pentagram: As one of the pioneers of “doom metal,” Pentagram has been around and playing gigs since 1971. For me, they’re the kind of metal I was raised on by my drummer of a father, and definitely influenced my musical tastes today. Combine this with the fact that they’re almost legendary and I’m there. I can’t promise they will be amazing, but it’s definitely worth seeing them at the Exhibition Hall, if nothing more for the general experience.

7:00 pm – Free the Robots: My first take on these guys is definitely BASS. Another psychedelic eletronica band but with a darker, heavier twist, complete with some video game/8-bit tunage vibes. For fans of dubstep and bands like The Glitch Mob or Flying Lotus, this California native producer is guaranteed to have a packed house to exhibit his beats to at the Skychurch.

8:00 pm  – Lawnchair Generals: LCG are definitely some of the more prolific Seattle house acts of all time- and for a damn good reason. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing their tracks mixed live by various DJ superstars, but also on compilations by Ministry of Sound and Kaskade. For true house fans, they are an absolute necessity for almost any occasion. If you’re hesitant about getting into house music, I would say that their set at the Skychurch would be one amazing introduction.

9:00 pm – Pezzner: Dave Pezzner is electronica. The internationally acclaimed beatmaster doesn’t really fall into any one subgenre, playing almost anything  and everything that he can create electronically. Rising from our acclaimed Emerald City, his set at the Skychurch would definitely be the one to catch before heading to Bumbershoot After Dark – it will get your body moving for sure.

Come back for more previews and upcoming Bumbershoot coverage from Abby and I here on Popwreckoning!

As I mentioned yesterday in my Bumbershoot preview for Saturday, Seattle’s own Pickwick is amazing, fantastic, the next big thing. I haven’t changed my mind from yesterday, so I’ll elaborate.

Last weekend I saw Pickwick for the first time at KEXP’s Concerts at the Mural at the Seattle Center (it was free!) and I was flabbergasted. If you take one look at these guys, you wouldn’t expect the beautiful soulful jams that came from this group of white guys with great hair.

They’ve been all over local blogs like Seattlest, Sound on the Sound, Another Rainy Saturday, among many others.

The band started in 2008 when lead singer Galen Disston left Los Angeles and came to Seattle, and he established Pickwick as an alt-country band. Then spending the next couple years bringing themselves into the Seattle folk scene – finding dozens of like-minded artists. Needless to say, in Seattle, folk is the new grunge.

And it was when Disston began playing with his voice after hearing Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” that Pickwick made a name for themselves.

In the past year, they’ve been on the heels of the Head and the Heart, in terms of local buzz, and hopefully they can make their way to at least getting signed. It’s blasphemous to me that someone hasn’t picked Pickwick up yet, but I guess in Seattle that doesn’t really matter – seeing that they’re playing Bumbershoot with plenty of other unsigned artists.

Back to last weekend’s show. I cannot tell you how much my feet hurt at the end of their performance. I did not stop dancing. At one point they brought up several other local artists FROM THE CROWD and had a dance party on stage. There was even a little girl with a shaker dancing along to the effervescent soul beats.

I, for one, am glad that Pickwick found their current sound. It’s refreshing. I love the Head and the Heart and all, but we don’t need a dozen clones of them running around Seattle. We’re known for our innovation in this town, and sometimes the most innovative thing to do is to go back to our roots. And that is what Pickwick has done with their music.

One last thing, it’s come to my attention that Pickwick has posted something about “big news” today on my MySpace page. Once I find that out, you’ll hear it first from me.

Catch them at Bumbershoot on Saturday on the EMP Level 3 Stage tomorrow at 6p.m. You won’t be disappointed. And if you are, what’s wrong with you?

*EDIT* Here’s a video of one of my favourite songs from the KEXP Concert at the Mural last weekend.

Visit Pickwick on Bandcamp at http://pickwick.bandcamp.com/

While Saturday is my designated FOLK day, Sunday is going to be non-stop energy. I can’t wait.

1:00: Wayne Federman and the Gregory Brothers at the Intiman Theatre. I don’t really know anything about this Wayne Federman guy, but the Gregory Brothers (otherwise known as Auto-Tune the News on YouTube if you didn’t already know) are sure to be a spectacle. They played at the 2^nd Annual Vidcon in Los Angeles in July. And from what I heard, it was awesome.

1:30: The Lonely Forest on the Mainstage. I may have seen this band way too many times, but I don’t care, because they’re that good. It might be kind of weird seeing them on the mainstage, because they moved the mainstage to the Key Arena this year instead of Memorial Stadium (yeah, that happened).

2:15: Mad Rad at the Fisher Green Stage. This band is an anomaly – I think they call themselves hipster-hop. I don’t even know how to describe them. Their live show is not for the faint of heart, but definitely not one to miss.

