Dude York

Another band to look forward to at Bumbershoot - I caught Dude York there a couple of years ago playing in an off-venue, little tent, but on Saturday they'll be on the Pavillion Stage, so that will be cool.

Happy Holi, y'all!

Caitlin Rose

Apparently, there will be day parties throughout the Hopscotch Festival, and on Saturday I'll have not one, but two opportunities to hear Caitlin Rose, once at the Pour House Music Hall at something called the Trekky Records Hometapes/Middle West day party (2:00 pm), and again at Babes in Boyland, a day party in the Warehouse District in support of Girls Rock NC.  Should be just the thing to get me ready to hear Death and Mastodon in Raleigh City Plaza later that day.

Mark McGuire

Day Two of Hopscotch will feature, among other things, a set by Mark McGuire as the opener for Sun Kil Moon, whose most recent album, Benji, has been the featured August side-panel picture for this blog.

White Laces

Hopscotch Festival in Raleigh, the new Portland, holds a lot more potential than Bumbershoot.  Day One of Hopscotch (Thursday, September 4), will include the band White Laces sandwiched somewhere in between hip-hop pioneers De La Soul and Philadelphia stalwarts The War On Drugs (who'll be playing in Atlanta during Rocktober on the same night as Courtney Barnett and San Fermin (who will be playing Bumbershoot at the same time as Pickwick)).

Gold & Youth

Labor Day Monday of Bumbershoot will kick off with the, in my humble opinion, ridiculously good sound of Gold & Youth.  From the festival website:

Canadian combo Gold & Youth write songs tinged with nostalgic desire. Their music evokes memories of neo-noir Los Angeles, cinematic haze, and midnight solitudes, drawing on aesthetics and instrumentation reminiscent of the 1980s. Dark and expansive synthetic textures are punctuated by programmed drums and interwoven with melancholy vocals, detuned synth melodies, and understated guitars. Their debut full-length, Beyond Wilderness, varies from the cold, industrial sounds of Depeche Mode to the tenderness of Avalon-era Roxy Music. 

Hobosexual

On Sunday, August 31, near the start of the second day of my last-ever Bumbershoot, the Seattle band Hobosexual will take the Fountain Lawn stage.  I don't know if I'll be there for them or not, but if their live performance is anything like this video, they may be a lot of fun.

Sunday highlights include Kishi Bashi and Craft Spells, and some genius in the scheduling department decided to put Pickwick and San Fermin on at the same time.  I'll probably go with Pickwick, as they rarely tour the American South and as I'll get to see San Fermin open for Courtney Barnett during Rocktober, although some genius in the scheduling department booked that show at The Loft on the same night that The War On Drugs plays The Tabernacle. 

Modern Kin

Drew Grow & The Pastors Wives at 40 Watt Club, March 2012

In just a couple of weeks now, I will be heading off to Seattle to participate in my last-ever Bumbershoot Festival.   Among the bands I expect to see and hear there are Portland's Modern Kin.  According to the festival website, "Modern Kin evolved from the folk-rock ashes of Drew Grow & The Pastors’ Wives, emerging with a leaner and more urgent sound. Still centered around Grow’s ardent wail, this power trio celebrates the primitive thrill of being loud when you are expected to be quiet, exploding into heady and tilted harmonies that scrape around rowdy guitars and exploring the instinctual, essential connection music can make between us. The band’s first album is also the debut of Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, Quasi, Wild Flag) as a producer."

We saw Drew Grow & The Pastor's Wives open for The Head & The Heart (another band performing at Bumbershoot this year) at the 40-Watt in Athens back in March of 2012.  Here's a video of the re-christened band recreating one of my favorite Godard scenes, even including the moment when the soundtrack drops out.