A few weeks back, I had the privilege of attending the Shaky Knees festival. Between May 8th and May 10th in Atlanta, 5 friends and I had the chance to see 20 bands and accidentally ended up dancing amongst 1000 laser rainbows in a gay bar. Midtown, ladies and gentlemen!
Below, you'll see a day-by-day breakdown of the bands, sets, times and experiences. Think of this as a slightly more technical companion piece to Luka Tenderoni's running diary. Each set I saw more than 50% of (and in most cases 100%) includes a setlist (when it was available), time of day, review and ranking. As is the custom with this site, the ranking will be a combination of highly technical formulas aggregated together in a complex algorithm that arrives at a scale of 0 to 10 beers. Let's see em'!
DAY 1: Friday 5/8 - Heat Strokes and Wavves of Chafing
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Surfer Blood
12:45 - The opening set of the entire festival was on the main stage and drew only a moderate crowd. I feel like these guys deserved better than the opening day slot on the only weekday of the festival. Having had their lead guitarist recently diagnosed with cancer, charges brought against the lead singer for domestic abuse (that were subsequently dropped) and most recently their van broken into (stolen items including a bunch of donations for the guitarists medical bills), this is a band that has had it's fair share of major struggles. Musically though, they sounded just great and any concerns about them not being able replicate their sound were eased by an excellent, albeit way too short, set. The harmonies were tight, the guitars jangly as could be and everything they played got the crowd moving. Festival sets are almost always too brief and leave the consumer wanting more, but for a band this good, it was downright criminal to only get 7 songs in the noonday sun.
7.5 Beers (could have been higher but the set was over before I even had time to buy a second brew)
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| Black Pistol Fire
(No setlist available at this time)
1:00 - We walked up on these guys as we were exploring the rest of the festival. To Tenderoni's credit he has been telling us they would be a worthwhile viewing from the start. The monster Zepp riffs were siren-esque in their call to us and it was quickly clear this is the exact kind of act a festival is all about. Two dudes has the energy of 8 and the sound of 10. Soaring vocals, killer solos, bombastic drums and with the sugared up exuberance of all the attendees of a two year olds birthday party combined, these guys delivered. We didn't get to hear everything thanks to the proximity of a certain sponsored beverage tent luring us inside with challenges of agility, but I'm invested enough that I will be checking out more of what they have to offer. It's the kind of act where you go in not knowing anything and come out knowing that you'd go see them again in a heartbeat.
7.0 Beers (due to not knowing anything they were playing)
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Tennis
2:30 - Originally settled on courtesy of the only member of our group who named after a state's, we all quickly became equally enamored by the shade the covered stage provided and the Jacque Costeau-esque plunging of the lead singers neckline. Bouncy interplay between the musicians, an obvious connection between the lead singer and guitarist (who as it turns out, are married) and sunny, shimmery tunes did enough to mask the Madonna I couldn't help but hear. In all truthfulness, I spent the majority of my time entranced by things other than the sounds emanating from the stage. Never disliked what I was hearing, but never found myself craving more.
5.8 Beers (including an extra 2.5 beers for wardrobe)
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| Death From Above 1979
6:15 - Poor Luka. This was one of those bands he had been hyping up for a good long while, knowing that all he needed was a solid set to get us all on board. They had all the elements in place; killer energy, the same set-up as the already excellent Black Pistol Fire, and a devoted crowd that was there to watch them deliver. Sadly, they clearly hadn't rehearsed in a long while (and said as much), treating the crowd to what amounted to a glorified soundcheck sprinkled about with moderately to excellently entertaining stage banter. I don't know there music, but after getting a couple tracks for my radio show last week, I can see why they SHOULD have been great. Sadly, that wasn't meant to be and even Dr. L would have to admit as much. We left early and it was one of the only major mistakes we made when it came to schedule chess.
2.4 Beers (and should have been so much better if they had possibly touched an instrument in the last two months)
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Pixies
8:15 - After checking out Mastodon from a safe-distance half a mile away, we mosied on over to the Pixies set and planted ourselves squarely in the oldest looking crowd of the whole festival. Somewhat of a nostalgia act at this point in their career, using a faux Kim Deal and looking every bit like they've been around since I was a toddler, I must say I didn't go in expecting much. I was certainly pleasantly surprised though. They brought it. They sounded tight, crisp and relevant even as they had to abort one song and sidestep a few of their most well known tunes due to the lack of the backing vocalist on bass. Having never spent a great deal of time diving into their catalogue I came away from that show immediately knowing I was going to have to remedy that upon getting home.
7.3 Beers (and surely would have been higher if I was a better fan)
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DAY 2: Saturday 5/9 - Prime Real Estate and Woody Guthrie's Double Necked Guitar
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| Real Estate
2:45 - Day 2 kicked off at the same stage as the day before in a very similar fashion. We walked in at a leisurely pace, grabbed a brew for the same price as a used car and then waddled over (with my new best friend in tow: baby powder) to the sunny sounds of a California-sounding band doing what they do best. Knowing that they are actually from New Jersey is about as confusing as the sun was hot. Regardless, they put on the exact kind of set that I wanted and I came away feeling as pleased and content as one should from a band whose first two albums have been nothing but enjoyable. They are going to need to branch out away from the sound they have perfected on record if they want to get bigger, but live they stretch that sound out and it works even better than it does on wax. The grooves become somewhat hypnotic and the listener is lost within the waves of good vibes, nodding their head all the while.
