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}

Just when I was thinkin’ that Pirates and Zombies have gotten enough love lately, this literary panel about Vampires and Robots at Bumbershoot caught my interest.

Kevin Emerson, drummer & vocalist for Central Services, is the creator of Oliver Nocturne: a series of kids books about a vampire boy who lives in Seattle (that I already find 100x more interesting than Twilight).

Daniel Wilson has written tons of great stuff including How to Survive a Robot Uprising and The Mad Scientist Hall of Fame – pretty much everything you’d need to survive an apocalypse.

Come listen to their creative genius and ask them everything you always wanted to know about bloodsuckers and metal menaces.

{The Vampires and Robots panel takes place at Bumbershoot on Monday, September 7 from 12pm-1:15pm at the Leo K Theater}

Upset. The word of the our 2008 Best Northwest Releases of 2008 Readers' Poll is upset.

With the Fleet Foxes winning readers and critical polls alike, who would've thought they wouldn't get top honors in our humble little Northwest poll? But they didn't -- they placed a distant second to New Faces, another debut record from some very talented, very young Northwest fellas.

We had other surprises as well, with unsigned newcomers such as Hey Marseilles, the Kindness Kind, and Kaylee Cole cracking the top ten, beating out Northwest heavyweights such as Death Cab for Cutie. We did not expect that. And we love it when you surprise us, dear readers.

We imaginaries like to champion the up-and-comers from the Northwest, and our results indicate that you do as well. We think you all also have fabulous taste, as always. Thanks to everyone who participated in our poll. We couldn't be more proud or thrilled to present the top 50 winners on your behalf...

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What else, what else? Please share your show going adventures in the comments field below.

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at The Vera Project

Awesome really does put on a freakin’ awesome show.

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at Sonic Boom Records

With the addition of Seattle-based solo artist Andrea Wittgens on keys and backing vocals, the band sounded more melodic, more charming, and more... somehow, complete, than I've ever heard them sound before.

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Who do YOU think are the must-see local bands at REVERB?

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Just say "Fuck you, Loggins!" to the door guy, and the cover drops to a mere $5. Seriously, so smooth and awesome!

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It’s ten days and counting until we christen the pina colada-drenched schooner that will be the Yacht Rock Tribute Night at Neumo’s on July 26th! In honor of the event, we offer a pleasant spritzer for the uninitiated, counting down the very best of the Yacht Rock canon. I’m sure we’ll forget as many classic bands and songs as we include, so please add your two cents!

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at Seattle Center

I made the trek out to Folklife this past Sunday especially to see pop darlings Central Services and twee deity (tweeity, if you will) Calvin Johnson.

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