Bumbershoot: Three-Sentence Review of Death Cab for Cutie

Ben GIbbard of Death Cab for Cutie. Photo by Renee McMahon.

Death Cab for Cutie
Where: Main Stage
When: Sunday, 9:15 p.m.

Between the fantastic lighting and and perfect melody, Death Cab for Cutie's set was utter and complete ecstasy. After leaving 20 minutes early I was almost worried there would be no encore, but never fear: they closed out with a four song run of "Title and Registration," "No Sunlight," "Tiny Vessels" and "Transatlanticism," and the fireworks raining down from the scaffolding made it a near-religious experience. Part of me wishes I'd seen Death Cab on a smaller stage in the not-so-long-ago era of The Crocodile, but the other half of me knows they deserve the glitz and giant mainstage bill... and there's no band I'd rather see to close out Bumbershoot '08.

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Bumbershoot Monday Wrap-Up Starring DCFC and a Bare-Assed Monotonix

Ben Gibbard closed out Bumbershoot 2008 with Death Cab for Cutie on the Mainstage. Watch a slideshow of Monday at Bumbershoot. Photos by Renee McMahon.

— Coverage of Sunday at Bumbershoot: STP, The Black Keys, Jakob Dylan
— Coverage of Saturday at Bumbershoot: Beck, Lucinda Williams, Neko Case

Monday's Randomness:

— Bumbershoot 2008 and the Gay '90s
— Slideshow: Death Cab, Paramore, Old 97s, and More

Notes and Reviews:
— Xavier Rudd
— John Vanderslice
— Dan Deacon
— Monotonix
— Blitzen Trapper
— The Offspring
— Flobots
— Death Cab for Cutie

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Bumbershoot: Three-Sentence Review of Flobots

Johnny 5 (left) and Brer Rabbit (right).

Flobots
Where: Exhibition Hall Stage
When: Sunday, 6:00 p.m.

As Bumbershoot staff began estimating that ten times more people wanted to get into the Exhibition Hall Stage to see Flobots than would be able to, the group's explosion our of Denver's underground really became clear. This time, there was new material and an even more polished and expanded performance — they dipped into Rage Against the Machine's "Killing In The Name," busted out a new I.R.A.Q. rap, and played a Turtle's "So Happy Together" cover with their own twist. The flow was solid, the message rang true... and Brer Rabbit's dance moves never fail to blow my mind.

Mackenzie Roberts on viola.

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Bumbershoot: Three Sentence Review of Xavier Rudd

obligatory crappy over-the-crowd shot

Who: Xavier Rudd
When: 9:30 Monday
Where: Fisher Green Stage

Xavier Rudd was the perfect Bumbershoot closer. It was small, by Bumbershoot standards (most folks, I think, were at Death Cab), but most of us who were there were dancing. Rudd is an unbelievably talented musician. The guy sings, blows on the didgeridoo, plays the harmonica, the bongos, slide guitar, regular guitar, the chime thingies and a base pedal – sometimes all in the same song. When he comes back, somebody, please, make sure I know. I know I claimed that the Black Keys were the height of my Bumbershoot 2008 experience, but that declaration was seriously challenged last night. Rudd was ridiculous.

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Bumbershoot 2008: Three-Sentence Review of John Vanderslice

John Vanderslice rawkin' out, Rockstar Energy Drink Stage, 6 p.m.

It took a little while for me to get warmed up at John Vanderslice, where I initially misinterpreted the rapt crowd's motionless stoicism as lack of interest, probably because I spent the first part of yesterday in a glorious melee of some of the most enthusiastic rump-shaking I've ever witnessed. But then, as Vanderslice sang "Tablespoon of Codeine" from his latest record, Emerald City, I noticed a girl near me swaying ever so slightly, mouthing all the words, and I realized: this crowd was so quiet and motionless because they were completely enraptured, and with good reason. Quietly, and without artifice, John Vanderslice makes some of the most lyrically sophisticated pop music of our time, and if you missed it yesterday, he's performing at Sonic Boom Records in Ballard tonight at 7.

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Bumbershoot: Three-Sentence Review of Dan Deacon

Dan Deacon, 4:15 p.m., Exhibition Hall Stage. Dan explains the rules of the dance contest to the first young contestant

After the insanity (and dare I say injustice) of Monotonix's shortened set, seeing Dan Deacon not only helped ease my rancor, it made me decide that heaven is going to a Dan Deacon show every weekend for the rest of my life.

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Bumbershoot: Monotonix Gets Shut the F**k Down After 15 Minutes

Monotonix singer Ami Shalev, Exhibition Hall Stage, 2:30 p.m., about three minutes before that t-shirt wound up stuffed inside those red shorts

As you might already have heard, the Monotonix show got shut down by the Bumbershoot bouncers exactly 15 minutes into the set.

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Bumbershoot 2008 and The Gay '90s

Beck, Saturday night on the Mainstage. Photo by Renee McMahon.

