But never mind that minor discomfort, the real value is in the access. It's amazing to be able to walk backstage almost anywhere and schmooze with stage managers, sound guys, and if you're lucky, artists. The one place we can't get backstage is the Samsung Mobile Mainstage. In fact, I'm almost bored of being "backstage" because it means either that the band isn't playing to you, you're busy doing something, or you have to keep an eye on the clock. Then again, when I'm not attending a concert, I stay dutifully in the Press Room and restock and clean the free grub table all the members of the media chow at.
Bananas are quite popular, as well as York Peppermint Patties and Clif Bars. Oh, and never have I seen bagels disappear quite like this. And the given, coffee.
It seems like many of the journalists are eating breakfast, lunch and dinner off of that table. It makes me think that writing must really pay badly. At least the photographers occasionally wandered in with some booth food.
Just a block and a half from Bumbershoot, Moxie's Backyard Barbeque dished out pulled-pork sandwiches on a folding table. At first the woman running the stand joked that pictures would be $5, but then let me take some. As I walked away in my official-looking Bumbershoot staff T-shirt and Walkie-Talkie, she wondered out loud if she would "get in trouble." If she only knew how little power I actually had.
These impressions are just a backdrop for the real attraction: the bands. Though I've been tied to the smallest stage all day,I've enjoyed the Wells Fargo Stage—though I thought I'd be doomed to kids music and polka.
A young father reads the Bumbershoot lineup with his daughter (right) next to the Wells Fargo Stage during the Matt Jorgenson set (left).
Yesterday the stage was all jazz, all the time but the sets were different enough to fend off monotony. One thing did stay the same, though: crowd demographics. Middle-aged couples, young parents, and the elderly sat and smiled pleasantly, looking like they hadn't felt so relaxed in months.
The Whigs play their second set of the day at the Rockstar stage.
The Whigs were another story all together. They rocked the tiny Music Lounge in midafternoon like they were on a megastage, but KEXP DJs broadcast the event from a table onstage and lucky fans sat mere feet away, only a few feet away from them and the beads of sweat flying off the three musicians. Lead singer Parker Gispert sprang around the stage, a performance style that Sons and Daughters later mocked backstage at The Whig's 6p.m. concert at the Rockstar Stage. Despite the thrashing, Gispert hit every cue at both sets and the band ran like a well-oiled, rock machine.
Glasgow-based Sons and Daughters wait for their set and watch The Whigs perform at the Rockstar Stage.The band came off stage nine minutes early, but someone in the crowd caught on and started an "encore" chant, which succeeded after the Stage Manager went out and encouraged the timid crowd.
And so ended my 12 hours of volunteering, but I still had to get to Capitol Hill to get my credit card from a bar I went to on Friday night. (I was unable to do earlier because of a charming English accent and some photo lessons—don't ask).
Here are some sound clips from my journey up Pike and along Broadway. Can you guess where each was recorded?
1. The bar
2. A store
3. An intersection
Last but not least, here I am after about 16 hours on my feet, away from my comfy bed:
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