Bumbershoot madness

We have a 3 day pass to Bumbershoot, so I've been immersed in music the past 2 days and will be again today. Here's a short run-down of my favorite moments so far; I'll be putting up some more detailed posts in the near future.

Saturday--
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings--the tightest rhythm section I have seen in YEARS. And the trumpet and 2 saxes danced when they weren't playing. You know the dance--that Blues Brothers-esque side step back and forth. It looked amazing, the whole band moving like one organism. And on top of that, the music was sooooo good. Sharon Jones is a tiny woman, but she had more energy than any of us at the show. If you don't already have her latest album Naturally then you should get to the record store asap and pick it up.

Lady Sovereign--a 19 year-old British rapper. She has the mouth of a sailor but her raps are so energetic and "teenage" sounding that it's just pretty darn cute. My favorite was a rap about girls who use too much self-tanner, with the line, "Bitch, don't you know you're orange?" Classic.

Sunday--
The New Pornographers--they are easily one of my top 5 groups. Their music just makes you want to dance, and the harmonies are brilliant. I've now seen them 3 times and will definitely be seeing them each and every time they come through Seattle.
Spoon--obviously talented and quite popular, but not quite for me.
Jeremy Enigk--I hadn't heard him before but he was great. Thoughtful lyrics and music. So low key that Larry was falling asleep during his set, but I was pretty mesmerized.
Blue Scholars--gotta love the hometown rappers! It's nice to see them making it big.
Kanye West--he's a great performer, but he spent most of the set performing "greatest hits"--beats/raps he produced for other performers. But he also did some new stuff that will be on his next album, and he ended with "Touch the Sky" which is my favorite, so it was definitely worth sticking around for.

That's it--today we're off to see Sera Cahoone, Rocky Votolato, Bettye LaVette, Breakestra, Yerba Buena, and Feist, and probably more. It's a great lineup, and should be fun...