Seattle Subsonic

The Good, The Mediocre, The Muddy: Bumbershoot [Monday]

September 17th, 2009

OK. Its almost two weeks past Bumbershoot; but I still need to finish my tale of sorrow, and redemption. I need to ensure that no one else makes the same mistakes (not that you would).
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Muddy MONDAY [aka Black Eyed Please get off the stage]:
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I woke up late; exhausted from Sunday. Smarter today; I grabbed an umbrella and waterproof boots. I arrived at the comedy tent (too late to grab any tickets) and I hadn’t planned a damn thing. I decided to just make random choices and follow my tired instinct…
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Here’s what transpired:

• Anomie Belle – A good, and wet, start to the day. Her violin set was one of the best and I appreciated the larger backing band. There was a lot of anticipation, by me, for a collaboration with Mr. Lif. He only appeared for the very last song, but did lay down some crisp and poignant lyrics; I desired a bit more.
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• The Knux – The first Main Stage hip hop flop of the day. The lyrics weren’t impressive and the MCs filled time with self-impressed pot-smoking banter, even after they pulled 40 kids on the stage (the Monday crowd was under 18). They seemed pretty run of the mill and closed the set with House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’, but walked on and off stage without even singing the chorus to the song. Worst finale of the festival (I came to this realization when I stopped jumping).
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• Black Eyed Peas – This is where Monday took a nose dive (that inspired this article). We were on the way to see the well-hyped Lonely Forest; then we heard big things from the Black Eyed Peas (B.E.P.) on the Main Stage. The thought was that we would never actually pay, directly, to see B.E.P.; and that we could always catch Lonely Forest again (I’m an idiot. You can stop reading my reviews now, if you want). Admittedly,I think B.E.P. had some catchy songs and a glimpse of talent, prior to their pop explosion with Fergie.
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  The stadium was packed and their setup was huge. The main singers were lost amongst multi-tiered mayhem, bright lights, and huge sound. We squirreled up near the front and it was packed snug full of only youth trying to get a peek at some onstage scandal (mainly Fergie who has gone from blond to black hair. I didn’t think it was her).
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  I thought I would move frontward and find some people my age. Fergie was spending an unnecessary amount of time encouraging crowd surfing (don’t think anyone from the band bothered to jump in the crowd) and I capitalized on that idea; rather than fighting the crowd. I didn’t attempt to surf this bulk; and instead helped carry “surfers” through the waves of weak prepubescent muscles (although there was a satisfaction to watching people fail). This led me close to the front and smack into a line of taller adults that were fending for their kids.
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  Once the position was acquired, I came under the realization that no one my age was up front (they new better. I’m an idiot). Then in true Main Stage fashion the sound on the vocals died (or maybe the lipsync track) and only the beats could be heard. This went on for 10 minutes and the singers stood dumbfounded on the edge of the stage. No megaphones were acquired. Just the waiting game.
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  The sound came back and I vibed to a familiar song or two (with sweaty parents) until one of the singers (I’m bad with specifics) went into a freestyle rap. I can take hip hop for what it is (and that’s danceable) but rap is a different (and separate) game and there’s a fine line (some people can do both. I can do neither). The line was crossed and he laid down one of the worst freestyles that I have ever heard for several minutes (I have heard better freestyles from BNL). One outstanding lyric was [loosely quoted]: “I’m a Mac and not a PC; and by Mac, I mean Mack Daddy.” My brain cringed and Fergie took to a solo slow song. I walked out of the crowd and out of the stadium (leaving was a lot easier).
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  WTF Black Eyed Peas? Remember “Fallin’ Up”? Gone are those days. It just took me this long to believe it. Why did I miss Lonely Forest? BAD CHOICES. That’s why.

