Click here to read part one first
I’ll post some pictures soon, but here’s part two of what we did on our trip.
Saturday August 30
This is the day I have been waiting for, the start of the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. We took the monorail to the Seattle Center, the site of the festival, and yes we were early. That’s how I like it. At 11:00 AM, we entered the festival and headed immediately to the Starbucks Gold Lounge, for a free coffee drink. Then we walked over to the VIP Hospitality Lounge and had some snacks there. OK, now time for music. First up was The Lonely Forest in the KEXP lounge (the secret stage). This show and their outdoor show later today were going to be their last shows ever. After some 10 years together they were calling it quits. Too bad, too, because their set was great! Now I discover them!
After that we hit up the merchandise booth and each bought a shirt. We had merch credits with our passes so we spent those. Petra went one direction to see Sza (she was not impressed) and I went to check out the stadium stages. Youngblook Hawke was playing on the smaller stage. They were good, if not great, and enjoyable. But I was there to check out the MainStage, with Panic! At The Disco playing an energetic set. Petra met back up with me during the P!@TD set. After a healthy portion of their set, we went back to the KEXP Lounge to see Polica. They were kind of trancy, low-key electronica. I liked it but a half hour was enough.
On the way back the the Hospitality Lounge, I caught the last few songs of The Lonely Forest’s outdoor set. Yep, their last songs ever (as far as we know anyway). They got pretty emotional and the crowd could feel it too. Next up, we headed back to the KEXP Lounge to see The Both. It’s the recent collaboration between Aimee Mann and Ted Leo. I’ve wanted to see Aimee for years, so I finally got a chance. The Both was very good, complete with amusing stage banter between the two stars. After that we only had a few minutes to get back to the MainStage for Elvis Costello. He’s one of my faves and one of the best songwriters around. He puts on a great show too, and today was no exception. Then it was time for some comedy, Janeane Garofalo and Doug Benson, both of whom were very funny. We made time next for a quick beverage and then saw Mavis Staples perform. We watched the full set and she was great. She looked much healthier than three years ago when we saw her, although she is still having trouble walking. But she’s a legend and deservedly so. It was some twelve hours after entering the festival and it ended for the day. Back to the room, time for some rest, and then do more tomorrow.
Sunday August 31
Day 2 of the festival. The routine begins again. Monorail to the Seattle Center and then the gates open. We got our free coffee drink at the Starbucks Gold Lounge and then had a quick snack in the VIP Hospitality Lounge. The first music we chose today was the Hot Wired Rhythm Band, a good blues band that even handed us a copy of their CD. Nice. Then in the KEXP Lounge we saw Big Star’s Third, a sort of all-star tribute to the third album by the long-ago cult band Big Star. The one surviving member was included, along with members of The Posies, the DBs, Let’s Active, and more, along with a five-woman string section. We nabbed the set list for this act too. On the way back to get something to eat, we watched a few songs by We Are Scientists. It was ok but nothing special. Then there was food.
We could hear some of Charlie Musselwhite’s set (sounded good) while we waited for The Head And The Heart in the KEXP Lounge. They were very good and we managed to grab the set list for this one too. After that, back outside, we caught a good portion of the set by Luscious Jackson. Yes they are still around. It was good, but I had hoped for great. We caught the tail end of a set by Schoolyard Heroes, who were noisy in a good way and borderline menacing. Actually the sign language interpreter was that way too, with devil horn signs, grimaces, etc, she was a hoot to watch! Great stuff. Next up, time for comedy. We went to see The Improvised Shakespeare Company on the advice of Mama O, and boy were we glad we went. They were hilarious. We laughed a lot, seriously! Then we had a snack and went to see Pickwick, a band we had seen a few years earlier. They have varied their sound and gotten much more outgoing. Still fun to watch. Then to close the day we saw Bootsy Collins, the legendary bass player for James Brown, Parliament, Funkadelic, and Bootsy’s Rubber Band. It was basic funk but he was lots of fun and charismatic and the crowd loved it. Another day down, we headed back to room for a night’s rest before the next day.
Monday September 1
Once again, we took the monorail to the festival. We kept the beginning routine of getting our free Starbucks coffee drink and then some food in the Hospitality Lounge. First up musically, in the KEXP Lounge, was Valerie June. She’s a black woman from the south who does blues, roots, and country and this was a solo, acoustic set. It was refreshingly different and pretty good. We even each got a picture with her. We stayed at the lounge for Hooray For The Riff Raff, a country-ish swing group with a charming female singer. It’s not really my favorite type of music but I enjoyed the set. The, again in the lounge, it was rockabilly time with legend The Reverend Horton Heat. His three pice band rocked the house hard, like the Stray Cats on steroids. He gave Petra a guitar pick on the way out too.
Afterwards, Petra headed out to see some comedy, an act called Wine Shots with a number of local women comedians. Meanwhile I watched part of a set by indie band Rose Windows, who were pretty good. I wandered over to see Valerie June’s outdoor set too, at least the first half hour or so. She had a couple other musicians for the outdoor set, but was still good. OK, snack time. Then we saw (again) The Improvised Shakespeare Company. The show was totally different from yesterday’s and it was even funnier! Side-splitting, really. They normally perform in Chicago and if I ever get there then I will see these guys again. Back outdoors we watched the whole set from Neon Trees, the power pop band that seems to keep having hits. They were really good, even better than when we saw them years ago. To end the night, we watched most of the set by Foster The People. They were pretty good at least but not as good as the previous set by Neon Trees. Regardless, the day was wonderfully great and the Bumbershoot Festival was a fantastic experience once again!!
Tuesday September 2
Cal and Laura headed back to California today. Meanwhile, we bussed it back to the University District for lunch, because we had been told about an all-you-can-eat all-vegan Thai food buffet at Araya’s Place. Yeah, you read that right. We had multiple platefuls and said “wow” a lot, wishing we would be in Seattle longer so we could come back again for this. Then we took a different bus to the Elliot Bay Book Store and Everyday Music (across the street from each other). A little shopping now and then is relished by the wisest men, or something like that. Then it was back to the room for a bit.
We had more to see, so we ventured out again, stopping first at Starbucks for a beverage and to sit while we did the smart phone boarding pass check-in for our flight tomorrow. Then we walked to the Seattle Glassblowing Studio and watch some people working with glass. Impressive. And then once again to El Borracho for the happy hour. Dollar tacos, small but tasty. And El Cheapo margaritas of course. Luckily the rain (downpour) happened while we were inside! Then it was back to the room and another day was done.
Wednesday September 3
Last day of the trip, and only part of a day at that. We checked out of The Camlin and had a delicious lunch at Cyber-Dogs, then took a walk. We ended up inside the huge and modern Convention Center building, which we hadn’t seen before. Then we went back to the hotel and retrieved our luggage and took the light rail to the airport, where we met up again with Mama O and Sam. The plane came and we went home. Another excellent vacation, too short as usual. But there’s always next year!
What do you think? Leave me a comment!
