photo by shawn [flickr] via our group pool [#]

By the second day of Bumbershoot, you’ll have reacclimated to the crowds and come to terms with the forecast. There’s a lot to recommend diving in to the middle day of the festival even if you don’t remember how or why you’d want to spell Mraz. Our suggestions follow.

SUNDAY (ACCEPTANCE)

Kore Ionz (12:30 – 1:30, Fisher Green): Local band fights social injustice with energetic world rhythm rock and reggae, engaging your brain and your booty with equal fervor. [zee]

Hey Marseilles (12:45 – 1:45, Broad Street) :  Reminiscent of the Decemberists before they wandered away from well-crafted orchestral pop in favor of indulgent prog-inspired epics, these locals know their way around a horn solo, string section, according, and full stage singalong. They’re also on KEXP at 12:15 (Saturday) and [josh]

The Enablers Have Spoken and You’re Fine with Spencer Moody (1:45 – 3:00, Leo K. Theatre) – Still more awesome poetry and spoken word, moderated by the nearly divine Spencer Moody (Murder City Devils). [stan]

Black Whales (2:00 – 3:00, EMP): Four cute Seattle boys making dirty pop punk music? Yes, please. [samantha]

Picture and Sound (2:00 – 3:00, SIFF Cinema): Official and unofficial music videos featuring songs by Damien Jurado, The Dutchess and the Duke, Modest Mouse, Fleet Foxes and more. [zee]

Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band (2:30 – 3:30, Broad Street): What can I say about MSHVB that I haven’t already said, right here on this very website? This band is fun and exciting and dynamic and had its own ice cream flavor. [samantha]

Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2:30 – 3:45, Memorial Stadium) : As far as I’m concerned, the most compelling reason to hit the astroturf and face the mainstage during the entire weekend. The combination of Karen O’s live-wire performances and amazing fashions, Nick Zinner’s incomparable guitars, and Brian Chase’s jubilant drumming make for electrifying shows. Despite the hour’s competitive counter-programming, this is the most unmissable set of the day, if not the whole festival. [josh]

S.E. Hinton (3:30pm – 4:45pm, Bagley Wright): Ms. Hinton hates travelling, and despises public speaking, so she rarely agrees to appear at literary events. This is a rare and special opportunity to see and hear the woman who has written some of the most important/popular/influential US Young Adult literature of the 20th century: The Outsiders (written when Hinton herself was still a teen); That Was Then, This Is Now; Rumble Fish; Tex… Worth coming out from under your rock for. [stan]

U.S.E. (4:15 – 5:15, Broad Street) : a dozen glamorous people on stage having a party just for you. [josh]

Sera Cahoone (5:00 – 6:00, Mural): One of these days, Sera Cahoone and her band are going to break out into a full on hoedown. You’ll want to be there if that happens. And even if it doesn’t. [samantha]

Vivian Girls (6:00 – 7:00, EMP) : If you liked their recorded-in-a-shoebox-lined-with-newspaper debut record (I did!), you’ll be dazzled by how much better this trio sounds with a decent sound system. The droning lo-fi is often too enthusiastic through earbuds blossom as the vocals surface in live settings and you get caught up with your neighbor’s head-bobbing while the girls take turns dashing off stage for drinks. [josh]

Zak Smith: We Did Porn (5:45 – 6:45, Leo K. Theatre)- I’m interested in pornography, the sex industry, socio-economic justice, et cetera, so this sounds vaguely worthwhile to me: “Through memoir and drawings, Smith narrates his foray into pornography and gives his readers a new understanding of the industry.” [stan]

Holy F**k (7:45 – 8:45, Broad Street): Holy F**k deserves all the expletives and punctuation they want. All of their electronic weirdness and lo-fi chaos will have you bouncing up and down and scratching your head at the same time. [samantha]

No Age (6:45 – 7:45, Exhibition Hall) : Randy Randall and Dean Allen Spunt, the two pieces of this loud once-underground Los Angeles punk-type duo make plenty of noise, but most of it is wildly optimistic and strangely refined for all of its teenage rebellion. They’re serious business, not only did Randall dislocate his shoulder in a dance off against Dan Deacon, he played through the pain at Lollapalooza. [josh]  

David Cross (8:15 – 9:30, Bagley Wright) must I even explain? [steven]

