Location. Location. Location. With a bit (a whole lot) of booze Pike St. filled with eclectic crowds from all over Seattle to see bands like MGMT and Dead Weather at the famed Capitol Hill Block Party. It was apparent from the start that the event was exactly as titled: a block party.
Capitol Hill’s Pike St. bars joined in organization and execution of the three day music “festival” at the mere price of $60 dollars. An estimated 20,000 people crowded the streets during the weekend spreading from KEXP’s Bean Room at Cafe Vita, and Vitamin Water’s Social Club to the official four stages, at least one of which you couldn’t see too well due to lack of incline and poor stage location, leaving a corridor down the middle of Pike St. separating 21+ from the few underagers.
If you’re part of the bar scene in between 12th and Broadway on Pike, you can probably get your band to play. Capitol Hill incest flourished with local hip hop groups, bands consisting of bartenders and bouncers, and Djs performing for the Sing Sing dance parties until 4am.
At least the local groups represented for the block party. National act Blonde Redhead cancelled due to illness and MGMT was an overall disappointment. By the time the Rock ‘n’ Roll arrived with The Dead Weather on Day 3, the festival was over. Dead Weather stole the show but attracted an aggressive crowd that added to the nervousness of overanxious security caused by drunken balcony and roof top parties and people climbing up telephone poles to get a peek of Mr. White on the drums.
Hands down the best shows came from local party boys Mad Rad and ultimate party band !!!. The Beastie Boy-esque trio of Mad Rad brought the fun with super silly lyrics and constant stage dives. I still don’t know the meaning but at each show they play, flour tortillas are thrown like frisbees at the group. !!! hit the stage like an electrical storm. !!! showed the world-class type of party that hopefully Mad Rad will one day be able to bring back to the streets of Seattle.
