Bumbershoot: Day 1 Recap
And what a day it was. Here is a recap/review of sorts of Saturday's acts, from the really talented to the somewhat questionable:
1:15 PM Fisher Green Stage
Sam Lachow
The main reason I was originally planning to go to Bumbershoot was for Sam Lachow, I've been listening to his new album Huckleberry on repeat for weeks now and have met him a couple of times in Seattle! So I was really excited to finally get to see him perform live. As far as how his set went I think he did a good job of performing his tracks, however, the audience was kind of a bummer. It didn't seem like they were really that into the songs and only got loud when Lachow literally asked them to. However I personally enjoyed his performance and was really happy he brought out some of the features on his tracks, including boss lady Gifted Gab, Sol, and Raz Simone.
Right after we left the Fisher Green we spotted Raz Simone walking by and since Eli and I had seen him at the Capitol Hill Block Party we asked if we could get a quick picture with him! He was nice as ever and sported some solid knuckle jewelry...
2:00 PM Fountain Lawn Stage
SZA
The first female member of Top Dawg Entertainment (who supports the likes of Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q) SZA's music is the kind you can vibe to on a sunny day, or in this case, a gray drizzling Seattle day. After watching her performance I have no doubt that SZA is very talented and passionate about her music. Her voice sounded the same, if not better, than on her album Z. I also liked how the crowd had some of the same people as the rap shows during the day but they were easily able to just enjoy the music during this set. I just wish there had been some magical way my favorite Chance the Rapper could have joined in on the track Child's Play (video below), but maybe next year?
While we were by SZA's stage we also managed to catch Sol in the corner of our eye, and since we are kind of obsessed with him we of course became fan girls who asked for a group photo. No shame in the game.
Big Freedia
I don't really know what to say about this act other than that those dancers Big Freedia had in his set were sort of amazing. The music however was nice to dance to for about half an hour but then got very repetitive after that. I probably would have raved about this set if I had actually gone on stage to twerk though, but sadly the limit of people on stage had been met when we went to the back to ask if we could join....
4:30 PM Fisher Green Stage
Danny Brown
Is it just me or does Danny Brown look better these days? I don't know if he's cut out some of the drugs, or if it's just his slightly more put together hair style, but he looks a lot less ratchet than in some of the older videos I've seen of him. I have to say his live rapping was also pretty good and his energy level was up there. But because I haven't really listened to a lot of his music I wasn't super into his set because I didn't know the lyrics (which I feel always makes it better). Apparently the mosh pit was also rather unpleasant at this event, which luckily I was a few feet away from, though I was definitely very cozy next to my fellow festival goers.
G-Eazy
After Danny Brown's set ended we made our way (ok maybe a little bit elbowed) fairly close to the front of the stage to wait for G-Eazy. I've seen G-Eazy live previously at the Showbox at the Market and I think I have to say his performance then was a little bit better. I definitely had a really good time watching him perform on Saturday, but I can't help but notice he has a bit of that "rock star mentality" where he didn't really put his all into his show. Then again he's not a rapper very much known for lyricism so it is fitting that he's more of an image based musician rather than a true artist.
Yuna
After a fairly long day we didn't have any specific acts to see until Wu Tang so we were just walking around eating (expensive) festival food and happened to walk past Yuna performing. We then decided to take a bit of a break and just sit down and enjoy some chill music, it was really nice just having the view of the space needle with some live audio to listen to. Definitely one of those summer memories you think about later that make you nostalgic.
Wu Tang Clan
Seeing the Wu Tang Clan felt like witnessing a bit of hip hop history. I'm not going to lie and say that I've listened to a lot of their music just because it's not exactly the kind of rap I choose, but seeing them in person was still a really cool experience. What made it even better was that we coincidentally ended up standing next to Raz Simone who we had met earlier and he recognized us! The mix of people there was also undoubtedly interesting, from little kids wearing beanies right at the barricade (who I'll never be as cool as) to rolled up skinny jean hipsters, everyone and their mother was there. Sadly however my phone had died at this point and I could only use my own eyes to witness the performance. Which really was more of a blessing than a curse because it's somewhat ridiculous how many people focus on solely recording concerts rather than just enjoying them.
Overall I have to say Day 1 of Bumbershoot 2014 was a definite success! The lineup was strong and the weather even somewhat cleared up so we didn't have to worry about being drenched in rain.
Now you'll just have to wait to hear about the rest of the weekend!