Fans of Greta Van Fleet, The Killers make Friday the busiest in recent memory despite rain
By John Flannagan, Rusty Odom and Matt Rankin • Photos by Bill Foster
There are a lot of familiar items of note for veteran Shaky Knees attendees.
Firstly, and perhaps most notably, is the placement of the Ponce De Leon Stage. In the first years of Shaky Knees at Central Park, two stages were placed side by side in the spot that now houses Ponce. When one stage stopped, the other would start and the VIP section was placed between the stages to create a shared space that really seemed to work. It was efficient use of the footage, and I kind of hated to see it go.
In more recent years, after a move to Centennial Park and back to Central, Ponce was a mostly nondescript tent close to the street. It didn’t feature a great deal of production and mostly housed raucous, straightforward rock ‘n’ roll. It, too, was great and allowed for the addition of the Criminal Records Stage, a shaded, cozy and picturesque setting that has become my favorite stage of any festival I attend.
Ponce has found a better, much larger home with the the new/old spot, and the room to grow there is pretty apparent. I wouldn’t be surprised if Shaky Knees adds more hip-hop and perhaps even some electronic music in the future with the bigger stage and production. This year sold out, though, so maybe organizers will stick with the current formula. We shall see.
The rain also made its return. In the early days of the festival, organizers embraced the fact that it rained every year and even alluded to such on the festival’s merch. It never really came down, though, and stayed in drizzle form for the most part, and that kept the busiest Friday we remember at Shaky Knees relatively clean and the patrons happy. Here are a few of our favorites from day one. – Rusty Odom
Gringo Star
The cool, damp weather Friday afternoon at the canopied Criminal Records Stage was far more akin to the Pacific Northwest in the early fall than Atlanta in peak springtime, and the initial grungy strains of the hometown band sounded far more befitting of the former locality than the latter. However, over the course of its 45-minute allotment, the veteran group proved its versatility, as it alternated between various versions of rock ‘n’ roll – vintage, indie, psych and others – while remaining entertaining and engaging throughout.
The lineup cycled through multiple lead vocalists, each one providing an added dimension to the music, which at different times evoked The Shins, Pixies and Joy Division (among several others) while still retaining an endearing, scruffy individuality.
“Back to the City,” with its hard-charging, crunchy riffs counterbalanced by surfy lead guitar, was particularly outstanding. – Matt Rankin
Spacey Jane
The four-piece of Aussie rockers wasted no time kicking off their mid-afternoon set in proper fashion with upbeat number “Lunchtime.” (This of course came after their trademark “Stayin Alive” intro.) Frontman Caleb Harper chimed in shortly after the first song with greetings to the Shaky faithful and thanked them for enduring the rain that fell on and off throughout the first day of the fest. Harper remarked that they didn’t have much time to play, and the band promptly went into “Skin” and then “Sitting Up.” Lead guitarist Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu kept the energy going throughout the set, demonstrating his flexibility with a series of leg kicks and jumps while maintaining a relatively chill style of playing that at times is reminiscent of Real Estate, especially with its reverb-heavy tone. Spacey Jane is on the come-up, and it will be fun to watch them rise on festival billing lines in the near future. – John Flannagan
Be Your Own Pet
The smallest yet best stage of the four at Central Park rarely disappoints, but this high-octane display by these Nashville indie punks was staggering in its taut, crushing efficacy, especially given their fractured history. Having only recently reunited for the first time since its all-too-brief, four-year active stint in the mid-aughts, the group started strongly and never relented, even relaying a pair of excellent new songs in the process.
Frontwoman Jemina Pearl was a revelation, her magnetic stage presence matched only by a top-notch vocal performance and a kinetic energy so physically exhausting that it nearly resulted in projectile vomiting. She persevered, however, twice fighting nauseous episodes (and a bum ankle, apparently) to keep the energy level hype. Soon afterward, Pearl was back to thrashing about, whipping around her shock of blond hair and first falling to and then writhing around the floor of the stage. The bassist, who had been landing massive jumps and scissor kicks throughout the set, finally missed one, took a tumble and followed suit.
