Monday September 5

Last day of the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival and the routine is familiar. A bit of food in the room and then we took the monorail over to the festival. Once there, we snacked at the hospitality room and pondered the myriad of possibilities for the day. At one of the booths we watched a song or two by Lemolo, which I didn’t really like. It was very low-key female vocal but much too low-key. Today we had decided to see some comedy too, not just music. Our VIP passes got us to the front of all the comedy lines so we wanted to take advantage of that. The comedy show we went to had a short funny introduction by Baron somebody (I think), didn’t catch the last name. But the main show was two fairly well-known comedians, Amy Shumer and Eugene Mirman. Seriously, Amy was so funny I barely stopped laughing for her whole set. Politically incorrect. Yep. Funny? Hilarious! And Mr. Mirman was very funny too. Great show. After that, we watched a four-person panel discussion about being vegan, featuring the Black Metal Vegan Chef. He is so cool, check out his videos on YouTube. The panel was humorous at times and informative.

Petra headed out to see more comedy, including some she really liked (Hari Kandaboly, Kyle Kinane) and one guy that she didn’t like (Anthony Jeselnik). I went into the basement stage (aka “the pit”) to see Eisley, a family band (three sisters up front, plus a brother and cousin) who do alternative rock but with hooks and really nice harmonies. They were very good and I stayed for the whole set. Afterward I bought their newest CD and they signed it for me and chatted with me for a minute or two. Awesome! (side note, I saw this band again a few days ago in Sacramento, you can read about that here). We hooked back up at the hospitality area. Larry and Robin had been there earlier and offered to save us some seats (thanks!) in the Mainstage for the evenings blue-eyed soul double bill. First up was Fitz and the Tantrums, a newer band who had a minor hit with “Moneygrabber”. They were entertaining if not exactly innovative. It was soulful rock that was good but, like I said, felt awful familiar and didn’t challenge the listener at all. Still, the audience was on their feet and loving it! Next up (and I would use the same compliments and criticisms) were veteran rockers Hall and Oates. Yes, that Hall and Oates. They have had a ton of hits and ran through most of them. They put on a good show and did just what people expected. There was not one new song and nothing that hadn’t been heard before. But they have their stuff down and put on a very entertaining show. And that was it, Bumbershoot 2011 was over. Sigh. How many days until next year?

Tuesday September 6

We had today free before we had to fly home tomorrow so we took the chance to see more of Seattle. We took a free bus down to near the Seattle Ferry docks and caught a ferry boat (I’m on a boat! - watch at your own risk) to nearby Bainbridge Island. There are plenty of shops and stuff there so we looked around a bit then had lunch at Emmy’s VegeHouse, an all vegan asian mini-restaurant. It was delicious! The we looked around a bit more and found Doc’s Marina Grill, a nice and friendly place with a big patio area looking out on the harbor. We had a drink and relaxed for a bit there. Then we took the ferry back to the mainland, what a pleasant ride. We caught a bus up to the Capitol Hill area, in search of dinner at the Sage Cafe, another vegan place but with sandwich and burger type selections. Good stuff again. We bussed back but stopped at Everyday Music, a big record store, and Elliot Bay Books, a huge place too. Then a bus back to the hotel. After that day, we went up to the eleventh floor Cloud Room for a glass of wine or two. Not a bad day, huh?

Wednesday September 7

The last day. And this makes stevenology sad. Sigh. So we packed our luggage. Sigh. But it was NOT over! We walked over to Cyber-Dog for an awesome vegetarian dog with plenty of toppings. I love this place! The owner (Tatiana) actually left us in charge of the place when she went to move and park her car. If you go to Seattle then GO THERE. Even if you are not vegetarian, you will like it. Then we checked out of the hotel, caught the light rail to the airport, had a margarita with some chips and salsa at the airport, and then flew Southwest (my favorite airline) back to Sacramento. That wraps it up for 2011. See you in 2012, Seattle! Wait for me!

