Three-day Bumbershoot packs in young fans

The new, streamlined, compact Bumbershoot was a hit over the weekend at Seattle Center.

For the first time in its 35-year history, Seattle's music and arts festival lasted only three days — Saturday through Monday — rather than four.

"The sun helped a lot," said Bumbershoot chief operating officer Sheila Hughes. Although reluctant to say attendance set a new high, she said the staff estimated more than 40,000 Bumbershooters passed through the gates Sunday, and at least that many Monday. She was unsure of Saturday's opening-day numbers but said they were probably comparable.

Hughes said festival headliner Kanye West's Mainstage show Sunday was the most heavily attended, with some 22,000 enjoying the rapper's nighttime set.

Although crowds were big all three days, the flow of people through the 74-acre site seemed easier than in recent years. The stages were better placed and so were the beer gardens — they often had the best views of the stages.

There were fewer but bigger entrances and exits. And there was lots more open space, because there weren't any construction areas, as in recent years. The $30-a-day ticket price at the box office didn't seem to deter attendance.

With an emphasis on hip-hop, rock and other pop music, the festival was more youth-oriented than ever. It seemed like fewer families were in attendance, and fewer seniors.

If Bumbershoot is aiming for a younger demographic, it seems to have achieved it.

However, it was difficult to get into many shows and events because of the crowds. Standing in lines — at food booths and bathrooms as well as outside the various venues — was as much a part of the Bumbershoot experience as ever.

The one glitch seemed to be the Mainstage entrance tango, with lines that cut the site almost in half, from the east side of KeyArena all the way across the grounds to Memorial Stadium. But the unwieldy, inefficient lines lasted only about an hour or so before the big Mainstage shows.

One of the most heavily attended performances Monday was the Steve Miller Blues Band's two-hour Mainstage show in the afternoon sun. The singer-guitarist noted that he recorded "Fly Like An Eagle," one of his biggest hits, 30 years ago at Kaye-Smith Studios not far from Seattle Center.

"Fly Like An Eagle" was a highlight of the Miller Band's set. But it was a modern version — complete with a rap — that barely resembled the original.

Miller mostly played the blues, joined on some songs by Seattle guitarist Brian Nova. But he also played some of his rock hits, including "Space Cowboy," "Take the Money and Run" and "Rock 'n Me." His five-man band featured his longtime harmonica player, Norton Buffalo.

On — and off — their toes

Zoe Scofield's bold and imaginative "there ain't no easy way out" was well received by the nearly 350 people who saw the performance at Bagley Wright Theatre Monday afternoon. The group of bare-foot dancers effectively presented different emotions with purposeful movements that were sometimes jerky, sometimes limp and sometimes strong.

Wearing kimono-inspired tops with flowing sleeves over black spandex shorts or strapless corsets above short-slitted skirts, they moved with vigor and intensity.

Visual artist Juniper Shuey's stark set featured fog and wind effects that relied mostly on lighting from the sides of the stage. Morgan Henderson (from the Blood Brothers) composed the stately music.

The wait to get into Pacific Northwest Ballet's performance at Bagley Wright Monday night was reminiscent of those never-ending E-ticket lines at Disneyland. Almost 900 people made it inside, but nearly 300 more were turned away.

PNB favorite Val Caniparoli's "Lambarena" was the highlight of the evening, with strong performances from principal dancers Carrie Imler and Olivier Wevers.

More than any of the others, the two were able to transition smoothly between their familiar classical ballet moves and the African dance steps that required hip- or shoulder-shaking.

Principal dancer Ariana Lallone was compelling in "Pigment," a solo choreographed by Wever.

Risin' to Cancer Rising

The Bumbrella Stage was sucking in the kids like moths to a bug zapper during a kinetic set by Cancer Rising, a hip-hop crew that included a tight, funk combo, a scratch-happy DJ and two more of the 206's sick MCs, who hurled T's and CDs into the crowd, sweated and swore profusely, ping-ponged party rhymes, and just generally seemed to gobble up the experience of being in front of so many appreciative fans.

When the band licked the soul sample from a recent Common-Kanye West beat on the last number, the lawn turned into a tsunami of pumping fists and MCs Judas and Gatsby responded with big grins and bigger, badder flow.

Seattle Times staff reporter Judy Chia Hui Hsu and freelance writer Rachel Devitt contributed to this report.