DESCRIPTION:
Jimi Hendrix Guitar Festival, Bumbershoot, Seatle 1995 Part 1 (Little Jimmy King,Buddy Miles, Narada Michael Walden) Video by Larry Blumenstein Video Productions. Contact: larryblumenstein@aol.com, 917-817-2112. (Copyright 1995) (c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Narada Michael Walden
Thank you
Love Jimi King and Buddy
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This year, Bumbershoot not only celebrated its 25th anniversary, the festival also organized a weekend-long tribute to hometown legend Jimi Hendrix, including a guitar competition, tribute concert, and museum. On Friday, traditionally the least-crowded day of the festival (being a workday), a number of folks chose to beat the weekend crowds and get a head-start on exploring the museum, set up in a venue dubbed the "Red House" for the weekend. A giant storefront made out of red nylon (and shaped - what else? - like a red house) marked the entrance to the museum; after passing through the door you navigated your way through a multi-colored maze, illuminated with strobe lights, with Hendrix music blaring in the background.
The "museum" part of the exhibit occupied two rooms; one featuring an array of artifacts, including early photographs, awards, guitars, costumes, and drawings of football players by a teenage Jimi, the other displaying a collection of Hendrix-inspired art (the black velvet paintings instantly snatching the prize for coolness). The rest of the building was given over to what could be described as "Hendrix-inspired vendors," hawking tie-dye clothing, incense, bees-wax candles, and Hendrix books. Guitars and music software were also on hand; a cardboard stand-up of Jimi was available as a prop for photographs (along with a pile of suitable clothing to don yourself). Other folks settled in for a long stretch of video viewing at a screen set up in the corner.
Friday was also a good day to check out the rest of the visual art, before weekend crowds become too thick. In the smaller rooms of the Northwest Court area, you could find displays from the local Pilchuck Glass School (also celebrating its 25th year), a collection of works by Northwest artists, and a retrospective of artists managed by the Linda Farris Gallery (including cartoonist Lynda Barry).
Truly entertained a respectably-sized crowd with their heavy neo-psychedelia in the "Bumberclub," but the day was too nice to stay inside. Unlike other youth-oriented festivals, Bumbershoot has a number of beer gardens for those of legal age, many placed near to one of the outdoor stages, so why remain in a dark hall when you can sit outside imbibing a plastic cup of Miller (the official Bumbershoot beer) while listening to the avant-garde noises of Laundry?
Elsewhere on Friday, the final date of the Warped Tour was taking place at the Memorial Stadium. No beer garden here, but the youthful crowd evidently spent much time ducking into the porta-pottys to indulge, judging by the empty beer and liquor bottles left behind, along with the tell-tale scent of marijuana. At one end of the field, bands played on the stage; at the other, folks assembled to watch the daredevils on the skateboard ramps. Food booths and clothing vendors provided other momentary distractions.
The event was winding down, judging by the debris scattered throughout the venue. Quicksand, the penultimate act, encouraged the further scattering of debris, asking folks to hurl lemons on the stage (one vendor unwisely selling cups of lemonade with half a lemon in them). But more than a few must've remained behind, for when the final act of the day, L7, came on, the crowd instantly began pelting them with more lemons, plastic cups, and water bottles. This activity soon brought the show to a halt. "Okay," said Suzi Gardner, "if we fuckin' get hit with anything, we're leaving the stage, and you're going to have to listen to a fuckin' tape of Phil Collins! And we've given one to the soundman! I'm serious! Sin-cere-fuckin'-ly, folks."
Gardner's command brought most of the hurling to an end, the crowd contenting themselves with throwing things at each other. Perhaps because of the crowd, or perhaps because it was the last show of the tour, L7 played a more a laid-back set than usual, trying without success to provoke the crowd into dancing ("We're fuckin' bored, you're fuckin' bored, so this is what we'll do..."). After a half-hour set, the band saluted the crowd by flipping them off (urging the audience to join in), thanking everybody "except the lemon fuckers!"
Three-fourths of 7 Year Bitch were seen grooving to the band (bassist Elizabeth Davis, drummer Val Agnew, singer Selene Vigil), along with Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, who denied the rumors that Pearl Jam was to play with Patti Smith on Sunday ("We never got the details worked out"); McCready performed in the Hendrix Tribute concert that took place Monday.