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Saturday September 3

Mid-morning we took the convenient monorail over to the Seattle Center, the site of the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. Today was the first day of this amazing event. Doors opened at 11:00 but we got there at about 10:30 and they let us in early! I took that as a good omen. We got our Starbucks pass, allowing us free coffee drinks for the entire festival. Can’t argue with that. Then we went to the VIP hospitality lounge for some food to get us started for the day. They were determined to provide vegetarian and even some vegan options too. We checked our schedules for the day and decided to start with a new stage this year (EMP Level 3) where Seattle’s Tomten was playing. They had won a competition to get a performing slot and were pretty good. Indie-type rock with a little more to the songs than some. Oh, and in case I forget, all three days of the festival we ate some festival food too. Eating is fun! But back to the music. The next act we saw was at the Main Stage (moved indoors this year), 90s act The Presidents of the USA. We watched about half of their set and they are still doing what they have always done. Of course they did their hit “Lump” and a bunch of others. Meanwhile, we realized that with our VIP passes we got some free drink tickets, so we went to one of the beer gardens and had a beer (or in Petra’s case, a glass of wine). At a nearby stage P.S. I Love You was playing but we didn’t hear anything that made us want to stick around. Not with so many other options. What are there, 12-15 stages?

Oh, plus the small “secret” stage that VIP passes get you into, or you can win tickets like Larry and Robin had done. We saw Vetiver in there next. They were good if not memorable.  Pleasant at least. Next up in the secret stage was Trombone Shorty and his band. The music was basic funk and blues, but he was very charismatic and talented and it ended up being a great show. Then we went back to the Level 3 stage to see Pickwick. There were hundreds of people in line for this act, people obviously knew something we didn’t. Luckily our passes got us up to the front of the line and we got in. And the show was really good! It was blue-eyed soul but well done and the band had really made their sound tight. After that, I watched part of a set by Little Dragon, which was kind of electronic with a woman singer. For a couple songs it was interesting but got less so. Petra had left to see the “real” (non-secret) set by Trombone Shorty and soon enough I went over there too. He was good again but not quite as good as the earlier show IMHO. After that was Mavis Staples, and for her we watched the whole set. She is great and has been for, what, 50-60 years since the Staples Singers days. She’s a mix of gospel, political, pop, funk, and soul. This makes twice I’ve seen her live and both times she  delivered the goods. After all of that, we all went back to our hotel room to talk about the day and to strategize over who to see the next day.

Sunday September 4

Day two of the festival. Once again we had a little food in the room and then took the monorail to the festival. We catch it a few blocks from the hotel, it takes about 90 seconds, and we get out right at the festival grounds. So convenient! First thing, we got our free Starbucks drinks. Then the hospitality lounge and a snack there too. First up, in the small “secret” stage, was Mad Rad, a blend of hiphop, electronic, and rock, and some energetic cool weirdness thrown in too. This was a really good set. We chose the “secret” stage again for Tennis (the band, not the sport). This was a decent set by the three-piece, but the guitar was too loud. The woman’s keyboards and vocals were lost a lot of the time. So it ended up being loud guitar mostly. And we were in the center of the second row (our spot for all the small stage shows), so it wasn’t that we were sitting in the wrong place. It was just mixed badly. After that, at one of the booths there was a 4-song mini-set by Allen Stone, a white, long-haired, shaggy guy who sang like a long time soul crooner. He did NOT look like he sounded! Petra liked him a lot and made a note to see his full set later. While waiting for another act a bit later, we heard a few songs by the Jim Jones Review. It was sloppy, punky, and nothing special at all. But we were waiting for Pickwick to play the small stage. We had seen their full set yesterday and liked it so much we wanted to see them in the small stage too. And they were very good again!

