Three Imaginary Girls - Bumbershoot 2009

Say Hi doesn't want to talk about your mom at Bumbershoot

Chelsea Werner — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 02:15:09 +0000

7 Sep 2009

Say Hi has shortened more than their band name over time. The band’s lineup itself has also mutated to the point where their latest release on Barsuk, Ohhs & Ahhs, was recorded entirely by Eric Elbogen, the man behind the band, at his home studio. A dark album with heavy hues of loneliness the album displays half-hearted attempts at cheering itself up, making its lasting impression a sincere one.

Perhaps this is why I was surprised when, trying not to slip on the slimy grass in front of the Broad Street stage at Bumbershoot on Monday, I walked up to what sounded like emo-pop. It seems fair to look at the progression of Say Hi To Your Mom to Say Hi in relation to the increasing maturity of both their sound and their name. But as they began to play “Dramatic Irony” it became clear that without the production value of their recordings, the songs became more upbeat. The song was still dark, due to it’s content, but the overwhelming sound was light-hearted.

During a lull in the tunes, Eric offered a reason for some of the faltering harmonies and over all mood change, mentioning that the house bassist of Barsuk, Andy, was playing his second show ever with Say Hi. The two worked well together, well enough for Andy to bust Eric’s chops over the change in the band name to the chagrin of Eric. But even more explanation for the strange feeling of this show was the fact that Eric had a cold.

Overall as a live performance, the trio on stage was lack-luster. I had gone to see their set because I couldn’t imagine a better band to see on an outdoor stage during a day full drizzles. But the performance failed to cultivate the grey melancholy I was so willing to experience with the sweet, yet morose songs of Say Hi. Still, this performance did open another side to the band, one that isn’t quite appealing to me, but something that I’m sure many people have always cherished. This is the more pop aspect of Eric Elbogen’s songs, the part of their sound that is unashamed of being straightforwardly sentimental rather than cryptically depressed.

Imaginary Interview: Matt and Kim

Chelsea Werner — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 02:00:03 +0000

Matt and Kim are an adorable dance-rock duo from Brooklyn who weave together banging drum beats and amped up keyboards with chant a long lyrics. I caught up with them at Bumbershoot 2009 shortly before their set to discuss their life on the road, Beyonce, their last album, Grand, and future plans to record.

You guys have been touring for a while now, right?

Kim: It’s sort of like a non-stop life thing. I feel like we’re on the road more than we’re home.

Matt: We’re definitely on the road more than we’re home. But in such a sense that you get home and you’re like, ‘What am I gonna do now?’ It’s confusing. This is sort of a negative way to put it, but I feel like it’s similar to people who have been in jail for 50 years and they get out and they don’t know how to handle the real world because they are used to the schedule. Tour is kind of like that. There’s a sort of uniformity that isn’t like real life.

What’s one of your craziest moments from touring so far?

Kim: We saw Blink 182 last night. That was pretty awesome. They broke up and I thought, ‘I’m never going to get to see them play.’ I hadn’t seen them before.

Matt: They probably ran out of money and so they thought they should tour. It’s crazy, the amount of production and the amount of people— Or like, we went to see Beyonce at Madison Square Garden.

Kim: That was awesome! OK, that was the greatest thing that has happened to us this year.

I saw Beyonce at the Grizzly Bear/Beach House pool party in Williamsburg last week.

Kim: I saw that she was there! I’ll admit, I was sort of like, ‘Damn you, Grizzly Bear!” I want Beyonce to come to my shows! I got to say, her show is absolutely amazing.

Matt: Yeah, we decided that we’ve got to step up our game after that.

Really? Are you going to start choreographing dances?

Matt: Yeah, we’ll get some trapezes and stuff.

Kim: I told Matt that if Beyonce ever came to me and said, ‘Kim, I need you to be my back up dancer,” I would be like, peace out, Matt, I gotta go.

Matt: She’s got moves.

Kim: Well, I will say, at Pitchfork this year, I tried to drop it like Beyonce, but I couldn’t get as low as she does. And I told all of Chicago that when we come back on this tour, it’s gonna happen. So I’ve been practicing.

I too have been thinking about ways I can be more like Beyonce. It’s a long and daunting road. Anyway… What’s one of the largest places you guys have played so far?

Matt: When we started out I could’ve sworn Sirens Fest was huge. But that was like the first time we played in front of a lot of people.

Kim: I almost threw up that day. I was so nervous. But now I’m like, ‘5,000 people, no big deal.’

