Tag Archives: broken social scene

An Open Letter to One Reel, and/or Bumbershoot, and/or CenturyLink

Pickwick, one of the many acts I couldn't tweet about today. (Photo: MvB)

There’s a lot of good things to say about Bumbershoot this year. I’m appreciating that it seems to be a little less crowded than usual. I am grateful for such a glorious weekend, weather-wise. The staff and volunteers are fairly up on it, and sets tend to start on time. I am gathering further Bumbershoot Pro Tips which I will not share just yet. I am seeing a lot of interesting arts and music and other assorted acts.

Allen Stone does white-boy soul that ain’t afraid to get ugly. It’s always nice to hear cuts from You Forget It In People live, even if it’s at Key Arena. (Sidenote: Why can’t I bring water in there again?) AgesandAges has at least 3.75 awesomely good songs, if not more. I love Doug Benson Loves Movies, and may return for a second performance on Monday.

But I haven’t been able to tell a soul–of course I have, but relatively speaking. Because of the worst thing about Bumbershoot this year: AT&T coverage at Seattle Center has been so spotty the first two days that I moved down to the Edge network and have now given up on being to tweet/text from some venues entirely. Don’t tell me that the network is overloaded. Just “use the network less” doesn’t cut it. This shit can’t stand.

So it’s time that wifi was included in the ticket price and as part of the Bumbershoot experience. It is a shame, an embarrassment, to have a world-class arts festival in the middle of a tech-savvy city and be unable to call, text, or tweet effortlessly and unabated. It’s time that Bumbershoot provide wifi to the masses all Labor Day weekend long.

And this is where you come in, Qwest CenturyLink. Right now everyone knows you as the asshole suits that changed the name of Seahawks Stadium. But instead, you could be the internet company that brought wifi to Seattle Center and Bumbershoot. One Reel, get on that. We needz it.

Bumbershoot Day Two (Photo Gallery)

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Broken_Social_Scene
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Fountain_Sunset
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Monopod
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Pickwick
Tennis
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The_Oh_Sees
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This hand-cranked organ (?) is part of the Possibly Annoying Sound art project. (Photo: MvB)

Toronto's Broken Social Scene drew a crowd that reached the floor's weight capacity. Thus the long shot. (Photo: MvB)

Broken Social Scene, looking like The Band from a distance (Photo: MvB)

Aw, it's pretty! (Photo: MvB)

The Macklemore contingent started lining up at 5 p.m. for his 8 p.m. show in KeyArena. You could tell because of the "My city is filthy" T-shirts. (Photo: MvB)

More annoy-the-person-behind-you gadgetry (Photo: MvB)

Pickwick, launching into their secret KEXP lounge show (Photo: MvB)

"They said it couldn't be done!" crowed Pickwick front man Galen Disston, after succeeding in getting the crowd to its feet. (Photo: MvB)

Tennis's Alaina Moore (Photo: MvB)

The Lonely Forest, in Toyota's Free Yr Radio tent (Photo: MvB)

Thee Oh Sees' John Dwyer (Photo: MvB)

Thee Oh Sees' John Dwyer (Photo: MvB)

The Trey McIntire Project (Photo: MvB)

The Trey McIntire Project (Photo: MvB)

The Trey McIntire Project (Photo: MvB)

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Sunday at Bumbershoot got hot (over 80 degrees!) and packed in a larger crowd than Saturday. Hordes lined up over three hours early for Seattle rapper Macklemore’s (and Ryan Lewis’s) appearance at KeyArena. Once again, if you didn’t line up for the Level 3 stage at EMP, you couldn’t get in. Once again, the Bagley Wright Theatre was filled to capacity for a dance performance, this time for the Trey McIntire Project, visiting from Boise, ID. Is he the Aaron Copland of modern dance? Yes, why not. (Monday, Bumbershooters can catch McIntire’s troupe and Whim W’Him, making it a banner day in up-and-coming choreography.)