How I picked up the pieces:

• Mirah – While not the complete solution to my agony, she was a step in the right direction with a powerful voice and songs with some buildup. A little too slow for the moment though.
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• Reggie Watts – This comedian/musician was briefly on the small Toyota stage, as we walked by, layering samples of ridiculous sounds that he had been humming at different speeds. It was intriguing and moving. Two full cans of different free energy drinks, and more fresh talent, were starting to change my day.
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• Champagne Champagne – They played a short set; and we were just outside the door in the line for most of it. We got inside for the last two songs. The magnitude of the stage and the digital backdrop added to the surreal jungle ambient sounds, which the DJ lays behind some nice beats; and the lyrics were smooth. I finally got to see these guys (I had seen Pearl Dragon crowds of some of Seattle’s best shows for the past couple years. Being a fan of the scene is admirable). They killed their final song, with the addition of extra singer/dancers, and then Pearl walked (not surfed) straight onto the crowd’s hands to the middle (not meager kids); dropped down and walked away. Nice.
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  The set ended and people were still waiting outside to get in. How do others at Bumbershoot have that much free time and patience? And why is the EMP not a permanent venue (both stages are breath taking and an experience for artists/listeners)?
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• Akron/ Family – We took another laborious walk to the muddy Broad Street lawn and were pleased by the rockability of this group, but they weren’t competitive enough to hold our interest.
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• Janelle Monae – Wow. We accidentally stumbled upon the end of this intense set, on the Fisher Green Stage. I couldn’t walk away. If you took all the singing/dancing energy of Raphael Saadiq’s crew (from Sunday review); you would still fall way short of this performance. Janelle delivered big vocals which were accentuated by her intense wild movements (and the awesome floppy hair that followed them). The vibe was strong. Everything that B.E.P. had lacked, was here in this rock/afro-punk masterpiece. I’m not even sure if she realized that the speaker had cut out because she carried on; her voice and the band could be heard, without amplification, way past the beer garden (she kept it going, like it wasn’t an issue). The power came back and she clenched the set by surfing herself into the audience, while maintaining the same insanely high notes. How I have missed out on Janelle Monae before; I don’t know. In the few songs which I saw (unfortunately), she restored my faith in the music for the rest of the night.
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• Intermission – Took time to explore other artistic happenings around Bumbershoot. Cool installations scattered about the lawn, an intriguing acrobatic performance around a massive metal structure, and a strange parade of vegetables, in the fountain, passed the time.
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• Soulsavers featuring Mark Lanegan -Trekked back to the edge of the world (why is the Broad Stage, so far away?) and found the perfect combination of dark night sky and music (Lanegan’s strong vocals were some of the weekend’s best). We could have stayed the whole set and chilled out, but after several “just one more song” promises, gave in to texts about Franz killing it on the main stage.
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• Franz Ferdinand – We arrived mid show and the sound was so big and energetic that even the back of the stadium was dancing for once (a friend heard it way on the Hill). The crowd had finally matured too (and was on way more drugs/booze). The stage lighting and LED backdrops were a compliment to the manic sound. The lyrics were lost; and not essential. The crowd moved. The whole band took to drumming several times (good form!). It was a solid performance and a catalyst for several extra cups of free energy drink that I had consumed (is that even safe?). I took off to find more excitement.

The following 5 bands I saw in less than 2 hours:

• Head Like A Kite – Moving and well sync’d with EMP’s LED backdrop, but the crowd wasn’t there and no one was dancing. Next time, guys.
• Metric – Big crowd, full rock sound, but still too low key to follow-up Franz.
• Keller Williams – 1 guy/ 1 bass/ 2 guitars/ 1 mixing board. His talent, range, and improvisational humor (and music) were enough to keep me around.
• Sly & Robbie – The Fischer Green stage was packed full of time honored musicians, but the energy wasn’t there for me. Next.
• Modest Mouse – The crowd had mellowed a bit (compared to Franz) but Brock was still nailing the hits, which carried far through the crisp air (too poetic?). It was energetic; yet seemed sedate compared to the aggro-rock (possibly drunken) performance that I had fully appreciated at 2008 Sasquatch.

I almost dropped from exhaustion by the end of Modest Mouse. What a ridiculous turn-around the day had taken! Another rewarding weekend at Bumbershoot, trying to see everything, making my $25 a day worth while; without having to travel two hours away.
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What’s that??? They have films and other types of performances too? Fuck. I’m just one man.