Matt: As far as the biggest show that was OUR show, we did one on Pier 54 on the West side of Manhattan. We were kind of blown away, the pier was really long.

Kim: After sound check we were walking back and we saw this long line and were wondering what the line was for and then we realized that it was for us.

You guys are clearly blowing up. Do you feel like you are maintaining your DIY attitude despite signing to a bigger label?

Matt: We’re doing what we always did--traveling around and playing shows. It’s nice to have comfort, like all the shows on this tour have sold out so far. Playing a poorly attended show brings your spirit down when you’re a band and your touring around and you’re tired. It’s like having a party and it’s early in the evening and no one’s showing up and you’re wondering, ‘do my friends not like me anymore?” You know, you kind of take it personally.

And you produced Grand, right?

Matt: Yeah we recorded it ourselves. Just kind of figured it out as went along.

A lot of people have commented on how it has a more precise, cleaner sound than your first album.

Matt: Yeah, it’s funny when I read people saying that we obviously used our higher recording budget to produce this album and I’m like, I recorded this in my bedroom, man.

In your childhood bedroom, right?

Matt: Yeah, with no heat, in the middle of the winter. But it was great. It’s the result of having time. As opposed to the first thing we recorded, we had no time. Being able to work on it for a while, you’re just able to finish things off and polish them.

Kim: We also knew how to play our instruments a bit better.

Matt: Our first album we recorded within the first year we started playing our instruments. Most people start playing when they’re like 14, not in their 20’s.

Did you guys have the songs written pretty much before you started recording Grand?

Matt: We had some ideas. It was just funny, we had traveled so much and were doing the band as a full time job but still had the least amount of time to write music. Basically, we set the time aside for writing and recording.

Kim: But it wasn’t enough time. We thought it would take two months but then we had to go touring again. It was useful. We got a break and when we came back to what we thought was good we were like, ‘what were we thinking?’ It ended up taking us nine months.

And all the recording took place in Vermont?

Matt: No, we ended up going back to our apartment in New York.

Kim: Annoying the shit out of our neighbors.

Matt: Plastered right up against our neighbors in our little eight-foot wide apartment, screaming at the top of my lungs.

Do you have big plans for the future?

Kim: We tour till December and then get Christmas off. Then we’ll take a break to write and record.

Matt: Yeah, it’s weird to start again. Grand came out in January and it has been hitting its peak just recently. We didn’t expect to get that kind of attention and it’s strange to start writing again when a lot of people are just finding out about it now. But we don’t want to burn out. We do this because we enjoy it. The second we stop enjoying it, then it’s over.

Favorite Bumbershoot photos by Erik Clineschmidt

three imaginary girls — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:57:17 +0000

Earlier we posted the five favorite shots at Bumbershoot from the fantastic photographer Jason Tang. His also brilliant colleague Erik Clineschmidt offered his five favorite photos from last weekend at Bumbershoot. They are:

Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs:

Modest Mouse fans:

No hands:

Colors of [Sonic] Youth:

Hosed in the pit:

McSweeney's New Fiction at Bumbershoot

Chelsea Werner — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:48:14 +0000

feverchart.jpg

This panel was of great interest to me since getting fiction published through McSweeney’s would be a dream come true, so even just hearing this authors, all first-time published fiction writers, talk about the experience of having Eli Horowirtz, McSweeny’s editor, work with them on their novels was a treat.

Bill Cutter, author of “Fever Chart,” claimed that he unflinchingly did pretty much everything Eli told him to. Meanwhile Jessica Anthony said that when editing a particular passage of her book, “The Convalescence,” Eli had her write six different versions and on the seventh she told him that this was her final draft (it was also the original text, before she had changed anything) and he responded that she nailed it. James Hannaham’s book “God Says No,” described the liberating feeling of cutting the first five chapters of his novel before even sending it into the Dave Eggers founded publishing house for consideration.

The panel included readings from each author, all whom seem to place their eccentric characters in absurd situations. A near midget shitting in a bucket and slinging meat from a broken down bus in Virgina, a man fresh from the psych ward cultivating a pimple as an excuse to make conversation with a bartender, or a latent homosexual unwittingly picking up a lactose intolerant lady of the night and trying to buy her ice cream, are some examples of what their books had to offer.