MSTRKRFT (8:30 – 10:00, Exhibition Hall) : It will be hot and loud with the bass echoing around the high school gymnasium style tilework, lasers shining in your eyes, and everyone dancing sweatily. Maybe that’s what you need. [josh]

The Twilight Zone (9:00 – 10:00, SIFF Cinema):   Nothing tops a day of standing outside in the hot sun/pouring rain like going inside a dark theater for a viewing of creepy/weird short films. [zee]

Helio Sequence (9:30 – 10:45, Broad Street) I just plain love the Helio Sequence, and I can’t think of a better place to be listening to them than at the Broad Street stage after dark. I can only imagine that this set will be a contender for Bumbershoot magic. [samantha]

seattle center photo by dave zombie [flickr] via our group pool [#]

It is a scientifically accepted fact that there are too many things happening at Bumbershoot at any one time to catch every notable spectacle, performance, or experience. It’s also well known that no matter how hard you plan, you’re bound to catch and miss an unexpected magical moment or two. Whether it’s of Montreal covering “Crazy”, Glen Hansard pulling a fan from the crowd to cover a song from Once, Dan Deacon turning Exhibition Hall into an uplifting team building exercise, or just the look on someone’s face the first time they meet crazy scarf guy in person, you can’t guarantee that you’ll see everything.  

Nevertheless, your friends at Metblogs have prepared a list of things that we’re going to do our darndest not to miss. We hope they help you plan your own personal agenda, too. If there’s something we need to see but forgot to mention, please don’t be shy about reminding us in the comments!

SATURDAY (ANTICIPATION)

Mimi Allin (daily, NW Rooms): Mimi Allen, the Poetess at Green Lake, brought poetry to the people for a year in a meadow at Green Lake and now delivers an installation specially crafted for Bumbershoot, “A Silence More Irresistible Than…” [zee]

Snackbar (daily, NW Rooms): Become part of the Bumbershoot artistic process by contributing a drawing and receive a snack in return. Snacks for art?    I might have to be there all day. [zee]

Dyno Jamz (12:30 – 1:30, EMP) : The champions of this year’s Sound Off competition, who seem to have realized that all of those instruments could be put to better use and more appealing extracurricular opportunities in a textured hip-hop setting than in marching band or jazz club, get the chance to win more hearts and essentially open the festival on the stage where they claimed their title this spring. [josh]

Kristen Ward (12:00 – 1:00, Mural): Bluegrass, Western, folk, roots–you can call Kristen Ward’s songs by any number of labels but the one that always sticks is “worth hearing”. [zee]

Rock Prophecies (1:00 – 3:00, SIFF Cinema):   Superstar rock photographer Robert Knight is profiled in a documentary that reveals his journey from nervous newbie to recognized genuis. Followed by a Q&A with Knight and director John Chester. [zee]

Hotels (2:00 – 3:00, EMP): Some bands are just best inside, and Hotels’ moody new wave sound will fit perfectly in front of the trippy light show in the EMP. [samantha]

Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head (2:30 – 3:30, Broad Street): I don’t know how many different ways I can say this: Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head are too fun to miss. Remember the video of the guy dancing alone and starting a giant dance party at Sasquatch set to “Me + Yr Daughter”? Be there for the real thing. (because dude…) [samantha/steven]

McSweeney’s New Fiction (5:15 – 6:45, Leo K. Theatre) : for Charlene Yi’s voice (have you seen this?) and Starlee Kine (This American Life supahstar) and her general writerly aura (her take on break-up songs kills me). [steven]

Matt & Kim (6:00 – 7:00, Broad Street): I have no idea how Matt & Kim manage to make such danceable sounds with just a drum kit and a keyboard. I’m sure they’re bending some laws of science. [samantha]

Gang Gang Dance (7:00 – 8:00, Exhibition Hall) : especially if these rumors of rain pan out, the just-the-right-side of mystical call of New York’s Gang Gang Dance may be just the thing to draw you into an underground cavern. [josh]

Speak, Poet! Tara Hardy, Jack McCarthy, Danny Sherrard (7:30 – 8:45, Leo K. Theatre) – Seattle has some of the best poetry/spoken word performers in the US, and this line-up features some of the most exciting: Bent founder and former Poet Populist Tara Hardy, “stand-up poet” Jack McCarthy and Danny Sherrard, 2008 World Cup Poetry Slam champion. [stan]