Although the first day of Shaky Knees started a bit slowly, BYOP was one of the primary reasons it began to pick up steam. If this set were any indication, even greater things are in the works for this beloved four-piece following their long-awaited return. – MR
Digable Planets
These hip hop pioneers wondered how many people would be in attendance for their midday set at the newly nestled Ponce De Leon stage early. About halfway through, though, Doodlebug expressed his contentment about the crowd. “You just kept trickling in, and trickling in, and trickling in.” The crowd was especially great for this one, and the eight piece band made for a full legacy hip-hop experience. All three of the emcees were perfect and energetic. I for one, am hoping of more of the same from Shaky Knees in the future. – Rusty Odom
Placebo
This British glam-rock band first carved out a specific niche for itself within the crowded alternative-rock landscape of the mid-‘90s in the U.S., but casual observers stateside could be forgiven for not realizing that its career continued to flourish abroad long after that heralded scene faded away here. Friday evening’s show at the greatly expanded Ponce de Leon Stage bore witness to the strength, longevity and professionalism of a group that cut its teeth on some of the world’s biggest stages.
Brian Molko’s silky voice has lost nothing of its emotiveness or force over the years, and the full band was in fine form under gloomy, gray skies in a section of downtown Atlanta blanketed in forest, a fitting backdrop for Placebo’s lush yet industrial soundscapes. Plowing through a satisfying assortment of originals, it closed with a spirited cover of Tears for Fears’ “Shout,” which allowed the group to employ its signature tremolo modulation to maximum effect, and a dazzling souped-up take on Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” – MR
Killer Mike
One of Atlanta’s favorite sons stepped in at the last second to fill in for Manchester Orchestra. His very well-attended set featured staples from his solo career, as well as a handful of new ones and – as you’d expect – a handful of hometown guests. He told the story of how his life was changed 20 years ago when he was asked to stick around the recording studio as Antwan Patton and Andre Benjamin rolled in. That day, he ended up on the Outkast track, “The Whole World,” and the rest is history. It would be fitting, then, if he brought out one of the members of the Godfathers of Southern Rap to perform the song, and when that didn’t happen, my hopes of a guest appearance dwindled. It was all a bit of trickery, though, as the crowd saw Big Boi stroll onto the stage for the following track (a new one yet to be released), and the two went back and forth like Red and Meth. But the two weren’t done. As the opening sounds of the set’s finale played, other members of the Purple Ribbon Allstars crew hit the stage, and the end result was a joyous version of Big’s “Kryptonite” with every person who had a verse on the song onstage singing their part.
Mike’s new album will drop in June, and it will be his first solo project in quite some time after an amazing run of albums as co-lead of Run the Jewels. This show ended on a higher note than any we saw on opening day. – Rusty Odom
Peaches
There was nothing subtle about Peaches’ shockingly visceral set of hypersexual electro-jams, but that was to be expected from a steadfastly original artist who has never compromised her vision or follow-through to adhere to the standards of mainstream society. Still, it was a gloriously audacious performance that likely had even the most open-minded of witnesses of the party at Criminal Records blushing.
Performing the majority of the set largely topless – as did her backup dancers – Merrill Nisker and company’s onstage movements, too, were decidedly risqué but never felt forced or contrived i.e. art for art’s sake. Instead, they came across as a positive celebration of body autonomy, female empowerment and individual freedom that seemed to resonate deeply with many of those in attendance. The music itself was stirring, incisive and direct, featuring earth-shaking bass and syncopated rhythms that had the majority of the crowd dancing out of time but enjoying themselves immensely, regardless. – MR
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Although the sound was patchy and too bass-heavy, much of the crowd was listless for most of the show and a few of the intros/outros extended a bit too long for a festival set, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ appearance at Shaky Knees was well worth the 20-plus-year wait it took for me to catch them in action. The group kicked things off in superb style with an electric version of last year’s single “Spitting Off the Edge of the World,” with Karen O assuming Mike Hadreas’ vocal turns in addition to her own.
“Y Control” continued the slow burn, which fully erupted in flames by the time “Maps” – dedicated to the memory of loved ones and also to Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox – hit. The back-to-back pairing of “Gold Lion” and “Heads Will Roll” finally activated the remaining audience (there had been a mass exodus in advance of The Killers’ headlining slot), which went wild for ricking closer “Date With the Night.” – MR
