We couldnt have picked a better time to start Ice Cream Man because of all the music festivals that keep popping up around the country. It seems like there are plenty that are trying to separate you from your hard earned dollars. It didnt really click til we returned to Seattle for our second go-around that Bumbershoot is the true grandfather of the indie music (and arts) festival. Its been going on since 1971 and has slowly grown to become a massive event held in Seattles City Center that draws over 50,000 people each day.
If it seems like its be hard to produce a festival spread out around the Space Needle, Experience Music Project, and a Football Stadium, you can imagine how hard it is to find a place to park an ice cream truck. Theres no central backstage area and the open space behind the main stage at Memorial Stadium can quickly become crowded with excessive tour busses. Knowing how tricky it is for the non-profit organization, One Reel, to put the festival on, we just go with the flow and end up giving away most of the cream from our trusty TCB shoulder sling cooler.
The festival takes place Labor Day weekend and is one of the rare fests that goes from Saturday-Monday. There are over 100 bands playing and all kinds of art projects going on. Bumbershoot is also one of the rare festivals that host one of our favorite festival additions, Flatstock. There are numerous comedy performances, movies, literary theater, and independent films playing. It can be a bit overwhelming, and crowded, but its a ton of fun and a great deal for $100.
Neko Case was playing first on the main stage on Saturday so once we got Newt into position and setup, we closed shop then headed over there. It had been a little while since I had seen her and she played a few new songs, which were great. They followed in the vein of Fox Confessor and should be out on her new album in early 09.
The main stage lineup this year was a lot more rock/indie friendly than in years past. Lucinda Williams was on after Neko then Band of Horses then Beck. Quite the step up from last years headliners with Fergie, Wu Tang, John Legend, Panic at the Disco and Sean Paul. To be honest, it doesnt matter much because there is so much good music going on at the other five stages.
Some other highlights from the weekend were The Whigs, Tapes n Tapes, Blitzen Trapper, Mike Doughty (playing Janine and other Soul Coughing classics), and my favorite set of the weekend..SUPERCHUNK. I guess it was a pretty rock central weekend for me. There were a bunch of other bands I wanted to see, especially a bunch of local ones (like The Blakes who I caught a few days later in Portland) but I was working. Superchunk hadnt played in Seattle for 6 or 7 years and they took the stage right before Death Cab was set to close the whole festival on Labor Day. They tore through most of their most upbeat and catchy tracks like Hyper Enough, Why Do You Have to Put a Date on Everything, and one of my all time favorites, Slack Motherf_cker. It was great to see so many people jumping around. This was the lost Superchunk set I had been waiting for for over a decade, ever since they canceled an opening slot with Belly at The Palladium in LAlong ago.
A few days before the fest, Michael Heeb from One Pot contacted us about his art/food/history project he was doing over the weekend. All over the world One Pot has combined music, food, and art. For Bumbershoot, the theme was the year 1968. Fifty or Sixty people sat a giant table and Michael and his crew cooked up a couple big pots of food to share with everyone. Over the course of an hour and a half dozens of people commented on the year 1968 and how it related to them. Nick Jaina and his band drove up from Portland to play some good tunes, and other chimed in about the book 2001 (which was written then) and the social unrest during the monumental year. My contribution, outside of giving everyone free ice cream was the fact that my first car was a 1969 Chrysler Newport and Bessie, our first ice cream truck is also a 1969. I figured, since most cars come to market the year before their model year (ie. You can buy a 2009 Dodge Sprinter now) my two rides that have been most important to me in my life were both built in 1968.
For the most part, our weekend consisted of running around with the cooler bag trying to get cream to as many workers, volunteers, helpers, security, and artists as we could. Once it started to get dark wed lock up Newt and head to the Rockstar stage. Similar to last year, thats where most of the bands we wanted to see were playing. A few other necessities I had to take care of were getting cotton candy, which Id been talking about all summer yet hadnt eaten, and winning a new pet, to be named Crest, at skeeball. Of course I got loaded up on lots of good coffee and I rekindled my love of donuts. Top Pot is what most people consider the best donuts but I think Mighty Os bested them buy a nudge. Hanging out at Victrola drinking French-pressed coffee and eating either a French toast or raspberry coated donut helped get each day started right.
Thanks to everyone who helped make the weekend a success. Special sugary thanks Chris, Nikki and everyone at One Reel. Thanks to Blue Bunny and Mel O Dee Ice Cream for the treats. Thanks to Dustin for the help and place to crash, Josh Bis and Jackie, and Knife for the photos, and. to the folks who threw the BumberSchmooze where Knife and I almost ODd on crab cakes. Til we meet again Seattle. OhI almost forgot, stop by Shortys if youre around for some Pabst and pinball!
