The Festival: One of the last big ticket events of the summer concert season, Bumbershoot 2011 wrapped up this past weekend. The arts and music festival once was a bona fide phenomenon in the city of Seattle, bringing in acts from all over the musical spectrum to perform, as well as dance, classical, literary giants, and comedians. And it was all happening free of charge. Nowadays it's just another festival, with all the ridiculousness that accompanies it. There are the folks wandering around with their Gold or Platinum passes, skipping ahead of all the plebeians in line who just bought normal tickets. Corporate sponsorship spun out as far as the eye can see. Booths hawking everything from shampoo to energy drinks to (I swear to God) 1300 thread count sheets.
The Attendees: An almost entirely white mix of income brackets. Lots of families. Lots of young women in short cut off jean shorts. Lots of young dudes pridefully walking around shirtless. A few too many Utilikilts. Plenty of Hawaiian shirts or t-shirts advertising past Bumbershoots. All of them look bored or stoned out of their minds.
The Lineup: The consensus from almost everyone I eavesdropped on and the folks I spoke to was that this year's event was something of a let down. There were no acts that everyone was buzzing about - apart from local hip-hop hero Macklemore (about which much more later) and maybe Hall & Oates. Otherwise, it seemed like the bookers had to cherry pick from the acts that weren't already snatched up by Sasquatch, Doe Bay, the Capitol Hill Block Party, and all the other festivals that are cluttering up the concert calendars of the Northwest. The big names that were there - Broken Social Scene, Big Boi, The Presidents of the United States Of America - were well past the hum of buzz that accompanied their last albums. And the rest of the headlining acts lacked the punch that other festivals have landed.
The Lifers: For the bookers of Bumbershoot, age ain't nothin' but a number. They love the legacy acts that have been plying their respective trade for decades upon decades, giving them as much respect as the new brood of artists. This year, that meant soul stirrers like Mavis Staples, Charles Bradley, and (yes) Hall & Oates. For this writer, that meant someone like Kristin Hersh, the leader of Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave who put together an absolutely inspiring and heart aching one-woman performance that featured readings from her memoir
Rat Girl and songs from throughout her still-thriving career. Too, it meant aging punks NoMeansNo, who whipped through an hour-long set of Beefheartian Marxist rage with the sweat and fury of angsty teenagers. Sadly, this also meant Pentagram (subbing for Eyehategod who canceled earlier in the summer) who drug out their 60+ year elvish singer Bobby Liebling to hobble around and try and keep up with his much younger band mates.
The New School: No one told me just how weird Dam Funk was going to be onstage. But his set of warped soul and space funk made the afternoon air a little bit sweeter (the contact high I was getting from the crowd helped on that front as well). Contrast that with Shabazz Palaces, the local hip-hop group whose debut album Black Up is one of the front runners for album of '11. It is just as spacey and warped as Dam Funk but was presented onstage with little flair. Just two dudes behind a table rapping and playing bits of percussion. Dynamic music like theirs demands a dynamic live interpretation. And although my schedule tended to avoid the Portland acts (I get to see them a lot on my own), I couldn't resist a set by Red Fang. Especially to hear how the last month and a half on the road has elevated their live attack. The result of that time on the road: their live sound has reached Everest-like heights. They were white hot.
The Laptop Brigade: One of the wisest decisions that the Bumbershoot bookers made was to give an entire stage over to the folks that run the electronic/dance music festival
Decibel (happening towards the end of the month in Seattle). Under their supervision, the Sky Church at the Experience Music Project—the part of the museum that boasts a two story high LCD video screen-was host to some amazing acts from around the world. Some highlights included a devastatingly sexy set by HTRK (minus the disturbing octopus porn that was played behind them at one point), the whirligig electro cooked up by our own Nice Nice, and a full band performance of deep pocket grooves by Tycho.
The Regrets: I had to miss the entire third day as I had to rush home to deal with an ailing wife. That meant missing out on a reunited Grant Lee Buffalo, a post-Viagra arrest Big Boi, and, yes, God damnit all, Hall & Oates.
The Bottom Line: It definitely felt lacking. In years past, I have felt urged to bounce all around the grounds to catch a few dozen acts. The 2011 edition had a lot of downtime for me, allowing me to catch up on my curly fry eating. I hate to say it, but I had a more inspiring and exciting time at the shows I went to outside of the Bumbershoot fold. Ah well. On to Musicfest.