3:00: Broken Social Scene at the Mainstage. I missed their performance at Sasquatch 2010 and I smacked myself so many times for missing them, and I’m not going to do it again.

5:45: Das Racist at the Fisher Green Stage. Whether or not this group’s stage antics is alcohol-induced (most likely is), they have so much hilarious charisma that you’ll be laughing through singing along.

6:45: Warpaint at the Fountain Lawn Stage. You don’t see a lot of all-girl groups anymore. Also, I have not been able to stop listening to Warpaint all summer, so I will be getting my fix this weekend.

7:30: Allen Stone at the EMP Level 3 Stage Sponsored by Mission Foods Artisan. Allen Stone hasn’t even recorded a full-length album and he’s already been featured in USA Today. Seriously? How can you not see his live show? I can vouch – he’s awesome live.

8:00: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on the Mainstage. I was already in awe of his performance at Sasquatch, and I cannot wait to get back into that crowd full of energy once more. Plus, hearing “My Oh My” actually IN Seattle will be even more moving than before.

9:15: The Kills on the Fisher Green Stage. Alison Mosshart is fantastic, and anything she is apart of – I want to see. Plus, their last album released in April is a winner in my book. And since this will be my last show of the night, I wanna go out dancing.

Oh, but that’s not all! Tomorrow the festival starts, but it’s my final preview for Monday. So keep on the lookout for Bumbershoot coverage all weekend!

As Annastasia and I will be attending this year’s Bumbershoot Festival, we’ll be your trusty PopWreckers bringing you all the details about Seattle’s biggest festival of the year.

For now, here is my preview of Saturday’s lineup.

As much as people rave about festival headliners, this year’s mainstage lineup for Bumbershoot is kind of a bust, save Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on Sunday and Hall & Oates on Monday (but really, Hall & Oates is just for the nostalgia factor).

The best part of this year’s lineup is the overwhelming number of local bands playing the festival. For example…

12 Noon: Campfire Ok on the Fountain Lawn Stage. These adorable KEXP darlings released their first full-length this year, and I have yet to see them live. And I call myself a Seattle music geek. Pshh.

12:45: Yuni in Taxco on the Fisher Green Stage. I saw these guys open for the Builders and the Butchers earlier this year, and I’m interested to see where they’ve gone with their live show since then. Very interested.

1:15: Brite Futures on the… MAINSTAGE? What?! How did I not know they were playing the mainstage? Sure it’s at 1:15, but that’s pretty awesome for Seattle’s little band full of art students formerly known as Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head.

1:30: Kris Orlowski & the Passenger String Quartet at the EMP Level 3 Stage Presented by Mission Foods Artisan. One of many local musicians who has gone the grassroots route for building a fanbase – Kris Orlowski is friends with like every other music to grace small stages throughout the city. And he’s the one sending out all his releases, not a publicist.

2:15: Champagne Champagne at the Fisher Green Stage. This is my kind of hip-hop – fun and full of life, easy to dance to, and lyrics about Molly Ringwald. Tyler the Creator can eat his heart out.

2:45: Presidents of the United States of America on the Mainstage. Okay, so Presidents play Seattle quite often, since they do live here. They’re oldies but goodies. And if you haven’t seen them play live yet, it’s kind of like a right of passage in the Seattle music scene. So why not do it at Bumbershoot?

6:00: Pickwick at the EMP Level 3 Stage Presented by Mission Foods Artisan. This band is awesome. Amazing. Soulful. The next big thing. I’ll tell you more later (see my next edition of Fantastically Local…tomorrow).

8:30: STRFKR at the Fountain Lawn Stage. Enough with the name changes already! Thankfully, the whole Pyramiddd/Starfucker fiasco has ended and now we can just focus on dancing our skinny-jean-covered little asses off.

9:15: Minus the Bear at the Fisher Green Stage. For me, this time slot was a decision between Ray Lamontagne and Minus the Bear. For a closing act, I want something to keep my energy up, and Minus the Bear will do that for me over at Fisher Green. I don’t need sleepy folk soul at the main stage, because frankly it’s a bit boring at that point (i.e. Jason Mraz headlining at 10 PM two years ago, why? I don’t know.)

So you can either take my word for it or go build your Bumbershoot schedule over here at http://sched.bumbershoot.org/ But I suggest you take my word for it. More picks coming soon!

When coming up with a theme for this brand new feature of mine, I couldn’t help but think about all the open mics I’ve attended in the last year in Seattle and the surrounding area. One of them being at the Conor Byrne pub. If you live anywhere near Seattle, you may have heard of it – but if you don’t, I’ll fill you in.

Conor Byrne open mics are every Sunday night, in the heart of the laid-back Seattle neighborhood of Ballard. One band you may have heard of – the Head and the Heart – got their start there just over a year ago, and look at where they are now! So clearly Conor Byrne brings out some amazing musicians – including Damian Jurado, Tony Kevin Jr., the Local Strangers, Johnny Unicorn, and many others I can spend hours talking about.

One band that recently started playing Conor Byrne in the last few months is Bainbridge Island’s St. Paul de Vence, compiled of Benjamin Doerr as lead songwriter, Mike Sievers, Alex Malloy, and Justin Froese. The band plays lovely folk songs lined with banjo, ukulele, and accordion. Like the band’s name, St. Paul de Vence’s music has a French feel – filled with beautiful melodies and lyrics filled with history and longing. Perfect for a lazy summer night, and I love it.

Doerr says his songwriting began as a way to tell his grandfather’s story, “in particular his war experience in the south of France, where he grew up under German occupation and fought with the Free French to liberate his country,” Doerr writes on the band’s Facebook page. 

The first night I met Doerr was the first time St. Paul de Vence had played at Conor Byrne, and one thing I can say about this particular open mic – everyone there is incredibly nice and supportive and it feels like a community, even after playing there just once. As my boyfriend and I were leaving the pub, we passed by Doerr to tell him how great they were – and they were great. Doerr thanked us graciously and handed us both a little band flyer for their Bandcamp page.

Since that night, I attended one of their first shows in the U-District in Seattle about a month ago, the band released several music videos made by local filmmakers, and they’ve recently released their second EP, also on their official Bandcamp.

So why am I writing this right now?

St. Paul de Vence’s new EP, For Hummingbird, Heron, and Honey Bee, is available for a ‘pay-what-you-want’ on their Bandcamp page – so you can donate however much money you want to help pay for the band’s full-length this fall, or stream it and download it for free! I suggest donating just a little bit, because this band needs to put out a full-length. I heard plenty of amazing songs at their headlining show in Seattle last month that deserve to be properly recorded.

And hopefully St. Paul de Vence can follow a similar road as Seattle’s newest sweethearts the Head and the Heart. They have all the grand songwriting and awesome talent to warrant it.

For the full set of photos I got from their show last month, go here.

And for now, here’s a video from the show at Q Cafe last month I took.

Upcoming shows for St Paul de Vence are as follows:

Sept. 1 – Tractor Tavern – w/ Tony Kevin, Jr. and Sean Flinn & The Royal We
5213 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
$6 | 21+
9pm

Sept. 16 – Q Cafe – w/ Noah Gundersen and Zach Fleury
3223 15th Avenue West
Seattle, WA 98109
$TBD | all ages
8pm

For more information on this wonderful band, visit St. Paul de Vence’s website at http://www.stpaulband.com

Also, while you’re at it, check out St. Paul de Vence’s first EP, When Our Boys Have Been Buried, which is also awesome.

Keep your eyes open for more ‘Fantastically Local’ columns in the coming weeks!

Sunday started in the same place it would end, at the Vera stage, with a fantastic local band. As I entered the ground, I could hear Land of Pines soundchecking and immediately got excited. Land of Pines are one of the most promising bands I’ve seen lately, and their set was eagerly anticipated. They closed their set with a couple new songs that were especially enticing. These songs were noisier, and less pop orientated than older stuff and sounded excellent.

Following that set was another Main Stage act, My Goodness. They were one of two local bands playing that day I had been meaning to see for a while, but had somehow missed. This duo played bluesy rock reminiscent of The White Stripes, but with much bigger balls. They tore through their songs in a manner that ignited the crowd. It was all very exciting.

After that set I wandered around for a while enjoying the glories of Block Party, before heading to Neumo’s for the other local band I had been meaning to see, Campfire OK. http://campfireok.com/ They play a mix of folk and indie pop that is instantly intriguing. It’s a little dark, very orchestral and incredibly well played. Their new album Strange Like We Are is going to be in heavy rotation for a while. It’s kind of epic.

Headed back into the sun it was time for beloved  instrumental act Battles on the main stage. Battles were furious and noisy, with an electronic precision that the crowd responded well to. This was obviously a day to hear stuff I had ignored. The most recent Battles record Gloss Drop has been talked about quite a bit, and it was good to see why.

Over to the Vera Stage it was time for Lake. Lake sound very precious on their new album Giving and Receiving, and it was hard to gauge how they would sound live. They sound a bit like a less electronic Stereolab, if you need a reference. Luckily, they played well, and I’m convinced that I’ll be listening to their music for a long time.

Closing things out for me, were Grand Hallway, again on the Vera stage. I can’t get enough of this band, and see them every chance. They play fantastic orchestral pop that seems to get better every time I see they play. The hometown crowd was very receptive, and was definitely there for this band.

I walked away with their songs still echoing in my head, sad to see the weekend gone. I was totally exhausted, but filled with joy. I’m already anticipating Block Party next year. It’s only once a year I get to see my neighborhood taken over in such a magnificent way.