Of course there was plenty of food today too, don’t ever doubt that.  Then I went to see an all-female band called Warpaint, who ended up being good. I watched for a while and then ran into Mama O and Liz and talked for a couple minutes. Meanwhile Petra was seeing Allen Stone’s full set and loving it. We met back up in the hospitality lounge for more food and then back out into the festival. After a couple minutes of Toro Y Moi, we both decided that was enough of that. Then we watched some of the set by The Kills, a man/woman duo that has a noisy, bluesy minimal rock sound. It was good but it was late and we headed back to the hotel room. The rest of the gang came by and we strategized about the next day and which artists to see then…

To be continued. Day three and more coming soon…

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We just got back from our annual trek to Seattle for the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival (and more). I’ll post some pictures soon, but in the meantime here is a short synopsis of what we did. Enjoy, and maybe we’ll see you there next year…

Wednesday August 31

We flew to Seattle (Southwest Airlines) and arrived in the afternoon. Seattle has a great light rail train system that took us from the airport (nowhere near the actual city) all the way up to three blocks from our hotel. For just a few bucks! We checked in at The Camlin and then walked about five blokcs or so to the nearby Whole Foods Market, to get some supplies. You know, chips, salsa, cereal, fruit, soy milk, bottled water, wine, just the necessities. We lugged all that back to the hotel and then we were truly ready for anything. Well, pretty much. But we were hungry too! We were walking the block or so to Cyber-Dogs, a great vegetarian hot dog place, when we bumped into a couple of our fellow Sacramento friends, Mama O and Liz. We chatted a bit on the street (sidewalk actually) and then went to Cyber-Dogs for our meal (menu). This place gives you a lot of food, not just a measly hot dog. Next it was back to the room to plan out the event of the next couple days. Yes, I love Seattle!

Thursday September 1

We had some food in the room before heading out for the day, to the Seattle Center area. First stop was the Experience Music Project, a great music museum that we try to visit every year. New this year was a very comprehensive Nirvana exhibit, and the neighboring Science Fiction Museum (part of EMP, same admission gets you into both) has a really nice Avatar exhibit. Then we went to the Bamboo Garden vegetarian food nearby. A combination plate was a fine choice, though any of the hundreds of things on the menu would have been ok since it is all vegetarian (mostly vegan actually). Sufficiently stuffed, we walked down the street to Silver Platters, a good record, CD, and video store. Of course we found some music we needed. Of course Next we headed back over to the Seattle Center and picked up our VIP passes for the upcoming Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. The VIP passes cost more but they give you a lot of benefits that make the festival a much better and easier experience.

As we left there we met up with more of our group that had traveled from Sacramento, Larry and Robin. The four of us walked over to the Visual Arts preview. This was a sneak preview of the visual arts exhibits for the festival. One room had “Bumber By Number”, a huge paint-by-number that wrapped around three walls. Anyone could paint in a few spaces so that by the end of the festival it would be all done. So Petra and I did just that. One other quirk was that the paints were actually chalk-like things that looked like vegetables. Yeah. Art! Another room had “The Magic Show” which had objects as art, with emphasis on illusion. There was more, but you get the idea. We took the monorail back to the condo room and then the four of us went to see a Major League Baseball game! The Seattle Mariners to be specific.  We had excellent seats in the first row behind the visitor’s dugout. It was a lot of fun and I got friendly with the mascot, a very energetic moose. Well, not THAT friendly but he was next to me a bunch of times. After the game we went back to the condo but headed up to the 11th (top) floor “Cloud Room” to relax with a couple beverages and to talk about the day and also the one to come next.

Friday September 2

Today’s destination was the University District and the four of us bussed it over there. We checked out a vegan store (Sidecar for Pigs Peace) and then had lunch at the Wayward Vegan Cafe. Man, was this a good meal. Serious. We walked around the district a bit and popped into a few stores here and there. Larry and Robin headed back to town but Petra and I stayed there a bit longer, including a visit to Half Price Books, where we (of course) found more to bring home. Not a big surprise. Next, we bussed it back to the hotel and the took the monorail to the Seattle Center area. We stopped in at Easy Street Records and of course found more music that we needed. Yes, needed. A quick stop at the supermarket formerly known as Larry’s, and then we lined up for the evening’s entertainment. It was a film preview of the Seattle International Film Festival. The film festival is part of the Bumbershoot festival, but we were able to see six short films the night before it for free! These short films are always interesting. One of them had actually won the short film Academy Award. By the it was getting late and we all went back to the hotel room to strategize. No I don’t mean to talk, drink, laugh, and wonder who to see at the first day of Bumbershoot tomorrow. Ok, ok, that is exactly what we all did. Six great minds in one room. And after that we got some sleep.