What was most interesting however was the banter between these three authors whose only connection to one another was that they had all recently been published by McSweeney’s. Cutter’s statement that he doesn’t give a fuck about the story, “I just like the sentences. The editor makes the story,” was met by a skeptical expression on Hannaham’s face. Though both men agreed when Jessica Anthony referred to her endeavor in a career around fiction writing saying that it came down to either becoming a writer or a felon. It would seem these three had no choice. That writing was something they were driven to do. Whether they have to turn off all the lights and get inside themselves in order to get the words on the page or dance around to Queen’s “Tie Your Mother Down,” they seem to agree that the writer is always working, whether or not they are in front of their computers.

Slightly cloudy with a chance of falling eyeballs: Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Bumbershoot

Chelsea Werner — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:00:51 +0000

6 Sep 2009

Sunshowers and bleachers. Red and blue Samsung balloons were being kept in the air by palms attached to distracted bodies. The attention of the crowd too busy staring at the sound crew on the main stage, readying themselves for the cheer that they were to send up shortly as Karen O took the stage, shortly after the understated Nick Zinner and Brain Chase that are the ever-talented and too-cool-for-school members of Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

These musicians are performers. Or at least, they understand the nature of their stage roles. As they played hit after hit and Karen O mustered the most sincere love for Seattle’s Bumbershoot audience, I found myself wondering if Karen O could be considered one of the only current day rock stars. Maybe it was just because she danced like Mick Jagger at moments, maybe it was the way she walked off set half way through the set for a slight costume change, either way I found myself realizing that, whereas I was disappointed when Mirah dropped a lyric or didn’t hit a note, I didn’t mind when Karen O’s stage antics led to losing some of her vocals because of her entertaining performance.

In the last quarter of they set they pulled out all the stops; the giant blow up eye ball balloons were sent out over the crowd and they played their most recent single, “Off With Your Head,” followed by “Y Control,” “Maps" (where Karen O pressed the mic to her heart at the end of the song), and closed on the amped-up “Date With The Night.” At one point Nick Zinner used his phone to take a picture of the crowd, but for the most part Zinner and Chase were not attempting to make a spectacle of themselves. One could envision a No Doubt scenario where the band gets upset because the lead singer gets all the attention, but something tells me the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have their dynamic down. They understand exactly what it is that is so winning about their combination that almost the entire front half of the crowd at the Samsung stage was dancing despite the intermittent rain.

{All Yeah Yeah Yeahs photos by Erik Clineschmidt}

Flickr Photos of the day: Bumbershoot (of course)

ChrisB — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:38:50 +0000

TIG was lucky to have to incredibly talented photographers covering Bumbershoot this year: Erik Clineschmidt and Jason Tang.

I've really loved looking through their photos and want to post all of them (and will be posting more very soon), but here are my favorite photo from each.

Janelle Monae by Jason Tang:

I really love how you can see the reflection of the crowd in this photo of Mayer Hawthorne's bassist by Erik Clineschmidt:

You can see more and upload your own photos to TIG's Flickr pool.

My Bumber-day #1 featuring Telekinesis, Eugene Mirman, the Old 97s, and the Long Winters

imaginary keenan — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:43:24 +0000

{photo of DJ Spooky by Jeremiah D. Johnson}

Arriving later than I wanted to, I swiftly ran from the press gate across the Center to catch Telekinesis' KEXP Music Lounge session, and as always, their tight pop hooks and charming melodies did not disappoint, and I cursed my love of Rhett Miller, knowing that I'd have to choose him over Michael Lerner and co's fun pop beats (Bumber-schedule conflict #1!).

Next up I hit Flatstock, and of course found dozens of posters I'd be proud to hang in my apartment (including the ever wonderful Seattle Show Posters). Flatstock is always a Bumber-highlight for me, despite my general dislike of buying posters for shows I did not attend (but I generally make room for posters for shows I wish I had attended).

After Flatstock, I sauntered over to SIFF Cinema and caught four delightful shorts that won Best Grand Jury Prize at SIFF earlier this year, featuring a wonderful animated short called Photographs of Jesus, about a photo warehouse where people constantly ask for zany photographs that don't exist, like ones of dodos (extinct in the 1700s), one of Hilter at the 1948 Olympics, and of the moon landing, but with 12 other people on the moon. Also featured was a very wonderful and very short documentary called The Herd, which starred a deer who wanted to be and believed it was a cow. It was just as endearing and cute as you might imagine.

Got any Bumber-photos at all? Please put them in our flickr pool!

Bumbershoot day 2: check-in and open thread

ChrisB — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:02:15 +0000

Update: I took down my crappy cell phone photo of Raphael Saadiq because superstar photographer Jason Tang just uploaded an awesome one.

