seattle

Youngblood Hawke at Bumbershoot by Dean Belder

Okay, so I missed posting to my blog on saturday, got wrapped up in good times, and good tunes.  Here's Youngblood Hawke playing the End Zone Stage at Bumbershoot Saturday August 30th 2014

Bomba Estereo at Bumbershoot by Dean Belder

Columbia's Bomba Estereo play the Fisher Green Stage at Bumbershoot Monday September 1st 2014, at 6:15pm

The Reverend Horton Heat at Bumbershoot KEXP Music Lounge. by Dean Belder

Reverend Horton Heat plays the KEXP Music Lounge at Bumbershoot Monday, September 1st, 2014, 2:30pm

Give Up the Funk... For Bootsy at Bumbershoot by Dean Belder

Bootsy Collins plays the Fisher Green Stage at Bumbershoot, Sunday August 31st 2014, 10pm

Negativland by Dean Belder

Negativland

I’ve been a fan of Negativland for nearly twenty years now, hearing them for the first time shortly after graduating from high school in the mid-1990s, I initially didn’t know what to think. I was really into electronic music at the time, but most of what I enjoyed was dependent on a beat, which was completely lacking in Negativland’s output.

I persisted, and Negativland became a major influence in the way my own artistic endeavors would shape up, especially when it came to appropriation and copyright. 

I wasn’t surprised when I saw them in this year’s Bumbershoot lineup, they fit with the arts and culture that the festival has been promoting for the last 44 years, but they were sandwiched between two artists on a stage set up for specifically for EDM artists.

Shortly before the set began, a group of kids, expecting more traditional ‘music’ began chanting for the DJ, at which point Mark Hosler responded with “you guys aren’t going to last ten minutes, you’re not going to like us”. 

He was right. The kids left before the first ‘song’ ended, along with several others. There were some people there who knew what to expect and were genuinely excited.  Negativland didn’t disappoint. As irreverent as ever, they brought their brand of sonic collage, and social commentary, not missing an opportunity to dig on Chipotle one of the festival’s corporate sponsors. 

I enjoyed seeing the group, perform, and in many ways brought my own journey full circle, knowing that one of the reasons I am here is because of the influence they had on me in my youth.