Bumbershoot, Day 1

The bus down filled up completely about a third of the way from the top of Capitol Hill to the Seattle Center. I'd planned to see Blondie, but I kept getting less interested as the line to get into Memorial Stadium got longer, so I went inside the Exhibition Hall for Erase Errata instead. They'd always sounded like a good idea to me, based on what I'd read. They didn't sound like quite such a good idea on stage, though they did claim sleep deprivation as they were playing at two in the afternoon after a night show in Portland. The Exhibition Hall is also cavernous, a big problem unless you're prepared to take into account the cathedral-like acoustics. Erase Errata's songs were mostly short and jagged, they didn't flow, and at one point the bass drum pedal broke, so there was a bit of an awkward interim which exposed the band's seeming lack of stage presence.

I caught a little bit of Blondie afterward as anything playing in the stadium is audible for miles around--I could hear it faintly from my house last night. Did you know that Debby Harry is in her sixties?

Jamie Lidell outside was a more enjoyable experience, although once again the equipment got in the way of performance. The sound was a lot better, the grass and sun a lot more fun than the dark, lifeless cave of the Exhibition Hall. His live act was every bit as interesting as expected, making use of a Moog, a laptop, and on-the-spot sampling. I found his experimentation a bit more interesting than the more straightforward songs, but it was really pleasant, except for the part near the end when some of his electronics died.

The crowd for the Thermals seemed to consist mostly of high school kids, which was only annoying while waiting in line, during which time they either kissed frequently and rapidly (just making out would actually have been less intrusive) or made loud and uninsightful comments on inane topics. This brought to mind the last time I saw the band, which was kind of an underwhelming experience. I was still worried after they launched into the first song with almost no guitar coming out of the speakers. It wouldn't have been the end of the world since their basslines are so vital, but I was definitely ready for disappointment. However, they fixed that glitch and wound up mostly turning the bad acoustics to their advantage, intentionally or not. For one, they sounded like they were playing in a stadium, which was kind of awesome, a nice effect combined with the elevated stage; at the Triple Rock you either look straight ahead or down at the band. Most importantly, though, the several second delay inherent in the acoustic space added a nice sort of drone or buzz in the background, not dissimilar to the lo-fi hum of their first record. My only complaint is that some of the vocal melodies were a little muddied, but basically this was a tremendous show. Their songs are, for the most part, as short or shorter than Erase Errata's, but because the melodies are all so sweet, they play so fast, and their roar of a sound is so full and unswervingly steady, it was more like a 55-minute joyride than a disconnected hodgepodge. Also the very recently added drummer looked like maybe playing this show was a much-longed-after birthday present or something, as he continually flashed delighted grins at the audience just in the middle of songs or whenever. I think I'm still excited about how unexpectedly this set was. Hopefully something today measures up.