Maximum VelocityEx Hall at 3
Seattle sports an incredibly rich dance scene, and no outlet showcases as much of the city’s choreographic diversity as Velocity Dance Center. Maximum Velocity offers bite sized tastes of the institute’s favs in a concise hour-long program. If you’ve yet to take a deep dive into the local dance world, this lineup that includes rising star choreographers like durational wizard Alice Gosti, Mary Sheldon Scott, Stephanie Liapis, and Randy Ford offers an ideal entry point. (There’s also a Saturday Maximum Velocity Bumbershoot performance at the same location and time.)
Ron Funches, Dan St. Germain, and Moses StormBagley Wright Theater at 5
With a demeanor that’s equal parts warm and mischievous, Ron Funches is the adorable stoned teddy bear of comedy. He hits a humor sweet spot where jokes about fatherhood, silly cuteness, race, weed, and nerdy fandom (the cover of his debut standup album parodies The Last of Us[1], for goodness sake) intersect. The Undateable star and @Midnight ace headlines one of the weekend’s best standup clusters when he shares the Bagley Wright Theater stage with the underratedly sharp wit of Dan St. Germain (writer for Not Safe with Nikki Glaser) and fellow Angeleno and co-host of Meltdown’s This Is Your Show, Moses Storm.
Third Eye BlindFisher Green at 6:50
Third Eye Blind may not be turning out the hits like it did in the ’90s with Third Eye Blind and Blue, but it still keeps things entertaining. The group made waves in July by essentially trolling Cleveland’s Republican National Convention[2] with a performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that saw frontman Stephan Jenkins antagonizing the crowd with banter that mocked the GOP and refusing to play almost all of the band’s best known songs. That alone deserves giving Third Eye Blind a round of applause in person. Besides, who doesn’t want to see a throng of people singing along (with a collectively strained falsetto) to the catchiest tune ever written about meth[3]?
Billy IdolFisher Green at 8:30
You simply can’t slow down a rock ‘n’ roll force of nature like Billy Idol. Even in his sixties, the man is still a live wire when he takes the stage, tearing through hits like “Rebel Yell,” “White Wedding,” and “Mony Mony” with the same rambunctious punk energy he showcased when bursting onto the scene in the ’80s. His band simply rips way too hard to be pigeonholed as a nostalgia act. And don’t worry, the masses that will assemble on Fisher Green’s lawn to watch Idol ensure that you won’t be left dancing with yourself.
Death Cab for CutieMain Stage at Memorial Stadium at 9:10
It’s time to stockpile Death Cab for Cutie emotions before the long winter, as Seattle’s biggest band winds down the Kintsugi album cycle by closing out Bumbershoot. Since it’ll likely be a while until the band hits the road in support of another new record, Sunday gives local Death Cab diehards one more opportunity to find that place where soul meets body, put a tune to the feeling of settling, curse the gravitational pull of a black sun, question the accuracy of glove compartment nomenclature, and dreamily follow Ben Gibbard’s voice into the dark of Memorial Stadium’s open Seattle sky.
Also check out: Nick Thune (ZinZanni at 2:30) | Lisa Prank (KEXP at 3) | Seattle Files with Chris Allen (Vera Project at 4) | Erik Blood (KEXP at 5:30) | Deep Sea Diver (KEXP at 6:40) | Seattle Review of Books with Sherman Alexie, Robert Lashley, and EJ Koh (Center Theater at 7:30) | Tame Impala (Main Stage at Memorial Stadium at 7:40)
And don’t miss Seattle Met’s Friday[4] and Saturday[5] Bumbershoot picks.
Bumbershoot[6]Sept 2–4, Seattle Center, $129; Festival pass $250–$775
References
- ^ parodies The Last of Us (d1ya1fm0bicxg1.cloudfront.net)
- ^ essentially trolling Cleveland’s Republican National Convention (www.rollingstone.com)
- ^ the catchiest tune ever written about meth (www.youtube.com)
- ^ Friday (www.seattlemet.com)
- ^ Saturday (www.seattlemet.com)
- ^ Bumbershoot (www.seattlemet.com)