To be continued…

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We recently went to Seattle for a week, as we have done over Labor Day for the last nine or so years. The big attraction is the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. It’s a three day festival with entertainment on about 15 stages, plus a variety of other stuff going on too. You can find out more at www.bumbershoot.org. Anyway, between that and some side events, most of the week in Seattle is taken up, and in a great way. But we managed to fit in some other fun things too. Here’s what we did…

Tuesday September 1
We caught the plane to Seattle in the morning. A nice quick flight. Then we took the Seattle city bus from the airport to the hotel. Lucky us, the bus stops right across the street from our hotel, The Camlin. It was before check-in time but the hotel stashed our luggage so we could explore the city for a while. We walked a bit and then took the monorail to the Seattle Center area. Ninety seconds of zipping above the traffic, nice concept! We walked through the center, looking at the preparations for the upcomong Bumbershoot Festival, and walked over to Kidd Valley burgers for a lunch of gardenburgers and onion rings dipped in tartar sauce. Next stop was down the street to Easy Street Records, a nice new-and-used music store where we always find things we need want.

It was sprinkling off and on but we stayed pretty dry and walked over to the State Liquor Store to pick up some supplies for the week. Washington State has some weird liquor laws. A state employee sold us some booze! Between the CDs we bought and the necessary liquid supplies, the old backpack was getting pretty darned heavy. But we bravely traveled on, walking a bit to Silver Platters record store. Of course we found a few items there too. Really, we are just trying to stimulate the economy. If you’ll believe that.

We took the thousand pound backpack and hopped on the monorail back toward the hotel. Once there, we got our luggage and unpacked. Then we took a walk down to the Seattle waterfront. That’s alway pretty and pleasant. From there it was just a short walk to Mama’s Mexican Food and, hey, you gotta eat! So we had a tasty meal and since it was still happy hour we had a couple margaritas. We hung out there for a while and decided, that since we were not driving, we would have one more margarita. We had to change tables due to a party coming in, but because we did that, they gave us the margarita free! I was ready to change tables all night! Then we wandered out into the evening. We walked to a grocery store and bought a little fruit, cheese, and crackers to get us through at least part of the week. Then we walked back to the hotel and took a beverage up to the 11th floor “Cloud Room“, with glass on three sides and a nice view and a great place to relax at the end of a fun day.

Wednesday September 2
We had some fruit in the room for breakfast and then headed out into our second-favorite city of Seattle. Down near the waterfront, across the street from Pike Place Market, we had a snack at Piroshky Piroshky. Great filled dough with lots of options for the filling. Then we took a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island, about 35 or so minutes each way. It’s such a peaceful and pretty ride on the water. We walked around on the island for a while, perusing the tourist shops. Eventually we ended up at the end of the area and, lo and behold, we came across a little place called Emmy’s Vegehouse. Yow! A totally vegetarian shack with some tables, we were all over that. Pretty good food, too. Good thing we were going to walk off all the food on this trip. Then we took the ferry back to downtown Seattle. Surprise, right near Pike’s market was another record store. What could we do? Then we walked around the huge Pike Place Market a bit and headed back. A quick stop at the Old Navy for a scarf for Petra and then back to the hotel.

We taste-tested some of that cheese and crackers and determined they we really good. So we tasted some more! Then we headed down the block to see Wicked, the big hit play. I had read the book and we’d heard good things about the play. The theater there, the Paramount, is really nice too. Long story short, the play was great, we both really liked it. The book was dificult in spots but the play was great, clever, fun, and really well done. By then it was getting late but we were hungry. Lucky for us, a block away is Cyber-Dogs, a really good vegetarian hot dog place. This place is so cool and so small. But the topping combinations she puts on the dogs and unique and delicious. I love this place. Then, after a long day, and nicely stuffed, we went back to the hotel.

