THE POSIES
There have been several partial reunions over the years since the Posies' initial breakup in 1999, but Every Kind of Light (Rykodisc) is their first album with the original membership intact, and it picks up where the band's '90s albums left off. It may be a "Last Crawl," as the album's highlight is titled, but it's a pretty nice one. Backyard Stage, 7 p.m.
Shore Fire
Elvis Costello
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Bumbershoot 2005
Bumbershoot's been a family-oriented event since its early-'70s inception. Even so, this year's music lineup—despite Devo and later, after that band dropped out, Iggy and the Stooges—seemed even safer than usual. So we decided to search out the festival's odder corners. We don't claim to present them all in this package, but we do claim that the four events we're highlighting—the "In Resonance" sound-art exhibit; the ballet-meets-hair-metal of Buttrock Suites; stand-up comic Todd Barry; and Wreckage, the one-woman show by Lauren Weedman—will give you something you weren't expecting. Which is, of course, the entire point of an event like Bumbershoot.
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JESSE SYKES & THE SWEET HEREAFTER
2004's Oh, My Girl (Barsuk) has Sykes and her band bleeding misery and hope through thoughtful arrangements, evocative guitars, and perfectly smoky vocals. Live, the band manages to be twice as purposeful, twice as imaginative, and twice as wonderfully hazy. McCaw Hall, 7:30 p.m.
JUANA MOLINA
It's fitting that Argentine singer- songwriter Molina's Tres Cosas is out on Domino Records, home to both the quirky electronica of Four Tet and gentle folk of Bonnie "Prince" Billy—a synthesis Molina approaches with barely there electronic textures, whispered vocals, and shimmering acoustic guitars. Northwest Court Lounge, 8:15 p.m.
ISRAEL VIBRATION
This harmony trio of roots-reggae lifers' consistency is just about unmatched, and it's displayed nicely on Sanctuary/RAS's splendid recent This Is Crucial Reggae compilation. That collection ends with a live track that stands up with any of the disc's studio recordings—a good omen for this show. Bumbrella Stage, 9 p.m.
ELVIS COSTELLO
After a good, raucous new album (2004's The Delivery Man), Costello hit the road this spring with a dizzying, lengthy (two-hours-plus) show with his band, the Imposters. For Bumbershoot, he'll be alone with his guitar—and, of course, one of the most dazzling songbooks in existence, not to mention more covers than the Pike Place Market newsstand. Mainstage, 9:45 p.m.
MONDAY, SEPT. 5
THE DECEMBERISTS
In what is surely the most bizarre lineup of the day (and the entire fest), everyone's favorite nautically obsessed pop songsmiths prime the stage for Dashboard- fucking-Confessional. Say what? It's true, so you'd best get there early for a good spot, or you'll have to walk the plank, mate. Mainstage, 12:30 p.m.
KJ SAWKA
Kevin Sawka is one of the few live drum and bass artists in Seattle, creating his own songs on the fly—via a half-acoustic, half-electronic drumkit with triggers for sounds, samplers, and a laptop—rather than spinning records. This time, he'll perform as a trio with Christa Wells on vocals and Kent Halvorsen on keyboards. Bumbrella Stage, 12:45 p.m.
CHARMING SNAKES
Just when you feared that hand claps were forever gone from the arsenal of garage rock and it's kiss-off cousins, along came this local four-piece's Ammunition (Dirtnap). Someone in this band wants to be Phil Spector, like, really bad. Appropriately, however, the hand claps never seem like happy applause, the walls of sound have been sprayed with graffiti and partially demo'd, and the sound is more modern than retro. EMP Sky Church, 1:45 p.m.
MEREDITH MONK
Monk is one of modern composition's most revered figures. Her most recent work was 2003's Possible Sky, her first orchestra piece. She also issued Mercy on ECM New Series in late 2002. McCaw Hall, 4 p.m.
EARLIMART
This L.A. folk-pop band's Treble & Tremble (2004) never pretended to be anything other than a tribute to the late Elliott Smith, and while it's uneven, nearly two years after the singer-songwriter's death, Earlimart's hushed tones—now inextricably bound to Smith's—should be extremely moving live. What's Next Stage, 4:30 p.m.
KINSKI
See Talk Talk. EMP Sky Church, 6:15 p.m.
TED LEO + PHARMACISTS
These Jersey-based purveyors of infectious, literate-but-not-elitist punk make the rounds so often on their never-ending tour that we're giving them honorary Seattle residency. They keep improving, too— last year's Shake the Sheets (Lookout!) is their best yet. What's Next Stage, 6:15 p.m.
KEREN ANN
Having just played a show at Woodland Park Zoo, inter- national chanteuse Keren Ann takes a crack at performing for another sort of menagerie. After a long weekend of getting pushed around in the sun and overcharged for strawberry shortcake, her breezy songwriting should be appropriately soothing. Northwest Court Lounge, 7:45 p.m.
FLOGGING MOLLY
Banjo, spoons, tin whistle, fiddle, uilleann pipes, accordion, mandolin, guitars, and frantically pounding drums are the instruments you'll hear from this seven-piece band, who've repeatedly rocked the Warped tour with their Celtic-punk fusion. What's Next Stage, 8 p.m.
MICHAEL FRANTI AND SPEARHEAD
If Franti and his troupe's antiwar sentiments have lately turned facile—from the smart Spearhead (1994), Chocolate Supa Highway (1997), and Stay Human (2001) to 2003's flaccid Everybody Deserves Music—well, we need all the lefty gadflies we can get, and besides, Spearhead can still put on a hell of a show. Bumbrella Stage, 8:45 p.m.
IGGY AND THE STOOGES
With Rhino remastering and reissuing their still-volcanic first two albums, Virgin issuing a two-disc Iggy Pop overview, and amazingly well-received first reappearances two years ago, James (Iggy) Osterberg, Ron and Scott Asheton, and ringer Mike Watt (filling in on bass for the late Dave Alexander) are probably the most fitting finale to a festival that skews old-but-unbowed we could possibly ask for. That, and they rock harder than God. Mainstage, 9:30 p.m.
info@seattleweekly.com
Bumbershoot runs Fri., Sept. 2–Mon., Sept. 5, at Seattle Center. Tickets: $28 one-day pass/ $45 two-day pass/$80 four-day pass; $8 ages 5–12 and 65 and over. www.bumbershoot.org.
