Our 2007 trip to Seattle:

Wednesday August 29, 2007 -
And off we go! Off to Seattle, my second-favorite city. After driving the trip last year, this year we are back to flying. We arrived at Sea-Tac, the airport, in the late morning. We rounded up friends Larry and Robin, and then Mama O and her sister. They had been on different flights but the arrival times were all within an hour or so. We all took a taxi van to the hotel. It's actually a time-share but close enough. We stashed the luggage and Larry, Robin, Petra and I went for a walk. We stopped at a nearby food court and had lunch. This was an above-average food court, with all sorts of enthic type foods in addition to the usual fare. I had some good Indian food with excellent samosas as a side dish. Then we hopped onto the monorail and headed over to the Seattle Center. We walked around there a bit and observed the preparations for the upcoming Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival.

Then we went to a nearby grocery store to buy some supplies for our trip. The hotel has a refrigerator and microwave in the room so we wanted to have some food for breakfast and snacks at least. And of course we had to stop at the state-run liquor store for some medicinal spirits. In Washington state, the liquor is all sold by the state. Yep, state employees sell alcohol all day! Anyway, we got what we needed. Soon after, back at the hotel, we asked a worker at the hotel for some vegetarian food recommendations. One place he mentioned was In The Bowl, a little less than a mile away. We walked over. It was very small with no ambiance and we had to wait, but it was worth it. The food (all vegetarian, Thai) was very good, Larry talked about the peanut sauce all week! Then it was back to the hotel, to the Cloud Room, a nice room on the top floor with glass walls on three sides and a great view of downtown and the Space Needle. Originally the Cloud Room was much more, read about it here. It's still a nice place to relax and bring in a few drinks, so that's what we did. Hey, when in Seattle...

Thursday August 30, 2007 -
What would a trip to Seattle be wthout at least one breakfast at the Five Point? Well, don't answer that. But that's where we went anyway, the notorious dive bar and restaurant. Garish decor, in-your-face waitresses, lots of old-school style food, and cofffee that almost fights its way through the mug. In other words, it was good! Even better now that smoking is illegal in Seattle restaurants, it used to be r-e-a-l-l-y smoky. After that we stopped by the Experience Music Project briefly, to renew our membership. Coolest music-related museum anywhere. Seriously. Then we ventured across the street to catch a Duck. No, not like Donald or Daffy and certainly not like a cooked one. We rode one! Check this out. That was fun and we got to see a lot of Seattle and Lake Union. And then we headed out for a walk around Seattle, from the Seattle Center area where the Ducks are, through the Belltown area, and eventually we would end up back near downtown where the hotel is. As we headed down the street, we stopped at a glass blowing shop and studio. We got to watch people doing glass blowing, which is pretty amazing,.Then we sat outside at the coffee shop next door and relaxed a bit with some of Seattle most famous drink (coffee).

Newly rejuvenated, we continued on our merry way. Not exactly by coincidence, within about 4-6 blocks was Mama's Mexican Food! Well, say no more. We had dinner there, dining outside on this most pleasant day. Then we walked the rest of the way, through downtown, to the hotel. After all, we had plans for the evening. Yes, just a half-block from the hotel, at the Paramount Theater, was the pre-Broadway run for Mel Brooks Young Frankenstein, a new play based on his classic movie comedy. They were performing it in Seattle as a warmup to it going on Broadway, how cool is that? We went and we laughed. And laughed. A lot! It took plenty from the movie and added a bunch of songs. Great stuff, VERY entertaining! Then it was back to the hotel, to the Cloud Room for some conversation and relaxation after a great day.

