Yes! I have been looking for "The Piano Has Been Drinking", but cant find it either!!! I used to sing this Karaoke.......

One thing to consider - ply wood come in 4 x 8 sheets usually. Trying to track down a width of 5 feet will be hard and cost you about double the price for that extra foot. It will be safer unless there is a support directly under the seam to do something that retains the full width of the wood (probably why you were told 4x6). If you go 5x5 make sure you have something under the seam ( at that point it may be better to do a 3x5 and a 2x5 or two 2.5 x 5 so you dont have just a foot in to the stage where the under support is. Also you may want to use beefier wood in the under structure (2x6's instead of 2x4's) that way you have the height of the 6 on its side instead of several layers of 2x 4's

I would still go for a small ramp. Just in case someone decides you need to roll a piano on your stage-let at some point, or other heavy gig bag, and also to make it accessible.

Thanks for the shroom and happy building.

This is great to know, I will go with 5x5. Thank you.

No, this space is not intended to host the musician's "kit" we have virtually unlimited space for storing cases, coats, etc "behind the scenes."

The venue seems brightly lit to me, but it will be right next to an outlet so I can put a lamp there if it's needed. Thanks for that tip.

Regarding the ramp, I am anticipating that this stage will be 12-18 inches high. Would a ramp still be recommended in that case?

Thank you so much for this helpful information, and enjoy the 'shroom!

No prob. Setting yourself aside is always good, and you wanna make it as easy as possible for people to review you ( that's why you want your discorgapy and any other reviews in there) it gives them background info so they dont have to get ahold of you if they're busy. If you don't have any reviews write up an artist statement of sorts - include what you're trying to do, influences, process ( if it's applicable, more for out-there stuff or people who are really monkeying with the sound. May not be nessicary if you're a straight up rock band but if you layer hundreds of found sound recordings probably something to hit on). Also a bio is good ( especially if it's a new band but members were in recognizable projects)

Thank You so much. You are a kind person for putting in so much energy and words into your response. Love Pizza T

Totally! The Triple Door and Showbox are good as well.

Avoid Hard Rock, blecch.

Oh, and here's a new service. It's also NOT FREE, but kinda cool. Basically, they'll drive you home IN YOUR CAR, and then another employee will pick up the driver at your place. http://www.seattlepi.com/local/transportation/article/Need-a-designated-driver-CarGozz-takes-you-and-2433708.php

You just can't go wrong with Warren!

Those are mostly more optimistic than I'm going for, but the Warren Zevon suggestion led me to My Shit's Fucked Up, which is perfect!

See, now you're giving me upvotes after it's been established I'm wrong. Funny old world.

There - just gave you a couple of upvotes because I can.

It wasn't Sassy. 'Twas sassier than Sassy. And it might have only had a couple of issues. It was more in the 'zine spirit of Rollerderby, Ben Is Dead, etc. but was totally a 4-color magazine release. Part of me says that one of the covers was a guy from "Girls Against Boys." Another part of me says to shut the fuck up and keep drinking.

Hmm, I was a Sassy subscriber, and it was pretty different from Tiger Beat, but Kevin might not know that.

They definitely had some Evan Dando beefcake pictures...

Good to see I've got a random downvoter stalking me even when I'm right, though.

Fnarf is right. Early 90s mag. The "cute band alert" was one of their regular features.

Priceless response!!!

Thank ye kindly! I loooove Numan - hence the profile photo. I guess I should have said that many might be familiar with his early stuff, but unaware that the man just hasn't ever stopped producing great music. Except maybe for "Machine & Soul"... *shudder*

I'd say that many are, but haven't followed him much past Cars and songs that're oft-covered, like Down in the Park, Metal, etc. :p

Good choice, though! Numan's awesome.

Oh, wait. It looks like the EMP Level 3 stage might be the replacement for the Northwest Court, at least going by the lineup there. It still sucks that it won't be next to the art exhibit anymore.

I was hoping they would replace that stage. This REALLY sucks! I was one of the old timers hanging out there.

I guess many of the big name acts appeal to the older set; Bob Dylan last year and Hall and Oates this year. But Bumbershoot used to have a ton of world music which they nixed a few years ago. Now, they'll get maybe one or two world performers if you're lucky.

I also just noticed yesterday that they shitcanned the Northwest Court stage this year, which usually featured jazz musicians and other light fare, had a decent amount of chair seating, and featured a wine garden (vs. the usual beer). That was where you could find anyone over 40 at Bumbershoot, and now it's gone, never to return I'm sure.

The best tip for preventing being overwhelmed is to be flexible. It really is a great event for just wandering around. Try to find a few events that appeal and create a loose schedule to follow. But give yourself permission to deviate from this schedule. Also, you can generally wander past one of the stages and listen for a few minutes. If you like what you hear, sit down or lean against a tree, etc. If not, move along and try something else. There's great music around, and lots of other arts things (films, improv, theatre, stand-up, visual arts).