7.6 Beers (bonus points for playing "Talking Backwards" right after I said I wanted to hear it to Mr. Ifonia)
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Wilco
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DAY 3: Sunday 5/10 - Minus the Bear and Plus the Dogs
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| The Sheepdogs (No setlist available at this time) 2:45 - This was another one that I was really looking forward to. After latching onto this band as they vaulted their way to the "Get on the Cover of Rolling Stone" contest a few years back, I have been avidly following their career and loving every second of their dirty, multiple guitar Southern Rock sound. They are cold weather band playing a warm weather sound. Their live shows were known to be rowdy drinking affairs in their native Canada but I was unsure of how that would translate when they were forced to be in a warm weather setting. Thankfully the loss of original lead guitarist Leot Hanson didn't leave the band lacking after adding in a new guitarist and Shamus Currie, younger brother of lead singer Ewan Currie on keys and trombone. Though the setlist isn't something I can track down, they sounded great, playing a few new songs and plenty of their older stuff as well. Thankfully they only did a few off their most recent Black Keys produced and aping major label release. The guitars were tight though and everything sounded just like I wanted it to, especially since we were able to get really close. It's always nice when a band can live up to your expectations live.
8.1 Beers (with a special .7 beer bonus for the trombone solo)
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| Best Coast
3:45 - In all honesty, these guys were playing on the stage behind the shady hill that we all sat on as we waited to go back out into the mind melting sun before Dr. Dog. They didn't have my full attention, or even my eyes for that matter, but they did manage to catch my ears a few times. They aren't a band I know that well and I don't think that I am even going to be coming home and checking them out that much, but they provided the exact kind of pleasant background music one would want as they sat on a dusty hill and awaited a band they wanted to see more. They are who I thought they were.
5.5 Beers (I have very little to add here)
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Dr. Dog
4:45 - I saw these guys about a year ago and came away a full fledged fanboy. Knowing that I was going to get a chance to see them again was one of many key factors in helping to get me to this festival. The sun was as bad as it was for any set all weekend and without the foresight of Tenderoni's gallon of water purchase, there is a good chance we go home with at least one less member following their tunes. Speaking of tunes, everything sounded wonderous. They opened with my favorite track and managed to make a few more vie for pole position after I got to hear them live. The only mistake they made was stretching out a spacey jam in the middle WAY too long and losing a large section of the crowd's attention. Not to say that couldn't work in a smaller, club setting, but for where they were and the audience they had, it was the wrong move. They rebounded nicely to close out their set but much like Built to Spill before them, they could have had a truly special collection if they have just taken out the long and weird and filled it with a few more familiar and fun.
8.1 Beers (would have been closer to 9 without the long lost jam of time)
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Minus the Bear
7:45 - After taking a rather lengthy dinner break and hearing Panda Bear while getting some coffee, I thought that I might have hit my tiredness breaking point. A long weekend of drinking and sun was finally catching up with me and as the crew and I leaned our backs against the stanchion by the stage waiting for Minus the Bear to come on I began to worry a little. I knew I was going to hear them play my favorite album front to back, but hadn't they just parted ways with their drummer, a hugely key part to their sound? And what if I was just too tired to get my energy up to enjoy what was certainly one of the main reasons I was excited to be in the ATL? Within the first few notes of "The Game Needed Me", all my concerns were put aside. The replacement drummer was totally on point, the band sounded fantastic and hearing everything in sequence off an absolutely monster album in my cadre did everything to lift my spirits and energy level to the exact place it needed to be. On top of that they came out for an encore and did a few more tunes, including 2 beasts off of my other favorite album of theirs. On top of everything else, we got to stand 2nd row, making the experience that much more enjoyable.
9.4 Beers (minus the bears, plus the beers)
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 Tame Impala  Tame Impala
9:00 - Closing out this wondrous run was the Australian lads without shoes. Rocking a combination of Pink Floyd and about 30 other bands, they brought the event to an end with a really solid, trippy, mind melty collection of extraterrestrial jams. I didn't know their work all that well before hearing them live, but they put on the exact kind of late night show you want when the sun goes down and the alcohol goes up. The crowd seemed to really be into it and the band even came back out for an "unplanned" encore which in reality seemed sincere. I was almost hitting the point of pure exhaustion before they finally played their last note, but that would be about my only complaint. Since getting home I've gone back and spent a great deal more time listening to their work and I think that will be business as usual from here on out.
7.8 Beers (give me another year to digest and understand them and this is on the rise)
Shaky Knees did great things. The festival itself was truly perfect. Being someone who has been lucky enough to go to Coachella, Lollapalooza, Hopscotch and a few other, smaller ones, the organizers did an absolutely incredible job of making it seem like it was huge and small at the same time. I never had to be far away from a band, unless I chose to be. The acts were spaced beautifully and having two sets of parallel stages led to almost zero lag time between acts. The lines were never long for beverage or restroom and the crowd was as chill as I have ever seen. Even though everyone was drinking and carrying about like normal I didn't see a single altercation, fight, arrest or puke. That's remarkable considering most weekends you can't make it out of one bar without seeing all 4 of those. Kudos to all involved. Our only concern is something Luka brought up; what if this year was the tipping point? There is no way they can keep this hidden if the product keeps being this good. It's bound to explode and then turn into the corporate mess that others have become. I certainly hope this doesn't happen, but if it does, I'll be happy to tell my grandchildren that I was there at the apex.
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