Shabazz Palaces ::: photo by Josh Lovseth
Have you made plans to get off work early? Even so, did you allow yourself enough time to get stuck in some glorious Friday afternoon Seattle traffic? I hope you did. Everyone is in a hurry to escape from his or her place of work. I don’t even have a job but clearly I’m running from something. When the Burke-Gilman turns into scenes from “The Road,” I don’t feel like I owe anyone an explanation.
For the lucky survivors, the spoils of day one of Capitol Hill Block Party. Some might argue this is the best day of the festival. I wouldn’t argue with those who are of that opinion because I agree. Let’s do this preview, “Choose Your Own Adventure” style. Only in this adventure I’m making the hypothetical choices for you. Even though I’m unemployed I still don’t have enough time to write about all potential outcomes complete with illustrations. Maybe next time.
If you choose to begin your day with Macklemore at the Main Stage…
You are obviously smart and have good taste in music. Assuming that you have friends, they would call you the quiet leader of your pack. Sure, you like to get loud and obnoxious on the weekends but that’s only because you want to get an “I Saw U” in some local paper. You could’ve chose Naomi Punk at the Vera Stage or Police Teeth at Neumo’s but there’s an authentic somewhat romantic groove that Macklemore has that those groups don’t. You’re not Irish but you know all the lyrics to Macklemore’s “Irish Celebration.” The real question is, what do you want to do after Macklemore has left the stage?
Do you want to stick around the Main Stage and listen to the mellow sounds of Bear in Heaven? Would it be hard to go from unique hip-hop to catatonic beauty? It wouldn’t be that hard because you literally wouldn’t have to leave your spot near the stage. Maybe a quick bathroom or beverage break is in order. If you do that, you’re going to leave your spot and you know what that means. Fuck…
You’ve just ended up at Neumo’s getting “forever bummed” with Fences. This is not a bad thing because you really like what you’ve heard from him (them). Besides it’s a hot day and you’re scared of the sun. Maybe you’ve seen the Blade trilogy too many times or you just don’t have enough melanin in your skin, these are simply guesses. Fences were a good choice though. It’s not the same as Bear in Heaven but the endorphins in your brain haven’t noticed too much of a difference. Now what do you?
Do you stick around the Neumo’s stage and hope that the Unnatural Helpers play “Sunshine/Pretty Girls”? I mean that song is really good and it would be the perfect tune to a week that has otherwise been a bummer. You could try and find some friends go see Modern Athletics at the Cha Cha stage. However, the thought of doing that kind of creeps you out because you’ve never been into organized sports. What about Francis and the Lights at the Vera Stage? Is that group any different than the Lights? Is Black Francis fronting that band? You don’t want to go unless you know for sure. Is any of this worth missing Shabazz Palaces back at the Main Stage? You know what they say, “There’s no such thing as too much hip-hop.” Literally, you’ve never heard that saying before. Suddenly your head is flooded with unsalable bumper sticker and t-shirt ideas revolving around the idea of being a glutton of block rocking beats. You smile quietly as you horde your imaginary millions and make your way back to the Main Stage…
Choose the rest of your adventure after the jump (more…)
