We were expecting the first day of Bumbershoot to be absolutely hellacious, what with the warm temps and the large crowds. Surprisingly, neither weather nor crowd size was *that* bad. As to the music:

Interest is building for local band The Purrs, and their solid set at the EMP Sky Church showed why. Their sound is straight-forward jangly rock, with heavy British influences and more than a hint of shoe-gaze. The band really took advantage of the venue, making good use of the large stage and awesome light show.

Meanwhile, The Thermals were stuck in the basement of Exhibition Hall, a venue with sound so terrible that it dooms all bands to sounding simultaneously muddy and tinny. The Portland three-piece (with another new drummer?) didn't seem to mind; they charged through their immediately catchy pop-punk ditties with the same high-energy they always do. Playing songs off of all three full-lengths, Hutch and Kathy were almost as bouncy as the teenage fans in the audience.

We closed out our night at the Backyard Stage. Of Montreal played a great set of their quirky pop all clad in costumes. There were tight pants, and a guy in a dress, and a waaaacky hat. As an encore, they performed the requisite over-the-top cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," which was heavy on the echo, and ended with lead singer Kevin Barnes tearing his shirt open. Well-played, Of Montreal, well-played.

Badly Drawn Boy was up next. In his trademark knit cap and scruff, Damon Gough looks pretty unassuming. Too bad he's a total cock. He opened the set with the title track off of upcoming album Born in the U.K. twice---first as a slowed down version, and then at regular speed. He spent a great deal of his act complaining to the sound guys about this or that (dude, if you're that particular, have your own engineer travel with you), doing cigarette-flipping tricks, and demanding that the crowd clap along with his songs in a very specific way. He's certainly accomplished, but the set was kinda lackluster (despite his cover of "Like a Virgin"). If you're gonna be that pompous, you need the material to back it up. And we don't mean that one great album you had in 2000. Badly drawn, and with an attitude to match.

Photos care of Flickr / user photophonic.