An East-Coast Transplant Covers BUMBERSHOOT! (Seattle, WA; Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2008)

This assortment of dreamboats was put together by lead singer (and every-instrument player) Scott Reitherman (whose brother went to school with this here writer). Their music is eclectic in style and range of instruments, from saxophone to glockenspiel to an instrument that looks like a huge kazoo with piano keys. I should probably know the name of this instrument, but I do not [it’s a melodica - ed.]. To be honest, I’m not convinced that Reitherman can sing on key, but it didn’t seem to matter because the overall character of the band was so fluid and cohesive. I would definitely see them again and suggest attending a concert if they come through your town. They’re suave and mysterious and they have that unique “indie” sound that doesn’t fit into easy molds of previously heard music. Great entertainers.

Tacoma bred singer/songwriter Vicci Martinez has as impressive a range as she does sprightly an attitude on stage. She hops around and jams hard on her acoustic guitar while wailing her lungs out. She has a folky sound to her and can write a truly lovely tune. Though she often performs in small venues around the Tacoma area, she has been known to sell out the Triple Door in downtown Seattle and open for such performers and Sting and Annie Lenox. She makes singing look like the natural thing to do when you open your mouth.

Hollis Wear and Madeleine Clifford (aka Ispire and Madlines the Lioness) make up this fantastic pair of twenty-one year olds. Having chosen their name as a representation of the strife of mulatto Americans. As canaries were used to detect poison in coal mines, Canary Sing feels mulatto Americans have been used to detect “poisonous American race relations.” Aside from performing, they are mentors for Youth Speaks Seattle, a literary arts organization. They strive to spread hip beats and quick lyrics. They support and are supported by a wide array of female hip hop artists—B-girls, DJs, and vocal performers alike.

Opening for someone with the gusto of Saul Williams could be a daunting task, and it was clear that the majority of the audience was unfamiliar with Canary Sing. Having been to a show before, I was pleased to hear the people around me, many of them over thirty, oohing and ahhing at the intelligence and speed with which Wear and Clifford performed. If you’re in the Seattle area, you should see them. If you teach in the Seattle area, bring these girls to the classroom. Whether for a poetry unit, history, or music lesson, Canary Sing can inspire as successfully and impressively as they can bust a rhyme.

This was not so much a performance. Mr. Williams got on stage and really just wanted to have a dialogue, and while he did perform two pieces, he talked right through the end of them into his next thought. As such, it really was just like getting into his brain for a while and awkwardly listening to him vent. That said, I was so moved by Mr. Williams’ ability to move himself to tears of frustration or anger that I suddenly started crying without warning. He got to a point at the end of one piece where referred to the war—and he stopped to say that he had finished writing the piece in 2003, and here we were in 2008 still at war. Then he ranted about how here we are at a festival and what does it matter if you speak about the war if we would still rather go to a music festival than help.

I thought it was interesting that he judged the audience for being at a weekend of music because I think people help the world in different ways. While I have no doubt that there are people who take advantage of their privilege and also attend these expensive and non-earth-friendly “get away from it all” festivals, I know that I do my part and then regroup when I can. So while I appreciate the message to get out and change the world and influence our parents and raise our older generation to be supportive, I would prefer to go to a performance and not be asked, “What are you doing here, there’s war in this world?” I know that there are a lot of wars and I think we fight the ones we are fit for, be it overseas for our nation or on our own soil being the warrior we have to be for the battles we choose.

The first thing that I think of when I hear mention of Jakob Dylan’s name is an interview a friend told me about that had lots of current entertainers being asked the same bunch of questions. When the question, “Who are your influences?” was asked, apparently Dylan smirked and muttered, “Friends and family.” His unassuming charm is palpable, and had I a better view I think I would have better enjoyed his performance. However, due to his quiet stature and his vague statements that would fit in any city (“Thank you, you’re a great audience”; “It’s good to be here,” etc.) I found myself a little distracted by the preteen performing Yo-Yo tricks behind me.

Dylan has unmistakable talent and a wealth of musical knowledge and skill. But if you’re going to see him, get good seats, or rush the front. His charisma does not extend far past row ten. However, his woeful crooning voice is the pinnacle of relaxing hammock music and for that I was tickled pink.

