This is where I do that old person thing and tell all you kids about how I used to go to Bumbershoot every year on my birthday and wander around all four days, and discover bands, and nerd out and love, love, love it. You know, back when it was free, and then like, $5 a day, or $15 for the whole weekend.

And then it just got to be too much—standing shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers, crushing through crowds trying to make my way between stages, the damn stupid “we must empty out the entire Key Arena” rule between shows, so you couldn’t even camp out for two bands in a row. Gawd. Waiting in line for 2 hours to get into Memorial Stadium somehow became less fun too…and my tolerance for bullshit declined sharply after I edged over 35.

But! After not going for many years, I have braved it again for the last three, and honestly it’s growing on me again. Even though they cut it down to 3 days instead of 4, the festival seems mellower overall. Sure there are still a lot of people, but it’s not so many that I can’t deal with it, more or less. And it made me remember what I love about Bumbershoot the most: a combination of seeing old favorites play, and wandering around and a listening to bands that I might not have heard of, or have been intrigued by. And there’s so much other stuff besides the music to love too.

And so, Sunday at Bumbershoot was pretty much the best Bumbershoot day ever, because of the following things:

1:30pm: Katie Kate kicks the newly installed stage at The Promenade’s ass. Like, all the way across the entire Seattle Center. This woman knows how to work a crowd, and work it she did—there were more people dancing to Katie than I’ve ever seen in Seattle. The guy in front of me was popping and locking so much I thought he might implode. At the height of my enjoyment, she threw out a “Read My Motherfucking Tote Bag” …tote bag, and my boyfriend caught it. HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY TO ME. And then she nearly killed me by covering Kate Bush “Running Up That Hill.” What. I love her. So so so much.

more...

As you wind down from Bumbershoot weekend next week, don't forget that a mere 48 hours later (yep, we're talking about next Wednesday, folks) there is whole 'nother festival getting underway midweek: Portland's own Musicfest Northwest. Boasting an impressive lineup of both local and national headliners, it's difficult to decide who to see -- we feel like we've changed our schedules a million times already! So, pack some walking shoes and check out some of our picks to help keep the venue-hopping as easy as possible. Make sure to check out the MFNW site to get exact set times and to make your own customized schedule.

WEDNESDAY

The first night of the fest is seems decidedly easygoing: open your night with a passion-filled set of powerful vocals from LP before catching the first night of dance-heavy pop at Passion Pit's two-night stint at the Crystal Ballroom. If you are thinking you need something to do before 9pm, head to the Mission Theater and see Don't Follow Me (I'm Lost): A Film about Bobby Bare Jr. at 7pm, then catch the man himself playing the Doug Fir at 10:40pm.

7:00p :: Don't Follow Me (I'm Lost): A Film About Bobby Bare Jr., Mission Theater
9:00p :: LP, Crystal Ballroom
10:00p :: Passion Pit, Crystal Ballroom
10:40p :: Bobby Bare Jr., Doug Fir

Runners up: The Minus 5 {Doug Fir @ 9:00p}, Sloan {Doug Fir @ 11:00p}.

THURSDAY

Thusday is really the first full day of shows, and man, is it packed. If you're following our lead, we think there's really no excuse not to miss Reignwolf since he's the first show of the night -- those screaming guitar solos and blues-laden vocals are a great way to start! Stick around and hear high-energy punk from Those Darlins before heading up to Mississippi Studios, where you can check out Portland's Mbilly before you are utterly mesmerized by the dreamy pop sounds of Lemolo. That's where we'll be!

7:15p :: Reignwolf, Roseland Theater
8:00p :: Those Darlins, Roseland Theater
9:00p :: Mbilly, Mississippi Studios
10:00p :: Lemolo, Mississippi Studios

Honorable mentions: These United States {9:00p @ Aladdin Theater}, Quasi {10:00p @ Hawthorne Theater}, Old 97's {10:30p @ Roseland Theater}.

FRIDAY

The trifecta of seeing Menomena, Beirut, and The Helio Sequence in one night really can't be topped.

more...

Flatstock at the Armory
11am-8pm, all three days

I say this EVERY year, but you absolutely have to take some time out of your music-watchin’ day to browse the aisles at Flatstock and see tons of amazing poster art. Seriously. Go. I’m not kidding.

Record Store
Visual Arts Exhibits at the Seattle Center Pavilion
11am-8pm, all three days

Ok, it’s not really a “store” in that you can’t buy the vinyl contained within, but! But but but. They put together a HUGE collection of records that you can browse through and choose to play—either for everyone inside, or just for yourself—and generally just marvel over how awesome records still are. Step inside this exhibit for sweet listening party bliss.

Read It and Weep (A Celebration of Nicolas Cage)
The Vera Project
Saturday 1:15pm-2:15pm

Three podcast guys dissect and review some of the worst of the worst Nic Cage movies, including Wicker Man, Ghost Rider and … CITY OF ANGELS. Dude. This is going to be hilarious!

more...

