Bumbershoot: Sunday’s Recommended Shows

The Dusty 45s

Courtesy of Bumbershoot

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Courtesy of Bumbershoot

Eugene Mirman

Details

Special Section: SW's Guide to Bumbershoot 2009 + live festival coverage.

Related Content

• Bumbershoot 2009: Sheryl Crow, Katy Perry, Modest Mouse, The Long Winters ...
  April 1, 2009
• More Bands Added to Bumbershoot Line-up
  May 28, 2009
• Bumbershoot Review: Is Metric's Emily Haines the Most Entertaining Frontwoman Ever?
  September 8, 2009
• Vivian Girls
  April 29, 2009
• Salon of Shame
  November 7, 2007

More About

• DJ Spooky
• Kevin Capp
• Eugene Mirman
• Roy Ayers
• Indie Rock and Indie Pop

Share

"Best-kept secret" is a term tossed around far too liberally, but it's safe to say that Billy Joe and the Dusty 45s are one of those secrets in Seattle. Straight out of the city's juke joints, the Dusty 45s offer a raucous modern take on some old familiar sounds. The band makes no excuses for their love of '50s sock-hop rock, reverb-soaked surf-twang, and the occasional vamping venture into lounge-y territory. While '50s rockabilly and surf may have a little bit of a stale, mothball smell to them, the Dusty 45s have the rare ability to rejuvenate some classics alongside some soon-to-be classics of their own. Starbucks Stage, 1:30 p.m. GREG FRANKLIN

Picture & Sound: Music Videos

In a festival packed full of music, why would you want to sit indoors and watch music videos? Because a) most of these bands aren't playing Bumbershoot this year, and b) there's some cool short-form filmmaking being done here. For instance, Fleet Foxes' "White Winter Hymnal" is set to a whimsical claymation short directed by none other than Sean Pecknold, brother of Foxes singer Robin. Seasons change, plants sprout and die, and the stars wheel overhead under the power of a giant hand crank.Local director Matt Daniels turns Damien Jurado's "Caskets" into a haunting prairie tragedy, like a cross between Terrence Malick and an old daguerreotype come to life. Also featured are efforts for Modest Mouse and Radiohead, and you know Radiohead isn't playing Bumbershoot this year. Or ever. SIFF Cinema (McCaw Hall), 2-3 p.m. BRIAN MILLER

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

You may be doubting whether a three-piece art-rock band whose collective weight equals one Midwestern dad has the, shall we say, kazoongas to hold a big festival mainstage. After seeing them at Lollapalooza recently, my answer is, well, yeah. Times three. How many of the bands Brooklyn puked across America in 2003 can you even remember the names of right now? Yeah Yeah Yeahs' music, which in itself carries enough charge to light up a stadium, is only enhanced by natural-born rock star Karen O. With a voice like Chrissie's, Debbie's swagger, and Polly Jean's raw fury, she's got all the makings of a legendary diva—and her flair for costumes proves there's a whole lotta Cher in there, too. Samsung Mobile Mainstage, 2:30 p.m. MA'CHELL DUMA LAVASSAR

Parenthetical Girls

Listening to Portland's experimental pop outfit Parenthetical Girls is sort of like understanding the theory of quantum physics presented in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. If you think about it too much—like in that scene when Bill and Ted find a set of keys they planted outside a police station using a time machine days before they discovered time travel or knew they would need the keys—it stops making sense and gives you a headache. But if you just relax and give yourself over to the music, you realize you're hearing something imaginative, innovative, and potentially groundbreaking. The haunting strings throughout "Windmills of Your Mind" echo the up-and-down pitch of Zac Pennington and Rachael Jensen's vocals, creating a complete pop symphony with no guitars or drums. The same goes for "The Weight She Fell Under," in which the dominant instrument is a xylophone. In the words of Bill and Ted, this is truly excellent music. EMP Sky Church, 3:30 p.m. PAIGE RICHMOND

"Mystery Guest" & Eugene Mirman

What kind of insult is it to one of our favorite comics that he gets second billing to "Mystery Guest"? Seriously, WTF? But the key thing is this: Mirman is performing all three days at Bumbershoot. He knows the lay of the land, how the festival works. He's been here before. He's recorded for Sub Pop. He killed at the SP20 Comedy Night last fall. "Mystery Guest" could be a ruse, or it could be a buddy he grabs from another stage. And today he could enlist Charlene Yi, Patton Oswalt, David Cross, or even Doug Benson. Or just some random dude out of the audience, even you. Or he might impart a few life lessons from his tongue-in-cheek self-help book The Will to Whatevs: A Guide to Modern Life. So while we may not believe in "Mystery Guest," we're quite sure Mirman will be funny. Comedy Stage North, 3:45–4:45 p.m. BRIAN MILLER

Sera Cahoone

Though she's earned her indie cred drumming in bands like Carissa's Wierd and Band of Horses—and tried her hand at fronting her own, Prim Rosa—there's no denying that Sera Cahoone's dusky voice ultimately lends itself best to folk music. Her latest record and first official Sub Pop release, Only As the Day Is Long, is a somber album of languid, heartrending, guitar-driven songs laced with plaintive harmonica. And it makes a powerful case for all the drummers who quietly yearn to move to the front of the stage to go ahead and do so. If she follows the path of former drummers Neko Case and Mark Pickerel, Cahoone should soon find herself better known for her own tunes than for the bands she was in before. Starbucks Stage, 5 p.m. SARA BRICKNER