Bumbershoot 09

Every year I try to hit up Bumbershoot, on of the best music festivals there is located in the best city this nation has to offer. In the past I have been fortunate enough to catch Talib Kweli/Common, Matt Costa, an epic Blue Scholars/Kanye night, and Brother Ali among others. This year was no different, I made it out for both Sunday and Monday. Here are a few of the highlights, both good and bad:

The Good: The top three sets I saw were Macklemore, Raphael Saadiq and Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears.

Macklemore's set was legendary showmanship from an artist I have seen many times and have high expectations of. From his new song "The Town" which was capped off by the cities greatest gift (rain), to "Love Song" with Evan Roman, as well as the creative wit and humor in "Dance Song", Macklemore pulled out all the stops in proving once again why he reigns atop the city's hip hop scene.






Raphael Saadiq isn't someone who I have listened to a lot, but had heard good things and checked out part of his set, turned out to be one of the better choices of the weekend. Along with the throwback music came such a well rehearsed stage cadenced, with back up singers spinning and snapping on point made this one of the most professional sets I have seen. (Unfortunately I don't have pictures of this).

Last spring I read an article in SPIN about a funk band who was bringing back the music with their own style and attitude. Shortly after reading this I went to Best Buy and bought Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears "Tell 'Em What Your Name Is!" and have been a huge fan since. This act was incredibly with the big band feel and left me looking forward to seeing them again in an indoor venue.




Another awesome side note, I met Sarah Silverman!



The Bad (and UGLY):

I consider myself a longtime Common Market fan and follower, however after the set this weekend I was so disappointed and in awe of Ra Scion's performance I don't know if I will see them again. Looking like a cross between Jonnie Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean and David Bowie, Ra took the stage along with a band and group of actors simulating a period of slavery. Given their 2008 Tobacco Road Ep, I thought this could be interesting in a good way. However the show continued to display Ra singing soul music, his daughter dancing as a ballerina, him having the crowd sing happy birthday to her, and exiting the stage with 15 minutes remaining on his set time. As he left a good portion of the crowd stood asking one another, "What just happened?" Although at first I thought I would have enjoyed that time back, I would never have comprehended the stories had I missed it.






All in all it was a very good Bumbershoot weekend and just left me looking forward to next year. Here's a list of the performances I saw:

-Cold War Kids
-Dyme Def
-Common Market
-Spaceman & D. Black
-Raphael Saadiq
-Macklemore
-Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
-Janelle Monae
-Franz Ferdinand