Sleater-Kinney

Sleater-Kinney was my main motivator in coming here. Sleater-Kinney made me write this pitch. Sleater-Kinney made me get out of bed this morning at 5am so I could catch my bus to Seattle. Sleater-Kinney made me buy a $10 beer in the beer garden. What I’m saying is Sleater-Kinney owed me quite a bit at this point. Thankfully: they delivered. Taking the main Fountain stage way past my bedtime at 940pm—I go to bed early—they laid into ‘One More Hour’. The crowd was cheering before the first note. Carrie yelled and yipped her way through the next song, with a rolling, almost never ending riff in accompaniment. Corin’s vocals, warm and full, created a perfect contrast to Carrie’s sarcastic sneer. The massive crowd was so big it spilled out of the field and into the gargantuan fountain behind. Honestly, I’m jealous, I can’t imagine a more intense feeling than sitting in a fountain at night while Carrie sings ‘Dance Song 97’. Darker, tenser songs were laced throughout the set- a tie that bound the band together. Tension only cut by a guitar string makes for a great show.

‘What’s Mine is Yours’ raised the temperature by several degrees alone. Guitar solos arched and dwindled in cinematic sprawls as the lights overhead turned red. Carrie gave a heartfelt speech about Low, Mimi’s death, and their cover of one of Sleater-Kinney’s songs. The heaviness came with the optimism that only 300 people standing shoulder to shoulder can share. Carrie ran the length of the stage several times and seemed to take great joy in teasingly picking at Corin. She didn’t leave the comedy set at home, joking the entire way through. The set was energetic and jovial in a way only the best performers can pull off. A Riot Grrrl band that expanded past the genre, with longevity to boot, Sleater-Kinney pelted the city like a Seattle storm. Track after track assaulted the senses in the most pleasant way possible. Their signature guitar tone cut through the crowd and brought even the stragglers to their feet. After all ‘it’s not a new wave, it’s just you and me’.

Destroy Boys

My first visit to the much smaller KEXP stage came during the Destroy Boys set. The almost claustrophobic setting amplified the punk basement show feeling their music already perpetuates. Crunchy, rough guitar raced alongside vocals that passed from sneers to hollers. A small mosh pit started at the front as heads of multicoloured hair thrashed around not so much to the beat but near it. After an impromptu sing-a-long of happy birthday for one of the band members, the group jumped into another moody tune. The vocals were set a bit too low in the mix leaving some spoken word aspects too quiet to hear over the roaring guitar. Destroy Boys are one of my favourite bands because their music doesn’t just sound punk- it is. After an anti-cop speech, they worked the crowd into a frenzied mess with trashing guitars, took an interlude to encourage the crowd to take action to create a better world, then blazed back into screamed lyrics. The band prompted women and non-binary people to get into the pit in a moment reminiscent of Riot Grrrl’s ‘girls to the front’ mentality. I stopped typing notes and started moshing at this point.

Descendents

A lot of Dead Kennedys, a lot of Mat and Kim, a lot of AFI, but mostly, a lot of Descendents. The simple but distinctive logo, glasses and all, dotted hundreds of t-shirts on both Saturday and Sunday. The field was overflowing 30 minutes before their set even started, people clinging onto the barricades for dear life, as rain pelted down. It’s almost like they’re a cult band or something. At 6:30 Descendents took the stage. Their set started off with a bang and never stopped. A relentless barrage of power-chords and shouting with flawless drums throughout. Milo Aukerman played to the crowd, running to different parts of the stage to perform. There wasn’t a bad seat in the house, the field, whatever. Bashing out back to back tunes with militaristic precision, the band was a well oiled machine. Milo sipped from his metal-studded leather water bottle holster attached to his hip as he spat out lyrics at the moshing crowd and mimed air guitar. After whipping up a circle pit the band plowed through another couple songs with cutting guitar. The crowdsurfing started 20 minutes in but couldn’t sustain itself for long. I guess no one likes crowdsurfing in the rain. Slipping in jokes between songs, the band entertained throughout their entire hour-long set; an impressive feat for a band whose average song is about 30 seconds long.

Pussy Riot

Over at Fisher stage there was barely any standing room left as the field flooded with people awaiting Pussy Riot. They cut a striking image in their signature ski masks and lingerie as they took the stage to rambunctious applause. Wasting no time they delved into their first song; while the crowd remained relatively tame, several older festival goers took their leave as a butt plug was projected on screen. Now is probably a good time to mention that Instagram took down my story for ‘suggestive content’. The backing track and live vocals could’ve been better mixed, especially for such a big artist. This left my mind soon after the best hardcore vocals I’ve ever heard started. A scream that could simultaneously shatter glass and rumble the ground. The dance track continued, punctuated by said vocals as bass drops blared. The synchronized dancing was hypnotic as ACAB flashed on the screen to whoops from the crowd. While it was an outstanding set the crowd fell flat.

