sub pop 20th anniversary - part 1

i had a great time on saturday. first of all, i have to say that this was a great festival - the atmosphere seemed really laid back, and i especially loved the fact that they had 2 stages ("this" and "that") going on, which meant that, generally, there was no wait time when one band ended and the next band started (or if there was, it was only 20 minutes, more than enough time to go to the bathroom or get something to drink/eat). i also loved the fact that i got to see a band like mudhoney alongside newer sub pop groups, some of whom i had never heard of before. i loved being able to spend an entire day listening to music; i got to marymoor park at 2:00 and i looked at my watch at 5 and was amazed that 3 hours went so quickly.

speaking of newer bands, i think my favorite on saturday might have been helio sequence. i'd heard of them before, but i'd never actually listened to their music. i really enjoyed it.

next on the "this" stage were the fleet foxes, who i was moderately interested in seeing. i have to say that i think they are quite over-rated. their songs are okay, but nothing special to my ears. (i've seen them described as "the next big band from the northwest, and they drew a pretty big crowd). i thought they kind of sounded like the foo fighters (their later stuff, not the first two albums).

next, i went over to the other stage to see a band called the fluid, and i'll show my ignorance by saying that they were one of a handful of bands i had never even heard of. i guess that, for lack of a better description (or more knowledge on my part), they sounded kind of like nirvana crossed with mudhoney. i liked them more than the fleet foxes for sure.

then i saw low, who i had also never heard of but really enjoyed. i had lots of fun watching their female drummer who had a really great voice.

next was mudhoney who i loved, especially since i had the good sense to stay away from the mosh pit. i like this picture because mark arm looks absolutely insane in it.

after mudhoney, i saw the vaselines who kind of sound like belle and sebastian (or i guess that belle and sebastian sound like the vaselines technically). they were really good - kind of sunny but depressed at the same time pop. a good counter to mudhoney; balancing the types of music is another thing i think they did well at this festival - and the lead singer, frances, was pretty funny too. they opened with son of a gun and also played molly's lips and jesus don't want me for a sunbeam, 3 songs that nirvana covered (and, showing my ignorance once again, the only 3 songs of theirs i knew).

then there was a 20 minute break and iron and wine came on. i've never quite gotten around to listening to him, but i LOVED (yes, so much that i have to capitalize it) his first song. after that, he kind of lost my interest a little bit. he seemed to do more talking than playing, although he was clearly very charming and funny (he kept asking us to clap along and then stopping us because "i can't play that fast"), but when you have a 40 minute set maybe you should just get to the music. when he played such great heights (a postal service cover), he forgot the lyrics (to the one song i could have sung along with!)