0 Last Monday: Bumbershoot 2009 Recap Part 1 (KEXP Music Lounge)

Seattle showed its true colors this past Labor Day weekend for our annual summer closing festival Bumbershoot. Not only did it piss rain all weekend but throngs of people still came out Monday to close down the festival which from others accounts was lacking in attendance Saturday and Sunday. We love our music in Seattle, and we weren’t going to let a little rain stop us from enjoying the festivals strongest day on paper. I opted out of the first two days this year, due to the lacking line-up. I hate missing festivals, and still admit a slight bit of jealousy for missing The Whore Moans, Telekinesis, The Long Winters, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Elvis Perkins in Dearland. What got me through, was knowing that I have seen those bands before, and will most definitely be able to see them again. With that said there was no way I was going to miss Monday’s strong line-up which included The Cave Singers, 3 Inches of Blood, Dead Confederate, Akron/Family, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, and Soulsavers with muthafuckin’ Mark Lanegan.

The rain came at the beginning of the day, but I was prepared because I had signed up to check out Black Joe Lewis, The Cave Singers, and Akron/Family in the semi-secret KEXP Bumbershoot Music Lounge, which was where some of the best bands of the weekend played live on-air sets for KEXP. It’s always a cool thing to see the bands in such an intimate setting, and it was also dry. This was my first live experience for Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears and Akron/Family, and they totally impressed me. I loved how much fun the Honeybears were having, and Akron/Family’s mix of heavy psych and indie rock made me wonder why I haven’t spent more time listening to their records. The Cave Singers always impress and I was happy that I had the opportunity to see them twice in one day. They had a funny moment when they flubbed up “Seeds of Night” due to some monitor issues; they blamed it on Marty being in a cage, as all the drummers were forced to play behind a clear plexiglas cage to muffle the drums for the radio. You probably had to be there, but it was funny. The Cave Singers also earned a standing ovation which was very cool.

The KEXP Music Lounge was a definite highlight of the day. I’m glad I was on the ball and signed up for admission early because they filled up quickly. Below are some videos I took, I apologize for the poor quality. I was having technical difficulties, though the audio is pretty good. I'm in the process of updating my blogging tools at the moment, because you deserve better. Flip Recorder here I come, Cheers!