Telekinesis (8:00 – 9:00, EMP, also plays the Free Yr Radio stage at 1:15 and KEXP at 5:15) : Beaming from behind his drum kit, Seattle’s own Michael Benjamin Lerner is hardly a lead-singer/lead-drummer in the Phil Collins mold. Though he records as a mostly one-man-band, he still handles both roles with aplomb when accompanied by a full band for live performances, crafting light yet affecting pop songs from center stage. In reviewing their self-titled album, Carrie Brownstein likened the band to the pogo: “with the leap into the air — that hint of uncertainty, of possibility, of letting go — being the words, and the driving, perfectly crafted melody (as sturdy as anything) being the feel of your feet as they touch the ground.” [npr] This is a group that lives up to their praise. [josh]

Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground (9:30 – 10:30, EMP): It only makes sense to end the first day at Bumbershoot with the crazy gypsy carnival of Kay Kay. There will be approximately a million people on that stage, like all of the sideshow stages in the world, and it will be awesome. [samantha]

12:00 PM – Aaron Elkins: Skull Duggery
Seattle Mystery Bookshop
#16 in the Edgar-winning series about “Bone Detective” Gideon Oliver.
[LINK]

4:30 PM – Shauna James Ahern: Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back… & How You Can, Too
Queen Anne Farmers Market
Chef demo by Mr Ahern, followed by book signing by Ms Ahern.
[LINK]

7:00 PM – Mary Lou Sanelli: Among Friends: A Memoir of One Woman’s Expectations, Disappointments, Regrets & Discoveries While Searching for Friends-For-Life
Fremont Place Books
The title depresses me.
[LINK]

7:00 PM – Sibyl James: Pistols & Hearts
Fremont Place Books
Poetry reading about travelling in Mexico. The title delights me!
[LINK]

this photo of our increasingly misty mornings was taken by evil robot 6 [flickr] via our group pool [#]

• After a million years of being out of print and impossible to find, even on eBay, Aviation records is re-releasing the first album Jenn Ghetto released under the S moniker, sadstyle. Rejoice, broodily! [reverb]
• the Bumbershoot pre-party features Born Anchors, Grynch, Victor Shade, the Redwood Plan and a raffle for passes and swag to help send a kid or two to Bumbershoot. Feed the cycle, etc. [earcandy]
• the story on the hows and whys of the vast asphalt covered pits of Capitol Hill, and a tipline for convincing Sound Transit to let you turn it into an end-of-summer roller dancing soiree. [chs]
• The Emerald City Search has been solved, medallion located, and fantastic prizes claimed. [ecs]
• Perhaps you’d like to buy your favorite street sign before it gets sent off to the recycling factory? [seattlest]
• This, friends, is what a baby flamingo looks like. [fremontuniverse]
• the official Bumbershoot afterparty has been announced. It’s free with RSVP at Neumo’s. The Faint DJ’s (Depressed Buttons). And the top secret headliner (who also happens to be performing twice at Bumbershoot) just might have a religious expletive in their name. [antics]

Okay, it’s a bit late in the evening but if you’ve got back to school shopping to do and you’re not too far away from Southcenter, head to the Southcenter Office Depot (300 Andover Parkway) and buy at least $20 worth of supplies to get a free burrito at the Southcenter Chipotle (17520 Southcenter Parkway). You can only get your free burrito at the Southcenter location and you have to do it by 9 pm tonight.

Can’t make it tonight? You have two more chances to score a free burrito as Chipotle is making the same deal for Tuesday, September 8 and Wednesday, September 9. Bring in a receipt for $20 or more at the Southcenter Office Depot and get a free burrito at the Southcenter Chipotle between 11:00 am and 9:00 pm.

kerfuffle, a glimpse at the bumbershoot arts program courtesy lele barnett. more in her photoset [flickr] via our group pool [#]

With the biggest names on the Bumbershoot poster typically dedicated to music (often of the confusing mainstage variety), the most visible lines at the festival composed of dedicated comedy fans, and the most frequent accessory a buttery stick or corn or deep fried dough, it’s often easy to forget that stashed away in the northwest corner of the festival is an exceptional set of art exhibits. If you’re worried that you’ll become so overwhelmed by bands, shortbread, skateboarders on energy drink vert ramps, scrambles to performance spaces, and other forms of exhaustion, then why not add to your schedule and drop in on the art exhibits a day early?

