Saturday, July 19, 2008
 

Alright, lets start this off with an apology and an explanation.  For the first time since early April I completely and totally forget to post last week.  I know, my three our four weekly readers probably shed a single tear before carrying on with their glamorous lives, and for that I’m sorry. But I have good reason. I was excited, bursting at the seams even, because last weekend was SP20, the two day festival celebrating the 20th anniversary of one of the great record labels of all time.  I had a VIP two-day pass burning a hole in my pocket and was itching to get to Redmond, start drinking, start seeing live music - it was the only thing I could think of. Until John Laird wrote me to ask where my weekly column was. I had nothing to say, just a mumbled apology, and the promise that this weeks column would have my thoughts and opinions on what I saw, what I did, what I enjoyed.  So for your weekly enjoyment, an SP20 rundown.

SP20: Why Living In Seattle Is Amazing

Last week was an absolute explosion of Sub Pop celebration: secret shows abound, the Space Needle painted to look like those old Sub Pop Single’s Club albums, the SUB POP FLAG FLYING FROM THE SPACE NEEDLE. To say the least it was magical, a real celebration of one of this great cities more important treasures.

But the highlight of the entire week, for those smart enough to attend, was SP20, a festival built to celebrate the past, present and future of this amazing label.  Mudhoney, Green River, Flight of the Conchords, No Age, Fleet Foxes – the list goes on and on, but to say anything, it was an expansive selection of the great bands that have
helped this label to flourish.

I, as stated above, was lucky enough to be given access to a two-day, VIP pass that gave me access to a mansion with free booze and free food. Without money worries or a source of food of alcohol hindering me, I was set to just drunkenly enjoy a weekend of music.

Here’s a loose selection of my thoughts from both days:
 

No Age, whom I was most excited for, was exactly what I expected. A noisy, messy, sort of indecipherable blur of grimy, sunken melodies.  None of my friends understood my excitement or my enjoyment of the show but none of them were fans of the album to begin with.  And I think it’s one of the main problems of that whole Smell scene in LA.

Now from what I’ve seen, it doesn’t exactly translate on to the stage.  Strangely enough, with all of No Age’s DIY attitude (hell, with the whole scene’s DIY attitude) the noisy, sort of hidden gems of the album don’t translate well
live.  I appreciated hearing the music, and seeing the duo perform, but I wasn’t blown away.
 

It’s nice to see bands reuniting.  I’ve always worried that every band that reunited for a big come-back tour, would be like Boston or Hall and Oates, just a bunch of cheesy bros coming back together to cash in on their failed successes.  But at SP20 it wasn’t anything like that, these were bands who forming back together to celebrate their small, or large roles in the history of this, well, historic label and it one hundred percent showed.  Bands were smiling, throwing out jokes, just happy to be playing for something they had been, or still were a part of.  And this sense of happiness spread, the fans were great, everyone eager to share in this atmosphere, no one fighting and only a rare few acted like assholes.  This was something special.
 

Assorted VIP observations:

- David Cross was almost creepy looking.  He had some one fairly young, and vaguely famous hanging off his arm, but I could only stare at his strangely haired face.  His beard sort of jutted out in front of his eyes, giving him a sort of back-alley bum kind of feel.  If anything he didn’t look very funny.

- Contrary to prior belief, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament do not glow with the unholy power of rock and roll.  Rather, up close they looked like someone’s badly dressed dad.

- The Foals drummer and I had a moment over the seemingly lack of forks.  It was the only conversation I had with anyone remotely famous the entire weekend, and it left me dry-mouthed and assured that I might be the most star struck individual living.
 

Mark Arm (lead singer of Mudhoney, Green River) might be the hardest rocking man I’ve ever seen.  I don’t care if Mudhoney’s sludge-grunge is up your alley, it’s really an experience to see just how wild he is on stage, even after all these years.  In both Green River and Mudhoney he’s been freed from the restraints of a guitar, and now he’s just like this wild ball of screaming energy, and it absolutely rules.
 

I left Sub Pop 20 on Sunday night after being absolutely WOWED by Wolf Parade and really feeling as if I’d just been a participant in one of the great musical events of my time.  Sure, it wasn’t packed like Woodstock, or horrifying like Altamont, but there was certainly an air of history in the making.  A feeling that everyone involved, everyone watching, and every musician performing was staking claim on a small piece of musical lore.  It really was an amazing event, beautifully put together by people who clearly love their fans and their music.  When, and if SP40 rolls around I implore you, wherever you are, to get there and be a part of it.
 

- Noah Sanders -



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