Capitol Hill Block Party: Hip tunes, hot clothes, cold beer

Sunglasses, beer cups and skinny jeans galore will help create the environment at ground zero for Seattle's Indie music fans at the Capitol Hill Block Party today.

The Block Party, on East Pike Street between 12th Avenue and Broadway, is Seattle's highly anticipated independent music festival. The event is in its second day of drawing fans to two all-ages, outdoor stages, and one 21-and-up stage at Neumos on 10th Avenue.

Crowd bottlenecks at last year's party made it so difficult to get between the performance stages, Hollie Wilcox had planned to cut this annual summer tradition from her calendar.

"I told myself I would never go again," she said.

"I'm not really a festival person," she said, recalling feeling claustrophobic in last year's crowd as she missed hearing some of her favorite bands on the lineup.

When she learned there would be fewer stages (three) and a more spacious layout this year for the more than 50 groups, she reconsidered. Wilcox now looks forward to watching the punk group Gossip perform on the Main Stage tonight at 8:45.

Gates open today at 1 p.m. Hey Marseilles, Awesome Color and Wild Orchid Children are the opening acts set to start an hour later.

Sonic Youth, a headlining act following Gossip, will give the closing performance on the Main Stage tonight at 10:30. The band is expected to draw a sizable crowd on East Pike Street, while Japandroids and Sportin' Life Showcase perform on nearby stages in Neumos and at 11th Avenue and East Union Street.

The beer-laden crowds on the party's opening day were navigable through the early evening, meandering openly around East Pike Street on both sides of the 21-and-up fence — lined by Jack Daniels, Southern Comfort and Miller ads.

Between shows, partygoers can avail themselves of the many booths lining East Pike Street to pick up trendy clothes and accessories, get a back massage or beat the heat at the beer garden with a beer, cocktail, Red Bull or water.

Or, you can just get sprayed by one of the partygoers armed with Super Soakers as a free alternative.

"We're helping people stay happy and cool," said Brandon Carr, who works at the Comet Tavern. With Seattle expecting heat above 80 degrees today, if you plan to party, you should probably dress light — or risk falling victim to a sweat-stained shirt.

But still, it's likely no one at the Block Party would be ready to make fun — after all, a man did walk through a crowd Friday wearing metallic shorts on red suspenders without becoming a public spectacle.

"It's pretty laid back," Alaina Mitchell, a visitor from Ohio, said about the party's overall vibe.

"It's hard to categorize it without being judgmental."

In the cacophony of Indie-fan — and occasional fringe-fashion — specialty booths, and a lone, green-haired girl handing out fliers promoting vegetarianism near the food stalls, it is difficult to be judgmental here.

"It's typical Seattle," said Ari Rayment, from Tacoma. So, at the party just about anything goes — well, except free cups from the beer garden.

Los Angeles transplant Helena Rocha feels right at home on Capitol Hill and at the Block Party. "Everyone here is so much nicer," she said.

Rocha's November visit to Seattle made her wonder why people move here, but looking around the festival during Spinnerette's Friday afternoon performance, it all made sense.

"Now that summer's here, I get it."

Phillip Lucas: 206-515-5632 or plucas@seattletimes.com