Yes, the dude on drums is the star of Entourage. But the Honey Brothers are no Dogstar—they play genuinely lovely music (though no “Eleanor Rigby”) that incorporates ukulele and banjo into the mix without a drop of ‘aw shucks.’ They speak to Dan Collins in a backstage green room at the Bumbershoot’s Starbucks stage within spitting distance of the Space Needle.

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Fuck Katy Perry and Sheryl Crow—I have rarely seen a band more suited for playing to soggy people on a sunny Saturday afternoon than Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head. These party-rock synth kids got some damned lucky breaks to be playing for crowds this big, and they were appreciative, giving and smiley, their keyboardist-cum-bassist-singer wearing a Delicious Vinyl t-shirt and yachting cap like a man steering his hometown crowd towards the shores of Par-Tei. They did all the hits—at this point, they have nothing else to play—and after song after catchy song about sideways ponytails and Bis-esque beard lust, I realized that this may be the best intentionally shallow band I’ve heard since Poison.

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Buy Bumbershoot Here Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival has announced a small portion of the 2009 lineup including Sheryl Crow, Modest Mouse, Katy Perry, Michael Franti & Speadhead, De La Soul, Raphael Saadiq, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, The Long Winters, Sly & Robbie & the Taxi Gang, World Party, MSTRKRFT, Roy Ayers, Common Market [...]

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