The Offspring were just getting warmed up during its mid-Monday set on the Mainstage when bassist Noodles announced that, after flying (he's a pilot) into town on Saturday, he hadn't stopped drinking or patronizing our purveyors of pornography. For The Offspring, it's still 1998.

From Beck's Saturday-evening headlining set and Stone Temple Pilot's reunion episode Sunday, to Flobot's 311-inspired revival in the Exhibition Hall, Bumbershoot 2008 was chock full of references to the halcyon days of post-grunge alt-rock radio. I even spotted Peter Parker drummer, Steve — better known as Steve the Producer on 107.7 the End during the late '90s — twice on Sunday.

But while the handbill screamed nostalgia, the scene between the gates signaled change. To pass through the gates of my first Bumbershoot, in 1997, I paid with a $10 bill and got change. "Magicians" performed for tips on Denny to scratch together the fare. Inside, more performers of all stripes littered walkways and free patches of grass. The intersections — most notably at the corner of Mural Amphitheater and Center House — shored up seas of humanity. The journey between stages, the eye candy, and the inevitable discovery that ensured, truly was the destination.

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Three-Sentence Review: Blitzen Trapper at Bumbershoot

Photo by Chris Kornelis

Blitzen Trapper
When: 2:30ish
Where: Broad Street Stage

Blitzen Trapper pump out a mean record full of '70s-guitar noodlings, harmonies, and foot-stompin' melodies. But on stage this afternoon — an army of six — the band tripped over itself (three synthesizers?) en route to the subtle layerings of their studio fare. They were at their best when they kept it simple.

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The Offspring at Bumbershoot: Some Things Never Change

Photos by Renee McMahon

The Offspring
When: 3:20ish
Where: Mainstage

Dexter Holland's voice is still among the most recognizable in the business. Noodles still loves porn. And the kids — many who don't know radio without Smash, The Offspring's/Independent music's biggest record ever — still go ape-shit for "Come Out and Play (Keep 'EM Separated)."

Noodles

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Bumbershoot: Three-Sentence Review of Dart-Mondo

Who: Dart-Mondo
Where: The Vera Project
When: 4:45
Dart-Mondo is a combination of sketch and stand-up comedy. It was fast paced and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. My favorite moment was when a heckler called out "You're O-bombing!" and the comedian quickly shut him down with something about the guy not wearing a "grown-up shirt."

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Bumbershoot: Three-Sentence Review of Australia's Strange Fruit and other spectacles

Who: Australia's Strange Fruit
Where: The Fountain Lawn
When: 6:15 p.m.

Hoping to avoid lines and close proximity to strangers, I wandered around Bumbershoot looking for performers that didn't have an official stage or in some cases, an official invite.
Australia's Strange Fruit (who were invited) is an act whose players perform from atop 15-foot flexible rods. They sway around and entertain the audience with delightful skits and hijinx. The players are mostly silent but it's set to music that gives the whole thing a very soothing quality. I enjoyed it very much.

My favorite Bumbershoot squatter was this little girl who stood on a ball and played the violin while hula hooping. It was pretty adorable.

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Bumbershoot Sunday Wrap-Up Starring STP, The Black Keys, and Jakob Dylan

Stone Temple Pilots at the Mainstage. Renee McMahon

— Coverage of Saturday at Bumbershoot: Beck, Lucinda Williams, Neko Case
— Coverage of Monday at Bumbershoot: Death Cab, Old 97s, Monotonix

Randomness:

— Slideshow: Flatstock 18
— Fans of the Day
— Slideshow: STP, T.I., The Black Keys

Notes & Reviews

— Stone Temple Pilots
— The Black Keys
— Shim
— Brother Ali
— Kathleen Edwards
— The Saturday Knights
— Tapes 'N Tapes
— Jakob Dylan

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Bumbershoot: Three-Sentence Review Of Sons And Daughters

Who: Sons And Daughters
Where: Rock Star Stage
When: Sunday, August 31, 7:45 p.m.

Probably my favorite Scottish export since the Fire Engines, Glasgow's Sons and Daughters were an electric jolt compared to the mellowness of Jakob Dylan, whom I'd seen just minutes before. They thrashed their way through a set of slice-and-dice post punk pop that was more melodic than the aforementioned Engines but certainly less polished than Franz Ferdinand. For whatever reason, the audience was filled with Seattle rock luminaries including Jon Ramberg, Johnny Sangster, Kurt Bloch, and Mudhoney bassist Guy Maddison.

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Bumbershoot: Three-Sentence Review of the Stone Temple Pilots

Watch a slideshow featuring Stone Temple Pilots at Bumbershoot. Photo by Renee McMahon

Who: Stone Temple Pilots
Where: Mainstage
When: 9:40ish

STP was a half hour late, but it was worth it. Scott Weiland’s still got it, still a ridiculous rock star. These guys are ages removed from the flannel-coated 90s but their set inspired nostalgia amongst everyone who accompanied me to the show. On this first reunion tour, they stuck to the hits – material mostly from Purple and Core but that doesn’t mean the set was devoid of innovation, Weiland’s the only singer I’ve seen who uses a bullhorn on top of a microphone for distortion. Pretty dope.

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