In ancient times, Bumbershoot was an even more massive, four day festival. Now with the magical Friday evening having fallen out of favor, the day is left open to peruse the visual arts programming. Even better, you can see it all, without the massive crowds and with no admission charge from noon to 7pm in celebration of the Mayor’s Arts Awards (presented this year to Artist Trust, Jesse Higman, Speight Jenkins, Northwest Tap Connection, Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras).

This year’s featured exhibits include four major presentation by some of Seattle’s finest: the Seattle-Moscow Poster Show, curated by Daniel R. Smith; Dada Economics, Greg Lundgren and Vital 5 Productions; the return of the Gage Drawing Jam; and Kerfuffle (or the Uneasy Relationship Between Humanity and the Environment) curated by Chris Weber and Lele Barnett. In addition, spectacles abound around the Seattle Center grounds. Press release with tons of information about the program after the jump.

(more…)

We’ve all heard by now that H1N1 (also known as “swine flu”) is out to get us. Experts continue to predict a severe pandemic and want everyone ot be prepared ahead of time.

King County’s helping out local citizens by offering a guide to dealing with a flu pandemic in helpful graphic format. No Ordinary Flu is available for free download on the King County Public health website in English, Spanish and a variety of other languages commonly used in King County. If you’d rather have a print copy, you can order one to be mailed to you for free at the same site, but only if you live in King County.

If you live outside King County but within Washington state, you can order the English or Spanish version from the Washington Department of Health. If you live outside the state, or if you’re a Washingtonian wanting the book in another language besides English and Spanish, you can get it from the health organization NACCHO, but beware that quantities are limited.

King County Public Health has an entire page of flu advice relevant both to H1N1 and to the more ordinary sort of flu which so far actually kills way more people each year.

You’ve no doubt by now noticed that the sites got a bit of a re-design and some things got changed around last week. We wanted to highlight two changes to make sure everyone knows what changed.

The first and biggest is COMMENTS! Registration is no longer required to post a comment on any post. Of course if you already have an account you can still login to ensure your comments are attributed to you, but those who don’t can now post a comment without any long term commitment. Also, on the right you can see some of the recent comments so you’ll always know what the active discussions are. This was the most requested thing we’ve heard from people since our last redesign and we’re excited to see where it leads.

The next change is also something that was heavily requested, and that is a change to the ADS on the sites. You’ll immediately notice fewer of them, but what might not be as obvious is those smaller square ones to the right are specific to this city only and are being sold for a flat rate for a period of time rather than a confusing CPM/traffic/network model. Depending on the city, these range from $7-$175 for a full week. If you purchase one, during that time your ad will be the only one in that spot and will show on every page. We set these up both to make it easier for smaller local businesses to get their ads on our site, and also to help us bring in ads that relate better to our local audiences. Also, keeping these sites online is expensive and every little bit helps.

There are a bunch of other things we changed but we’ll leave those to you to investigate and take advantage of. Hope you like it, and we look forward to seeing you in the comments!!

Love,
The folks at MBHQ

Moe!

7:30 PM – Patrick Galbraith: The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider’s Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan
Elliott Bay Book Co.
I did an interview with Patrick HERE. I love the subversive nature of fan cultures, and Patrick has a great perspective, being both a fan and a scholar.
[LINK]

***
EDITED: Mary Lou Sanelli & Sibyl James will actually be at Fremont Place Books tomorrow, Thursday 09/03. My apologies for the error. I’ve been thoroughly chastised with a wet noodle.

jim mcdermott, at the ld caucus in 2008. photo credit, me. [flickr]

Tonight finds Congressman Jim McDermott and about 1,200 of his closest constituents sitting down for a thoughtful discussion about healthcare reform in Meany Hall. The doors open at 6:15 and the insightful dialogue commences at 7:00. Oh wait, who are we kidding? The reason to show up is the not unlikely chance that goofball republicans from outer space will descend on the event with zany signs and vocal fears of the impending new world order being ushered in by way of legislation-enabled panels of death. Witnessing McDermott, an advocate for single-payer universal health care, holding court on these issues, particularly if any brave fringers show up, should be entertaining and informative. [house.gov]