Help me plan a day at Bumbershoot!

September 1, 2006 12:01 PM

Help me with Bumbershoot... I need to figure out which day I should go, which bands to catch.

Here's the deal... I've been very comfortable with the music that I've always listened to for the last two or three years. I've grown bored with this music, and I want to enjoy new music.

I like these bands, but have grown tired of listening to them over and over: Cake, Counting Crows, Dave Matthews Band, Dispatch, Fiona Apple
(I also listen to Secret Agent/Groove Salad/Beat Blender/other SomaFM stations at work, and enjoy them immensely)

I know there will be music I enjoy at Bumbershoot, and any day I could find a band or two that I like. But I'd like to maximize my enjoyment and really try to find bands that'll be added to my "default" playlists.

So, Hive Mind, Help me plan a Day at Bumbershoot
Which 1 day should I go, and which bands should I make sure I catch?

TIA

posted by hatsix to media & arts (15 comments total)

I really enjoy atcq, both live and on their cds. I'd recommend checking them out, though I wouldn't call them new music. The other that jumped out at me was the new pornographers, though I only liked "Electric Version", haven't seen them live, but would like to.
posted by killyb at 12:04 PM on September 1, 2006

sorry, atcq = a tribe called quest
posted by killyb at 12:06 PM on September 1, 2006

all days seem to feature:

Trapped In The Closet
Saturday, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm @ Charlotte Martin
Sunday, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm @ Charlotte Martin
Monday, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm @ Charlotte Martin

Trapped In The Closet joins hot stand-up comedian Aziz Ansari, Best Week Ever's Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel of Curb Your Enthusiasm fame, and a special guest panel for an uproarious look at chapters 6 through 12 of R. Kelly's un-ironic hip-hopera Trapped In The Closet. Easily the most unintentionally hilarious music video ever created, Trapped In The Closet will provide the fodder for an outrageous roundtable that will have you laughing until you cry. Trapped In The Closet was created by Eric Appel.

while not a band, that sounds AMAZING.
posted by fillsthepews at 12:08 PM on September 1, 2006

Only a great big jerk would miss out seeing my pals' band "Awesome"!

Okay, even if you miss them, you might not be a jerk. But come on!

noSIGNAL, presented at Bumbershoot, explores a cyclic universe of exiled bees, suicidal cells, memory leaks, and technological breakdown, all framed by a mesmerizing configuration of interlocking motifs and more than a dozen new songs.

Yay!

What's not to like?
posted by Skot at 12:22 PM on September 1, 2006

I highly reccommend catching Bitter: Sweet and Nouvelle Vague on monday's lineup. Great bossa nova/loungy music.
posted by cowbellemoo at 12:24 PM on September 1, 2006

Were I in town for the festival, I would be certain to catch the Cloud Cult (scroll down for sound sample...).
posted by iurodivii at 12:29 PM on September 1, 2006

I'd go Monday if I were going myself.

3:45 - 4:45 Jamie Lidell
4:45 - 5:45 Laura Veirs
5:45 - 6:45 The Thermals
9:15 - 10:15 Cloud Cult

I think you'd really like Cloud Cult most of all.
posted by yeti at 12:42 PM on September 1, 2006

Second the New Pornographers and Tribe Called Quest. Also:

Sat:
Mark Pickerel
Blondie
And if you're into seeing non-music things:
The Doug Benson/Mary Lynn Rajskub standup comedy
Best Week Ever Live
Rollerderby (it's a lot of fun!)

Sun:
Pretty much just the New Pornographers

Mon:
The Briefs
The BellRays (Whatever else you do, do NOT miss the BellRays - they're AMAZING live...)
The English Beat (purely a nostalgia vote, they're probably not that good any more but they were fun when i was in high school)

you didn't mention whether you'd been to Bumbershoot before, so if this is redundant I apologize, but when you go, be prepared for a soul-destroying number of people to be packed into the Center grounds all day - the bands are worth seeing, but the crowds are ridiculous.
posted by pdb at 12:51 PM on September 1, 2006

Particle is fun... they're kind of a live electronic sound with a band playing and a DJ mixing at the same time. Very dancy. I enjoyed them at Bonnaroo. Atmosphere and Tribe Called Quest are both awesome. I'd also suggest some Dumpstaphunk... the Neville brothers are surely a dying breed post-Katrina. Again, very dancy.