Hayyyy Imaginaries! Now’s the time of year where I remind you that in addition to Bumbershoot’s awesome musical acts, our local festival is also packed with films and performing arts, and my favorite: people talking about stuff that gets you thinking about stuff. Here are a few things in the Words & Ideas program that are thrilling me:

Saturday, September 1

Why Fairy Tales? Why War on Women? Why Now?
Leo K Theatre, Words & Ideas Stage
5:15pm-6:15pm

Lindy West is actually going to be a couple of places for Bumbershoot this year, but I’m most interested in seeing what she has to say (hilariously, I’m sure) about how women are represented in pop culture and politics, so if you have to choose, I think you should be at this one. West joins a bunch of other rad ladies on stage, and I’m sure it’s going to be one of those laugh/cry/throw-up-because-you’re-so-overwhelmed kind of talks.

John Waters – This Filthy World: Filthier & Dirtier
Bagley Wright Theatre
8:30pm-9:45pm

You guys. JOHN FREAKING WATERS is going to be at Bumbershoot! I can’t even. I’m hyperventilating because I’m so excited about this. Watching Waters perform This Filthy World: Filthier & Dirtier and talk about all the things is likely going to be one of the best parts of the weekend. Trust me on this. (and if you’ve never seen a John Waters film, for the love of all that is holy, head over to Scarecrow and rent at least three of them)

more...

There's plenty to dig into at this year's Bumbershoot Music Festival outside of the big-draw acts (Gotye, anyone?) that make the daily ticket price well worth every hard-earned dollar you're going to spend. There's an impressive comedy lineup, KEXP's always-awesome "secret" Music Lounge, endless vendors, and the sunny goodness of the Seattle Center grounds -- and it all awaits us as another Labor Day weekend looms around the corner. You can head on over to the official Bumbershoot site to go over the schedule and fine-tune a personal lineup, of course -- but here's a few of our hot picks anyway, just in case you find yourself with a case of multi-stage overwhemsion.

SATURDAY

Bumbershoot kicks off strong this year with some feel-good bands breaking us in on our first day, like JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound (fingers crossed-times-infinity that they do their killer cover of "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart"), Sera Cahoone, and the Barr Brothers, still fresh in our mind from their performance at Pickathon. THEESatisfaction is sure to electro-groove our very souls before we get a good shredding from the Heartless Bastards, and later on we'll gladly close out day one with a bit of Jane's Addiction and M. Ward:

2:30p, Fisher Green Stage: JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound
3:30p, Sub Pop Stage (Fountain Lawn): Sera Cahoone
4:30p, The Promenade: Barr Brothers
5:15p, Sub Pop Stage: THEESatisfaction
5:45p, Starbucks Stage (Mural): Heartless Bastards
9:00p, The Promenade: Damien Jurado
9:30p, Mainstage (Key Arena): Jane's Addiction
9:45p, Fisher Green Stage: M. Ward

There's tons to do in that gap during the dinner hour, including the Stranger's Guide to America, grabbing actual dinner, checking out Flatstock, and seeking out one of a bazillion killer comedy acts before picking back up the tunes.

SUNDAY

Chugging along into day two, we'll gladly get take our wakeup call from Eighteen Individual Eyes (and a side of the-good-kind-of-bite from Katie Kate) before we ease into a mainstage set at Key Arena from Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (hell yes!!). There's a run of favorites and Sub Pop all-stars through the afternoon, with blissy sets from the Young Evils, the Fruit Bats, and Mudhoney; and another day'll easily get knocked out of the park with a closing set from Wanda Jackson and those Dusty 45s:

more...

{This is part two of our Pickathon 2012 coverage. Be sure to pop over here to catch the first half, with photos of Thee Oh Sees, Langhorne Slim, The Mynabirds, Bowerbirds, and more!}

Our second full day at Pickathon kicked off just right on Sunday, as we strolled onto the grounds around high noon to hear none other than Gordon Gano himself, along with the Lost Bayou Ramblers, blasting out fiddle-mod-ed Femmes favorites like "Blister in the Sun" and "Add It Up" out into the sunshiney, dusty heat. The crowd, artists, and media folks alike stood grinning and thrilled, and few steps to the right, the set bled right into a breezy yet energy-filled performance by Portland's Y La Bamba. We're going to go out on a limb and say it was {damn near} one of the finest festival start-off mornings in recent memory.

Y La Bamba:

After a bass-heavy jam sesh from The War On Drugs, indie scene crossover favorites Shovels and Rope were up, and like the Gordon Gano set, it was much to everyone's delight. There's a hell of a lot of quality sound that comes out of these two when they take the stage, as they fuse good old-fashioned songwriting with smart melodies, a strong vocal sensibility, and an infectious energy. Seattleites likely caught their set pre-Pickathon at the KEXP Concerts at the Mural series last Friday, but if you didn't, they're playing just about every day between now and September 1st in different pockets across the country. Click here to see if any of it is happening near you!

more...

