Bumbershoot 2010, Seattle, Washington

September 4th, 2010

It is impossible to see all that Bumbershoot has to offer. Point blank. Now this is both a great and awful problem. With so many pieces of art on display, hundreds of food and market stalls, comedy stages, film showcases and several stages of concerts (usually with four going or more occurring simultaneously), it just isn’t reasonable to believe you can view everything. And so, you prioritize.

You take a look at the schedule of performances and highlight who you cannot avoid seeing, who you’re interested in and who you can reluctantly go without watching perform. The task is actually harder than you’d expect to narrow down.

The MVRemix agenda for Bumbershoot began with Plants and Animals performing at the Broad Street stage. The group performed to a covered lawn ranging in viewer’s ages. The audience was half stood and half seated as they saw what the emerging group had to offer. Plants and Animals belted out “New Kind Of Love” and “I Want To Dance” so for those unfamiliar with their material, the names were noted.

HEALTH came up next on the Center Square Stage, and after a clearly frustrating sound check for the lead singer at their scheduled time the group’s set kicked off. The Los Angeles band mesmerized the audience, especially a group of teenagers who couldn’t control their head banging, seeming constricted by the “no-moshing” signage. Of course the group had to perform “Triceratops” and “Die Slow.” The stage was located opposite a female trapeze artist riding on a trapeze beneath a female motorcycle rider along a wire. Quite an entertaining display.

Atlas Sound performed later in the afternoon on the Broad Stage. Pushing his vocal chords to the limits and appearing a little intimidated to his audience, the thin man performed his melancholy songs. A huge crowd by the sat watching beneath the view of the Seattle Space Needle with the age old outdoor festival ignorance as people seated on blankets or just spread out on the grass extended their fingers enough to be stood upon and “accidentally” crushed. Clever. Definitely a wise move when thousands are constantly moving.

KEXP put on a special Raveonettes performance that we were lucky enough to attend as the Danish group performed in a small hall live on the radio. It was entertaining to view the KEXP DJ’s getting into the group’s set and the girls’ passion for the music they were selecting beforehand to air.

The State Farm stage was consistently crowded with an eclectic range of performers and an audience that included many middle aged hippies. The Budos Band had a great clique of them swaying, as did the extremely engaging and energetic Balkan Beat Box’ set. The grass was almost eclipsed by dancers whilst both groups performed, and this was definitely the case later in the night when Ozomatli’s Latin Hip Hop fused energy took over.

The 1 Reel Film Festival was also a sight which you had to try and take in. MVRemix caught Love, Marriage and More, a collection of short films on that subject matter. “Dear Roommate” kicked off the short films, a tale about opposite sex roommate rivalry. It was followed by “Fancy,” an unspectacular and short dance number film and then the awkward “Non-Love Song,” a suggestive black and white film about a friendship that to one friend meant quite a lot more than to the other.

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros stole the festival as far as I’m concerned. The group took the stage about ten minutes late, but from the second they entered, the crowd (which went on further than the eye could see) were mesmerized. The band’s energy and performance was phenomenal. Lead singer Alex Ebert began the set by jumping into the front of the crowd to sing. He then proceeded to sit at the front and almost serenade the audience with his material. But the man couldn’t stay still, from seated, to running and dancing, the group’s passion was extremely strong. One of the most impressive portions of the set was the fact that Alex had to ask how long they had left to perform, suggesting the setlist wasn’t set in stone. I’d seen them perform earlier and the group seemed quite adaptable and ready to perform any of their songs on request.

With the sun set and the first day wrapping, we aimed to watch Bob Dylan’s mainstage performance. As the sold out area waited for the rock legend to emerge, line ups formed to get in. We were unable to pass a section because apparently [Bob] Dylan was walking around the area. The delay, which made the VIP and press entrances remove all pavement visibility (the lines went back quite far) shows Dylan’s celebrity power. What he says goes. Personally, I’m not a huge Bob Dylan fan, but seeing the old man perform his hits was fantastic. The crowd didn’t seem overly responsive though.

Unlike most people’s Bumbershoot experience, I managed to be fortunate enough to find an acquaintance being dragged out of Bob Dylan’s set. A paramedic under one arm, and someone I assumed was his friend under the other, he was brought outside of the Mainstage area. Now, believing that this was his friend accompanying him, I asked the guy what had happened. He laughed, and quipped “Od’ed on LSD.” He then proceeded to use his iPhone to take a couple of photos of my inebriated acquaintance before the paramedic placed him against a tree. The next hour would involve trying to get this person that I’d only been introduced to in passing earlier in the day home to safety.

It’s hard to believe that this has been a 40 year running tradition in Seattle, but after experiencing the first day, it’s clear why. Onto Bumbershoot Day 2!

Tags: Against Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Angélique Kidjo, Aterciopelados, Atlas Sound, Balkan Beat Box, Baroness Budos Band, Becki Sue And Her Big Rockin' Daddies, Billy Bragg, Boat, BOB DYLAN, Bobby Bare Jr. Booker T, Bomba Estéreo, BORN ANCHORS, Bouncing Souls, Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, Bumbershoot 2010, bumbershoot 2010 photos, Bumbershoot 2010 photos by Avery Fane, bumbershoot day 1, bumbershoot seattle, bumbershoot september 4th, Caspar Babypants, Chris Pureka, Civil Twilight, Constellations, Courtney Love Bumbershoot, Crash Kings, David Bazan, Delorean, Drake, Earle Bob Schneider, Eldridge Gravy and the Court Supreme, Fatal Lucciauno, Fences, Feral Children, Fresh Espresso, Georgia Anne Muldrow & Declaime, Great Waves, Greg Laswell, Greta Matassa Quartet, Grynch, H Sweet Water, Health, Helladope, Hey Marseilles, Hole, hole bumbershoot, hole photos bumbershoot, Horse Feathers, Idiot Pilot, J Cole, James Cotton, James Cotton Band, Jamie Lidell, JAPANDROIDS, Jay Electronica, Jenny and Johnny, Justin Townes, Laura Veirs, Lay Low, Lisa Dank, LMFAO, Loch Lomond, Mary J. Blige Rise, Mctuff Trio, Meat Puppets, Monday Standard, Motion City Soundtrack Neko Case, Ozomatli, Parlour Steps Kings Go Forth JEFF The Brotherhood, PEOPLE EATING PEOPLE, Pete Molinari Visqueen, Plants and Animals, RA RA RIOT, School of Rock Allstars, SEATTLE, See Me River, Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra, Slender Means, Solomon Burke, Star Anna & the Laughing Dogs, Surfer Blood, The Clientele, The Cute Lepers, THE DANDY WARHOLS, The Decemberists, The English Beat, The Lonely, The Maldives, The Moondoggies Physics, The Raveonettes, The Redwood Plan, The Spits, The Submarines, The Thermals, The Tripwires, The Whigs, Theesatisfaction, This Providence, Trampled By Turtles, Unnatural Helpers, Victor Shade, Vienna Teng Trio, Washington, WEEZER, Wheedle's Groove, Wild Orchid Children, Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers