Sunday Bumbershootin'
Our day started early at the KEXP Backyard stage where the Mountlake Terrace trio, Mon Frere, woke us up, got us moving, fed us our delicious brunch of new wave keyboard and guitar anthems. We headed straight there – hadn’t even had our coffee yet, still a bit bleary-eyed from the night before. But this seemed the way to go. Jump right in. Don’t tip-toe into the lake like a pussy. Just get in there. It’s the best way.
The show was exhilarating as singer and keyboardist Nouela Johnston belted out the abrasively honest lyrics laced throughout their debut album Blood, Sweat and Swords. This girl can scream-sing with the best of them. Material-wise, they stuck to the album for the most part, but also threw in some songs from the earlier EP, Real Vampires. Drummer Dustin McGhie kept things moving while guitarist Kyle Swisher thrash-danced around stage, made faces and took himself a bit too seriously if you ask us.
Next up on our to-do list was Asssscat with Upright Citizens Brigade, but due to a misunderstanding with a gentleman working the line, we ended up missing this show. (Yes, we blame him.) So now we had some time to kill. What to do, what to do? Ah yes, foot-long corndogs of course! The quality of the dog was disputable, but who cares, the batter was delicious.
Now, with food in our belly, we wandered over to NW Rooms to check out Softly Threatening: Artwork of the Modern Domestic. We thought this was really cool. The exhibit features a baker’s dozen of artists making modern and socially dissenting statements, with many of the traditional mediums of mundane domesticity: a wedding cake decorated with Nazi imagery, automatic weapons fitted with crocheted cozies, switch-blades fashioned as ornate silverware, bombs and sticks of dynamite made of beautiful fabrics that bring Christmas to mind. While all of this was really neat, the real must-see at Softly Threatening is Mandy Greer’s Small But Mighty Wandering Pearl, which greets visitors in a half-lit, secluded room at the beginning of the tour. Small But Mighty features a life-size all-white stag dying on an all-white surface. He is slashed open at the gut, mass amounts of blood and entrails pouring and pooling red red red over the white surface. Except the blood is not blood, but an amalgamation of elegant fabrics and materials, shaped and sewn with staggering commitment. The red/white contrast is stunning, breathtaking even. Perhaps more remarkable than the image itself, is the quiet. As we and others entered this room there was a sense of respect and reverence for the dying beast.
After we’d had our art fix, we grabbed a coffee and stopped at the McSweeney’s tent where we promptly signed on for the full subscription of the Quarterly Concern and the new DVD quarterly, Wolphin. Now assured that we were well stocked with fiction for months to come, it was time for more food and a wee nap on the grass - another staple of the Bumbershoot experience if you ask us.
Next on our agenda was Tinkle, a comedy show which was supposed to have starred David Cross, Todd Barry and Jon Benjamin. We say “supposed” because Jon Benjamin couldn’t make it (flew to SF for a wedding apparently), so according to the Bumberfolk, the show would “not be a Tinkle,” but would be “David Cross only.” Oh darn, we thought. Oh darn. As a side note, we should say that this was the best waiting-in-line experience we’d ever had at Bumbershoot. Since we’d gotten there early this time and were at the front of the line, we were able to sit and read our new books in chairs, in the courtyard, outside the Intiman Theatre, where shade trees and a nearby fountain made for a very pleasant waiting environment. The show: David Cross is and always will be king. He’s not a bit-man, stringing together punch-lines, but more of a story-teller, taking us on a strange ride that almost always ends in irony. We love that. Aside from Cross, Todd Barry was also pretty damn funny, warning the crowd to stay away from the Bumbershoot Thai food, calling it “carni-Thai.” (For future reference, Seattlest agrees. Carni-Thai gave us carni-Thai gas.) A couple other famous comedians were there as well, but uh… meh. Not worth mentioning. Again: Cross is king.
Lastly, we hauled ass to the Blue Scholars show at the Mainstage, where we bobbed our heads and stared wide-eyed at DJ Sabzi's amazing command over the turn tables. Overall, a fine, entertaining show. Our only complaint however, is that there were a few too many instructions on how to wave your arms back and forth and not enough actual music.
