Saturday I went to Bumbershoot, a three-day music, arts, and crafts festival held annually in Seattle every Labor Day Weekend. It was a fun-filled day of discovering new bands, checking out hand-crafted wares, and sampling local foodie treats - all things right up my alley. It's held in Seattle Center, the 74-acre complex that is home to, among other things, the Space Needle, the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum (aka, "EMP/SFM"), and the Pacific Science Center. It's a major tourist attraction, but locals go there too, especially for the spectacle that is Bumbershoot.
With dozens of events to choose from, I'm glad I did my research beforehand to scope out the best bands and attractions. I saw several popular bands from all along the West coast - Health, Atlas Sound, The Maldives, The Budos Band, Ozomatli, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Wheedle's Groove, Civil Twilight, This Providence - and that was only about half of the bands that were performing! At day's end I felt like a music glutton, nice and satiated from all the new tunes (not to mention all the snacks). If you're interested in my favorite picks, those would be Health, The Budos Band, and Edward Sharpte & The Magnetic Zeros. Check 'em out for yourself and let me know what you think!
In addition to sampling all the musical offers, I also attended a lecture (where I learned about "cognitive surplus" and "The Uncanny Valley") and saw the local dance troupe "Can-can Cabaret". The dance performance was perhaps the highlight of the entire day. They were voted "Best in Seattle" by Seattle Weekly, and it's easy to see why. The crowd went wild as they lit up the stage with funky, fluid, nouveau interpretations of classic cabaret, and their music selection was killer. They have a studio at Pike Place Market, and I will definitely be going there to check out more of their performances!
1 comment:
Nice pics and prose!
Post a Comment