notes from Bumbershoot 2012

[philaros]

An iOS upgrade had me looking at the backlog in my Notes app—I had a set of notes marked as "local", which predated the automatic synching with iCloud and so were all more than two years old, so I was checking to see which I could throw out. Among those were my notes from Bumbershoot 2012, and though Saturday's and Monday's notes were largely unremarkable, I liked most of what I'd jotted down for the Sunday sets. So I figured I might as well post the notes here for posterity. Adding some comments now in brackets and italic.

Eighteen Individual Eyes
[I think this was my first time seeing this band, though I'd heard some songs on KEXP already]

• Kinda beefy hard rock


• Good clear vocals [Irene Barber is seriously a great singer, this isn't giving her credit enough.]


• Some good melodies too


• I think I want them to be better than they actually are; they're not bad, definitely like them, but they're rather middle of the road [That's a harsh comment for me; while I think they never quite gave me whatever I was hoping for, I also think they were better than I was giving them credit, here.]


• Crowd was so quiet between songs, the band remarked on it; but people did seem to be staying and paying attention, so that's a good sign


• Maybe it was just my earplugs, maybe the sound mix, but I couldn't hear the backing vocals at all

Katie Kate

[This was my second time seeing Katie Kate, and I briefly introduced myself after]

• Trent Moorman drumming


• Opened with "Copenhagen", abbreviated, as an intro


• Diva singing and hard-edged rapping—illustrated by split hair, black buzz cut one side, long flowing French-braid blonde on other [Easiest to see in this photo and this photo on Flickr]


• "Body Princess"


• Again with "Aspirations": sweet gentle sung half suddenly breaks into burst of hard-beat fast rap to finish


• Confidence and talent to pull it off


• But not everything is split like that; "Cracks in the Speakers" is straightforward emo


• Cover of "Running up that Hill"


• Her voice isn't as full and rich as Kate Bush's, but whose is? Decent cover, did it justice, and if her voice is a bit thinner it's still good and strong


• Followed with another instrumental


• "Dirty Amazon" [That should be "Bad Amazon"]


• Give her one more album, she'll really make an impact [See, I was saying this nearly a year before I got to hear her next album! And if only it were true, but sadly it did not get the attention it deserved.]


• Finished with new song, sounds great, looking forward to more

Mudhoney

• Hard-driving hard grunge


• Really this fits in with AC/DC and other '70s to early '80s metal


• Intense ferocious performance


• Third track "the new one"?


• Packed audience, Seattle still loves Mudhoney


• Some complex bass lines (and drum work) in addition to the at-times intricate guitar work, this isn't just fast and loud


• Half-sung half-shrieked vocals, but not the screaming/croaking of more hardcore styles


• The singing is really the most basic/simple element, and it's where the emotional heft lies


• Funny little moments of band interactions, such as dealing with guitar trouble; music may sound seriously ranty, but they don't take themselves too seriously

Niki & the Dove

• Electro-pop duo


• First song, "oh these guys!"


• Vocals kind of like Lykke Li, is it just the Swedish accent? Little lighter toned, though.


• Mostly electronic, keys/synths/gear, but pair of toms for live drumming too


• Right, know this one too


• Sweet singing, bright keys, but some lurking darkness in synth bass/drums; not just sugary pop

After Dark [the late-evening electronic showcase sponsored in part by Decibel Festival]

• Sponsored by Trinity Nightclub


• Hall stinks of pot smoke, which it didn't last night


• Seems to be a fuller crowd at 10:30 than last night, but that makes it look like more people standing around instead of dancing


• DJ Mia


• Set the scene with the opening to Star Trek, went into hard pounding techno/house


• Kinda bombastic


• Left early cause of pot smoke

You can see my small set of Bumbershoot 2012: Sunday photos on Flickr. I have more photos for Saturday and Monday, as well.