Uh, because I live in San Diego?

That was a stupid fucking video.

because so many people often really ain't so much fun after all and I'm a bitter old fart?

uh...because i was there earlier and disgusted at the total and utter lack of RECYCLING containers (not to mention no compost containers for food leftovers that have been showing up at just about EVERY OTHER event in the city since the u-district street fair in may...)

the stranger seems to like to talk the talk about being so green and shit (lose the cars! kill the viaduct! blahblahblah) but where the fuck was the eco-friendly stuff at the block party? tons of bottles and cans going to the landfill. that's just super.

I marched in the Seafair parade. I helped handle a big balloon that was shaped like a compact florescent lightbulb. It was fun!

I was there. I had fun! Girl Talk yessss.

I was there...both days...

What I have to say?

Get a line up next year and fix the sound people. Maybe next year I will have a good time.

Who wants to see a bunch of fucked up trashy rock bands with stupid ass long names belch out a bunch of terrible noisey unintelligible feedback. The amount of people this event attacts really makes me question the earth's whole relation to the universe.
I HOPE it is just another excuse to drink large amounts of beer.

I'm sure a lot of people have already e-mailed this in, but from the P-I:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/photos/popup.asp?gtitle=Capitol%20Hill%20Block%20Party&SubID=2754&page=0&css=gtitle.css

Click picture 6. I wonder if they'd have posted that if they'd known the Stranger staff made those?

Well I was there in spirit. The mid 90s were when I was there non stop. so many festivals and events and partys this weekend. wow. i mean There is the main event Sea Fair and the boat races, then theres a a bunch of my biker friends saying come on over to Ocean shores there is going to be a well a biker and hot rod extravaganza, and then in Puyallip fair grounds theres the Good guys hot rod show(someplace to bring my GTO and show it off and maybe sell it). all I can say is I wish I had three of me to be everywhere at once today. But I couldn't because while youalst were partying I'm knee deep in my finals.
and for some stupid reason even though i should be writing to my classmates and making designs I'm suddenly finding myself writing to you all. Cheers have fun anyways whoever you all are.

that was a lame video and not the least bit tempting...

I sure did use it as an excuse to drink beer. I even got to do a walk/bus ride of shame.

I had a great view all day, it wasn't too hot where I was, and I enjoyed the music from a short distance. I was able to discreetly smoke weed when necessary, and I made some decent money bartending. I was only in the thick of the crowd once, on an emergency beer run. I saw lots of friends, had some good laughs, and only drank one beer all day. These are the good things.

The downside -- the usual drunken meatheads and the too-drunk girly girls that go with them (when I was walking home I had to intervene on one who said she was about to DRIVE).

The driver of the fucking yellow party bus that nearly mowed me down because you WEREN'T PAYING ATTENTION? Yeah, I ratted you out to the cop just as you swung that bus around the corner to screech to a stop at the War Room. I'm sure you didn't get a ticket, because he didn't witness what happened, but I hope he scared your ass. You are supposed to DRIVE the party bus, not PARTY on the party bus. That's the whole point. To avoid killing pedestrians who work all day so you have a fucking job.

The lack of recycling? Drove me nuts. It killed me to throw all those plastic beer bottles and such into the trash. I filled a huge bag by the end of the day and it just went in with general garbage. Unacceptable. Seriously.

Overall, I think it was a good weekend. There seemed to be a minimum of problems with fights and unpleasantness of that sort. Security was good, people were smiling and getting along for the most part, and there were some smoking hot boys out and about for eye candy. I hope the future of the Block Party remains bright. It will take careful consideration of the "new" Pike/Pine corridor to keep it fun and original, and not have it devolve into some disgusting summer puke festival.

Pardon my long post, but I do like to pontificate every now and again.

I have spoken.

Cancer Rising and Dyme Def made the rest of the party worth it. Spoon's set... was so long. SO LONG. I escaped to Havana for most of it (thank you, friendly doorman).

Stranger Organizers: I believe an explanation with regards to the lack of recycling options is, to put it lightly, in order. This is 2007. (I was there - was not even on that coast this weekend, just going off what commenters here have written)

(I meant to say "I was NOT there")

I was there Friday night. WTF was up with the sound? In all my years of concert attendance, I've never once thought that the music should be louder. I was less than a block away and could carry on a conversation at a normal level. Of course, everyone else was too, so I really had to strain to hear the show. It seemed even the Vera stage was louder than mainstage.

And the swarm of pushing and shoving meatheads in the beergarden was no fun.

First Mark, you're fired.

second, we use 80% blue recycling dumpsters for all of our waste throughout the festival. The only thing we throw in the green trash dumpsters are building supplies. so rest easy.

Ok, kidding about you being fired. Thanks for the shots.

I don't know about all that but I sure enjoyed the Ballard Seafood festival.

So I had some pizza and the only reading material I had was the Weekly. They duly noted that the organizers, of which this pub is a big part, took sponsorship naming rights money for the CHBP from Esurance, which is a prime supporter of the GOP, and that the official name of the event was the Esurance Capitol Hill Block Party.

I'd love to see you explain this.

Just in case I go again... couldja tell me where the fun was? Was it in the smoke-filled, pushy mob? In the slow-as-death Neumo's line? In front of the guy shooting a super soaker at unsuspecting passerby? At the stages of droning, whiny, badly written acoustic KEXP music? (OK, there was a band or two I liked.)

It was meeting the drunk 19 year old in the beer garden and fucking in the handicap portapotty. Did you miss that?