Saturday, Our Eyes Could See the Bumberglory of....

1) Mercir (EMP Sky Church) - We started the day with some electro indie rock. With moody vocals, usually more atmospheric than lyrical, this three piece uses guitars, keyboards and a latop computer to create a rich wall of sound.

2) Citizen Cope (Main Stage) - We keep hearing about how great Citizen Cope is. That “Bullet in a Target” song is everywhere. Prior to Saturday, the other songs we heard by him (aka Clarence Greenwood), all sounded like he had found a box of old tunes from Everlast in his basement. However, his songs had much more range and variety live. His mushy, lazy way of sing/talking gets our heads nodding to groove.

3) DeVotchka (Bumbrella Stage) - A violin, drum set, tuba, stand-up bass, accordian electric guitar and other guitar-like instruments are all shared by 4 folks who play folk music from all over the world - French, Klezmer, Irish and Latin - with a little reverby indie rock thrown in for good measure. Dark and danceable in the afternoon sun. The drummer and a horn player from Seattle based band Crooked Fingers sat in for a great Latin tune.

4) Ian McFeron Band (Backyard Stage) - Acoustic rock championed by KMTT 103.7 is like, so 5 years ago. However, this little local band, fronted by what sounded like the illegitimate love child of Elton John, impressed us with a range of blues, alt-country (whatever that is), some funky riffs and a couple of fantastic politically charged songs.

5) Alpha Yaya Diallo (Bumbrella Stage) - Widely smiling dark skinned gentlemen and an African dancer is always necessary at any outdoor festival. So HERE is where the dreadlocked people were hanging out!

6) IQU (EMP Sky Church) - Instrumental electonica straight out of a dance party at Tron’s house. High pitched squeals pierce the melodies underneath with driving dance beats. Fans of electronic music stepped away from this show totally blown away.

7) Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion (Backyard Stage) - That’s right, Guthrie. Arlo’s daughter and Woody’s granddaughter. She has hooked up with a very talented guy (who is John Steinback’s great-nephew) and together they harmonize some excellent country blues rock. Oh yeah, they are REALLY married and not pretending to be brother and sister.

8) Clinton Feron and the Boogie Brown Band (Bumbrella Stage) - Local reggae. Impossible to stand still while listening. These folks always play around town and at festivals. You can’t be a Seattle music fan without accidentally seeing them at least once. If you have managed not to see them, you should.

9) Billy Joe Shaver (Backyard Stage) - A good ol’ boy from Texas. This old fella puched the air and danced around like a champ, even though his hair was white and balding. Honest to goodness singing cowboys, not the Gene Autry kind either, more like the dirty old man kind.

10) Benefit for 826 Seattle (McCaw Hall) - We almost skipped this one, and we are SO glad that we didn’t. Mike Doughty, former front man of Soul Coughing who has been rocking a solo career for the past couple years, played a super solo set. His gritty voice, recognizable guitar rhythms, and beat-poet like lyrics were perfect for McCaw Hall.

Sarah Vowell, the voice of Violet of the Incredibles, contributer to NPR’s This American Life, and author told us all about the ironic history of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. She was accompanied by a familiar voice from the Transatlantic Orchestra….wait a minute….that’s Ben Gibbard, is that the whole band?!

Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) was the emcee for the evening, and his biting humor was perfect for the role, which raised over $10,000 for the experimental writing workshop founded by author Dave Eggers.

Wait, was that really Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla?

Turns out, the Transatlantic Orchestra was really a surprise guest…Death Cab for Cutie. As huge Death Cab fans, this was very exciting. They played a couple tracks from their new album (“I will follow you into the night…” is one of the most beautiful songs we have heard in years) in addition some oldies.

They ended the evening with a jam including Mike Doghty and Lemony Snicket on accordian to a cover of “Hungry Like the Wolf.” You did read that correctly.

11) Digable Planets (Bumbrella Stage) - Before the Roots were using real instruments for hip hop - the Digable Planets were showing us that they were “Cool Like Dat.”

12) Our loss - While not a huge Phish Phan any longer, we did want to check out Trey Anistasio see what he is up to these days. We just couldn’t get over there after experiencing a surprise visit from Death Cab. We were also torn because we wanted to check out one of the bands that all the indie kids love, Minus the Bear, but we can’t get everywhere! By the way, someone needs to hook up Pedro the Lion, Le Tigre and Minus the Bear for the “Lions and Tigers and Bears - OH MY!” Be sure and send a few posters and T-shirts to Seattlest as payment for the idea.

See y’all later for more coverage of Bumbershoot!