It was an incredible inaugural experience for us at this year's Pickathon, the once-a-year celebration of all things indie roots (and indie, and roots) down on Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon. While, at times, the heat made the festival something to be endured, rather than out-and-out enjoyed -- temperatures broke 100 degrees on Saturday and hit the mid-90s on Sunday -- we still managed to have a blast.

Pickathon is just... different, something you have to see to experience. It's somehow simultaneously appealing to hipsters, hippies, families, and heads. The production of the festival itself is one of the most sustainable we've ever witnessed, with a token-for-dishware trade and "no single use" policy, exclusively local vendors and no corporate sponsorship. And the curation is so much more than just indie roots, with everyone from Gordon Gano to Langhorne Slim to Neko Case to Thee Oh Sees to THEESatisfaction taking the stages between banjo-picking sing- and stomp-a-longs. Pickathon really is one of those festivals that's stayed true to its roots while growing in size and popularity, free from car ads and jumbrotrons. We were all just up to our armpits in farm dirt, digging on tunes and having a hell of a time. And isn't that how it's supposed to be?

Here's a few photo highlights of our first day at the fest, Saturday (the weekend actually runs from Friday to Sunday). The Mynabirds were the first band to catch our ear in the main stage area, with their ethereal, jammy, layered sound. They fused their vibe with about two percent tent revival and a heaping side of synth-hipster for good measure, and it worked like a charm:

Next up, we caught a set by the Bowerbirds, who delivered pretty prog.indie folk songs. Worth noting: the band has a new album out as of March '12, and will be touring this fall with a stop at our very own Neumos at the end of October. More info here.

more...

Intiman is turning 40 this summer, and after a series of setbacks in the last few years (which culminated in a 2011 half-season cancellation, layoffs of the theater's entire staff, and near financial collapse) it's back in a big way with a summer theater festival unlike anything I've seen during my dozen years in Seattle: four separate productions sharing a repertory company of seventeen local actors playing more than 40 roles in 80 performances. It's happening through August 26, and it's an event you really should experience at least a part of.

Because unless you completely loathe theater, there's something for you here: a new local piece (Dan Savage's Miracle!); a challenging contemporary drama (Proof author John Patrick Shanley's Dirty Story); an iconic Ibsen (Hedda Gabler); and, of course, a Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet). Some of Seattle's best talent is involved on the boards and behind the scenes: local actor-treasures Marya Sea Kaminski and Timothy McCuen Piggee shine brightly in three plays each. And the set-design team, headed by the uber-talented Stranger Genius (and third luminary of this festival) Jennifer Zeyl, has built a versatile, visually surprising playground on the mainstage to support three of the shows, plus a completely separate mini-world (for Dirty Story) in an intimate new studio space. What a thrill.

After the jump, my thoughts on each production, listed in order of awesomeness.

more...

It's safe to say that we're all recovered from yet another fantastic weekend at Capitol Hill Block Party -- toxins have been sweat out, legs have been rested, and ringing has left the ears. Now, it's time to start getting prepped for yet another awesome festival to sweep the streets of Seattle: City Arts has unveiled the initial line-up for this years upcoming Heineken City Arts Fest, and it is shaping up to be one eventful weekend! Gathering some of today's best performers, City Arts plans to transform our Seattle streets into one big haven for creativity and fun. On top of the initial lineup, you'll find limited capacity shows in secret locations littered about the festival, leaving attendees with little surprises around every corner. City Arts will also be offering scavenger hunts, bike races, booty-shaking after parties and many other vehicles for experiencing Seattle in a new and artistic fashion.

As for the music? The line-up has been released and features heavy-hitters such as: Two Door Cinema Club, Ghostland Observatory, Joshua Radin, A Fine Frenzy, Reignwolf, Omar Rodriguez Lopez, and many more {including Lemolo, The Maldives, Kay Kay And His Weathered Underground, Ravenna Woods, Fly Moon Royalty, Case Studies, Tiny Vipers, Stephanie... whew!}. What should get most of your salivary glands working overtime is the headlining act, what City Arts describes as a "much anticipated collaboration from David Byrne and St. Vincent". If you have seen either St. Vincent or Byrne perform live, you most certainly understand what sort of treat this would be for the senses and, of course, the opportunity to see what will most likely be a once-in-a-lifetime performance.

If you haven't heard, David Byrne and St. Vincent have collaborated on an album titled Love This Giant, which is due out September 10th (UK) and September 11th (US). Check out a track from their upcoming album below:

With what City Arts has planned for this years' festival, the bar will most certainly be raised. Again, boasting a impressive list of entertainment and festivities for all, this is one you certainly will not want to pass up. Passes for this event go on sale Thursday, August 2nd.