So... How's Bumbershoot for you all?

For day two, I had a busy day, running from show to show. My schedule put me from The Kindness Kind to Spencer Moody's literary program, The Enablers Have Spoken, to The Yeah Yeah Yeahs to USE to Raphael Saadiq in the KEXP lounge to Sleepy Eyes of Death to my apartment for a brief break and back to Bumbershoot for Raphael Saadiq again.

I enjoyed everything I went to, but seeing Raphael Saadiq twice was the definite highlight. In the KEXP Lounge, he and his full band was in uniform, in suits looking sharp for a radio appearance. Both sets were full of Motown-era soul backed by a tight and funky band (two backup singers, a trumpet, saxophone, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards). He is such a charismatic performer that you believe all of the love the audience had for him was mutual. He played for ninety minutes, including two encores, because the crowd didn't want to let him leave. My favorite thing he said (actually, I think he said it both at the KEXP Lounge and on the Fisher Green Stage) was that he wrote his song "The Big Easy" as a tribute to Hurricane Katrina victims and said that the people of New Orleans like to party when they mourn.

Bumbershoot: one day down. What's next for you?

ChrisB — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:28:51 +0000

{Hotels photo by Jason Tang}

The above photo from TIG's awesome photographer Jason Tang makes me wish I caught Hotels set (which is one I knew I'd regret missing throughout the weekend).

After my mid-day check-in yesterday, I saw two more acts: UH HUH HER and De La Soul.

UH HUH HER was a mostly entertaining set, but there was a lot of MOR filler thrown in. At their best, their a sexy, synth pop dance band. With two female harmonies, they can recall Ladytron (they are on the same label, Nettwerk). Still during the middle of their set, they put the electronics and hooks on the back burner. This was their first time in Seattle, which I didn't know. They said their shows kept getting canceled for a lot of "weird shit" like their bus "driver getting lost in a blizzard". I'm glad I saw them and did like when they played their singles like "Explode" and "Not a Love Song", but I was also wondering what I was missing elsewhere.

Bumbershoot check-in and open thread, Day one

ChrisB — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:39:58 +0000

I snuck away from Bumbershoot for a bit to run back home to my Belltown apartment for a quick break from the insanity and crowds.

Let's use this as the place to talk about the first day of Bumbershoot. So spill it. I'll even go first.

The first thing I went to was the "F is for Food" panel with Tom Douglas and Kathleen Flinn. Both had a lot to say about food and eating and had a really relaxed and funny rapport. Douglas was the most quotable, saying that people could become "50% better cooks by just learning how to buy food". When responding to Flinn's comment about loving roast chicken, he noted that "a roast chicken in Paris is much different from a roast chicken from the Costco in Lynnwood."

The biggest laugh, though, came from Flinn's reading of an entry in the "Food for Thought" contest where someone wrote their story of trying to become vegan for a whole hour.

After that, I went to the Main Stage to catch Katy Perry's set, which was as equally great and terrible as I expected.

Imaginary Interview: People's Republic of Komedy

Imaginary Mimi — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:41:55 +0000

{Photo credit: Heather Christianson}

The three of us sit together around a microcorder in a dark corner of Chop Suey. It is Wednesday night at the Laff Hole and last minute arrangements are being made before doors open at 9:00. As PROK comics Kevin Hyder and Emmett Montogmery sit down to speak with me, Kevin muses over a potentially serious problem. “I need a rib bone…” he says, “For my act. I need something like a rib bone that I can pull out of a dummy and scratch my back with…This is a real problem for us, you can write that down…Maybe we can go somewhere that sells meat.” The rest of the interview is occasionally punctuated by screams, heavy metal guitar riffs, and a hurdy gurdy to which neither bat an eye. “Tonight is going to be a…different kind of show,” says Montgomery, with an arch smile, which is something that could easily be said on any given night at the Laff Hole.

Hyder and Montgomery are two of the founding members of the People’s Republic of Komedy (also known as PROK). PROK will be curating the local comedy events on the Comedy West stage at Bumbershoot this year. We spoke at length about PROK, Bumbershoot, and…botany.

Your purpose, according to your website is to create an artistic co-op dedicated to raising the visibility and stature of stand-up comedy in the Seattle arts community- do you feel like you have been successful in your mission?

EM: When we first started doing comedy there were only two opportunities for spaces. Since we’ve done comedy, there are a lot of them and there are people that produce their own shows. We didn’t come up with the idea, but I think it’s definitely more of a society.

