karen o of the yeah yeah yeahs performing at coachella, coming to a bumbershoot near you. (photo by josh).

Bumbershoot released the full, final, start-planning-ahead-online schedule today. The great news: the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been added to the lineup. The bad news: they’re scheduled for the weird early-afternoon “up and coming” indie band spot (2:30 pm Sunday) instead of the sunset headline slot they probably deserve.

Other notable music additions include the Helio Sequence, Cold War Kids, the Old 97s, and the Portland Cello Project. Peruse the whole thing — comedy, arts, film, kids, books, and all of the other spectacle — and begin considering difficult choices for your perfect Labor Day entertainment lineup using the nifty online schedule tool at bumbershoot09.sched.org; advance multi-day tickets are available online now, single-day tickets hit the stores on 21 August. [bumbershoot]

Sasquatch is over, so let’s think about Bumbershoot some more. The lineup gets bigger and bigger:

Jason Mraz / Kasabian / Audrye Sessions / The Knux / Akron/Family / Vivian Girls / The Devil Makes Three / Elvis Perkins in Dearland / Maximo Park / Wale w/ UCB / OTEP / Mirah / Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears / 3 Inches of Blood / Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground / U.S.E / Say Hi / Mayer Hawthorne & The County / The Minus 5 / Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band / Telekinesis / Everest / The New Mastersounds / Oren Lavie / Dyme Def / Delhi 2 Dublin / The Dusty 45s / Visqueen / Truckasauras / Head Like a Kite / Akimbo / Paul Oscher “Alone with the Blues” / Parenthetical Girls / Massy Ferguson / The Lonely Forest / Sleepy Eyes of Death / Past Lives / Macklemore / Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder / Wallpaper / The Whore Moans Present: The Black Atom! / Point Juncture, WA / Kim Field & The Mighty Titans of Tone / D.Black / Spaceman / Handful of Luvin’ / Champagne Champagne / Romance / Kristen Ward / Dept. of Energy / The Kindness Kind / Mark Taylor Quartet / Hotels / Black Whales / Kore Ionz / Grand Hallway / Anomie Belle / Steve Griggs Quintet / We Are Golden / Olympic Sound Collective / Central Services’ Board of Education / The Not-Its! / Recess Monkey

We’ll get the rest of the lineup by some time in July, but as always the mainstage acts are pretty underwhelming so far. Sheryl Crow? Jason Mraz? Please.

A few names added to the ever-growing Bumbershoot lineup this morning. It’s nice to see some bold faced names like Franz Ferdinand (who seem destined for a mainstage spot, as I suppose that someone will need to keep Sheryl Crow, Modest Mouse, The All-American Rejects, and Katy Perry company up there under the bright lights) spicing up the previously revealed music lineup [mb] along with other worthy additions: Os Mutantes, Keller Williams, and Janelle Monae.

Those keeping an early-eye on the always (insanely) popular comedy section will be happy to know that the lineup was ever-so-slightly revealed today with the announcement the Eugene Mirman would be joining the program.

While the bargain basement three day passes have sold out and the Ting Tings have cancelled, $80 three day passes are still available for purchase at bumbershoot.org. I encourage you to buy early even though it might prevent you from whining endlessly about ticket prices later.

Thinking about Labor Day in April is kind of depressing. Here you are, wet and looking forward to the arrival of Spring and not the waning days of Summer. Yet this is what Bumbershoot asks of you with their sneak peek at the schedule for their 39th annual festival at Seattle Center:

Sheryl Crow / Modest Mouse / Katy Perry / Michael Franti & Spearhead / De La Soul / Raphael Saadiq / Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan / The Long Winters / Sly & Robbie & the Taxi Gang / World Party / MSTRKRFT / Roy Ayers / Common Market / UH HUH HER / Dave Alvin and The Guilty Women / Eric Hutchinson / No Age / Matt & Kim / Dead Confederate / The Cave Singers / Swollen Members / Vieux Farka Touré / Lenka / Gang Gang Dance / Todd Snider / Holy F**k / DJ Spooky / Iglu & Hartly / Low vs Diamond / Sera Cahoone / Eleni Mandell / Carrie Rodriguez / The Honey Brothers / Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head / Extra Golden / Cordero / Forgive Durden / Hey Marseilles / Adrian Xavier, and many more to be announced.

As usual, the some of the headliners are confusing (who, again is Michael Franti and how is it that he and Spearhead show up at every festival every year?) and the undercards are compelling mix of national and local. But hey! Modest Mouse on the mainstage! And a stadium full of teens singing along to songs about dreams of flirtation with heteroflexibility!

Of course, music is only half the story and the rest of the arts — literary, dramatic, dance, film, and food — program is looking good with installations from DJ Spooky, posters from Moscow, comedians to draw long lines, and Tom Douglas curating a literary series.

Three day passes are selling for $80, which still looks like a bargain. Get them now and read more about the lineup at bumbershoot.org.

A quick review of the facts:

1. You live in Seattle
2. You go to Bumbershoot
3. You whine about ticket prices

Yes, these are pretty much defining characteristics that make you a true Seattleite. But it’s time to break the cycle. Right now you can buy tickets to Bumbershoot 2009 for the insanely low price of $60 for a three-day weekend. It’s the perfect gift for yourself, your friends, and anyone who likes music, art, theater, elephant ears, books, comedy, and a Labor Day overload. Plus, it’s easy to mail or carry home without incurring those pesky fees for hauling home extra luggage on your way home from holiday festivities.

