Official Bumbershoot Review
Bumbershoot
September 3rd – 5th, 2011
Seattle Centre, Seattle, Washington
To say that I enjoyed myself at Bumbershoot would be an understatement. In their four years co-producing the event, One Reel & AEG Live have truly achieved something special. Bumbershoot is a music festival that incorporates numerous venues inside the seventy-four-acre Seattle Centre during the labour weekend.
Bumbershoot’s greatest assets are its use of space, the variety of musical acts, and other performances in ambiguous mediums of art. Multiple stages, use of Paul Allen’s Experience Music Project, and beer gardens with great stage views all contributed to the overall aesthetic this year.
On the first day, Seattle sextet Pickwick played two dazzling shows filled with their mixture sultry garage–rock hodgepodge, while Swedish act Little Dragon had the crowd dancing on the Fisher Green stage. Adorned in gold clothing and electric blue shoes, vocalist Yukimi Nagano pranced around the stage, perfectly in sync with the synthpop being generated from her band mates. Ray LaMontagne, and his backing band The Pariah Dogs closed the evening with their soulful folk music, playing such hits as Jolene, Beg Steal or Borrow and Trouble,
Day two started out on a high note with an intimate performance from Tennis in the KEXP 90.3 music lounge, followed by an exclusive interview with guitarist Patrick Riley that we are eager to share with you, our readers and friends. After minor sound issues, Toro Y Moi delivered a solid performance. However, I cannot think of a time that Mr. Chaz Bundick has played a bad show, once his intergalactic love jams get into full swing, it’s hard to limit your hips’ fluidity.
The final highlight of day two was The Kills. Watching the raucous Allison Mosshart is always a pleasure, but since she began singing for The Dead Weather, there is definitely a new level of swagger to her step. Dressed in leather and leopard print, and with fierce blood-red hair, Allison and guitarist, Jamie Hince deafened the crowd with harder songs like “Sour Cherry” and silenced the crowd with the heart-wrenching “The Last Goodbye”
Waking up on the third day brought along an excited, but bittersweet feeling. It is difficult to come to terms with the fact that the steroidal amount of music that has filled your ears day in and day out will soon have to be substituted by your ipod…or Zune…wait does anyone actually own a Zune? Anyways, on with the music.
New York electro act Phantogram killed both their KEXP lounge set, and their Fountain Lawn evening set, Charles Bradley probably caused an extraordinary amount of pregnancies with his revivalist approach to soul, while at the same time subliminally telling us to never give up on your dreams. (The man was born in 1948 and only became active in the early 2000’s; it is never too late). The epic festival closed with a performance by Daryl Hall and John Oates, and they sure did make my dreams come true! Aside from their choice in clothing (picture your sixty-four year old trying to fit into your sisters pair of skinny jeans), Hall and Oates still have the energy and vocal talent that assisted them in their domination of the music charts in the seventies and eighties.
Of course there were a few low points (long lines for main stage acts and an afterhours event that still has a few kinks to work out), but for the most part it was an energetic and open-minded festival that catered to a large demographic of people. From families to the weird and wonderful, Seattle Centre was filled with three days of music, rich in variety. I highly recommend taking the trip down next year to be part of what is sure to be another great festival.
- Alec J. Ross
