september 18, 2002 Mexican Acrobat Bob Flowers. © page 14 Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth. culture TREVOR HARGREAVES OP Contributor Photos Geoff Gauthier Seattle was again host to the annual Bumbershoot Arts Festival on Labour Day weekend. I learned recently that a “bumbershoot” is an American word for Umbrella. The Yanks mock us for saying “aboot”. That's not half as idiotic.as “bumbershoot”. Anyway, I digress. The festival is billed as “a four-day feast of dance, cine- ma, comedy, performance, visual art, poetry, prose and circus arts’. It certainly lived up to this description. Over the weekend I was bombarded by a festival so broad in its musical range that I didn’t know what to do first. Here is a breakdown of what I saw: Saturday September 3rd: | arrived late in the afternoon just in time to miss Ani DeFranco and wandered the grounds. I have never seen such a diverse col- lection of food. The food booths ranged from Greek to Vietnamese to Russian. After indulging in a few foreign delicacies I made my way over to the Experience Music Project soundstage to see The Turn-ons. I was in no way “turned on” by their per- formance. Every song came across like a homage to the far supe- rior Dandy Warhols. The next band on stage was The Catheters...who sucked (pun intended). After these two lacklus- tre performances I wandered over to Memorial Stadium to see art rock legend Lou Reed kick it out. With the stadium filled to capacity and red and yellow lights dancing across the stage, Lou proved he still knows how to rock. While he put on a great set of his solo material, I couldn't help but wish it was 35 years ago and he was playing with the Velvet Underground. After this perform- ance we took off into the night and settled into a classy Tuquilla hotel with some cheap American beer and 68 channels. Sunday September 4th. Today was going to be great! But I sure didn’t feel like it when I woke up. We headed back downtown and ate lunch at Pizzeria Palliachi. While this sounds mundane, it had great significance to me. I grew up watching the comedy show Almost Live which was a i a a Modest Mouse. the other press BUMBERSHOOT 2002 filmed in Seattle. It was always littered with commercials for this very restaurant, so I was well pleased to gobble back a greasy slice and think back to my youth. I got to the festival just in time to see Modest Mouse play at Memorial Stadium. These local indie- rock heroes belted out their tunes much to the delight of the day- time crowd. Next on stage were Sonic Youth showcasing songs from their new album “Murray Street” and also playing some old classics. This was the definite highlight of the trip. The band played a suprisingly cohesive set and didn’t trash the stage until the last song. Sonic Youth have been for years, and continue to be, one of the best live acts around. Next it was off to the Key Arena to see The Shins. The set had already begun but I made it just in time to hear them play a slightly slower version of their song New Slang. I am a fan of the band but had never seen them live before. For an oddball art-rock band, they were suprisingly hilarious. The between-song banter had the whole stadium laughing like it was a comedy show. At one point the lead singer made mention of the fact it was Sunday and therefore the Sabbath. He then thanked the crowd for choosing “Rock over Jesus.” The set proved to be really strong with lush guitar wankery and swirling vocals. By the end of this show I was beginning to get overwhelmed by the constant music. What could I do except go see even more! Back to the EMP stage for an electronica showcase. Not my usual type of music to see but hey...when in Rome. I hit the dance floor and broke it down to the beats. After 45 minutes or so, my tubby self had had enough exercise. I wandered to the other side of the festival grounds and joined in with a communal drum circle. This proved to be a real- ly cathartic experience. There is something really neat about play- ing drums with 400 other strangers. The collective beat blasted out for a mile around us as we honed our collective rhythm. Next it was off to Memorial Stadium to see Everclear. I once loved this band, but let me say that after this performance, their day is done. Art Alexis the lead singer was drunk and inept at playing their The Turn-ons stumbling through their set at the EMP stage.