Friday August 31, 2007 -
Late morning, we trekked out on a walk to the nearby Capitol Hill area. We hadn't explored that area too much before so we wanted to see more of it. About a mile (uphill) from the hotel, we wandered around a few blocks worth of shops, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. A record store too, which is always a good thing! As you know, we are still Obsessed With Music! We had lunch at Julia's, a nice place with plenty of vegetarian options. Then we took the monorail to the Seattle Center, where we picked up our Bumbershoot Gold Passes for the festival the next day. They open up the art exhibits the day before the festival, so we toured all of those. It's MUCH less crowded than trying to do it during the festival. A couple highlights were the Portable Confessional Units and Learning To Love You More. The festival also has a film festival as part of it, and we had tickets to a special pre-event preview. We saw five short films that were all interesting but varied wildly in style and appeal. After that we were hungry again. A couple blocks from the hotel is an all-vegetarian hot dog and internet place called Cyber Dog. Yeah, all vegetarian but really good. You put enough toppings on it and you can't tell what kind of a dog is in there anyway. And they have plenty of different dogs to choose from with lots of imaginative toppings and accessories. Wish I was there now, I'm kind of hungry! Another great day...

Saturday September 1, 2007 -
Today is the first day of what might be the coolest event around, the annual Bumbershoot Music And Arts Festival. Oh yeah. What, fifteen stages (!), tons of vendors, lots of food, buskers, oh I am SO ready! We got there and first went to the Gold Pass hospitality area for some food and beverages. Freshly fueled, it was time for music. We watched four or five songs of Carrie Akre, a local singer-songwriter. She was pretty good but then it was time to see Crowded House, the classic band who just reformed and released a new album. The were really good back in the day and still really good today. Their set covered many of their hits as well as some new material, with the crowd singing along on some of the hits. Pearl Jam's Eddie Vetter came out and sang with them on a couple songs, but it was the charm and vocals of frontman Neil Finn (his songwriting too), along with the charisma of the band in general, that made it so great. It was an outstanding show! After that was over, we caught part of a set by indie-rockers The Shins. I expected them to be good, since I like their three albums, but they didn't translate as well live and their sound was kind of muddled as well. Certainly nothing remarkable and we left partway through.

After a snack, we caught a few songs by Lilydale, but were not impressed. So what do you do? Well, with fifteen stages that is not a problem. On a different stage was Menomena, another indie band with quirky songs and a full choir on stage with them. But wait, they were good! I wanted to hear more when they were done, that is always a good sign. Next up was a few songs by ultra-mellow Tiny Vipers in the Sky Church stage. Even the huge digital light-show couldn't create any energy. Yawn. We left that pretty quickly. And so it was on to see "gypsy-punk" rockers Gogol Bordello. Their sound was unique and maybe interesting for a song or two but lots of their material sounded the same. So onward we went once again. Of course, we stopped periodically throughout the day to sample various tasty treats, from Thai food, to the Green Cossack (Petra's fave), to pizza, to snacks at the hospitality area, and on and on. And we tried to fit in time to check out all the merchants and other vendors too. So much to do and so little time! The last act we saw was Panic At The Disco. We stayed for their whole set. On their CD, they are tight and catchy. Live, they were less polished and maybe needed a bit more experience. But it was still an entertaining show. So much for day one. I can't really do justice to the amazingness of the festival. You have to be there. It is most awesome.

On the Sunday September 2, 2007 -
Today is the second day of Bumbershoot. And I'm lovin' it! Once at the festival, Petra caught a few songs by Lazybones, while I wandered over to see The Trucks, all all-female band from Seattle, with a sense of humor. She joined me there after a bit. The Trucks were a lot of fun, with minimalist 80s beats with a B-52ish feel. Add some wacky lyrics and a charismatic band and you have a very entertaining show. From the nearby beer and wine garden, we caught part of a set by the Watson Twins, who had nice harmonies and decent songs but were a bit too mellow and subdued perhaps. Still good, but went in search of food, which we of course found. Then we caught a few songs by Rose Hill Drive, a power trio right out of the 70s, from the long hair and longer guitar solos, to the raw rock feel. They were talented even if it was kind of a cliche. Then we sampled part of the set by The Apples In Stereo, a power pop group who have very catchy songs but not exactly a stunning live show. Then down into the pit for punksters The Bouncing Souls. The pit is really the exhibition hall, a large cement basement with loud, terrible sound quality, with or without earplugs. We went "with". After four or five songs we had seen enough. With fifteen stages plus other entertainment, we try to avoid the pit when possible.

