RMR was all over Capitol Hill this last weekend and we’re happy to bring you our 2018 Capitol Hill Block Party festival recap.
This past weekend, Capitol Hill was transformed into a concrete playland, walled off from the rest of the city. I’ve attended the last two festivals as press, and I can say this year seemed much more coordinated than last years event. Right off the bat, I was given my media passes and shown directly to the media lounge, which gave me access to extra amenities like free water, snacks, and wifi to knock out some work in between sets. The photo pit at mainstage was controlled much better than last year. In fact, shout out to the main stage security crew; they provided a stern but fair approach all weekend that allowed people to cut loose and have fun, but kept everyone safe.
Capitol Hill Block Party, in my experience, continues to be one of the happiest weekends in Seattle. All weekend you see smiles, engaged conversations, and dancing. One thing I continually saw, reunions between friends that haven’t seen each other in some time. CHBP brought a lot of people back together after life tends to drag people apart for whatever reason.
I lost track of how many times I saw two apparent strangers lock eyes before realizing they not only knew each other, but missed each other. These realizations were followed by giggles, elated screams of joy and deep hugs. I couldn’t help but smile and admire these moments as they happened all around me.
Day 1
Day one was highlighted by the announcement of Goldlink’s cancellation. I’ll be honest with you and say I’ve never even heard of Goldlink, so I wasn’t personally affected negatively by his set cancellation, but people were disappointed. But, Goldlink’s misfortune was a blessing in disguise for obsessive Seattle hip-hop fans like myself. Sammy “Huckleberry” Lachow himself was called in on short notice to fill the 6:30 PM main stage bill. In true Lachow fashion, he showed up exhausted and hung over from a night of partying and debauchery, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Lachow was joined on stage by Jake Crocker who held down the DJ decks, and Saint Claire who provided violin rifts and backup vocals.
Lachow performed an impromptu set, turning through hit after hit over his last four projects. He transitions through tracks played much like a DJ transitioning to a new song during a DJ set. A verse from one track was blended into the chorus of a different song.
Saint Claire performed mini-set during Lachow’s set, and it was amazing. His vocals are so powerful I turned into Smokey from Friday during his set; “DAAAAMMMMNNNNNNN” were the only words coming out of my mouth.
After Lachow, I watched Sol do his thing on the main stage as well. Sol is one of the most consistent performers from Seattle. His sound is always smooth and beautiful, and his message is poignant and inspiring. The highlight of his performance was his homies that became his back up dancers during “If You Don’t Call.” They gave the set a silly boy band vibe that the crowd got a kick out of.
Ending day 1 was Dillon Francis. Rocking a backward dad hat with a Gucci jacket, Francis threw down for 90 minutes of unadulterated EDM fun. As much flack as EDM DJs get today (much of it warranted), Francis is a real one. He created a special VIP edit just for his CHBP set and the crowd was thrilled.
Day 2
Day 2 was more low key for me, but it was the festivals busiest day by far. People flocked to the bars and restaurants on day 2, there were long lines spilling out of every shop and grouped crowds on every corner trying to find some room to stand. I didn’t be a lot of time trudging through crowds on Saturday. So, I held it down in the Cloud Room lounge with a nice glass of Jameson, enjoying whatever acts happened to be playing at the Vera Stage.
Once I left the comfort of the Cloud Room lounge, I hung out at Vera Stage to catch Paris Alexia. Paris Alexia is a multi-talented musician that sings, raps and plays the keys. Paris Alexia ha a great sound and drips swag and unbridled confidence.
I caught Chet Porter at the Vera stage as well. Porter seemed very appreciative and grateful for his chance to perform at CHBP. He played an incredibly bubbly dance music set that had the whole crowd vibing with his innocent and happy sounds.
Day 3
As is common with festivals, the last day always takes the longest to fill up. Why? Well, people party too hard during the first two days and are slow-moving once Sunday arrives. Lucky for me, I don’t drink much (anymore), so I entered the festival early, feeling fresh, and felt like I had the entire place to myself.
The first set I attended was Ryan Caraveo. The Seattle spitter was greeted by a crowd filled with his hardcore fans. A set filled with lyrics covering topics about doing what you want and chasing your dreams; it was hard to feel like you couldn’t accomplish your wildest dreams after his set.
