Bumber-blog 2007: Leave the bumbershoot at home!

Hey! It's Lorelei here, and m'colleague Albert and I are your B'shoot guides. Our primo music festival may presage the end of summer - notice how the skies opened up right on cue? - but that doesn't mean acting like it's also the end of the world. We'll be blogging like mad all weekend, in between shows and raindrops, letting you know the latest about the lineup, who we've seen and what's going on in general Bumbershootage. By now you've read my recommendations for your listening pleasure; here are my recommendations for keeping your body and soul thriving over three strenuous and exciting days of music.

1. Bring a poncho. No umbrellas - bumbershoots - are allowed on the premises. Think how annoyed you'd be if someone opened up a big parasol and blocked your view of the Backyard Stage act, and you'll understand the rule. Plastic ponchos are also great for sitting on when the ground is wet - protecting your, uh, assets.

2. Wear sunscreen. I know it seems silly to wear your SPF if the weather is overcast, but you'd be surprised how badly you can get burned when the sun's not blazing. This means bringing a hat, sunglasses, the whole nine, and reapplying liberally and often. You'll thank me when your face isn't peeling off at work on Tuesday.

3. Take Metro. I don't drive, so I don't have an option, but you can avoid the parking hassles by sucking it up on public transportation. From downtown numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 16 take you right by Seattle Center; from Capitol Hill the 8 is also direct. An all-day pass is only $2.50; just make sure you tuck it in a safe place or you'll find yourself digging for quarters at 10:15 at night, with a bunch of irate passengers waiting in line behind you.

4. Dress in layers. It's a hassle to carry around extra clothing, but I'm totally serious. It may be 80 degrees when you're standing in line for your wristband, but if you're staying for the night's mainstage show you'll want at least a light jacket. Your poncho - did you remember your poncho? I'm not your mother - will insulate you a little, but if you're only wearing a short-sleeve t-shirt it will be chilly touching your skin when it's raining.

5. Play it by ear. Sure, go with a rough idea of who you're going to see, but try not to be heartbroken if your favorite group - even your raison d'Bumbershoot - cancels. It hapens. I usually arrive with a packed schedule and only make it to half of the shows I planned. Keep your ears open; a surprising act may capture your attention and become your new fave!

6. Bring your TICKET! I hope you pre-bought your B'shoot ticket while it was still fairly cheap, but if you don't put it in your wallet you'll end up paying in both moolah and embarrassment when you have to shell out $35 per day.

Bumber-blog 2007: SGN heads to Bumbershoot

We're all smiles here at Seattle Gay News. It just so happens that aside from being minutes away from a three-day weekend, we're also heading to Seattle Center tomorrow through Monday night to catch all the action at Bumbershoot.

Two of us music writers will be there the entire weekend, rushing from stage to stage and catching up with a few performers. Log onto this website for updates, mini-reviews, and possible run-ins with the stars (well, I know one band I'm meeting up with already). Plus, we've got access into intimate, hush-hush performances throughout the three-day festival.

Admission is $35 per day. Gates open at 11am. Below are tips I've put together for you, if you're joining us tomorrow, Saturday, and/or Sunday. Lorelei Quenzer will also chime in later this afternoon on some suggestions of her own.

It's Bumbershoot 2007 --- and we're Bumber-blogging all weekend long from the Alki Room at Seattle Center!!!

Tips

1 Don't drive. Take Metro (buses #1,2,4,8,13) or ride the monorail from downtown.

2 Food lines are often long. Eat before entering Seattle Center, and spend less money.

3 Weather is unpredictable. Pack a light sweater or coat. Backpacks are permitted.

4 ATM machine lines are very long. Stop at a bank machine before entering Seattle Center.

5 All evening performances at Memorial Stadium will require wristbands, aside from admission. Make sure you arrive early to pick up a wristband if you want to see Panic! At The Disco w/ Gym Class Heroes and +44, Fergie w/ Sean Paul, or Wu-Tang Clan w/ Lupe Fiasco.

(Pictured: Head Automatica, photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Records)

Joss Stone interview tomorrow

Grab a copy of the Seattle Gay News tomorrow, August 31, or over the weekend and read a one-on-one interview with multi-Grammy nominee Joss Stone. The young pop diva talks about her thrilling performance two years ago with Melissa Etheridge and about life as a touring artist. Stone comes to Seattle this weekend, one of many acts scheduled to play at the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. She goes onstage at 1:15pm on Monday, September 3 opening for John Legend at Memorial Stadium. All-day admission, which includes entrance to all stages at Seattle Center, is $35 (per day).

Before heading to Bumbershoot, hear what Joss Stone has to say inside the Seattle Gay News.

PI columnist writes about Gay-bashing

Seattle Post Intelligencer columnist Robert L. Jamieson Jr. writes about the Belltown gay-bashing we first reported on Friday.

That the cops weren't considering the beating a bias crime was news to Wrenn and Hudy until a reporter told them. Hudy says he had a "bad feeling" about the police investigation, partly because an officer who interviewed Wrenn never got out of his patrol car.

According to police, Wrenn and Hudy passed a group of five or six guys standing in the 2200 block of First Avenue. One of the men in the group offered Hudy $20 to say that a man in their group, who was urinating in public, had a small penis, the police report said. Hudy declined.

But moments later, Hudy says, the man who was urinating confronted them. And what was said next somehow didn't make the police report, he said.

"He stopped peeing, came over to us and said, 'What are you guys, fags?' " Hudy said in a phone interview Monday. "Mike was like, 'Yeah, I'm gay. What's your problem?' "

That's when Hudy said he got punched in the arm. Wrenn got pushed down and beaten.

Sounds like a bias crime to me.

More

Gay & Proud in Tokyo

Anti-hate law shifts debate on Gays