On the main lawn area, by the International Fountain, we watched the Vau De Vire Society perform for a bit. They are a circus/vaudeville act. Then it was off to a set by one of my faves, John Wesley Harding. Wes performed a few very good new songs mixed with some of his classics, both solo and duo with Chris Von Schneidern. That portion was excellent. Then they brought their full and loud band out, the Minstrel In The Galleries. They did some olde english folk songs, but were so amped up that you wouldn't have know it. They were good but nowhere near the genius that happens with Wes' own songs, played so you can make out the words. All in all, though, a fun set and a highlight of the day. Then it was off to the stadium to see Fergie. She's a big star now, not just a Black Eyed Pea anymore. I wasn't impressed. She can sing, but the songs were mediocre at best. The sound wasn't that good and the show relied more on dancers and other distractions because Fergie is really a supporting player, not a big star, no matter how many albums and singles she sells. So it was ok, even somewhat entertaining, but nothing special. But the day itself was a huge amount of fun. Huge. More tomorrow!!

Monday September 3, 2007 -
Today is the third and final day of Bumbershoot. We got there late morning and had a snack at the hospitality area. Then we saw part of the set by Smoosh, two teen girls who started performing when they were pre-teens. They actually had a younger girl with them too. They do covers and originals, alternative modern rock, no NSync/Britney crud. As we walked from there to a different venue, we stopped to catch a few songs by reggae artist Adrian Xavier. Good stuff. Then off to a literary venue where Wesley Stace (aka John Wesley Harding) and Monica Drake were both reading from and discussing their recent novels. Both were very entertaining and of course I bought both books, "By George" (Wes) and "Clown Girl" (Monica). They were both nice enough to autograph them too, how cool!

After that, Petra headed off to catch some modern hip-hop dance, called Decadance. I stayed in the literary venue to see 33 1/3, A Listening Party. It was interesting, but then my mind started wandering so I headed for some food and beverage. Then I met up with Petra and we went to a beer garden and visited with friends Cal and Laura for a little while. During that, we caught one very long song by Mocean Worker, a jazzy jam band. Then we went to watch Soulive, a soul/funk outfit and had some more food. I think I may have had the Pad Thai but I don't really remember. After a while of that, we moved on. We met up with Larry and Robin and went to see Miranda July, artist and writer. She was fairly interesting if somewhat quirky. But you get an idea of the huge range of talent at this festival. And we didn't even really hit the comedy or the poster exhibit or some of the other things. Then right near the end of the festival we caught about the last two thirds of a set by Ted Leo and The Pharmacists. Those guys rocked! Cool punky pop, tight and hooky. And then that was it. Damn! Until next year that is. HA!

Tuesday September 4, 2007 -
Well, the festival is over for this year. Sigh. But we're still on vacation so, as they say, "yeah baby!!". We got a little bit of a late start, but went for brunch at Peso's Mexican Food in the Queen Anne area. Very good mexican-influenced yet americanized brunch. Then we went down the street to Easy Street Records a great store with lots of cool used CDs. We bought a bunch of music and helped make their day better. We had learned about a new record store less than a mile from there so we went to Silver Platters and, sure enough, we found some music to buy there too! Next, we spent a few hours at the Experience Music Project, world's coolest music museum. They recently partnered with the Science Fiction Museum. We saw both and could have spent a lot more time but they were closing so we left. We stopped for coffee. Always a good thing. We decided to try to get to the Moonlight Cafe, which had been recommended to us as having the best faux meat in Seattle. We took a bus and it took us right to there. The Seattle bus system is SO much better than the one here in Sacramento. Anyway, the food was good. No ambiance and the waiter didn't seem to understand us too well, but we had a good dinner. One bus got us back to the hotel.

Wednesday September 5, 2007 -
And so the vacation ends. We spent a good chunk of the day getting home. Be back next year, Seattle!!