Bumbershoot Sunday: Recap and Photos

Vivian Girls at Bumbershoot 2009 in Seattle, WA (09/06/09)
Vivian Girls at Bumbershoot 2009
Photos and Words: Drake LeLane

Check out Drake‘s recap from Day 2 of Bumbershoot 2009 below:

Day 2 of Bumbershoot was like the first in that the weather looked grim initially, but held up fine once things got going. Other than that, though, it was quite a bit different. There was a black hole in the middle of the day schedule-wise, but that allowed me to both visit Flatstock, and to scope out the Lost panel (hosted by EW’s Doc Jensen) for Monday. By 5:45, though, things got ca-razy, starting with Common Market’s vivid set. From there I ping-ponged around the grounds seeing six bands over the next two hours, before deciding to jump into David Cross’ set, so I could finally sit down for a bit. Pics to follow (brief recaps to be added piecemeal as time before too long).

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band @ Broad Street Lawn stage

MSHVB is a band that is easy to root for, and I always go in hoping for the best, but I find myself wishing they could just rev it up a notch. Visually, they’re pretty stoic for the music, with seemingly only Traci Eggleston exhibiting any life, looking like an indie rock Kristen Bell.

Parenthetical Girls @ EMPSFM’s Sky Church stage

The indie rock cabaret isn’t my cup of tea, but I can see it’s appeal to the disaffected youth. It’s as if Kurt from Glee fronted an indie rock band of Liza Minelli fanatics. It was a bittersweet set for the band, though, as singer Zac Pennington announced it was their last with keyboardist Matt Carlson.

Common Market @ Fisher Green Stage

The hip-hop band, like The Whore Moans the day prior, saw the Depression as a source of inspiration for their set, but while the Whore Moans lads played out the haves, Common Market took the part of the have nots. Where Satan is the corporate master and all the workers are slaves. Full of rich theatrics, it was one of the highlights of the festival. Covering Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” was pretty, but wholly unneeded — let’s have a moratorium on that cover, k?

Vivian Girls @ Broad Street Lawn Stage

I heard some complaints about their KEXP set, but on the big stage their reverb-drenched punk-pop-shoegaze mashup sounded delicious. Sure, the guitar playing is a bit sloppy, but it’s rock and roll y’all.

No Age @ the Exhibition Hall Stage (Rock Star Energy Stage)

This might be my biggest disappointment of the whole weekend. I’ve repeatedly missed their earlier swings through Seattle due to scheduling conflicts and was looking forward to their set. Maybe it was the cruddy sound of the Exhibition Hall (they actually sounded better than most have in the venue), but the crowd and the band both seemed kind of tired. Or was that me projecting?

Holy Fuck @ Broad Street Lawn Stage

The naughtily-named quartet from Canada took their Can-inspired spacey jams and made a crowd of thousands move their feet. I so wanted to see them play at the Neumo’s after-party, but just didn’t have the energy to get there (on foot/bus all weekend). Next time.

David Cross & Friends @ Bagley Wright Theatre

After a long day on my feet I just felt the need to sit down and laugh. Cross always pleases, and while most were expecting either Eugene Mirman or possibly Sarah Silverman to show, seeing Wyatt Cenac and Doug Benson was just as good. And BUMBERCLAP!

Many more photos of Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band, Parenthetical Girls, Common Market, Vivian Girls, No Age, Holy Fuck and David Cross from Day of 2 Bumbershoot 2009 after the jump

Mt St. Helen’s Vietnam Band at Bumbershoot (09/06/09)
Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band at Bumbershoot 2009