Jawbreaker

Blazing in with whining guitar and emotive lyrics, the group looked every part the (almost independent) rock band. After proclaiming his love for dumplings, Blake Schwarzenbach dove into another track while the group picked up momentum. Fist pumping became jumping and jumping became an almost-mosh-pit. Emo in the traditional sense, the guitar cut harshly across the field while gruff vocals shouted out delicate lyrics. After telling the crowd they hadn’t practiced in nearly a year the festival became the best executed dress rehearsal of all time. The crowd sang along and played air drums in solidarity as the bass chugged along. Joking with the crowd, they’d obviously built a sense of humour after fate played its own cruel joke on them. Speaking of which… The peak obviously came with ‘Boxcar’. What’s better than screaming ‘you’re not punk and I’m telling everyone’ with a group of your 200 closest friends?

AFI

While I can’t claim original Emodom (that’s a word, don’t worry about it), I appreciate the art form. Neon hair, ripped fishnets and Vans studded the crowd. Opening with ‘Girl’s Not Grey’ the crowd moved more than I’d seen all day. Is it a crime to say Davey Havok sounds scarily similar to Robert Smith? Havok’s vocals sound even better than they did in 2006 despite the two separate half back flips he attempted during the song. In fact, I’d like to take a moment just for Havok’s dancing. The two-step, the twirls, the Axl Rose-esque shimmy, they all put me out of breath just watching him. Energy remained high throughout the set with the crowd singing every song back at the band with twice the intensity. The rhythm section kept in lock-step, encouraging unified headbanging from the audience. I’m starting to understand the fandom; if your drums manage to sound charismatic then you’re doing something right. I think the person in front of me actually started crying during ‘Miss Murder’. The bass chugged along, perfectly in time with the guitar; although, it could’ve stood being turned up a bit. Whether it’s the distinct 2005-ness of their sound, or I’m just getting older, their music is sharply nostalgic in the way few other things can be without sounding desperate. It’s honest, earnest and a little bit bitchy.

Slift

After a sound check that sounded vaguely reminiscent of the French alphabet, Slift opened up with a swampy reverberating riff, heavy enough to rattle my chest. After significant research (I googled it) it seems as though the band actually is French. Nine years of French class seems to have had very little effect on me. I think I need to get back on Duolingo. Lightly Moroccan influenced guitar mixed with the thump of French house music christened their second jam-length song. A slow intro full of waning sirens and electric fuzz exploded into a guitar packed frenzy that saw the crowd burst into dance. From slight swaying to ecstatic contortions, the audience took the music in many ways. At points the artificial smoke (which we now have to differentiate from the very real wildfire smoke) was too thick to see the band through. Long haired and thrashing around on stage the band painted the picture of disaffected rock stars complete with a smoke machine. If I were being glib I might say they were a cool, French version of The Foo Fighters.

Black Tones

After a much needed snack break I headed over to Mural stage for The Black Tones. While I initially had no expectations going in, their sound check was louder than most other band’s sets, so I was expecting something pretty good. Their set opened with a guitar jam that justified the invention of the wah pedal. Dancing, kicking and laying down heavy riffs, the band moved into hit single ‘Ghetto Spaceship’ before jumping into a Zimbabwean rock cover. From the pounding drums to energetic guitar each band member poured themselves into every song. Perhaps most importantly, lead singer Eva Walker’s mom joined the band on tambourine. That reminds me I should probably call my mom.

Sunny Day Real Estate

Hometown heroes Sunny Day Real Estate packed the Mural stage. After running over from Destroy Boys’ set I took my place on the surrounding hill with all the other late comers. Sunny Day Real Estate grew up with the Seattle grunge gods and although akin in attitude, they couldn’t be more different in sound; soft melodies and power pop, only sometimes crossing over to rock, carried by thoughtful guitar riffs and restrained drums. While they did delve into heavier songs with bombastic drum fills and distorted guitar, Jeremy Enigk’s voice is so pretty, delicate despite his screams into the microphone, that it gives a softer overall impression. The crowd only continued to swell as the set progressed; by the end of it was almost impossible to move. At 9pm night had fallen and the stage was cast in a golden yellow light that illuminated the band; behind them the Space Needle cut a striking silhouette.

Band of Horses

Band of Horses took Fountain stage at 7:30 while holding out Seattle Supersonics flags which garnered significant applause. After a short but earnestly moving speech about the significance of Bumbershoot to the band they delved into their first song. Lush guitars and crash cymbals carry their enduring sound that works just as well in 2023 as it did in the 2010s.