photos by Bill Foster and Andy Feliu
When Stevie Nicks pulled out of her opening-night headlining slot in early August, the festival had to find a replacement, and on the double.
Not every band is touring right now, especially bands that could fill the shoes of the Fleetwood Mac alum. The fact that the organizers were able to find an act that has both legendary cache and a catalog of songs (217 to be exact) that could win over even the most hardened festivalgoer is almost a miracle.
Having seen Foo Fighters a small handful of times, I knew they’d impress, but this show was special.
There’s something about Shaky Knees that gets the best out of performers. I’ve seen this be the case with Tame Impala (Shaky Knees was the first major festival they headlined), as well as The Strokes (who will close down the festival on Sunday). Seeing those bands at other venues pales in comparison to their shows at this festival.
It was about halfway through what certainly will go down as one of the most memorable shows in Shaky Knees history that Justin Helton, the graphic designer who creates the festival’s posters each year, swung his arm around me and said, “It’s so good to be back, man.” I looked to my right to see BLANK editor Matt Rankin swaying back and forth with his eyes closed. Between Rankin and me was photographer Bill Foster, who just looked on in awe. “This is so great,” he said. We all needed it. More than we realized.
Foo Fighters made that moment, and Justin was right: It was great to be back.
Helton is the man behind Status Serigraph, one of only a small handful of vendors at Shaky Knees this year. The decreased number of vendors is an example of what festivals have had to do to “be back.”
With the ‘rona still lingering, proper staffing has proven to be a challenge at all the major musical gatherings this year, and some measures have been taken to streamline the festival experience, resulting in fewer luxuries and/or amenities (although we’ll take it over the alternative).
Shaky Knees seems to have weathered the storm better than most, save for some exceedingly long beer lines. There’s plenty of food options and free water, though, and the music went off without a hitch all day and night as far as we could tell. Here are a few of our favorites from opening day. – Rusty Odom
Cults
Taking to the Piedmont Stage late Friday afternoon – the group’s first show in three years by its own estimation – the indie duo (plus accompaniment) started off in shaky (no pun intended) fashion. Sound issues plagued the first part of the set, which seemed to affect the band’s confidence and rhythm. However, the players pushed through those difficulties, expertly employing banter to offset whatever nerves they might have had.
Although the melodicism of their more recent fare certainly held up, things really began to pick up when Cults busted out their older material halfway through the proceedings. Songs such as “Bad Things” and “You Know What I Mean,” culled from the band’s 2011 debut, especially stood out, with loads of synth-heavy hooks erasing any doubts stirred by the dubious opening. – Matt Rankin
Local H
People of a certain vintage might fondly recall hearing a couple of this two-piece’s singles on their favorite alternative radio stations in the mid-to-late ‘90s – and judging by the glut of old heads that surrounded the picturesque, tree-lined Criminal Records Stage, quite a few folks in attendance this weekend do. It turns out, though, that a song like “Bound to the Floor,” as lasting and iconic as it may be, does not define this Illinois-based rock ‘n’ roll outfit.
The sparseness of that track, in fact, belies the intrinsic interplay, dynamic musicianship and intense energy of its creators. Sounding much fuller and larger than the sum of its modest parts, the band introduced itself with a squall of feedback before chugging through a grossly entertaining set on a warm Friday afternoon. Its most recent offering, a collection of various covers, includes an interpretation of “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl),” and the live version on this day was immaculate: true to the original in form yet simultaneously gritty and playful in ways Looking Glass never could muster. (And I doubt that a mosh pit as serious as the one that formed in front of the stage ever developed at any one of that group’s concerts.) – MR
Ty Segall
Even standing fairly far back and to the side of the tented Ponce De Leon Stage, the enormous wall of sound Segall and his band conjured threatened to destroy – within the first couple of hours of our presence, mind you – the hearing of the entire BLANK staff and friends assembled in Atlanta for this iteration of Shaky Knees. Maddeningly loud, frenetic and unpredictable, there nevertheless was clear ambition and genius to the organized chaos. Segall is famously prolific, producing all sorts of variations of psych music, including a number of peaceful, blissed-out arrangements. On this occasion, however, he wholeheartedly embraced and adhered to the festival’s stringently rock-oriented roots, delivering the kind of electric mayhem attendees crave. – MR
St. Vincent
I’ve written a lot over the last decade about the many different adaptations to Annie Clark’s musical persona and the sonic departures she embarks upon with each new release, but her constant drive to reinvent herself in the pursuit of artistic achievement is nothing short of inspiring, and the results often are impressive. The latest chapter in this quest, as evidenced by the sundown set on the main Peachtree Stage, finds her still shredding on guitar yet buoyed by a strong supporting cast of musicians and backing performers that help flesh out every detail of her ever-changing palate and fulfill every single one of her far-reaching whimsies.
And although some of the schtick at times fell a bit flat – a faux telephone conversation mid-set in which she consoled her partner who had mistakenly heard a recommendation to microdose as macro immediately springs to mind – Clark remained wholly invested in the premise, and the audience seemed to eat up every tantalizing morsel she dangled in front of it. That the music is as fully developed on record and was as professionally disseminated in a live environment like it was on Friday aided in mitigating the more fantastical elements of the performance. – MR
Foo Fighters (DeeGees)
For some reason, and I’m not sure why, Foo Fighters don’t excite some festival fans as much as other headliners when they show up on a poster. I’m included in this bunch, and so was most everyone else in our posse. A few other members of our crew had predetermined that they’d catch a couple of songs and then head to the crib. That, dear readers, did not happen.
The Foos are known for their marathon performances, and if memory serves, this was the longest performance in Shaky Knees history. Check.
As perhaps the most professional touring band in the world, Foo Fighters always give the audience what they paid good money for, but this show exemplified just how in tune the band is with the fact that they get to travel around and play music for a living.
Not only are they the most pro, they also pay great attention to those around them. I have never seen a band give the sign language interpreter as much attention as Dave Grohl and company did on Friday night. They even gave him a solo of sorts while introducing members of the band. “You’re the king, dude,” said Grohl. “I don’t know how to follow that sign language guy.”
What followed were back-to-back covers of the Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing” and Queen’s “Somebody to Love.” The former was introduced with acknowledgement to the Foos take on four of the Gibb brothers’ classics in their Record Store Day release, “Hail Satin.” The latter saw drummer Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl switch places.
Hawkins is one of the best drummers ever to have picked up the sticks, but he was quick to give Grohl some love as he handed him the batons. “You know where Dave Grohl belongs,” Hawkins said. “I just try not to get fired every day.”
Hawkins relished the opportunity to be a frontman, impressively crooning his way through the Queen classic and giving the backup vocalists the chance to do the heavy lifting when the time came. Those singers, Laura Mace and Samantha Sidley, were phenomenal all night long.
It’s not just about the covers, though. The Foos were phenomenal and jovial from the first note and kept feeding the crowd hit after hit after hit. Everyone that was there is better for having been there, and that’s what music is all about. It was the perfect cap to our first step back into what has become a huge part of our identities – both collectively as a newspaper and individually as humans. It’s so good to be back. And we are lucky enough to get to do it again today. – RO
