Bumbershoot 2010 photograph slideshow by Natasha Davidson

Bumbershoot 2010, Day 3

Monday September 6th

For two days prior, Bumbershoot’s offerings were a blur. Exhibits, comedy, theatre, film, artwork, and of course music… Trying to get your bearings and explore everything was a task in itself. Something pointless to complain about.

As the Labor Day Monday began, entering the venue and observing carnival like performances on top of the opening lawn area, despite the mists of rain you couldn’t help but feel intrigued as to the day’s music performances.

Our first experience was Seattle’s BOAT annihilating their set in the EMP. They noted that the length of their performance was longer than their typical set, but despite some minor technical adjustments with the equipment, the group managed to continue on in style, with luminous light schemes flooding their stage.

The Whigs took over the Center Stage in the early afternoon, rain drizzling the crowds that stood before them. I had the good fortune of watching the set behind the hundreds alongside the beer garden. Which was where the fun commenced…

Asking one of the Budweiser drinkers what the damage would be if I were to go in there and get myself a beer, he noticed my accent and offered to buy me a drink. I’m not used to being offered drinks from other men, but after being convinced by my girlfriend to go ahead because it was free, I went on in. Little did I know that this man that’d offered me a drink was in fact a gang member complete with stereotypical tattooed hands, stories which he found amusing about how his brother had casually lopped off his now immovable finger (but had gotten him back to hospital with enough time for it to be sewn back on and of course) and how his son who’d had a scholarship to study music at the EMP was now incarcerated. I don’t think I should have asked what his son was up to now… Needless to say as The Whigs set continued on, we humoured the drunken criminal and made our excuses to go check out the KEXP performance by The Thermals.

The gang member, which lets call him “Dave,” insisted we take down his number. Politely we did so and managed to avoid him from there on end.

The Broad Stage remained strong and consistent with Meat Puppets and Surfer Blood both putting on stellar shows. Surfer Blood seemed a little on the fence with the crowd as they dabbled in performing unheard material, ignoring what their audience may have wanted. They did supply what was on demand, just not before they had exposed people to their newer music.

Booker T came out to the Starbucks stage to perform some classics as the night drew on. It seemed that the older soul demographic was well catered to at that stage on the grounds. Complete with his band, including his talented saxophone player, Booker T glazed over his hits and even performed his own version of “Ain’t No Sunshine.”

The State Farm Stage played host to Angelique Kidjo. Kidjo showcased her signature sweet soulful voice, dancing in a uniquely beautiful jittering fashion with her limbs taking a life of their own.

The Monday was definitely rap and rn’b's day with the mainstage playing host to Jay-Z’s protege J. Cole, Toronto’s musical monster Drake and the one and only Mary J. Blige.

J. Cole, despite not having an album out yet (rap’s new trend is generate a huge buzz with mixtapes and hundreds of guest verses then finally put out an album) got top billing. His audience was significant and although most of his material people had only head by downloading it, the lyrics had their fans with some songs like “Who Dat?” being recited word for word. His stage presence and crowd command showed a lot of promise for future shows. Signed to Jay-Z, he’s definitely in good company.

Drake came on early, much to many fan’s excitement. Festivals typically have people showing up on time, but oddly not in this case. The singer/rapper was 15 minutes prior to his announced start time. His set was performed smoothly, and clearly Drake knows how to engage crowd participation. However, my issue came in the confusion between being suave and vulgar. His romantic and sexual songs, which were soft spoken and sweet sometimes came in between excessive cursing before the songs began.

Mary J. Blige was definitely the third day’s highlight though. Having been listening to her since the early 90′s, finally watching her live was fantastic. Not to be offensive, but the way that woman moves and sings at her age is unbelievable. Mary moves with such pace and dances with such passion that it’s no surprise in between songs you could hear her gasp. The thousands that watched were taken aback as Miss Blige performed her many hits from “Real Love” to “No More Drama,” “I’m Goin’ Down” to “Family Affair.” The night’s worst and heaviest rain came during her set, but it didn’t matter. She surpassed how well she sounds on her records alongside adoring fans who joined her song’s every word.

The English Beat wrapped up Bumbershoot in a perculiar, but fan way. The group, which is quite racially diverse, has a middle aged white English front man speaking in a clear British accent but sings and ad-libs in a rastafarian tongue, even throwing out phrases like, “Rude boy.” Puzzling to see, but great to listen to and enjoy. The group definitely finished the festival on a high note.

