Comments on 2008 Capitol Hill Block Party Line-Up: Vampire Weekend, Les Savy Fav, the Hold Steady, Girl Talk, Chromeo, and More!

I have already had more fun at this event than I have at anything I've attended in the past five years...

...and it doesn't actually take place for months.

From the Block Party Big Shot Strangercrombie winner, I couldn't be more pleased with that line up.

I just audibly gasped. My day has been made.

This is going to be so fucking rad!

Way to go and spell Vellela Vellela incorrectly, geniuses!

The Hold Steady sucks.

But ... DARKER MY LOVE! Awesome. LES SAVY FAV! Awesome. GIRL TALK! AWESOME!

This is a great lineup -- I had so much fun at last year's Block Party, with the exception of the interminably long Spoon set, and I'm looking forward to this year!! Street food for all. Congrats to The Physics, those guys deserve good things.

Velella Velella is how it's spelled.

YAWN

Dang, talk about a block Partaaay! U.S.E., Hold Steady, Velella Velella, Chromeo. Hot damn, this gonna be goood! In my mind right now I am already drunk at the beer garden getting a sunburn.

I'm looking forward to getting upper back sweat while dancing to Chromeo and U.S.E.

I'm looking forward to getting upper back sweat while dancing to Chromeo and U.S.E.

Sorry for the double post.

Holy shit, I love Surprise guest! They're gonna rock my face off!

I seem to be in the minority, but this looks significantly less exciting than last year's lineup. Still, I'm holding out hope, since Common Market and Kay Kay are now listed on the Block Party page.

make sure the cops are around for this year's girl talk riots.

that'll be a fun weekend.

Um, it's Builders and the Butchers. I think you've got it backwards there.

$45.50 for the 2 day pass with fees, etc.

STOKED

We apologize for a couple inconsistancies (sorry Velella Velella).
In a rush to get the stranger some basic info, they received a partial press release that was not properly proofed. Our mistake. BUT, keep your eyes peeled for updated info, new announcements etc etc.

Thanks for the positive response. Lots of other great stuff to be announced.

CHBP

Upcoming announcements will include: Partman Parthorse, Coconut Coolouts, Dutchess and the Duke, Moondoggies, the Girls, the Intelligence, the Shackles.

WHY is USE, Pwrfl Power, Akimbo and Black Eye's and Neckties OPENING for VAMPIRE WEEKEND.

KEXP is selling out Seattle to pre-fabricated "independent" machine. Shame on you Stranger for going along with it.

Don't be surprised when Panic at the Disco is confirmed as the surprise special guest.

A little birdy told me the suprise guest is the Halo Benders.

Chromeo!!!!! Girl Talk!!!!!

Holy fuck, the Halo Benders would be freaking AMAZING!

The two bands I hate most in this world right now, Kimya Dawson and Vampire Weekend, are both playing. I mean... wow! This looks like indie pop hell. Way to make Bumbershoot's line up actually look better.

What, you would take Stone Temple Pilots over Vampire Weekend, Dan? That is some serious dedication to contrarianism.

Dan, I'm sure you'll work hard to get in without paying no matter how much you decry it.

The Bumbershoot lineup skews more towards Dan's age-group for sure

Uh no, Neko Case over Vampire Weekend, any day of the week. But good comparison with Stone Temple Pilots, because Vampire Weekend are essentially the STP of today's music. I'm sure they will be relegated to similar status 10 or 15 years from now if they are remembered at all. Jay Reatard and Akimbo are great though, at least a little rock and punk has snuck in to the lineup. And damn straight Frank.

This looks awesome! Waaaaay better than last year. Even the local bands they got for this year are better. Velella Velella, USE and Man Plus have the perfect sounds for a block party.
BTW, dan10things, a lot of these bands are not indie pop. A lot of these bands are dance (the above local acts). I would like to say there are no heavy bands (metal, hardcore). Man Plus is probably the hardest among this set and I hear they are a lot harder and crazy live than on record.

@22- i dont really think those bands are "opening" for vw because this is more of an all day festival, not a really long build up to a headlining act, though you make an interesting point.

hey dan 10 things, i'm rofling about how baseless your STP jab is. what the fuck areyou talking about? NOTHING

this lineup is so awesome. for the category called "people i hang out with", CHBP is OWNING bumbershoot

Don't worry kids, lots more bands to be announced, including more metal, punk and hip hop. And Dj's. And even some politicians.

And Dan, you're not getting free tickets from me.

Bumbershoot is going to be awesome too. We're not really competing. We love Bumbershoot and Sasquatch (be sure to catch Blue Scholars and Presidents at Sasquatch!)

Along with the Sub Pop fest, this is going to be a HUGE summer of music, and by far the best place to be for live music this year. Like by far. Amazing. And wait for the rest of the lineup. It's going to be killer.

Meinert-
You don't even need anymore, this lineup is fucking perfect! Lots of surprises, and all of 'em sweet!

lol meinert ftw

STP had a major hype and marketing machine behind them that pushed a pretty mediocre band into instant media coverage, TV appearances, the cover of Spin, etc. The same weird phenomena, which happens to a band or two a year, has happened with Vampire Weekend. A pretty crappy band is pushed and marketed so hard that some people can't help but eat it up. IMHO, similar quality, similar hype, different eras.

dan10: your "O" better be hella "H"

those bands have nothing to do with each other. at all.

ihonestly can't get over how incredible this lineup is

Grandy put them up for comparison. The only things they have in common is they are both shitty bands that have gotten a lot more attention than they deserved, yet are still headlining Seattle music festivals. I blame Meinert, he helps put on both Bumbershoot and the Block Party :)

Vampire Weekend is a great band. Reminds me of watching early Elvis Costello. And they are politically radical which I love. Need more groups speaking out right now.

