I asked both brilliant and talented photographers Erik Clineschmidt and Jason Tang to list their five favorite Bumbershoot photos. Jason offered these as his favorites. - ChrisB.

Head Like a Kite:

"I almost didn't go to this one because Metric was playing 15 minutes after [their set began].  I'm so glad I did, even if it was for one song!"

Carly Nicklaus of USE:

"They totally killed it!  So much energy and a lot of fun to shoot."

Janelle Monae:

"Karma, I tell you. [When security stopped] letting anyone else in to the Metric KEXP lounge show, I figured I might as well kill some time and catch Janelle at the Fisher Green Stage.  Boy, was I in for a big surprise!"

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The seven-piece dance party band USE, nee United State of Electronica, is just about ready to release their long-awaited sophomore album L O V E W O R L D. Despite the time in between LPs, USE’s prominence hasn’t waned and they’ve remained one of the most popular bands in the northwest.

The next USE show is at Bumbershoot, on Sunday, September 6 at 4:15pm on the Broad Street Stage. It will be just two days prior to the digital release of L O V E W O R L D. The band is set to embark on a brief tour down the west coast.

I met up with USE’s two female singers, Amanda Khanjian and Carly Nicklaus (full disclosure: the latter has been a close friend for several years), over drinks at a Capitol Hill bar during happy hour to talk about the delay between USE albums, making music in a band with seven people and playing reunion shows for a band that had never broken up. As USE is one of the most fun bands to watch live, it should be unsurprising that this was one of the most fun interviews I’ve done.

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Bumbershoot takes place at the Seattle Center this September 5-7 and there's about a million and a half things to do (bands, literary panels, art shows, Flatstock, kettle corn lunches) over the three-day fest.

To help folks (especially ourselves) prepare for Bumbershoot 2009, we put together this lil mix of some of the things you should add to your Bumbershoot scheduling spreadsheet. We hope this helps you pick your must-sees or at least provides a soundtrack as you wander to and fro.

 

{go listen}

I'm just getting ready to work on transcribing my interview with the lovely ladies (and, full disclosure, my friends) of USE when I got an e-mail mentioning this item that should be of particular interest to our readers, I'm sure.

This Sunday, after USE plays Bumbershoot (at 4:15pm on the Broad Street Stage), USE is hosting a party at Havana to celebrate a) premiere the video to their single "KISSING", b) their west coast tour that begins that week and c) the digital release of their new album L O V E W O R L D. The party will also include members of USE spinning records as well as DJs from The Lashes and maybe a few others.

The album is released digitally next Tuesday (September 8), but people who go to the party at Havana (and pay the $5 cover) will get a card that includes a digital download code to download L O V E W O R L D.

This all begins at 9pm at Havana (1010 E. Pike St.), 21+.

{USE photo by Sarah Jurado.}

The group Future Sounds sponsors a series of shows across the country in selected cities (New York, Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego and San Francisco). Tonight (Monday, August 3), they are kicking off the first Rumble in Seattle. It features Battle Hymns, USE and The Blakes.

This is a monthly event in all of the other cities, although I can't confirm that it's not a one-off thing in Seattle. I'm sure that if it's a success, they'll certainly schedule more.

Also, it should be worth noting that our friends from USE will be headlining the West coast Rumbles in September.

Doors open at 8, 21+ and the cover is only $5.

Tonight, Solo Bar in Lower Queen Anne (200 Roy Street) is hosting a listening party for two of the most highly-anticipated local releases of the year: Throw Me the Statue's Creaturesque and USE's L O V E W O R L D.

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Sarah Joann Murphy recently captured all that is U.S.E. in some brilliant photo shoot shots... and she thankfully added them to the TIG Flickr pool.

It was hard to choose just one... so here's another one of Mr. Noah Star that is sure to cheer up any rainy day...

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at The Crocodile

From mushy-hearted funny to a full throttle dance party, in three notes or less.

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I am not sure if it's the red pants or the bright USE sign on the back wall that make me see this as the money shot of the day... but Laura Musselman caught this photo of this weekend's U.S.E. show at the Crocodile that oozes so much goodtime sparkle that it actually makes me excited for Monday.

Imaginary Victoria also covered the show and we should have a full on photo essay of this weekend's USE show soon soon soon!

Want to see more of what's going on around town in Seattle's clubs (or what to add your own photos)? Head over to our Sparkly Indie Pop Flickr Photo Pool!

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It's going to be a hot, sweaty dance party inside of the new Crocodile with USE bringing their dancefloor-ready hits to Belltown tonight.

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