Tag Archives: Crystal Castles

Bumbershoot 2013 Music Rundown, Day 1

Diamond Rings.
Thao and the Get Down Stay Down.
Gary Numan.
Beat Connection.
ZZ Ward.
The Physics.
!!!
Gary Numan.
Washed Out.
Sallie Ford.
Crystal Castles' blinky lights.
Kris Orlowski and Torry Anderson.
Maceo Parker.
!!!

Down North, throwing it down. (Photo: Tony Kay)

Charles Bradley heats up the KEXP Lounge. (Photo: Tony Kay)

Boy-Band dreamy, with new wave on the brain: Diamond Rings. (Photo: Tony Kay)

Thao of the Get Down Stay Down gets down. (Photo: Tony Kay)

Gary Numan, Rock God, at the KEXP Lounge. (Photo: Tony Kay)

Beat Connection, connecting the beats. (Photo: Tony Kay)

ZZ Ward, rocking some smart red slacks. (Photo: Tony Kay)

Thig of The Physics politely exhorts Bumbershoot spectators to move. (Photo: Tony Kay)

Best Frontman in Crusty Rolling Stones boxers, EVER: Nic Offer of !!!. (Photo: Tony Kay)

A little Klaus Kinski, a lot of Rock God: Gary Numan on the Tunein Stage. (Photo: Tony Kay)

Washed Out get dreamy. (Photo: Tony Kay)

Sallie Ford does the slow rockabilly burn. (Photo: Tony Kay)

Crystal Castles make loud ticky-tick and booming bass noises. (Photo: Tony Kay)

Kris Orlowski and keyboardist Torry Anderson in action. (Photo: Tony Kay)

Maceo Parker on the Starbucks Stage. (Photo: Tony Kay)

(Photo: Tony Kay)

I swore I’d gorge on something besides music at Bumbershoot 2013. Really, I did. But the lineup for all three days had me chucking those notions most of the time. Aside from a brief trip to Flatstock (customarily wonderful) and a stroll through some of the very cool art installations at the Fisher Pavilion, I mainly imbibed the music.

Day 1 Music Highlights:

The Best: Local funketeers Down North, who got my Bumbershoot ’13 off to a throw-down start with a ferocious instrumental attack and frontman Anthony Briscoe’s killer pipes; Gary Numan, bashing out old synth hits and newer industrial grind in glowering Rock God Mode; Thao Nguyen’s bent but pretty voice and ambling, beat-friendly indie folk with Thao and the Get Down Stay Down; !!!’s gawky, aggressive, and hard-partying disco-fied punk; The Physics‘ perfect blend of Thig’s and Monk’s wordplay, Justo’s potent beats, and a snapping live band; Kris Orlowski’s terrific set of new material, which cast that warm and raspy voice in an urgent, imaginative backdrop.

The Really Good: Charles Bradley, whose sandpaper soul voice sounded more ragged than usual (even on an off-day, though, The Screaming Eagle of Soul still broke hearts); Beat Connection, whose distinctive blend of electric and acoustic music had asses shaking without forcing audiences to disengage their brains in the process; Portland quartet Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, all twangy swagger backing Ford’s wondrous alien-rockabilly yelp; Legendary saxophonist Maceo Parker’s classy, easy-grooving set of soul chestnuts.

The Rest: Canadian electro-pop whiz kid Diamond Rings‘ Pin-Up Boy charisma and engaging retro new wave tunes were undercut by a thin, indistinct singing voice; ZZ Ward sang the hell out of her Alicia Keys-meets-Melissa Etheridge pop songs, but damned if I could cozy up to any of ‘em; Washed Out’s blend of earnest indie crooning and percussive electronics didn’t quite take off live for me; and electro-punk act Crystal Castles sorta felt like a lotta sound and fury (and flashing lights), signifying nothing.

Crap! I Missed It: Heart‘s reportedly transcendental Key Arena Mainstage performance; Sets by local hip hop figures Grynch and Nacho Picasso; The Total Experience Gospel Choir.

