Can't Miss It: Bumbershoot, 6 Must See Acts
Saturday
Bob Dylan We were lucky enough to see Bob Dylan play earlier this year before a relatively small audience at The Moore Theatre. One word describes the experience of seeing Dylan perform live -- spiritual. Men cry, women swoon, and teenagers question everything they thought they knew. Goosebumps, friends. Bob Dylan, perhaps the single most important American music living legend, radiates with more soul than any musician we've ever seen. And that energy, that lust for life and meaning, rubs off on any audience member willing to quiet down and listen. His tattered voice doesn't hold as long as it used to, but he's found a way and a grace around that, modifying his old hits and sticking to the new classics. Most Dylan set lists consist of cuts from his last two albums, so expect plenty of newer material. But with no one following him on the Bumbershoot main stage, he just may take everyone on a lengthy stroll down Memory Highway.
Watch Times They Are A Changing live 2010
9:00 p.m. // Bumbershoot Mainstage
Atlas Sound Deerhunter leader Bradford Cox proves time and again why he is on the shortlist of best musical artists so far this century. With his solo project, Atlas Sound, Cox creates each song from scratch in front of the audience, often using only an acoustic guitar and an array of effects pedals to paint complete portraits of brave new worlds. What some might see as bells and whistles, Cox's digital tools highlight his songwriting ability instead of overshadowing it. Imagine watching a deft and daring painter piece together a work of art in 5 minutes in front of a bewildered audience. This is Atlas Sound. Able to go from acoustic dance jam to rolling ambient tune to near-folk ballad without ever sacrificing quality, thoughtfulness, and more importantly, the pursuit of pop perfection, Atlas Sound is absolutely, positively not to be missed.
4:00 p.m // Broad Street Stage
Sunday
Delorean This up and coming alt-dance band from Spain's Basque region may only have a few releases to its name, but its most recent, the Ayrton Senna EP, has propelled the band into the welcoming arms of the indie mainstream. Fans of MGMT , Yeasayer, and the like will surely be front and center. Expertly mixing analog drum, bass, and guitar with a satisfying wall of synth, Delorean crafts dance pop songs that absolutely transport the listener to whatever vision of laid back paradise they've imagined. With a 7:30 p.m. slot, there's a chance the band might perform Seasun just as the glowing sun lowers itself over the Seattle Center hills, weather permitting (fingers crossed), and that could make this set totally unforgettable.
7:30 p.m. // Broad Street Stage
The McSweeney's Program bumbershoot always gives writers and readers great opportunities to soak in the thoughts and words of the day's best and brightest. This year is no exception. The constantly wonderful McSweeney's, Dave Eggers' publishing house, presents the aptly titled "The McSweeney's Program," which features Adam Levin, author of The Instructions; Eli Horowitz and Mac Barnett, authors of Clock Without a Face; and Hilton Als, theatre critic for The New Yorker and contributor to Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern #35. The event will be moderated by Brian McMullen, creative director at McSweeney's. The program will most certainly be filled with insights, inspiration and laughter.
5:30 p.m. // Words and Ideas Stage
Monday
Booker T. 65-year-old Booker T. Jones, best known as the frontman for the legendary R&B instrumental group Booker T. and the MGs, is back. With the release of 2009's Potato Hole, his third album and first since 1981, and with a number of tour dates in 2009 and 2010, Booker T. is reminding the world what classic R&B is all about. When you write "Green Onions," play on hundreds of recording with the likes of Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and establish the Stax Records Sound, well you don't ever have to work again. But Booker T.'s coming for us anyway, playing the Starbucks Stage (seriously, why is Booker T. not playing the main stage?) and showing how he hasn't lost a thing since '62. There's nothing else going on at 8:30, which means there's no excuse to miss another of this year's Bumbershoot living legends.
Watch Green Onions live in 2009
8:30 p.m. // Starbucks Stage
Mary J. BligeWith Booker T.'s set scheduled to run until 9:45, there's certain to be plenty of people torn on whether to stick around the Starbucks Stage or make their way to the main stage for Mary J. Blige's headlining set. It's a win win either way you look at it, but we're going to try to make that decision a little more difficult by saying that Booker T. may be a legend, but Mary J. Blige is, indisputably and undoubtedly, the queen of modern soul. Owner of 9 (9!) Grammy Awards and 8 multi-platinum albums, and a voice unparalleled in today's Top 40 gloss, MJB is possibly the last pillar of popular R&B and soul music. Expect the main stage stands to be utterly packed. She is a force, beautiful, and smooth, and just so so much cooler than we. Bumbereshoot's 40th Anniversary lineup is one of the best in recent memory, and to end with a headlining set by Mary J. Blige seems to be the best icing on an already fantastic birthday cake.
9:00 p.m. // Bumbershoot Mainstage