You're doing good though. I did the same thing with Bonnaroo in '04 and went three more years in a row. My musical tastes have expanded exponentially. You can't trust radio anymore... but I put a lot of trust in the organizers of the more renowned festivals to show me the best live music out there.

Honestly, you need to pre-plan more than a few days out and download buy the best album from every band playing. Use the AllMusic Guide to pick the right album. If you like the band, find the last album so you know what they'll be playing. When I pre-plan, I feel like a kid in a candy store when I go... I hop around listening to everything that caught my attention. It's not uncommon for me to see 50 of the 80 bands when most people see like 20.
posted by trinarian at 1:25 PM on September 1, 2006

I believe that Jose Gonzalez is going to play.

If'n you like classical-ish acoustic guitar and great vocal accompaniment, get thee to his show.
posted by YoBananaBoy at 2:53 PM on September 1, 2006

Wow. Can you really only go one day?

I'm not sure how your tastes would go with them, but Saturday you have Blondie (who may well be irreversibly past their prime, I'll admit) and Jarboe (of Swans fame. Or infamy. Whichever.) As well as Chuck Palahniuk speaking.

On Sunday you have my boys, Great Big Sea (celtic rock/sea shanties/really indescribable sometimes), as well as some nice jazz. (Which may not be to your taste at all, you didn't say anything about alternate ~types~ of music.)

Monday the only thing that stands out for me is The English Beat (who I have seen in the last couple of years, and who still have it together).

Me, I'd do Sunday. I really ~love~ Great Big Sea. You can tell that they really love the interaction with the audience, as well as being a really great band.

Really, you're the only one who can decide, though. Have fun whenever you go.
posted by Meep! Eek! at 4:34 PM on September 1, 2006

Well, it looks like I'll probably end up going on Monday.... Saturday is out of the question (sudden availability of Dave Matthews Tickets at the Gorge, though O.A.R. will probably be the highlight, since I've seen DMB several times already)....

and no, I haven't been to Bumbershoot before, and I'm planning on going early so that I can get the pass for the mainstage events. Early on the Cloud Cult was recommended, but unfortunately, that's actually on Saturday, not Monday, but I did like the samples I heard, so I'll take a look around and see if I can find more/longer samples before I commit to a CD. (I'm on Linux, and no large labels offer non-DRM downloads for those of us non-windows/OSX users... :-( )

Thanks for all of the recommendations! Now that I have an idea of which bands I should check out, I should be able to broaden my horizons!!!

p.s. I really do enjoy most music styles, I have a large collection of Jazz (shamelessly borrowed from a friend overseas), and I was involved with the Jazz festival back in my home town. Jazz ends up being something that I'm almost sure I'll enjoy, but I don't tend to go out of my way... it's like the PB&J of music... I can always count on it, but it doesn't give me the tingles.
posted by hatsix at 6:50 PM on September 1, 2006

You should check out Podbop's Bumbershoot Pre-festival coverage at http://podbop.org/festivals/2006/bumbershoot where we've been highlighting some of the lesser known artists that you should see.

Disclaimer: I'm a co-founder of Podbop :)
posted by gtmcknight at 11:36 PM on September 1, 2006

Skip Blondie (I love them,but this is only part of the original lineup, 20 years past their prime). Go see P:Ano at the same time instead. Ukelele/Accordian/Bass Clarinet/Drums and Vocals; excellent, sweet, quiet songs.

And see Tribe, of course.
posted by cathodeheart at 11:45 PM on September 1, 2006

gtmcknight: You're such a tease!!! Now that I've semi-decided on monday, you post a bunch of teasers for bands playing Saturday and Sunday!!! (but no bands that play on Monday, what's up with that?)

Arghh!!! ok... Sunday or Monday.... I'll just end up flipping a coin or something!
posted by hatsix at 1:33 AM on September 2, 2006