Review: Campfire OK Burn It Up Early at Bumbershoot 2011

• by Dan Coxon
• http://culturemob.com/review-campfire-ok-burn-it-up-early-at-bumbershoot-2011

 

Campfire OK circle the wagons at Bumbershoot. Photo: Dan Coxon.

Bumbershoot and sunshine. They aren’t two words that have always gone together, but this weekend at Seattle Center the three-day music and arts festival is destined to be bathed in light. If you forgot what you loved about Seattle over the winter months – this is it.
Even with the weather on your side it’s never easy to play the opening slot at any festival, but hometown heroes Campfire OK lit the festival’s fuse with energy and enthusiasm. Starting their slot at noon, they still managed to pull an impressive crowd from the festival’s early birds, helped by the Fountain Lawn Stage’s proximity to the front gate. With music this hot blasting from the speakers right in front of you, why would you bother exploring any further?
Mychal Cohen’s soaring vocals and kooky sense of humor have always been one of the band’s strengths, and as the crowd rose to meet them he led from the front, chatting easily between songs then lifting us up with every chorus. The rest of the band were on song too, hammering through tunes from their debut album, Strange Like We Are, alongside a couple of new songs that saw Mychal step from behind his piano and strap on a guitar. If anything, the new sounds were even bigger crowd-pleasers than the old, and it bodes well for their sophomore release.

Mychal Cohen of Campfire OK.

Their show itself also suggests that this year’s Bumbershoot might just be one of the hottest in recent memory, in more ways than one. While there’s no Dylan or Weezer this year, the local scene is beating strong, and the crowds are clearly looking to party. And Campfire OK got that party started – helped by a little sunshine.
Campfire OK will also be playing an intimate set at the Free Yr Radio stage at 6:05pm today (Saturday), and you can check out our interview with Mychal and Brandon here.
For more on Bumbershoot 2011, check out our festival guide.