For a complete list of the initial lineup and additional details, click here.  

We know, we know -- Pickathon? you say, with an air of disbelief. Isn't that a bunch of beardy hippies with banjos out on a farm someplace in rural Oregon? Do they even have wi-fi? Fret not, dear imaginary friends: we are here to share the good news, which is the plain and simple fact that Pickathon Is Awesome. It's kind of got everything you ever hope for in a festival -- multiple stages in the open air that vibe on well into the nighttime, it's not too crowded, there's abundant camping on-site, and it's chock full of local food vendors and boasts a purposeful, sustainable green vibe. And of course, first and foremost, Pickathon's got the bands. (And ps, apparently, abundant wi-fi.)

This year's lineup has everything from sad bastards and bastardettes {like Laura Gibson, Alela Diane, and the Bowerbirds} to full frontal shredders {Heartless Bastards, Cave Singers} and back again. Whether you like the cool, sweet croon of Neko Case or the jamtastic vibe of Dr. Dog, or those multi-faceted types like Langhorne Slim -- who gives us a little bit of everything, from scream to croon to a howl -- you'll find your groove on Pendarvis Farm. And to sweeten the deal for you not-so-rootsy folks, the weekend is parsed through with some of the best of right now's straight-up indie.fill-in-the-blank vibes, with sets by Y La Bamba, Typhoon, Thee Oh Sees, and THEESatisfaction.

Here's a little more on the folks you already know and love:

Cave Singers {Pickathon artist page}

The idea of hearing the Cave Singers rage on into the nighttime on a farm in the middle of nowhere (kind of) has got me near-giddy with delight. Imagine if they went back-to-back with Heartless Bastards? HELLO, DREAM SET. Their shreddy, full-volume indie-roots part Zeppelin, part campfire vibe is unlike anything else out there, and we are bummed out to the max that we won't be hitting town until late Saturday morning -- their Friday night set is going to be a doozy. If you're up there on time, catch these guys on Friday night from 1a - 2a (hell yeah!) in The Galaxy Barn, and on Saturday on The Woods Stage from 4:30p - 5:30p.

Neko Case {Pickathon artist page}

Fresh off of a well-recieved performance at the Capitol Hill Block Party, Ms. Case will be gracing us with her one-of-a-kind croon twice at Pickathon as well. Her stories are well-worn and beautifully crafted, and as her bio states, walk the line between contemporary and timeless with nary a mis-step. She'll headline The Woods Stage on Saturday from 9p - 10p, and the Mt. View Stage on Sunday from 8:45p - 10p.

Alela Diane {Pickathon artist page}

We're lucky to have the folks at More Dust Than Digital and our pal Greg Vandy in our midst, creating killer artist portraits like the one above for local folkster Alela Diane. She's currently on tour in Europe (per her gorgeous recent Instagram photos) and will be making her way back this way for two sets at the festival. Catch her at The Workshop Barn on Friday from 5p - 6p, and again on Sunday on The Woods Stage from 3p - 4p.

Blitzen Trapper {Pickathon artist page}

This Blitzen Trapper track ("Furr") is the one that got me hooked, and the one that keeps me coming back to this band for a contribution on about half of the mixes I make for friends looking to be turned on to 'new' music. They're fresh off of a tour supporting Wilco, will be making a stop out at Doe Bay Fest later in August, and they'll be hitting the road in late September / early October with our pals The Head and the Heart. Short version? Get hip if you're not already there. You can take them in at Pickathon Friday on the Woods Stage from 9p - 10p, and Sunday on the Mt. View Stage from 6:45p - 8p.

Dr. Dog {Pickathon artist page}

Hello, jamtown. To quote Dr. Dog on recording their latest album: "It was reminiscent of when we were starting out and were these fearless weirdos in a basement, so confident and reckelss and bold." That's exactly the vibe we're hoping to catch from them up at Pickathon, as they take us on a trip from noodle-jam to gritty rock and back again. Couple their instrument-wielding talents with an at-times unprecedented lyrical prowess, and you've got a recipe for a good time. Dr. Dog plays The Mt. View Stage on Saturday from 9:45p - 11p, and The Galaxy Barn on Sunday from 1a - 2a. 

Heartless Bastards {Pickathon artist page}

Just like the Cave Singers, I am beside myself at the opportunity to spend a set or two with The Heartless Bastards out in the starry, clear nighttime. The cut above (yep, that video is about six years old) is "Brazen", off of 2006's All This Time, but still stands up strong -- it easily could have been recorded last week. They'll be kicking ass on The Mountain View Stage on Friday from 8:45p - 10p, and again in The Galaxy Barn from 1a - 2a on Saturday night (Sunday morning).

more...