Seattle Bound

It's finally time.  Today, I'm off to Seattle, Washington to check out the newly legalized marijuana attend the Bumbershoot music festival, my third straight year at the event.  This is one of the strongest schedules yet, and I've done pretty well getting signed up for the KEXP Music Lounge performances, so if I stick to my tentative schedule, it looks like I'll be seeing 34 performances by 32 artists over the weekend, including Thao & The Get Down Stay Down (twice), The Joy Formidable (twice), Death Cab for Cutie, !!!, Washed Out, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, Crystal Castles, Deerhunter, and Ivan & Alyoshi.  What's more, the weather is forecast to be excellent most of the weekend, with only Labor Day Monday even slightly questionable. 

However, I've probably eliminated any possibility of rain when I went to REI earlier this week and bought an expensive raincoat, one I really can't afford but also the kind that I had wished I had at Shaky Knees. Packing the raincoat and a sturdy pair of rain pants will likely ensure that I won't encounter any rain.  

After Bumbershoot, I'm taking Amtrak down to Portland, Oregon for MusicFest NW, a 6-day event beginning Tuesday evening.  So far, the forecast is looking about as good as one could possibly hope for in the Pacific Northwest:  

Performances at MFNW are almost too numerous to mention, but will likely consist of about 50 sets by 45 or so bands, including Thao & The Get Down Stay Down (again), !!! (again), Chvrches (twice), The Head and The Heart, Animal Collective, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The Love Language (twice), Sonny & The Sunsets (three times), Pickwick, Neko Case, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and on and on (On An On will also be playing, as will Ages and Ages, but I probably won't be crossing paths with either one of them).

There will be updates here, but their timeliness and coherence will probably depend on several factors including the schedule, high-speed internet access, and fatigue or lack thereof.  You can also follow me on Facebook, Flickr and YouTube over the next week and a half to document in real time my inevitable mental collapse and descent into dementia and madness.

This will be fun.