KH: I think at a time when that wasn’t going on, we recognized a need and started doing it and then continued to do it and were able to raise up other people that followed in those footsteps and did it for themselves on other levels. Emmett and I still have a big say in what happens in the organization, but the organization really consists of 5-7 regularly occurring shows that are produced by different people in our group. The People’s Republic of Komedy and the Laff Hole are our flagship shows, kind of the epicenter and these other shows have grown up around it. Our regular participants are starting to break off and do their own thing. We were more inspired by the Comedians of Comedy and comics that were going outside the structure of the comedy club and more toward the rock club alternative scene. For me, that was a big inspiration, finding comedy out there that speaks to me.

EM: Comedy doesn't just belong in comedy clubs. It belongs everywhere- on busses, in the park, etc.

KH: We’ve done it in middle schools.

EM: What we are doing is an extension of that and the nature of the comedy does change depending on the venue. I do think it is unfortunate that there is a stigma to comedy clubs that scares away certain types of people, because they are missing out on something special. What we are doing is a direct result of Seattle's rich comedy tradition and the Comedy Underground is our home club (they even sponsor the comedy in the park, and Ron thier manager is in charge of
our national representation) and the comedy community for the most part has nurtured us. We’re finding so many different kinds of acts out there. It’s not just standup anymore.

KH: We’re intentionally reaching out to the communities that were kind of separated- the stand-ups hung with stand-ups, the sketchers hung with sketchers, the improvers hung with the improvers. When you see the Bumbershoot lineup this year, I think you’ll see its an example of exactly what we are trying to do with PROK, to reach out to all these groups that do some of the most bizarre things you’ll ever see, but they’re all part of the larger community and I think we’ve done a good job of drawing them into the fold.

EM: Having a place with no really rules and a good stage with a good crowd is an amazing thing. The worst problems we’ve ever had with Chop Suey is having problems with power.

KH: We have really great problems, actually, like “Argh, why won’t this plastic tiger light on fire, or I can’t find a rib bone for tonight’s act.”

Do you feel a sense of responsibility to nurture or support newer local comedians on the rise, especially considering the purpose of PROK?

EM: It’s been really nice. I think every one is on their own personal journey. It’s really an individual thing. I think when you have other people going through what you are, it makes you better. It’s really nice to see other people and you want them do well and when I can help them out. In some ways, it’s very selfish. The more talented comics we have, the better our shows are and the more exposure we get, the further we can go.

KH: I think developing new talent is very important to us and we do like to keep a close eye on who’s starting up in the club, and who’s starting to do the open mike nights or standup showcases here and there. We try to keep our ear to the ground as to who is getting to that point and then we try to tap them and give them opportunities on some of our smaller stages first, and then eventually give them an opportunity to do a smaller set at Laff Hole, which is our bigger show, and that is the natural evolution. It’s kind of like the graduate school of comedy. You’ve gotta do the prereqs.

EM: You get surprised sometimes- people go hog wild.

KH: We have a lot of people who we’ve seen do really well, so we give them an opportunity on our stage and they show up with some ridiculous multimedia thing that they just pull out. They really bring it because I think they know the stakes are high. When you put people in that situation, they do their best work and that’s been really fun to see.

Did you get to hand pick the acts for the regional comedy stage for Bumbershoot?

KH: Basically, the first year that Bumbershoot approached us, they asked if we wanted to do something and I think they were under the impression that if they asked us if we would do a show for them and we came back and said we wanted to book the entire weekend on the Vera Stage. We gave them a proposal of 12 shows – 4 a day.

EM: We got half of em.

KH: They said "We would love to do this but it’s our 1st year working with you, so we’ll give you 6 and see how you do." After that, we sort of ended up running the stage anyways because the other 6 were people we’d worked with before and we’d done so many shows with the larger comedy community that it kinda became our stage anyways. So the next year, they said "You guys can run the stage." This is the second year we’ve booked, produced, and run all 12 shows.

EM: There’s a lot more variety in these (Bumbershoot) shows and less standup than usual. I think that’s kind of how it’s evolving. Before, it was rare to have more than one kind of comedy. Now everyone is sort of multi-tasking. It’s important for people’s careers. It can get you tapped for bigger projects.

KH: I was a little worried about that when we first booked Bumbershoot. There is a lot of variety. We don’t have many straight standup shows. I was looking at the national stages to see what was happening, and a lot of the comics that Bumbershoot was bringing in on a national level were doing the same things. They were all doing these thematic shows instead of doing standup after standup. A lot of them are doing things like the MySpace show or thematic shows and are stretching the bounds of what comedy is. That’s what we’re doing.

