Saturday, September 5, 2009

Bumbershoot 2009: Clouds, drizzle, Katy Perry, and Old 97's


In the several years that I've covered Bumbershoot, our city's premiere music event at Seattle Center, I've never awoken to as much cloud coverage as today.

Will it clear up? Will it begin to pour midday? Will the glitter I've evenly sprinkled in my hair be blown away by this late-summer wind? Who knows! But, the show(s) will go on regardless of the weather. Read my Bumber-Tips at the bottom of this blog entry.

Katy Perry goes on stage at 1:45pm this afternoon at Memorial Stadium. If you want to be towards the front, good luck and hurry - the house doors open at noon, and from experience it's a mad dash (a la The Amazing Race) to get up towards the foot of the stage.

Perry opens for The All-American Rejects, fronted by the sexy Tyson Ritter, who kindly posed with my business card backstage at Key Arena a few years ago. They're a hit with younger gay boys, so paired with Katy Perry this concert promises to draw a very mixed crowd.

Matt & Kim and De La Soul are two artists to catch in the evening portion of today's festival lineup, but don't miss the Old 97's at Memorial Stadium (7:45pm) fronted by the totally hot Rhett Miller, who interviewed with me a few years back. They'll play a great, energetic rockabilly set before headliner and multi-Grammy winner Sheryl Crow closes things out for the day.

Bumber-Tips

1 Take Metro, monorail, or a combination of light rail/Metro/monorail to Seattle Center. Parking is a nightmare, so take the #8 bus from Capitol Hill or #'s 1,2,3,4,13 from Downtown to the event area. Or, if you happen to live on Beacon Hill as I do, take light rail to Downtown and transfer to a Metro bus - ditto for those in Columbia City, Mount Baker and Pioneer Square.

2 Withdraw cash before going to Bumbershoot, saving you the hassle of long lines at the ATM machines and ridiculous fees added to your overall transaction. There's a Bank of America just a few blocks away on Mercer, fyi.

3 Take warm clothes, especially with today's gloomy weather. Even if it clears up, the evening tends to bring a light chill after sunset.

4 Eat elsewhere. Unless you want sloppy food, get a re-entry stamp at the North Entrance of the grounds (near the Intiman Theatre) and enjoy a better lunch and/or dinner nearby at the Meccca, Pagliacci, Dick's, Taco del Mar, Kid Valley, Thai Heaven, or several of the other restaurants in close proximity. Also, Metropolitan Market and Safeway are within walking distance for deli-type purchases.

5 Wear comfy sneakers. If you're planning to see mutiple acts at various venues inside Seattle Center, leave the fashionable shoes at home and bring a sensible pair instead - your feet will love you tomorrow.

Have fun at Bumbershoot!!!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You're an awful person for not including yeah yeah yeahs. :-/