As my first Bumbershoot, 40 years into the festival, I’m looking forward to next year. Thus far, it’s the most enjoyable and hard to absorb (based on the sheer amount of culture and music) three day showcase I’ve attended.

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!

Seattle, WA – January 23, 2009 – The Free Yr Radio (www.FreeYrRadio.com) campaign, created by Toyota Yaris and Urban Outfitters to generate awareness and support for partner independent radio stations, today announced the release date of the campaign’s benefit compilation album for January 27, 2009.

The Free Yr Radio 2008 Benefit Compilation features tracks from bands that participated in this past year’s Free Yr Radio tour. All profits from sales of the compilation will be donated to the Free Yr Radio partner radio stations. The compilation will be available exclusively at Insound.com for 99 cents, and buyers of the album will be encouraged to add a “tip” on top of the 99 cents as a way to donate more funds and show their support of independent radio.

Album benefit compilation available at: www.Insound.com/FYR

The track list for the Free Yr Radio 2008 Benefit Compilation is:

01. !!! – Must Be The Moon (Live at KEXP)

02. Chairlift – At My Side

03. Yeasayer – Final Path (Daytrotter Sessions)

04. White Williams – Blue Steel

05. Dan Deacon – Cave Birth

06. No Age – Padded Chair

07. Mudhoney – The Lucky Ones (Live)

08. King Khan & Saba Lou – Past and Gone

09. The Secret Machines – The Walls Are Starting To Crack (Live at KEXP)

10. The Walkmen – In The New Year (Live)

11. Tokyo Police Club – Your English Is Good (K-Os Remix)

12. Jamie Lidell – Rope of Sand (Live at Austin City Limits)

The participating Free Yr Radio stations from the 2008 campaign include Ohio.FM in Columbus, KVRX in Austin, KRCL in Salt Lake City, WPRB in Philadelphia, KIWR in Omaha, WERS in Cambridge, KEXP in Seattle, The Current in Minneapolis, KUSF in San Francisco, KUCI in Irvine, WVUM in Miami, and WVKR in New York. These stations will split 95% of the profits, with the other 5% being divided among the Free Yr Radio alumni stations from the 2007 campaign.

Each aspect of the Free Yr Radio campaign is designed to give partner independent stations tools to build awareness and help raise additional funds from their listener communities. Partner stations co-host free concerts as a means to increase exposure, gain new listeners, and generate support. The campaign also enables each participating station to award a brand new Toyota Yaris to one listener during their fundraising or awareness-boosting activities. The final component of the Free Yr Radio campaign is the benefit compilation album.

“We’re excited to wrap up another successful year of the Free Yr Radio campaign with such a unique collection of music from the bands that joined in the mission to support non-commercial radio,” said Keith Dahl, National Marketing Manager for Toyota. “By purchasing this compilation consumers will not only get exclusive new music, but will directly benefit the partner independent radio stations that are such a vital part of the music community.”

For more information on the Free Yr Radio campaign, please visit www.FreeYrRadio.com or contact Gregg Flotlin at (206) 388-1455 or gregg@206inc.com.

ABOUT FREE YR RADIO:

Now in its second year, the Free Yr Radio campaign helps generate awareness and funds for independent radio through a series of promotional activities including free station-sponsored in-store concerts by top indie artists, vehicle sweepstakes to augment station fund-raising drives and a benefit compilation. Yaris and Urban Outfitters joined forces to create Free Yr Radio in 2007 to start a conversation with their customers about the importance of independent radio and to encourage people to talk about, listen to and support their favorite stations. To learn more about the program, you can visit www.FreeYrRadio.com.

ABOUT TOYOTA MOTOR SALES, USA, INC.:

Toyota established operations in the United States in 1957 and currently operates 10 manufacturing plants, including one under construction. There are more than 1,400 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealerships in the U.S. which sell more than two million vehicles a year. Toyota directly employs more than 32,000 people in the U.S. and its investment here is currently valued at more than $13 billion, including sales and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial services and design.

ABOUT URBAN OUTFITTERS:
Urban Outfitters, NASDAQ: URBN owns and operates three retail clothing brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, and Free People. The first store opened in 1970 in Philadelphia, focusing on an eclectic mix of fashion and household products. Today, the Urban Outfitters line has expanded from vintage, bohemian, retro, ironically humorous, kitschy designed apparel and furniture to include many luxury branded collaborations such as Lark & Wolff by Steven Alan, Play by Charlotte Ronson, and Hawks by Geren Ford. Headquartered in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Urban Outfitters operates more than 140 stores in the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.