All the Freaky Monday Bumberpeople (last Monday, right)
The final day of Bumbershoot (last Monday, September 4th) usually brings out the biggest crowd (well, at least it did last year with the Pixies headlining). This year’s main stage headliners, the reformed punk legends Iggy Pop and the Stooges headlined with local grunge kings Mudhoney warming up the crowd for them. While it was a little more crowded than the previous days of Bumbershoot - it was nowhere near as packed as it can be. Less crowded always equals better Bumbershoot. Here were our highlights of the day:
1) The Decemberists (Main Stage) - This schizophrenic Portland based band see-saws between Death Cab sounding indie rock (potentially thanks to the influence of Death Cab’s guitarist and producer Chris Walla) and pirate drinking songs and ballads. This band is having fun on stage and getting crowds of thousands to mime the jaws of whale during their “Mariner’s Revenge Song” which features the lovely chorus “Find him, bind him, tie him to a pole and break his fingers to splinters drag him to a hole until he wakes up naked clawing at the ceiling of his grave…” Their dark humor and musical complexity makes us all glad that bands like this are getting an audience.
2) Dashboard Confessionals (Main Stage) - Clean cut, pretend-punk teens and college age students singing every word to every song. An obviously drunk teenager shouting “DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL SUCKS!” at the top of his lungs to every person that passes him in the food court. Our take on it is that when Chris Carraba sings solo with just an acoustic guitar, his songs are folk/punk coffeehouse gems. With his full band, they are just another pop-punk band that The End used to push (see: Good Charlotte, Jimmy Eat World or Blink 182). We have the love and the hatred at the same time.
3) The Be Good Tanyas (Backyard Stage) - It’s amazing that these three Canadians are new to the music scene (well, like 5 years new). Their music seems to come straight out of the 1930’s in the American south. The biggest crowd we have ever seen on the Backyard Stage was filled with a collection of families, tattooed hipsters in their 20’s and 30’s, and folk music lovin’ baby boomers. Something about the constant tuning issues that would cause the ladies to stop and awkwardly chatter with the crowd seemed to add to the feeling that we were just hanging with these girls in their yard.
4) Highway 99 All-Stars (Blues Stage) - This group of old white boys and girls play the blues reminiscent of local blues outfits in Chicago and St. Louis. These folks play traditional blues tunes with a full blues band, complete with harmonica, organ, horns, and your typical - drums, guitar, and bass. They are all regulars at the Highway 99 Blues Club, which is located under the Pike Place Market. Check them every first and third Thursday for a trip down the road to traditional Midwestern blues.
5) Choklate (Bumbrella Stage) - This sometimes Jambalaya contributor is going solo. The dance rhythms of her band combined with her soulful voice made for some serious booty-shakin’. Check her out in Fremont at Nectar with Vitamin D on September 30th.
6) Ted Leo and the Pharmacists (What’s Next Stage) - This show was the only show that we saw in the Exhibition Hall. Experience has taught us that the long line is almost never worth it because seeing a band here is like watching a band in a gymnasium. Lots of reverb and feedback. Our love for Ted Leo tried to ignore the feedback and the bass that was turned up WAY too loudly. It took the sound guys 30 minutes to get it straight, and then we were able to enjoy the trio’s athemic dance punk for a few songs.
7) Brazilian Girls (Bumbrella Stage) - There is actually only one girl, and she is Italian. The music is somewhere on the same planet as Bjork or Dee-Lite, heavy on the trance side of electronica. The lead singer was wearing white “glasses” with the eye holes spelling out “yes!” She danced and writhed around the stage successfully attempting to get the laid back Seattle crowd groovin’. One of our electronic music friends shouted “This is the BEST BAND of the weekend.” We did not agree, though we did like.
8) A tangent about the Radio Stations of Seattle - When we are attending a musical event, we don’t want to listen to the stupid songs on your radio station, especially if your music is in no way connected to the music at Bumbershoot. We walked by booths from Kiss 106.1, Star 101.5, and Kube 93.3 only to have the music of Bumbershoot drowned out by “My Life is a Highway” or some crappy song by J. Lo. At least 107.7 The End was playing music that related to Bumbershoot in an area away from the stages, but that doesn’t stop them being The End. Over enthusiastic interns whose eyes have a brainwashed gleam, get in my face asking me if I want to be part of ridiculous promotion for something I don’t care about. The only radio stations with booths that seem to get it right was KEXP 90.3 and KMTT 103.7. Their booths sat quietly to the side of the stage…saying “we are cool enough to be here, and you can check us out if you’d like -- if not, no worries.” Obviously, these radio stations care about the music.
9) Michael Franti and Spearhead (Bumbrella Stage) - Being in the crowd of a Spearhead show is truly a unique experience. Michael Franti is gonna preach to ya, be sure about that. You are going to be told to lift your arms in the air, and the music will force your hips to move from side to side. You will be told about the evils of the world and how the little guy is being kept down by THE MAN. Experiencing this at the end of Bumbershoot was rapturous. This version of Spearhead seemed to be more rock than hip-hop, but that did not diminish the dancing The crowd was smashed together, but everyone smiled and the whole crowd rocked with a singular rhythm. “All the freaky people make the beauty of the world.” Amen Michael, and goodnight Bumbershoot!