And Dan - though I can't take credit for all the good stuff at either the Block Party or Bumbershoot, I wish I could. Seriously two of the best fests in the US. I know you have to hate on SOMEthing, but really, Seattle is the best place in the world to be this summer for music. Not everyone is going to love EVERY band playing at EVERY festival, but I know I'll be at Sasquatch, Sub Pop's 20th, Block Party, the KEXP Barbecue, and of course the grandaddy of them all, Bumbershoot. Freaking AMAZING summer.

Oh, and of course Iron Maiden too! Can't believe no festival got them.

I'm not sure any more could have been done to make me want to avoid the block party this year. Aside from a couple of local bands (and many of those, especially USE, are just as useless as the headliners), this is pathetic. Can the city withstand this much of a hipster critical mass localized in one spot? Bleah.

Maybe the comparison to STP isn't as fair, but Vampire Weekend does suck. They're awful. I'm equally uninspired by Bumbershoot's listings so far, but at least I know they have a ton more bands yet to be listed.

Query - given the relative proximity, how much did Sub Pop's anniversary (and far superior lineup) affect the block party? It isn't this bad on purpose, right?

I will add that if the Halo Benders rumor becomes fact... well, all is not forgiven, but I'd pay the full charge for a weekend pass just to see that band.

@42
While I agree that out of all of these bands, I am least excited to see Vampire Weekend, the rest of the lineup is awesome. And yeah, USE is a total hipster band, and Pwrfl Power is the worst thing ever, but I am actually surprised at the selections of local bands. These are really some great Seattle bands, rather than the usual hipster coke-head shit.

Dave, I'm really not a hater. I just have to stand up for the music I love, the rock and punk bands in this town, which tend to get overlooked by The Stranger and Block Party. Someone into heavier/noisier music has gotta say, wait a minute, there are way better bands in this town that could be playing instead of some of these bands. I've pretty much been saying the same thing about both festivals for a long time, you know this isn't a new argument from me, I thought that's in part why you worked it to get people like me and Sam onto the Bumberboard a few years ago.

Side note: If anyone wonders why Stone Temple Pilots are playing Bumbershoot, AEG Live signed a deal with One Reel to book the stadium and STP is one of their exclusive clients. My guess is locals One Reel didn't have a lot of influence over the decision.

yeah, not too impressed with this line-up, i gotta admit.

i think someone else already touched on this, but it seems like the block party this year is just some "hipster" overload that seems to be trying too hard. it almost has an aire of the scene and how people acted when New Wave was all the rage.

Sub Pop's anniversary looks FAR superior.

does anyone remember when the block party was mostly local bands and cost less than 10 bucks a day and not every douche bag in seattle was there?

with that being said, block party is still fun. although last year's Spoon set made me so f'ing claustrophobic, and there wasn't really any way to out of it.

helpful hint to CHBP: maybe make it easier to get around this year? you can't set it up the same way when you have huge bands playing, the crowds are just way too big.

or maybe i'm just too old for this. =)

@46 - not it's @45 who is old...Sub Pop's party? Ugh...talk about old news. I fell asleep before I even finished reading the lineup. Block Party is going to rule.

yep, i'm the old one. i can't keep up with all the trendy stuff.

and you're right, Sub Pop's party is probably more for the older folks, hopefully that'll keep the 'hipster bandwagon' crowd away and we can enjoy the bands that still know how to rock a place to the ground.

...or, at least like to rock the party!

@44 AND 45, gotta say only a few of these bands are hipster bands. most of them are straight up for real. stop hatin' and start celebratin' some real Seattle shit!

"stop hatin' and start celebratin' some real Seattle shit!"

uh, totally.

wb98, way to come across as a total out of touch asshole. sure some of these bands are hipster bands, but for a stranger sponsored event, i would say it's a pretty solid lineup. the local acts this year are great choices (minus a couple of crap hipster choices).

@45 - Funny thing is, the Sub Pop line up is for the folks who WERE HIPSTERS 15+ years ago. Just because we're all too old to consider ourselves hipsters now, doesn't mean we never had our day. Let the kids have their fun. I'm still going to haul may old ass out for Les Savy Fav!

I'm going to rock my ass off at all of them. Old, new, hipster, real, whatthefuckever, there's a lot of great music here this summer.

I'm excited to rock out too! Les Savy Fav, Chromeo and my new favorite local band, Man Plus, are going to annihilate everyone. July cannot come fast enough.

@46 - I miss it too, jen.

Those were the days - when we got local shows and didn't go broke doing it.

Will, the great thing about local bands is that they're playing locally all the time, and for not much money. What's great about festivals is how they can mix the local with the national/international. You wouldn't want to go to an all-local film fest, would you?

Oh, sometimes they're fun too, Eric.

Good news!

Halo Benders are working out songs for their suprise headlining spot! All those Tina's and Todd's in the crowd are gonna drop their Stellas when Calvin unloads some serious science on them.

"Rippin off jocks, flippin' off cops, sippin' on toxic rocket fuel ... FREEDOM RIDERS!"

I also heard that Calvin is seriously excited by the chance to play a festival sponsored by Miller Brewing. Everyone who knows anything knows Calvin is a serious Miller Light drinker.

This is going to be amazing!

Calvin and i were sipping on brews and tokin on some camels last night rapping about this very subject. We are super soakin x-cited!

Miller Light is the new PBR, how can Calvin not want to drink it?

support your hipster republican overlords!

Bobcat's fav bar only serves anarchist homebrew, I'm sure.