Oh yeah, bring COMFORTABLE WALKING SHOES. And maybe a backpack, if she's looking to pack dinner/snacks, her water, sunscreen, etc.

There will also be several vendors giving out free stuff (yay!) and others selling items. The Toyota booth generally has some crafts (two years ago you got to color and make shrinky/dink pendants or keychains), so that can be silly/fun, too.

Hall and Oates is for the 18-30 set? Most of this years line up is a big questionmark to me it seems really disjointed and really NOT appealing to that demographic

Wow, Tracy M - thank you so much for this detailed and super-helpful answer! We were out of town so sorry I'm late in replying. I'll look into the SOund Transit option, would be great if that could work. They also have some kind of parking that can be purchased in advance, which might work out nicely. Welcome any other thoughts on the logistics, thnx!

"My word! That's the E. Siliconious Jiggulous Maximus! In an establishment in West Seattle, no less! And.. and.. yes... Yes! She's.. performing the mating dance of the.. Rubber-Breasted Cockle-Swallow! Oh my... Oh... Oh my! I'm.. quite excited.. quite.. excited, I must admit! I'd best clear the fog off my lenses and come in for a closer look!"

Hooray for mushrooms!

To the right of the stage, in front of the "zootunes merchandise" booth, is a general standing/dancing area. There's ususally 20-40 people here. So if you're looking to stand and dance and have more of a typical concert experience, that's probably your best bet. There is a bit of an aisle-way beside the VIP seats that leads to the stage, but if people start standing/dancing there early in the show, seated patrons get really grumpy...but it tends to fill up by the encore, at least.

I was at KD Lang this week, and people did rush the stage and dance for her final two songs and then through her TWO encores. But that's the first time I've observed that. Normally the main group of folks doesn't stand until the encore...but the standing/dancing folks to the side by merch table do look to be having fun. Good luck at Go-Go's. (Being such a different energy band, there may be more dancing in general).

I've never heard of anyone moving between different blankets before...how annoying. (At KD Lang there was a quite rude and inebriated and loud group in front of us, who really refused to quiet down despite several folks' requests. I was with some pals who have a newborn so they were not interested in relocating (too many bags/stuff to move). It made me a bit grumpy. But towards the end of hte evening when one of them fell into their picnic spread, I did take some small glee in that moment. :P

A belated thanks for your answer. The Lucinda Williams show was pretty decent.

Some general observations:

- I ended up not trying to get there that early, even knowing that it would affect my seating choices. I was at a Mariners game earlier in the day and stayed for the whole thing, opting to relax at that game instead of stressing out about getting a decent show seat.
- The signage for people arriving via bike could be better. It took me a little bit to locate the newer covered bike parking area.
- I parked my bike and then walked all of about 10 feet to the end of the line (this was at about 4pm I think). I don't know if that length of line at that hour is average or not.
- It's a complete land grab in there. Thankfully, since it was just me I was able to grab a thin section between two blankets (a little to the left of the "VIP" seating area).
- Directly in front of me was a guy who had his seat on a 8'x10' blanket. He was the only one on the blanket for the duration of the show.
- To my left were two big blankets and a kid napping/covering them. Eventually, once the show started, two moms and an endless supply of kids showed up in their area. Not too annoying, but having to hear things like "Harper, stop pulling down your pants!" while listening to a song about a suicide was not ideal.
- To my right was a group that had a second home, er a second blanket, up towards the front. They would take turns a few at a time going up to that closer space. Kinda ridiculous.
- Two in front of me was a guy with a snazzy chair (that had to have been over 24"), a portable end table, a kindle, some big smartphone, some nice camera (often kept in a waist case), his special drinking containers, big blanket, etc. For parts of the show he just read his kindle while Lucinda sang some amazing songs. Thankfully he wasn't blocking my view or else I probably would have been annoyed.
- Lots of people seemed to be there just for the picnic atmosphere and didn't seem all that interested in the music. I'm not against that, but in my ideal world they would sit more towards the back.
- It was nice that people were finally standing for the last three or so song. That allowed me to get a lot closer and it felt more like a regular show at that point.
- I'm still curious how the Go-Gos show will go. Lucinda Williams' music is more laid back and sitting back in a chair soaking in the music makes some sense. If that exact thing happens during the Go-Gos I might go crazy. Should I expect a bunch of people to stand up towards the front? Ideally I'd like to be up there too. Or will I once again be sitting behind hundreds of bloated season pass type people who chat through most of the show?

Good idea! You can rarely go wrong with the Comet, you only need to walk outside to hear the rockin' and see the crowd active.

Oh, and almost anything by Peaches would work.