Talented, hilarious, seemingly effortless vocal character and gorgeous to boot, Ms. Micahelson was a knock-out performer. She is the type of artist you hear and go home and immediately buy her music on iTunes (which I did, and am currently listening to). She has a Sarah McLachlan meets Fiona Apple quality to her voice—so generally awesome and sweet and lovely.

She has a keen talent for taking words or phrases and recreating them. In her song “Breakable,” from the Girls and Boys album, she coos “Have you ever thought about what protects our hearts? Just a cage of rib bones and other various parts.” You could say rib cage a hundred times a day (this may seem less ridiculous if you’re in the medical field) and not think of your ribs as a cage that holds your heart in. This tapestry she weaves aids in the essence that her heart is an untamed, wild thing. And judging by her attitude and her faux-striptease (she took off her plaid jacket), an untamed heart would not surprise me.

Teeny tiny nineteen year old girl. HUGE stage presence. Huge. Hayley Williams along with her bandmates, Josh and Zach Farro (guitar and drums respectively), and Jeremy Davis (bass) can perform the shit out of their music. It’s weird to me that rock performers are now my age and younger, but considering that the mean age of the audience was 14, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Some things I learned at the Paramore concert: neon is back in style, and crowd surfing is still cool.

Paramore has very upbeat energetic hits that induce lots of thrashing about both live and while sitting in a car or cleaning your house. In fact their new album Riot is the kind of house cleaning music where your energy level raises so high before you know it you’re cleaning your neighbors place too. It’s almost trance setting. Admittedly a lot of the songs sound similar, but those three songs that they have all sound really good in variation.

The most notable part of their performance? Bass player Jeremy did a flip across the stage – instrument in hand. The whole band could fabulously shake their hair and head bang. They are pure rock stars and dreamy ones to boot.

Most impressive by far was a piece which, on the internet, is called “It’s Really A Quagmire,” in which lead vocalist Jonny 5 raps an entire song protesting the war primarily using words starting with the letters “I,” “R,” “A” and “Q.” First of all I didn’t know there were that many q words in the English language. I was a bit turned off by the venue the Flobots had to play in this year at Bumbershoot: the basement of one of the theatres in the Seattle Center. I felt like I was at an eighth grade dance. Luckily, the boys and girl of Flobots are good enough entertainers that I could be distracted. I was disappointed, however, that this group that clearly influences thousands of young minds about our country and the government still chose to use aggressive diction. I would be more impressed if the word “fight” was not a part of an anti-war song of protest.

I would hate to call someone out directly, but I think I have to. One of the last times I was home, my mother said something to the effect of “All hip hop is the same—it’s ignorant and obnoxious.” First of all, I think she was talking about rap, but grouped it all as hip hop—wrong wrong wrong. But I wish she could have been at Del’s show this weekend, ‘cause I think should would have changed her tune. It was the only show I attending the entire weekend where I heard from the stage “Get out and vote. I don’t care who you are or who you are voting for, get out and vote.” Of course, they were all wearing Obama shirts up on stage.

Not only that, when the emcee asked the gentlemen in the audience to go easy on the ladies in the front so as to avoid pushing them into the guardrail, Del clearly stated his disapproval of aggression against women. Ok, he used a few choice words I will omit from this write up to express himself, but hey, he said what I have never heard from a stage full of male hip hop artists. [Compare with the Dan Leedz’s crew. -ed.] His rhymes and beats were notable, my neck is definitely sore from bopping my head to his tunes. But his messages outside of his performance were far superior, in my opinion, as he broke away from stereotypes. For this, I will continue to support him and other such performers. (Sorry mama, I love you!)

review to your liking? You'll sweat:

Throw Me the Statue + Jukebox the Ghost + Say Hi - Middle East Upst. (Cambridge, MA; Sept. 30, 2008)

Ingrid Michaelson + David Ford - Webster Hall (New York, NY; Feb. 15, 2008)

Saul Williams + Dragons of Zynth - Paradise Rock Club (Boston, MA; Apr. 8, 2008)

melophobe looks back: favorite concert photos from our first year!

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