I just completed my second, final day at Bumbershoot. The people were crazy. The food was questionable. Good times were had. Before I hop in bed, here's my concert review...

Blondie was an act that I originally forgot to include in this list. Why? Everything about the show was horrible -- so horrible that my journa-buddies and I left after a few songs. Grade: F

Hawthorne Heights was like every other emo band I've heard. Little musicianship was displayed. The lead singer kept telling the crowd what to do without really earning it. Everyone played the same riffs and every song sounded the same. Grade: C+

Yellowcard was basically a step above Hawthorne Heights. The band members showed some actual talent, especially the drummer. I thought I'd be annoyed by the fiddle player, but I wasn't, and he actually had a decent voice. Grade: B-

AFI put on a solid show. The entire set was white, which added a neat visual appeal. The band's performance was a little too glam-rock for me, but it worked. I could do without some of the soap-opera acting during the singing and the constant jumping off the drum kit. Overall, the showmanship was a little too much for my tastes, but the music was solid. Grade: A-

Common Market brought gave Bumbershoot a much-needed dose of Northwest hip hop. It was rad. A couple years ago, Ally and I saw Ra Scion (Common Market's MC) perform a cover of "Come Together" by the Beatles. We were wowed, but I hadn't heard the cover since. I've been waiting for that damn cover and, finally, my day had come. That along with a cover of "Crazy Love" and the Common Market standards made Paolo a happy boy. Grade: B+

Blue Scholars is the truth. I said this jokingly about AFI the previous day, but I really mean it here. Geo and Sabzi were on point and ran a marathon of songs, including a new cut and the remix of Modest Mouse's "Float On." The crowd was feeling everything they heard and so was I. Grade: A-

Kanye West was interesting. He produces a lot of songs for big name artists, but even on his own albums, he doesn't rap a lot, so he could only really play half of his songs. The crowd, warmed up by the Blue Scholars, was definitely in the groove as Kanye basically went through a chronological greatest hits. Kanye was off stage in between songs, I'm not sure why, but his orchestra and DJ were tight and kept the set rolling strong. Grade A-