EM: We don’t just have to perform in a club. There are so many ways to express yourself now, like You Tube and MySpace. There are so many tools available to us now. That’s why curated shows are so great. This isn’t just an open mike or sort of a random thing. This is something that’s been handpicked.

-An involved discussion about Kevin’s rib bone issue occurred between these questions. Options included a chicken heart, a soup bone, naugahyde dog bone, or “any kind of meat that looks like it could be pulled out of your body.”

What is it like to be a comic watching other comics perform? Can you do it objectively?

EM: I don’t laugh as much as I used to. There’s no objectivity.

KH: I would say we don’t watch them objectively- that’s not our job. Our job is to be very subjective- we’re curating the best show we think we know how. We do have to make those hard decisions. That becomes a tough thing. Sometimes people say “I kill in a club; I’ve been doing this for so long, why haven’t I gotten an opportunity to do the stage?” We have to say, “We know our audience." We built this collective with a very particular voice, and a very particular brand, and we’ve built an audience along with it. As much as we respect that people work hard, and we really understand, we really need to do what’s best for the stage and for the audiences we’re trying to speak to.

EM: We’ve had to say no to our friends before. There’s stuff in these types of shows that are happening all over the country that you can’t do in a comedy club or on a cruise ship and vice versa, but sometimes you have wonderful professionals that come here and kill. There’s just a universal thread. I love seeing that happen here. I feel like I’ve learned something- I feel like it makes me a better comedian.

Is there any comedian you are particularly excited to see?

EM: Maria Bamford. I saw her years ago at Bumbershoot. She is a huge influence, so much so that I was afraid I might start sounding like her. I am really looking forward to seeing her perform. I had the opportunity to open for her at Sasquatch, which was amazing. She was such a nice lady. I was on Cloud 9. Really excited to see her. Also, a lot of people we’ve befriended, supporters are performing on the national stage, so that’s nice.

Are you or any other PROK member participating in Best of Seattle International Comedy Competition, or do you have to disqualify yourself because of your management of the event?

EM: We both have competed in the past. I still have the scars on my heart from it. We’re all involved in it.

KH: Comedy Underground is our home club, so it’s kind of the epicenter.

So it’s people that have already competed?

EM: It’s a best of competition, so there will be people who won ten years ago or were finalist two years ago sort of thing. This is a special year because of the 30th anniversary of one of the longest-standing international comedy competitions in the country and has produced some great leads. Some amazing people have failed there, like Dave Atell…and…me.

As a comedian, what would you say is the most important aspect of making a lasting connection with your audience?

EM: I think good comedy is equal parts unique and universal, so if you’re a performer, you’re sharing a special part of you, so you want it to be universal enough so people can identify with you, sort of like “I’m different from you because we’re the same.” One of the things that makes our shows successful is that people are doing things they genuinely love and because of that, I think the audience sees it and enjoys it. We’re not doing it to be famous; we’re doing it to get something out of ourselves. Being famous might actually be nice.

KH: Being famous would be pretty awesome.

EM: We’ll sell out as soon as it happens.

KH: We’re not above that.

How do you react to an unresponsive audience?

EM: When you’re bombing? There’s all kinds of different bombing, and we’ve experienced every one of them. Some shows, you have just not made a connection. Other shows, it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened, and you feel like no one was even there to see it.

The highs and lows must be really intense.

EM: Sometimes, you go to bed and you say to yourself, “Man, what happened?” Other times you can’t sleep because you’re so excited.

Do you have any advice for would be PNW comics?

KH: I’d say just perform. Do the open mike nights; do it any time you have an opportunity. It will help you become a better performer, get your timing down. Like anything anyone is good at, you have to practice and develop your skills.

EM: I’d also add to not be afraid to talk to other comics. We’re really nice people. Come up to us after shows, ask us questions, get to know us. We’re vain. We love that.

Anything else Three Imaginary Girls readers should know about PROK, the comedy stage at Bumbershoot, or PNW comedy in general?

KH: We wanted to let everyone know about the Bumbershoot Comedy after party at Chop Suey on Sunday, September 6th. It’s usually an opportunity for all the comics from out of town to come, hang out, get together…It’s like a big comedy gangbang.

And finally, because I’ve always wanted to ask this in an interview, and it couldn’t seem more appropriate- if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?

