Bumbershoot 2010, Seattle, Washington

September 5th, 2010

After an amazing first day at Seattle’s Bumbershoot Music and Arts festival, expectations were set quite highly. Dylan, Edward Sharpe, HEALTH and Solomon Burke were some of the first days highlights and so topping or matching the Saturday line ups wouldn’t be easy.

MVRemix’ Bumbershoot exploration for Day 2 began with checking out the Comedy North Stage. Dave Benson began the stand up session with an array of amusing marijuana related jokes on the substance’s benefits and negatives. He kicked off the hour long session, quickly followed by twenty minutes from Kumail Nanjiani, who stole the show. Racist jokes, movie references and an assortment of childhood memories had some audience members near tears, Kumail set the comedy standard extremely highly. John Mulaney (of SNL and Comedy Central fame) was up next and although he had his moments, Nanjiani was too good to top.

The rap highlight of the day came from Jay Electronica who began his side with an ode to J. Dilla, shortly followed by the stereotypical “Real Hip Hop” chant which has become almost formulaic in live rap shows. Electronica however managed to keep the crowd entertained performing songs from his EP and forthcoming album, and as his set wrapped getting everyone on stage.

Rise Against were the first to grace the Bumbershoot Mainstage for Day 2. The hard-rock group brought their music to life with their live renditions and despite the very visible signage, mosh pits were inevitable.

Unsurprisingly, Motion City Soundtrack had an audience unlike anything previously seen for the Center Stage. Their crowd wrapped around the attractions surrounding their little pocket, wildly surpassing their allocated space.

The Broad Street Stage saw a beautiful ensemble with it’s performance by Ra Ra Riot. The music was performed perfectly, but the chemistry between the group, despite fantastic, wasn’t as mesmerizing as the cellist’s skeleton of a cello. A marvel to stare at. Not trying to take away from their music though, but I couldn’t keep my eyes of the cellist, and he cello, of course.

James Cotton “Superharp” Blues Band had the audience at the Starbucks Stage bopping away as the afternoon wound towards it’s end. After a warm up from the Blues Band, the aged Cotton inched his way across the stage, harmonica in mouth, and sat before his audience. The blues sound left all ages grinning and swaying. Later in the night Billy Bragg graced the same stage with the night sky being the perfect canvas for Bragg’s set. The cockney told interesting stories in between his one man band performances, he managed to charm hundreds just with his personality and guitar. His audience nearly quadrupled previous shows at the same stage on Day 2.

Clearly there was a huge amount of hype surrounded Hole’s return performance at Bumbershoot, and Courtney Love definitely didn’t disappoint. Coming out in her signature look and donning a tiara, after a monarch like introductory theme preceded her entrance, the lead singer seemed as confident as ever and performed in a manner to justify that. Touching on new album material and performing “Honey,” “Violet” and her much loathed song to perform, “Celebrity Skin,” her voice remained powerful and her crowd controlling skills excellent. She was at her best. Not to mention her Pearl Jam “Jeremy” cover which she decided to perform for the last time in Seattle.

Mosh pits began and ended shortly afterwards in the Hole audience. It was amusing to watch the angry lesbian rivalries though, as girls tried to push in front of others and were met with violent threats. Nothing materialized, but there was clear tension.

Following her set, Courtney Love proceeded to shake hands with those in the front row of her audience. When met with a copy of “Seattle Weekly” to sign for a fan (a weekly paper which at the time of handing it to be signed depicted Love as a whore putting on make up) she declined the request with a clear, “Fuck no, I hate that shit.”

I was astounded to find Weezer’s set to steal the second Bumbershoot day. The group are far from one of my favourites, but after viewing them perform live, my perspective has quite drastically changed. Their catchy songs appeal to a certain demographic, but seeing Rivers Cuomo run about, jump onto speakers and physically run through his massive audience wasn’t something I’d expected.

Their set kicked off with “Hash Pipe,” continued on to “Undone – The Sweater Song” and moved into other hits, as well as newer material. The group looked like they were having fun, smiling and joking with one another as the set went on. Cuomo often spun the mic stand around like it were a twirling batton, the man just couldn’t remain still. Weezer’s songs had a new dimension added when live. They surprised audiences even more with their encore; a mash up of Lady Gaga and MGMT.

Weezer mentioned midway through the set their love for Seattle, and that it really was the city where in 1994 everything started. There’s truth to that, their “Undone – The Sweater Song” single was picked up by DJ Marco Collins of Seattle’s “The End” radio station and their career went from there.

The Weezer set to wind up Bumbershoot’s Sunday was a great triump, topping that of Dylan’s comparatively mellow/downbeat mainstage finale the night before. Their energy kept everyone captivated for the entire show.