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/
