That’s another Bumbershoot for the books. The festival was two days with two really different personalities, and both delivered. Saturday headlined with local indie band Car Seat Headrest, and Weezer’s Voyage to the Blue Planet Tour; Sunday was the dazzling Janelle Monáe and the delightfully strange Aurora. It was worth it for the headliners alone, but the rest of the lineup was full of punk rock legends, indie favorites, and unforgettable hip-hop classics. We captured it all here.
Seattle’s Zookraught put on one of the best shows we saw all weekend, delivering a breathless 30 minutes of riotous, post-punk that sounds like it’d fit in Discord Records’ catalog circa 2000. The crowd packed into the at-capacity Vera Project returned their energy, dancing and signing along as band members took turns leaping into the crowd, led a call-and-response “Free Palestine” chant, and sang a song about “how much we fucking hate Donald Trump and want him to die.” Punk’s not dead.
In a festival that can sometimes tilt into beige pleasantness, J.R.C.G., the PNW’s most powerful singing drummer and his seven-strong avant-rock band, injected some dissonant weirdness into the weekend. Every beat was a liberating punch to The Man’s gut.
A nonet of bearded badasses, Budos Band combined elements of War and Black Sabbath at their ’70s peaks, resulting in a set that was like an ultra-exciting sports-highlight soundtrack for people who don’t like sports.
Avery Tien fashion show. CHRISTIAN PARROCO FOR THE STRANGER
Pretty Girls Make Graves got off to a late start and had to cut two songs out of their set because the Mural Stage had gotten off schedule earlier in the evening. Annoying! But they still put on a great show—their first back in Seattle since reuniting for two shows at the Showbox in November—and featuring songs from all three albums in their short-lived career. They hit the fan favorites “Speakers Push the Air,” “Something Bigger, Something Brighter,” and “Sad Girls Por Vita,” and dare we say they sounded even better than they did back in November? They’ve obviously been playing together more and finding their stride again. Few things will feel as cathartic as screaming out “Sad! Girls! For! Life!” with hundreds of others.
Seattle-based Car Seat Headrest presented their local credentials: one of them biked to the show, the rest took the monorail.
Digable Planets celebrated 30 years of the seminal jazz rap album Blowout Comb with a seemingly effortless set featuring a live band including brass instruments and an upright bass. They entered the stage fully accessorized with sunglasses, hats, a backpack, and a purse. Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler is the hottest man in Seattle. (sorry lol)
They ran through cuts from 1993’s Reachin’ and 1994’s Blowout Comb, boosted by a big, dazzling jazz-funk ensemble. The crowd—from teens to septuagenarians—couldn’t get enough. Thirty years after the release of Blowout Comb, Digable Planets still have breath control that is unbeatable.
Digable Planets. CHRISTIAN PARROCO FOR THE STRANGER
The LA quintet Frankie and the Witch Fingers specialized in ever-accelerating synth-punk and aggressive rock with psychedelic afterburners. The mosh pit never stopped churning.
The Murder City Devils performed on day two of Bumbershoot’s Derek Fudesco 2-for-1 deal (he performed with Pretty Girls Make Graves on Saturday), and rumor has it the Linda Lindas were in the mosh pit for the show. Singer Spencer Moody gave them a little shoutout from the stage, and (rightfully) told them he heard a little Huggy Bear in their songs. Sadly, despite the fact PGMG’s singer, Andrea Zollo, was watching nearby, they didn’t play “Boom Swagger Boom.” Is anyone else getting young Jerry Springer vibes from Spencer Moody? Complimentary!
Spellling told the audience that she was fighting off a flu and then proceeded to deliver Olympic level vocal gymnastics for 45 minutes straight.
Tennis played Bumbershoot on their first-ever tour in 2010. This weekend, it was a stop on their Farewell tour. Is her hair naturally like that? Is that a perm? Is that a wig?
Janelle Monáe’s journey from asexual android to The Age of Pleasure is enough to make anyone need a cigarette.
The Norwegian elf, otherwise known as Aurora, started off her set by letting us know that she thinks it’s good to cry at a show, and then dove into a stunning a capella version of “The River.” She was barefoot through the whole set. Seattle is the sister city of her hometown in Norway, she said. “I can feel it in my feet. I can feel it in my butt. I can feel it in my heart.”
