Well, kiddies, this is it: the final day of my 2014 coverage from Seattle's great urban arts and music festival, Bumbershoot! Labor Day brought us sunny skies and sweet warm temps -- a perfect end to the long weekend of spectacular performances, international foodstuffs, and me yakking it up in the press room with some of my favorite foto folks. Let's see who I saw, shall we?
My dismay at arriving rather late to the Labor Day pahh-tay was quickly dashed by getting over to the Fisher Green Stage to see the ultra-fabulous Mexican Institute of Sound. The band first came to my attention via their ragged and completely charming mariachi-band cover version of the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" (which ended up in this post I wrote about the many pop permutations of "The Last Time"). DJ and producer Camilo Lara consistently comes up with a fascinating mix of traditional Mexican music and clever samples/electronica that sounds truly fresh. I was quite pleased that they got a big turn-out at the fest.
(As always, click on the photos to enlarge and click on the Flickr set links for more!)
Next up was Twin Shadow, the musical project of George Lewis, Jr. Lewis crafts modern synth pop with a lush, dense swirl of electronica and a definite nod to Bowie in his dramatic vocal style. The youthful crowd that jammed in front of the Fountain Lawn Stage were practically vibrating in anticipation of Twin Shadow's set, and Mr. Lewis looked genuinely delighted to be there, which was very nice to see.
There is NO REST in photographing Colombian electritropicalia band Bomba Esteréo! Rapper Li Saumet was a (sometimes camera-literal) blur of motion, pacing the front of the stage like a penned-up tiger, alternatively snarling and smiling, jumping and kneeling, engaging the crowd with a high-energy show. Super fun!
You might be surprised that I, lifetime garage punk devotee, chose the dreamy, melodic, and very chill Real Estate as one of my prime picks to see at Bumbershoot 2014. The thing is, I really really like them -- so much so that they've made my end-of-year-favorite-albums list before and are very likely again to do this year with "Atlas." With their simple, clean instrumentation and production, wistful lyrics, and the warm, sweet vocals of Martin Courtney, I am instantly drawn in and transported, both relaxed and energized by their music. It's perfect rainy day stuff, when you are a little sad and a little hopeful and thinkin' 'bout stuff. Their set was a lovely way to end the fest, and I floated away into the night on the most gentle of feelings.
© Copyright 2008- Marianne Spellman