Labor Day weekend means many things to the sun-starved masses here in Seattle: road trips, back-to-school shopping, and getting in one last hurrah on the final days of unofficial “summer” (all references to the season in Seattle should have quotations around them, as it’s by far the shortest season ’round these parts, and we’ve not yet broken 85 degrees in the Puget Sound area). In my weekly phone call to the ‘rents to get caught up on each other’s goings-on, I mentioned to my dad that I was headed to Bumbershoot, the 3-day music festival Seattle hosts each Labor Day weekend. We talked briefly about some of the acts on the lineup and how excited I was to see Hall and Oates (they rocked, for all you naysaying friends of mine who are quick to judge my old fart taste in music), and he said, “Oh, sounds like good material for your blog!” Then it struck me that a) my dad reads my blog (guess I should stop making fun of hunting and fishing t-shirts now; sorry, Dad) and b) he’s right! As he’d wisely predicted, the event provided excellent people-watching and, not surprisingly, endless fodder for Yours Truly. Here it is: my very first Bumbershoot experience, presented in a series of photos classified as either a BumberWin or a BumberFail (click for larger image):

Stylized zero-emissions transport. BumberWin.

Celebrities in knitted beards. Another BumberWin.
(note the memo at the bottom of the display… awesome)

Friends don’t let friends make such ill-advised fashion choices. BumberFail.

Well-deserved hipster mocking. BumberWin.

Misspelling the word “curly”. BumberFail.

Giant interactive paint-by-numbers exhibit. BumberWin.

What are the chances this dude is actively involved in mixed martial arts?
Even so, as my favorite book reminds us, Tap Out clothing is never a Do. BumberFail.

This guy leaves me a bit conflicted. On the one hand, the boa/tattoos/’do rag/massive beard/Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage sunglasses combination is an absolute assault on the eyes, but on the other hand, he wears it with such conviction that I’m reticent to immediately declare it a BumberFail. Your call, folks.

Do I even need to say it? Come on. BumberWin!

All in all, I definitely see why this is a Labor Day weekend tradition for so many people from Seattle and beyond. The music choices are varied and plentiful, the event combines a street fair with an ongoing outdoor concert, and there was a food truck selling fried Oreos. Can’t wait for next year!

Keep on rockin’,

-dau