Bumbershoot Day 2: People Make the Party
Bumbershoot’s second day started as chill as ever. The Fountain stage opened with The Army, The Navy, and Bebe Stockwell, easing the early crowd into the afternoon. But then The Linda Lindas hit, and everything changed. The punk quartet hit the stage and delivered a set that was pure adrenaline! Their scrappy riffs and playful attitude belied the fact that they had just landed from a long transatlantic flight.
After a round of sound tweaks and waiting, Digable Planets finally took their turn. They lost a couple of songs to the clock, which was disappointing, but the payoff was worth the wait. Anyone familiar with Digable Planets knows that their rhymes are sick and their grooves are timeless and this shortened set proved that out. They did have enough time to close with the crowd favorite, “Rebirth of Slick,” the 1992 hit that has become a signature tune for the group. Added Bonus: Vancouver’s Feven Kidane sat in and served up some tight trumpet lines and Seattle’s Evan Flory-Barnes stepped in on bass for the finale and tore it up.
Then came Janelle Monáe. The lawn was packed with fans (including Feven Kidane) who swayed and sang along to every song. Her set was a spectacle. Would you expect anything less? The clean choreography, the fine fashion, the sheer force of her voice, she owned every second of her sensational set.
Meanwhile, Cain Culto lit up the Fashion stage with a very different kind of fire. The self-proclaimed queer renegade threw himself into the performance with raw heart. His anthem “KFC Santeria” had the crowd jumping and shouting along, a messy and beautiful moment that will stay with me forever.
Bumbershoot being Bumbershoot, the music was only part of the picture. Mobile restaurants served up a bounty tempting enough they ran lines, skaters tore it up in showcases, wrestlers went wild in Bumbermania, and the Cat Circus had kids and adults queued hopefully to get a glimpse of some feline tricks.
Bumbershoot day two proved once again that this festival is bigger than the sum of its parts. The stages, the side shows, the food, and most of all the people who show up and make Bumbershoot more than a weekend of music.
Slideshow below