KH: I would be a mighty sapling.

EM: Have you ever heard of those pitcher plants in the Philippines? The ones that eat rats?

KH: So you don’t wanna be a tree, you wanna be a rat eating plant?

EM: Yeah, I think so.

By the close of the interview, the rib issue had yet to be resolved. Showtime was rapidly approaching. Busty women in tiny green gingham dresses handed out Little Debbie’s oatmeal pies. A man who looked like Satan paced nervously in the hallway behind the stage. Tonight’s was to be a different show indeed.

{Photo credit: Heather Christianson}

The Free Yr. Radio/KEXP stage schedule for Bumbershoot

ChrisB — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:35:41 +0000

I'm getting ready to head out the door to Bumbershoot but I wanted to through this up first before I left because I'm planning on leaving my laptop at home and seeing how it goes without it - at least just for the first day.

I'm not sure where the Free Yr. Radio/KEXP stage is, but they are having a lot of excellent performres throughout the weekend on their stage for short performances and interviews. The schedule is (after the jump):

Free sneak preview of Bumbershoot 1 Reel Film Fest tonight

Imaginary Amie — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:05:50 +0000

The 1 Reel Film Festival is showing a free sneak preview of Bumbershoot shorts tonight at SIFF Cinema. Just click here to RSVP, then show up and to see some shorts goodness! 1 Reel Sneak Preview Opening Night 2009 includes:

Instead of Abracadabra - Sort of a short, Swedish Napoleon Dynamite (except, in my opinion, funnier), involving the most awkward magician ever and his quest to impress a pretty new neighbor. Chimay!

Short Term 12: Winner of the 2009 SIFF Narrative Grand Jury Prize, this emotionally brutal short explores the lives of both workers and teens in a detention center. Brad William Hanke uses his serious acting skills to show us that adults don't neccesarily always know what's right.

Bumbershoot preview: 30th Seattle International Comedy Competition showcase

Imaginary Mimi — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:18:36 +0000

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Seattle International Comedy Competition. This competition attracts talent from all over the globe and allows them to showcase their comedic chops in search of the ultimate prize of eternal glory. Not unlike a wide-scale cage match, hundreds enter, but only 32 compete in the finals. They come out armed with impressions, one-liners, things that make you squirm, things that make you groan, and things that will leave you drying the corners of your eyes. One winner emerges triumphant. Many very successful comics including Patton Oswalt, Mitch Hedburg, Bill Radke, and David Silverman have been winners on this stage and many more have been able to use it as a catalyst for their careers.

In celebration of this milestone, the Bumbershoot local comedy stage will be featuring some of the best acts of the Seattle International Comedy Competition over the past 30 years to give a sample of what it takes to do well in this competition for would-be auditioners, a taste of what Seattlites find funny, and an opportunity for previous winners to rub elbows and wallow in the glory a second time. This event will be taking place Sunday, September 6 at 6 PM on Comedy Stage West.

Bumbershoot preview: 1 Reel Film Festival, Monday

Imaginary Amie — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:17:19 +0000

12-1pm: Films4Families: My fave of this bunch is the sweet documentary Something To Hold Onto, about kids and their toy companions. They’re all adorable, but the first boy with his "Bare" broke my heart a little when he said he was sad knowing that he’d grow up and not love him as much someday. Awwwwwwwwww

1-2pm: Critical Mass: Bikes, bikes and more bikes. Fanatic shows us a day in the life of Daniel, a bike messenger teased for his size who learns to finally appreciate himself through a few random acts of kindness.

Bumbershoot preview: David Cross

Imaginary Mimi — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:54:05 +0000

Get over Alvin and the Chipmunks already, he bought a really nice summer home with the money he made off of it...He's a real mench for admitting it!

David Cross has been a major player in the comedy game since his days in Mr. Show. Since then, he's been a jack of all trades, dabbling in TV and movies, becoming a Grammy nominee recording artist (for the magnificent Shut Up, You Fucking Baby), serving as a voice talent for video games, and now has a book out called I Drink for a Reason. Starting his career as a stand-up comic at 17, he returns to his roots this fall, launching a tour with a stop at Bumbershoot. Cross has been a very busy man. He will be curating his own stage at All Tomorrow's Parties in addition to launching a Channel 4 UK television show entitled The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, which, if God is merciful, will eventually come stateside without a terrible remake. Fans of "Arrested Development" hold out hope after hope for the magical words "In production" next to an IMDB movie credit, but tragically, there is no news to report as of yet.

