[NOTE: Yes, I am aware it is not Monday. I had intended these four parts of my 2014 Bumbershoot overview to be posted on a single Monday, but life has a funny way of getting in the way sometimes.]
Sunday was THE DAY! This was the day that was the whole purpose of my Father’s Day gift. It was to be the day I finally got to see The Replacements.
I had come home early the night before. Well, early by Bumbershoot standards. Earlier than I had planned. But I felt good about it. I was well rested. I got up, helped around the house, did a bunch of cutting stuff out for Laura’s Kindergarten class, then it was off to Bumbershoot. I got there pretty early and decided to check out some comedy as there wasn’t a band I wanted to see immediately (after checking the main stage which wasn’t filling up just yet).
The way comedy was working this year was similar to how the main stage operated several years ago. Go to a kiosk, get a ticket, then get in line for the specific performance. Comedy is hitting another renaissance these days and three stages were devoted to it this year at Bumbershoot. The line for (free) tickets to the comedy stages was long. The performance I was going to see would start in 20 minutes and I figured I might miss it by standing in the line so I went directly to the venue and got in the standby line. A few minutes later the ticket holders went in followed by the standby people, myself included.
Sadly, that was the best part of the whole thing. The comedy act just wasn’t as funny as it should have been. Yes, I chuckled a few times, but it just didn’t deliver the laughs. Oh well. Hit and miss.
I then went back to the main stage and picked up a Replacements shirt. Since I had in interest in the afternoon main stage act I ventured back out again. This time I hit up another beer garden. Yes, I would be drinking my way through Bumbershoot today. Free of pretty much any responsibility I took the opportunity to really enjoy the day. I think the total number of beers I had thoughout the whole of the day was 6 between 1pm and 10pm, so it’s not like I overdid it or anything.
Charlie Musselwhite is a blues performer, a singer and harmonica player and has been around for as long as I have been alive. Seriously. His first album was released the year I was born. He put on a fantastic show, a powerhouse performance and really did the blues proud. I had heard a few of his songs before and without Bumbershoot would more than likely never seen him live.
After this it was a choice of Luscious Jackson or Negativeland. There were more middle-aged white people at Bumbershoot this day than on Saturday which had a massive influx of teenagers. Sitting around waiting for Luscious Jackson to start and I got antsy. Real antsy. I wanted to be up front for The Replacements. Just before Luscious Jackson was about to start I left. I would have liked to have caught both Negativeland and Luscious Jackson but the overwhelming urge to be up front for The Replacements wouldn’t let go.
And it was a good thing I left when I did. The crowd was already sizeable and while I did get up front it wasn’t quite the “in front” position I had hoped for. I could have gotten more in the middle in front of the stage but didn’t want to get caught up in the throngs of people with an unpredictable behavior pattern. At least the barrier would offer some protection.
How were The Replacements? It was almost everything I could hope for. I will of course be writing more about the band and this set in the near future.
Immediately after The Replacements I ran off to see Mission Of Burma, A short lived but influential band that broke up in 1982 then regrouped about 10 years ago. They are making music today that is just as challenging as when they were first together. I really enjoyed seeing and becoming reacquainted with the band.
Then I went to see Big Star and was unmoved. A lot of people talk about this band (even The Replacements have a song “Alex Chilton” about the band’s singer/guitar player) reverently and whenever I’ve heard something on the radio or whatever it just never moved me. Maybe live would be different.
Nope.
Try as I might I just can’t get into Big Star.
The Dismemberment Plan are a band that I heard good things about but never got into. This was another case of Bumbershoot facilitating a musical experience I never would have otherwise had. The band is good, but not something I have any desire to see again.
But the night would end on a high note.
Bootsy Collins with his Rubber Band funked the crowd up and down. He may be famously known for his work with James Brown and George Clinton (and Parliment/Funkadelic) but on his own he is a massive powerhouse of funk that should not be trifled with. I will have Bootsy as the subject of his own Music Monday post as well at some point in the future. Suffice to say that not only did Bootsy show up but Caspar The Funky Ghost as well. It was well after the allotted time for the plug to be pulled that Bootsy left the stage (including wandering into the crowd) and I caught a taxi home.
What an excellent father’s day present. Thank you.