Thursday September 3
We started the day again with some fruit in the room to get us started. Then we monorailed to the Experience Music Project, the world’s coolest music museum. We spent a little while there and saw the new exhibit and also played a little on some instruments in their Sound Lab. After that, we met up with our friends Larry and Robin, who had flow into Seattle that morning. Our friend Mama O and her various posse members were due to arrrive later today and over the next couple days also. Anyway, the four of us checked out the Bumbershoot Festival preparations and walked a block or two to the Bamboo Garden vegetarian chinese food. Hundreds of menu items and no meat at all. Wish the whole world was like that

Full again, we monorailed back to the hotel and walked a while to the Pioneer Square area. Today was the First Thursday Art Walk so we looked at a bunch of art in a bunch of galleries. There were vendors too, of course. And lots of people. We were hoping to meet up with Mama O but it didn’t happen that day. We did, however walk a while and hooked up with a different Mama. Yep, we were back at Mama’s Mexican Food! Ole indeed! More food, a few drinks, and a nice walk back to the hotel. The four of us headed up to the cloud room to relax and talk. A nice end to another fine day.

Friday September 4
The four of us headed out into Seatlle, first taking a walk to a downtown jewelry store that Robin had read about. We looked around there for a few minutes and then went on to the grocery store for some supplies. Soon after that we were on the monorail to the Seattle Center once again. We had a gardenburger lunch at Kidd Valley and then went back through the Seattle Center and first thing, picked up our Gold Passes for the upcoming (tomorrow) Festival. We touched base with John, the Gold Pass leader. What a nice guy, he remembered us and said he thought he saw us earlier in the year in Palm Springs! Small world and sure enough, that would have been on our Indio trip. Anyway, he was great the whole time this year, as always, making sure everything went fine for us.

Then we headed to the Bumbershoot Visual Arts exhibits. They open them up a day early and it is MUCH less crowded so we always go see them on Friday. And as always they had a variety of interesting art. Some if it was strange but in a very good way, so that’s cool. Four, five, or was it six large rooms of visual art, that’s a nice way to spend an afternoon. After that, we walked a bit and ended up at a nearby coffee shop where we had some liquid refreshment and a needed caffeine boost. And then it was back to the Seattle Center for the advance preview of the Film Festival. During the Bumbershoot Festival, there are three days of short films, but the preview is a less-crowded and more relaxing way to get a taste of it. Usually the Bumbershoot festival has so much else going on, that we don’t get to the film portion. With the Friday preview, though, we do see some of the films! Then it was back to the hotel, another nice day. And Bumbershoot starts tomorrow!!

Stay tuned for part 2 – including the actual festival! In the meantime…

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As you can see from the postcard at right, the showing will be Saturday December 13th, 2008, at the Coffee Garden. This venue is located at 2904 Franklin Blvd in Sacramento, CA. Click on the postcard graphic to see a larger version. One of the pictures on the card is a glass bowl that Petra created a while back (see top row, fourth from right).

The reception for this event will start at 6:00 PM but you can drop by any time that evening to see the art. Food and coffee are available and there will be music by the Jahari Sai Trio. Bring your friends and come by the Coffee Garden on December 13th to see Petra‘s latest and greatest work of art “Five Women”. And check out the rest of the Sisters’ art too, of course!!

Note: Be sure to check out some of the links too!!

Wednesday 8/27

We flew into Seattle. Actually the plane did, but we were on it. There was me and Petra, friends Larry and Robin, and Mama O (who would meet up with the rest of her posse later). We took a crowded bus to the Camlin hotel. It let us off right across the street which was very convenient. We checked in and took a quick look at the nice rooms. But of course we were all hungry so we walked a block over to Cyber Dogs Internet Cafe and Vegetarian Oasis, a great vegetarian hot dog place. The dogs are meatless but good and the toppings more than make up for that. I’ve tried a couple different ones over the last few trips and all were great. The menu is here, check out the specialty dogs. After food, what else is important? You guessed it. We took a quick and easy bus ride to the state-run liquor store. Yar!! Then we started walking back to the hotel and stopped at a grocery store to pick up a few breakfast and snack items for the week ahead. Then it was back to unpack. Of course, after that we were hungry again! It doesn’t take much to talk me into eating, so we walked up toward Capital Hill and a small but tasty vegetarian Asian place called In The Bowl. Mmmm. Next time I gotta remember to order the peanut sauce, it is killer! Now we had to walk off a little food, so we took a pretty long walk to and through the nearby Belltown area. We ended up near the Seattle Center so we took the monorail back most of the way, walking the last four or five blocks. We would walk a lot on this trip. A lot. But you can sure see more that way, instead of speeding by things in a car. Once back at the hotel, we fixed ourselves a drink (or glass of wine as appropriate in some cases). And, like the prescription said, repeat as necessary.