Not absolutely positive that you’ll go? It’s fairly certain that you or someone you know will be able to make use of a ticket come next 5 September. All you need to do is join the Bumberfanclub to get the secret stimulating password.

_{Thione Diop and Yeke Yeke}

In the Metblogs guide to Bumbershoot, it mentions both planning, not planning, and preparing to spend a few dollars on the excellent buskers around the event. While rushing from stage to stage yesterday, I stumbled across Thione Diop, who was happily drumming away to a small, bouncing crowd.

When I rushed past the same spot later in the day, Diop- a drummer/griot from Senegal- had garnered a pretty large crowd whose crescent shape blocked most of the walkway. He and percussion ensemble Yeke Yeke were smiling while rhythmically pounding out beats on their djembe drums, among other instruments. Before long, I was tapping my feet and dancing along with the rest of the onlookers.

So, I concur with the general Metblog consensus- see the bands you want to see, but don’t overlook the serendipity of stumbling across a great artist while wandering about Seattle Center.

photo by joshc [flickr]

OK. Maybe it was being in the middle of a third exhausting day of Bumbershoot. Or maybe it was nearly being crushed to death while having my eardrums destroyed. Or possibly the sharp contrast between the vibe in comparison to Monotonix (which got shut down after 10 minutes). Or it could be my fondness for well-meaning cult figures who care about safety first. But either way, there came a time today when I was nearly certain that Dan Deacon was the best thing ever.

Expect more from us later about Bumbershoot; drop your favorite moments into the comments and please do share any photos via our group pool!

photo by josh; bumbershoot photoset [flickr]

Our friends over at the Times’ Bumberblog managed to get to the Monotonix show before it got shut down and have already posted pictures. When I talked to the Exhibition Hall staff about it, they said that the reason for the shut down was that it was too dangerous, and perhaps also because one or the other of the guys pulled down his pants. I don’t know what else you can expect from a band who sets its things up on the floor rather than the stage. I guess now they know.

Considering how that went, I’m a little surprised that they let Dan Deacon set up on the floor as well, but I guess it helped that the house lights were on. I know that a lot of people enjoy Dan Deacon, but his whole ‘let’s-hold-hands-and-play-games-together’ thing makes me really uncomfortable. Some day, Dan Deacon is going to start a cult. Nonetheless, the crowd was completely into it, doing whatever the man instructed with total commitment and vim. He’s like the shinier side of Monotonix’s crowd compulsion dynamics.

I’ve been telling you for a while to go and see Black Eyes and Neckties, and now that I have seen them myself (twice in one day), I can say that I really mean it. Even with the lead vocalist in a wheelchair they put in a performance unlike any I’ve seen in a very long time. They jumped on and off of things, broke things, climbed on to and over each other, played from the floor, and made me constantly wince because I was sure that they would hurt themselves. I don’t want to keep comparing them to the Murder City Devils, but I can’t stop.

Battles are definitely robots. I am more convinced each time I see them. I closed out the festival with hometown boys Minus the Bear, who sound better than they have in years. I think I like them most out in the open.

Goodbye, Bumbershoot. See you next year.

_{Murry Hammond of the Old 97s, possibly having as much fun as me}

Despite an unwavering desire to get to the Old 97s show at 6:45, I’d heard nothing all day but mentions of John Vanderslice, and I wasn’t disappointed. Vanderslice’s violin player is amazing, and their music- well, it’s indescribable. I think I’ll have to let one of the other Metbloggers catch you up- Vanderslice’s show, like Kathleen Edwards’ show yesterday, had the highest concentration of Metbloggers, and for good reason.

But the Old 97′s also put on an amazing show- super-energetic, and with a good mix of their old favorites like “The New Kid” and new songs like “Rollerskate Skinny.” The crowd got excited enough to request an encore, which is a rarity at Bumbershoot, where bands play to the end of their set and then move on. Their show, unlike Vanderslice’s, did produce some actual dancing (and not of the “hippy swaying” variety), but then, it’s hard not to dance at an Old 97′s show.

And onward the Metbloggers go, to Death Cab and Xavier Rudd!

_{Blitzen Trapper}

This is my first Bumbershoot- and thus far, I’ve managed to stay so busy that I haven’t even had time to update! I’ve already taken hundreds of photos, and am looking forward to the John Vanderslice and Old 97′s show later today.

Things I’ve seen that were awesome:
The shows in the KEXP Music Lounge, which are a lot more intimate and friendly than the teeming masses outside
Blitzen Trapper, who had tons of energy and worked the crowd into a frenzy in the first three songs
Kate Tucker & Sons of Sweden, whose voice drew me in from my wandering about the entrance
The coolest buskers, an African drumming band that deserves their own post
The cutest 5-month-old kitten, courtesy of an animal rescue booth

Things I wish I’d seen:
Monotonix, who got kicked offstage by the fire marshal for being too wild

I’m sure I will have something to add to this list later, but I have to run before I’m late for JV ;)