Stay Tuned for Music Rundowns of Bumbershoot 2013, Days 2 and 3, real soon-like…

Bumbershoot 2013 Day 2: Music and Comedy

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The Redwood Plan (Photo: MvB)

The Mowgli's (Photo: MvB)

View from beer garden up top of the Fisher Pavilion (Photo: MvB)

"detritus we value" artwork by Jonathan Schipper (Photo: MvB)

"detritus we value" artwork by Jonathan Schipper (Photo: MvB)

From the "Enigma Machine" installation: a web of sorts is spun. (Photo: MvB)

From the "Enigma Machine" installation: colors generated by heat and electricity (Photo: MvB)

David Bazan (Photo: MvB)

Katie Kate (Photo: MvB)

The Comettes (Photo: MvB)

The Breeders (Photo: MvB)

The Zombies (Photo: MvB)

Creepy visuals overlooking the Crystal Castles crowd (Photo: Audrey)

The rules for media are a little different this year around. (Photo: Audrey)

Be prepared! (Photo: Audrey)

Washed Out warming up, Seattle Center fountain cooling down (Photo: Audrey)

Clouds hover above Crystal Castles. (Photo: Audrey)

Crystal Castles from afar, hula hoops from a-near (Photo: Audrey)

At Bumbershoot 2013, some wily musical vets have stolen the show. Who knew that Gary Numan had other songs and an awesome set still in him, up to and including “Cars”? Or that Eric Burdon would turn in a hoodie-clad performance with The Animals?

The ladies of The Breeders hit it as hard as ever, and thundered through Last Splash like it’s 1993. And of course The Zombies would have to play a couple of their jazzy new songs, but if you stepped away from the Starbucks stage and took a hot lap around the Seattle Center grounds, you could have been back just in time to hear them blow the non-roof off with their finale, “She’s Not There.”

Among Bumbershoot’s young turks, Kris Orlowski played a golden-hour set Saturday under the Space Needle and in the shadow of the EMP. Far too often, Kris Orlowski is lumped in with the sensitive Seattle singer-songwriter crowd, which is unfair, since a) he’s not a solo act — it’s a four-piece band that dabbles with the occasional orchestra — and b) Orlowski is not another boring, whiny nice guy. Just a handsome bastard with a great ear and a charismatic frontman to boot. #TeamDREAMBOAT

Over at the Sub Pop stage, Washed Out had to contend with technical difficulties that delayed their set by sixteen minutes, and the resulting audience of big spoiled babies just looking for an excuse to boo. Once the Bumbershoot A/V club got all the loops up and running, the mix was off for the first couple songs, but the chillwave set quickly found its groove. With new album Paracosm, Washed Out has moved into more disco and reggae territory, but don’t worry, they definitely played the Portlandia theme.

The night ended with the atmospheric sounds and sometimes hard-to-look-at visuals of Crystal Castles, while Sunday night involved going from The Zombies to fleeing from Bumbershoot-goers lurching around as zombies. Can we call it a Sunset of The Dead already?

Marc Maron had been on my Bumbershoot to-do list for Sunday, but I ended up seeing him with Patton Oswalt the day prior. I figured he would just use Sunday’s WTF session to further expound upon his anxieties about an impending third marriage and worries about the potential for becoming a father for the first time, but correct me if I’m wrong. Besides, twenty minutes of Marc Maron is pretty much the perfect amount of Maron.

So the only comedy must on the Sunday Bumbershoot schedule was the roundtable discussion with the writers of Parks and Recreation. The Stranger’s Paul Constant introduced the panel for what he calls the best-written show on television, thanks to the individual voices of all the characters, born of a strong writing staff. The team includes old-timers like Alan Yang and Aisha Muharrar, and relative newbies Joe Mande and Megan Amram (both Twitter-famous) who joined the writing team for P&R‘s fourth season.

We got a sneak peek at the fifth season of Parks and Rec: The gang goes to London (Andy thinks it’s Hogwarts), Tom Haverford and Rent-A-Swag faces some new competition, and Leslie Knope wins a women-in-leadership award (complete with Heidi Klum cameo).