Thursday 8/28

Rise and shine. Well, rise anyway   It was a little late and Petra and I started out by taking the monorail back to the Seattle Center. We would meet up with our friends later in the day. We popped into a burger place (Kidd Valley) for a veggie burger (was it Kidds?) and some Walla Walla onion rings. Then we got serious and shopped a couple record stores. Easy Street is a great store in the Queen Anne area of Seattle and we found some music there. Then blocks away we stopped at Silver Platters and picked up a few more CDs. Everything at both stores was used (except one) and everything was under $10. What bargains and the more you buy the more you save! Or something like that. Whatever. We stopped at a local coffee shop for some liquid rejuvenation, then headed out on foot, back into the nearby Belltown area. We saw a bit of the Olympic Sculpture Park and an ultra-modern furniture store, but time was limited because we were headed to the nearby Spitfire restaurant/ bar where the large back room would be broadcasting Barrack Obama’s convention speech on a large screen for us and other supporters. There were several hundred Obama fans there to watch the speech and cheer, since it was an impressive and inspiring speech. And it was so cool to be watching it, 800 miles from home, with all those other fans, bursting into applause and cheering throughout. Go Obama! After that, we were pumped up and hopeful. We walked back to the hotel and talked for a while, ending a fun and enjoyable day.

Friday 8/29

Another day, another monorail trip to the Seattle Center. And did I mention that Seattle has a wonderful transit system, with easy and convenient busses, some on the street and some in tunnels? And plus the monorail of course. As for the busses, the whole downtown area and nearby is a ride-free zone most of the day so you can hop on and off as much as you want. Even the long ride from the airport had only been $1.50 for, what 20 miles? You can’t even get on a bus here for that price! Anyway, our first destination was the Experience Music Project (EMP), the world’s coolest museum. Lots of music-related displays and exhibits in a Frank Ghery designed futuristic building. And now it also houses the Science Fiction Museum, which is included in the price. We spent a couple hours there then got our wrists stamped to come back later. There is so much to see and do there. We walked across the Seattle Center and checked out the preparations for tomorrow’s Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival, then picked up our passes for the festival. We’re so ready. Actually, I’ve been ready since the minute last years festival ended! That’s how unbelievably awesome it is.

We wandered across the street for some lunch at Chutney’s, an Indian food buffet where everything except two items were vegetarian! And all you can eat. Life is good. Then is was back to the festival grounds, where there was a preview of all  the visual arts exhibits. You get to see them the day before the big crowds get there and that is just what we did. Cool stuff. Then back to the Experience Music Project for a couple more hours to see more of it. Petra and I also checked out the Space Needle gift shop close by, but didn’t buy any overpriced souvenirs (this time). In the evening we had reservations for a free advance showing of some films related to the Film Festival that is part of Bumbershoot. We saw about 90 minutes worth of very strange but mostly interesting short films. One in particular about a mumbler gave us all the creeps but overall it was interesting and worthwhile. Next, we took a walk down the street to the lower Queen Anne area for a quick slice of Pagliaci pizza or slow vegetarian lasagna in my case. Good though and what is the hurry anyway? It’s vacation. It’s Seattle. It’s almost Bumbershoot. Does it get better than that? We wrapped up another full day back at the hotel with a few drinks and some friendly and lively banter. I always wanted to use that word in a sentence. Hahaha!

Read more about the Seattle trip soon…  Check back!!!

In the meantime, leave me a comment about this exciting trip!

They have this event every Thursday night, so go check it out. It was pretty entertaining. And it’s a really nice coffee place too. Free wi-fi, large indoor seating area, and large comfortable garden area in back, see you there…