After I killed a couple drinks at the Comet Bar, I made my way to Neumos and saw a few acts that had me smiling and dancing along including DJ. Ross Grizzly and Katie Schecter.
Cashmere Cat brought his interesting sounds to the main stage. He drew a large crowd by the time his set was rolling and it was the first time the main stage filled up during day three.
If you don’t know who Two Feet is, educate yourself please. This New York native took alternative radio by storm last year and has accrued a cult following in just a couple of years. People (including myself), were losing their fucking minds as soon as this guy took the stage.
Two Feet’s set was defined by simplicity. Him, his guitar and his friend with a drum machine put on the best musical set I’ve seen all year. Deep emotional guitar rifts brought Two Feet to his knees as he melted the crowd with his music. He has a style of guitar playing that’s completely his own. He makes turns a common electric instrument into a powerful musical tool, used to deliver his emotions to the audience.
Two Feet felt right at home on stage and he played through his entire catalog of music in about 50-55 minutes. Two Feet is still so new to this level of musical exposure, he didn’t even have enough new music to cover a 60-minute set. Did he panic? Not one bit. Two Feet replayed his two best songs, “Fuck You” and “I feel Like I’m Drowning” and the crowd absolutely loved it. Two Feet is a born rock star, and I was honored to see such a talented artist in the early stages of his career. I can’t wait to see how his career blossoms.
Side Note About Recreational Drug Use At Festivals
Unfortunately, Dillon Francis’ set wasn’t all fun for some. Several young women had to be dragged from the crowd during his set because of apparent misuse of drugs and alcohol. Several were pulled from the crowd and puked shortly after. After they were attended to by paramedics briefly, they seemed to be okay. Some did not seem okay at all. One girl was pulled from the crowd who seemed lifeless as she was carried by me to an ambulance. Her pupils were the size dinner plates and she clearly had no idea where she was and looked rather ghostly. It was a scary moment during the festival and a sober reminder of the dangerous role alcohol and drugs play during music festivals. I hope everyone who left pit with medical staff makes a speedy and full recovery.
The conversation of harm reduction at festivals needs to continue. It’s obvious many of those young women were under the influence, and clearly bit off more than they can chew. If people are going to do drugs at festivals, on-site testing needs to be available and this stigma about recreational drug use at festivals needs to be squashed. Are we going to pretend that normal, hardworking citizens don’t take recreational drugs at festivals? That, everyone, who brings drugs into festivals is a criminal or a drug addict? Just stop. That’s a dangerous and ignorant line of thinking that can’t be continued if real harm reduction solutions are to be hashed out.
Don’t get it twisted: I’m in no way condoning or advocating the use of drugs at festivals. I still battle with my own demons surrounding addiction and I just returned to the festival scene for this reason. However, I’m not going to discount the reality that drugs are fun and people like to do them. This is the reality of music festivals in 2018: people will sneak drugs in and take them. Most will be fine, but some won’t. Festivals need to take more steps to give people the tools to protect themselves, and it’s clear promoting drug abstinence as the only solution isn’t working.
Real conversations about recreational drug use at festivals need to be had. Harm reduction is being embraced in places like Canada and Europe with measurable success. Thump released a survey asking Canadian festival goers about recreational drug use. 4,617 people answered the survey and 92 percent said they had taken drugs at a festival at least once. 66 percent said they were worried about harmful substances in the drugs and 81 percent said they would get their drugs tested if the options were available. Most people will use tools to protect themselves if they are provided.
Common sense drug education around safe uses and practices as well as on-site drug testing need to become a reality, but first, we have real conversations about recreational drug use in this country. We have to stop stigmatizing recreational drug use as a criminal act and stop pretending like a select group of honest, good, hard-working, tax-paying, voting, American citizens don’t take recreational drugs every now and then.
All that being said, security was on point and helped each person swiftly with no judgment. They did a great job and definitely helped prevent anything too serious from happening. The crowd’s response time was also on point when someone need help, calling security over and lifting them out of the crowd right away.
2018 Capitol Hill Block Party Festival Recap Gallery
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