Facing the prospects of having to write off Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe, the writers felt that they had crafted satisfying departures for Ann Perkins and Chris Traeger in taking the characters to the end of their arcs. With regards to pacing the comedy, Yang pointed to the importance of clarity and simplicity and the continued need to tell the emotional story. And when in doubt, cast the funniest person possible for the part.

What then followed was an occasionally cringeworthy Q&A with Paul Constant, who twice lost his place in the novella of notes in his hands, and humblebragged “I know some people who work in government.” Constant’s question about gender ratio on typical television writing staffs was a good one, but awkwardly delivered and eventually trailed off. Luckily, the P&R writers have amazing chemistry, which carried the rest of the conversation, including a shout-out to the Bechdel test, the usefulness of Jerry as a punching bag, and the fun fact that Nick Offerman smells like mahogany.

The SunBreak’s Picks for City Arts Fest Thursday

Now that you’ve all purchased your City Arts Fest wristbands (you did get yours, correct?), you surely need some help choosing what acts/presentations/events to attend during Seattle’s Last Best Festival of the Year.  Enter your trusty SunBreak staff to offer their picks for Fest must-sees.

Robyn w/YACHT @ The Paramount
Katelyn: In the car, at my desk, at every party where I have even half an ounce of control over the playlist: I’ve been having Moments to Robyn’s defiantly hopeful dance pop album Body Talk nonstop since it dropped in late 2010. This is the can’t-miss performance of the entire festival, Ryan Adams included.

Josh: Show up at the Paramount early enough to see YACHT (off kilter musical motivational speeches/cult recruitment, with cowbell) open for for Robyn.

The Ecstasy of Influence @ Town Hall
MvB: Because this is an arts fest, there will also be poetry. Luckily it’s from irrepressible Heather McHugh, and three of her students: Kary Wayson, Kate Lebo, and Erika Wilder. Music sneaks in through the back door when McHugh’s poems are sung by the bluegrass trio The Half Brothers.

Crystal Castles w/Crypts, Nightmare Fortress @ Showbox SoDo
Josh: If you’re still standing after the interesting pairing of dance pop that is Robyn and YACHT, make the hike to ShowDo to have your eardrums assaulted while Crystal Castles strobe light you into seizures. One of the few bands that might actually benefit (instead of suffer) from the echo-y cavernous space of this venue.  Hey, it worked on Skins…

The Felice Brothers w/Gil Landry (of Old Crow Medicine Show), Shelby Earl, Gabriel Mintz @ The Crocodile
Tamara: Rootsy Americana-rockers the Felice Brothers always put on a lively gig, complete with songs about whiskey, lovers, and questionable characters, and featuring a healthy dose of down-home instruments (fiddles, washboards). But rumor is the guys have a new musical direction that includes synth, horns, and…acid jazz? That alone makes this my pick for the night: I’ve gotta hear it to believe it.

The Cops w/Birthday Suits, Strong Killings, Nazca Lines@ the Comet Tavern
Tony: Michael Jaworski’s raging post-punk quartet The Cops play a live show as pin-point sharp as it is electrifying. They’re so good, it makes me wonder why there aren’t as many Cops sound-alike bands in town as there are, say, Head and the Heart sound-alike bands.

That boring Mad Rad Buffalo Madonna guy will probably jump around a lot at Mad Rad's set tonight.

Mad Rad w/Katie Kate, Helluvastate, Slow Dance @ Neumos
Tony: I wonder if Mad Rad’s hushed acoustic set of fragile folk ballads will go over with a rowdy City Arts Fest crowd…Kidding. It’s always worth watching Seattle’s electro-trash hedonists work themselves into a lather.

Allen Stone w/Fly Moon Royalty@ The Triple Door
Katelyn: Allen Stone looks like my dad circa 1976, glasses included. Head to the Triple Door for some serious stylish redheaded soul.

The Horde and the Harem w/Exohxo, Elk and Boar, The Nameless @ The Rendezvous
Seth: Horde and the Harem put on a good show. They’ve got two frontmen, one who acts all cool and like “I-don’t-even-care” and another who flirts with the ladies. The tag team effect works.