Bumbershoot preview: Parenthetical Girls

Chelsea Werner — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 04:10:12 +0000

Parenthetical Girls started out as a collaboration between Zac Pennington and Jeremy Cooper in 2002, then known as Swastika Girls, a name lifted from one of their influences, Brian Eno’s collaboration with Robert Fripp on No Pussyfooting. This album is an experimental one for Brian Eno and reflects the manipulations of pop and the lo-fi recording techniques used by Pennington and Cooper on their first eight track recordings. After dismissing the fruits of their labors for a while, Pennington unearthed the tape and handed it off to Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu and Jherek Bischoff of the Dead Science.

Thus, Parenthetical Girls came to be with the release of (((GRRRLS))) featuring mixes of the same seven songs by Stewart on one side and Bischoff on the other. The name change came with a change in lineup that has finally landed Parenthetical Girls with permanent members Pennington, Matt Carlson, Rachel Jensen, and Eddy Crichton on the Sky Church stage, this Sunday at 3:30 during Bumbershoot. Don’t miss their lovely and lilting songs that feature glockenspiel, synthesizer and guitar in a winning combination of insular sadness and uplifting sweetness making your insides as warbley as Pennington’s vocals.

Bumbershoot preview: UH HUH HER

ChrisB — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:03:49 +0000

UH HUH HER sounds nothing like the inspiration for the band's name, the Polly Jean Harvey album from 2004. Instead, they would fit more at home on a bill with other synth-dance pop bands like Client or Ladytron (coincidentally, UH HUH HER and Ladytron are labelmates on Nettwerk). When the essential-reading UK website Popjustice named their single "Not a Love Song" as "Song of the Day", they wrote, "[w]e suppose you'll probably be wanting to file this one alonside Ladyhawke, Dragonette 'et al'."

The photogenic, LA-based, electro pop duo consists of Leisha Hailey and Camila Grey and they make catchy dance floor anthems built around the 4/4 kickdrum beat. After USE, UH HUH HER is probably the Bumbershoot band most likely to start a dance party. While "Not a Love Song" is a great dancefloor track, the band can also be more mellow and relaxed with their beats while focusing on the romantic longing of their lyrics.

For what it's worth, Hailey was also a cast member on the Showtime lesbian drama "The L Word".

Here's the video for "Not a Love Song":

{UH HUH HER plays Bumbershoot on the Broad Street Stage at 7:45pm on Saturday, September 5.}

Bumbershoot preview: The Beta Society

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:48:46 +0000

The Beta Society’s been getting a ton of press lately, so no doubt you’ve heard of them – they’re the group of friends who rented an 80s style mansion so they could live together 24/7 for the express purpose of creating stuff. What kind of stuff? It’s a little hard to explain (and much better to see live), but basically they make hilariously great films and sketches, and when they do it live, they put it all together in a sketch-style variety show that includes both.

"Headmasters" Celene Ramadan, Annette Auger, and Jessica Aceti are the awesome chicks that formed The Beta Society in 2008, and in addition to running a kick-ass group of Betas, they’re just an awful lot of fun to be around (back in the day when I was a frequent improv/comedy/theater-goer, I got to know Ms. Ramadan pretty well, so I totally know. Seriously. They all rock!). Some of my favorite bits include a fascination and collaboration with Alan Thicke (yes, that guy from Growing Pains), and the fact that they made their own feature-length horror parody called Junkbucket:

Don’t miss ‘em, you guys. There’s nothing else quite like this in Seattle.

{The Beta Society performs at Bumbershoot on Monday, September 7 from 1:14-2:15pm on Comedy Stage West. Photo by Cory Gustason.}

Bumbershoot preview: 1 Reel Film Festival, Sunday

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:31:41 +0000

12-1pm: Films4Families: This Youngershoot package includes the must-see cleverly animated short, Western Spaghetti.

1-2pm: Fly Films SIFF 2009: With 4 days to shoot and 5 days to edit on B&W 16mm film, 4 filmmakers turned out 4 amazing shorts covering everything from blackmail (Black Coffee) to a creepy tale involving the monorail (Safe Passage).

2-3pm: Picture & Sound Music Videos: A mix of official and unofficial music vids featuring Radiohead, Damien Jurado, The Dutchess and the Duke, Modest Mouse, The Lonely Forest, Surface Tension, The Cove and Sean Peckhold directing claymation Fleet Foxes beardiness (White Winter Hymnal).