Impromptu Trip ⇒

So we could celebrate our 11th (holy smokes!!) anniversary, my parents took the girls overnight yesterday. We hadn't made any plans but we decided, on the spur of the moment, to go to

Bumbershoot and to spend the night in Seattle. After finding an amazing deal on parking (only $10 for the day), we got in around 1:30 and sat by the fountain to figure out what we wanted to do/see/hear. The band that was playing while we were planning was called Whalebone and they were just OK…a good band to get warmed up to but nothing I would buy. After they finished we were going to just wander around for a bit but I heard a band get the crowd screaming and headed over for a quick listen. Turns out they were Mad Rad and they put on a phenomenal live show! Not sure I'd buy any of their music but I'll check it out to see if they have the same energy as they did on stage. They are a very dorky looking band, but tons of fun! Next we checked out Broken Social Scene but we didn't like them at all…too loud and not very interesting. After that we had to choose between Shakespearean Improve comedy or a British blues-rock band. Sadly, we chose the music. Turns our they aren't blues-rock, they are an extraordinarily loud (hurt our ears and we couldn't hear the music nor the lyrics) punk rock band. This meant when we raced to get to the comedy we had to wait 30 mins until we could get in and catch the last 30 mins of the show. Glad we waited though as they were very, very funny! Highly recommended. Funny thing, when we were waiting to get into the improv, I needed a snack, so I went to get some french fries. Good thing I ordered the small: Since we were in the comedy mood after that, we checked out the Comedy Bang Bang Podcast which was very funny as well with some outrageous characters (Andrew Lloyd Webber and Hotdog). Next up was the absolutely amazing Allen Stone band. Side note: people still use MySpace? This was, by far, the highlight of our trip. Great stage presence, amazing band, groovy/funky beats. Highly recommended. Will be purchasing his new album when it comes out in Oct. Last show was Carbon Leaf and they are very pleasant indie folk/alt rock band. Will probably buy one or two of their albums to use as easy listening background music. We had a wonderful day with great music, great comedy, great weather and great company. The perfect way to celebrate 11 great years. Some pics of the Allen Stone show and the view while watching Carbon Leaf: