The showstopper at the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival was soul-blues mama Bettye LaVette. She drew a big crowd, and they were treated to some of the funkiest, smoothest, and gosh darn amazing vocals in the business. LaVette's rendition of John Prine's "Souvenirs" was powerful and emotional. This woman can sing, and she proved it out there today.
Another great act was newcomer Brett Dennen, a red-haired kid from Godknowswhere, USA with a reggae-influenced sound that soaked up the 80s-degree weather at Seattle Center just fine. I absolutely loved Dennen's stage personality - he was confident, playful, sweet, and charming all at the same time. He's the most interesting young man, with pasty white skin and a lanky body - but that didn't stop him from boogie'ing down on stage. Dennen opens for John Mayer and Sheryl Crow later this month at White River Amphitheatre, and I can't wait to see him again.
The Steve Miller Band played in front of a huge audience at Memorial Stadium early in the afternoon under a blazing sun. This is where I got my new suntan, so thank you Steve Miller Band for getting me out there. And thank you for playing some of your biggest hits, including "Jet Airliner", "Rock n' Me", "Take the Money and Run", and an extra long version of "Fly Life an Eagle". I wasn't too thrilled with the addition of a twenty-minute blues drill in the middle of Miller's set, and this is when he lost a lot of fans who thought he'd never get to the good stuff.
There were sold out lines for Sparta, and at least one concertgoer was tossed out by security. He had no pants on, just boxers. So I'm not sure what happened. There was a lot of skin being shown at Seattle Center today, mostly by guys ready to start school tomorrow or rushing into fraternties in late September.
Funk-ska band Breakstra had the entire Bumbrella Stage crowd hopping, and sardined at least 500 to 700 people into that stage's lawn. I enjoyed a nice massage just behind the Bumbrella Stage, killing two birds with one stone - listening to cool music and rewarding myself for a long day on the job.
Well, on behalf of Jessica and Lorelei and the entire crew at Seattle Gay News, we hope you enjoyed this extra coverage of the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival for 2006. We'll do it again next year. And stay glued, because I'll be blogging later this month from San Francisco as we bring you exclusive coverage of the Download Festival with performances by Beck, Muse, The Shins, Wolfmother, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Coheed and Cambria, and more.
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