Shaky Knees Day Three: A memorable finale

Matthew E. White, The founder of Spacebomb Records was a pleasant opener for the last day of Shaky Knees. While his studio albums tend to layer many strings, backup vocals, and piano parts, this performance was more stripped-down as he opted for a more traditional four-piece setup. While the instrumentation was wonderful, I have to say that I wasn’t overly thrilled with White’s vocals themselves. On his studio albums, they always seemed overly soft, and I was dismayed that this problem was only exacerbated in his live performance. All in all, though, it was a solid performance, and makes me excited for collaborations with other artists, like his work with Natalie Prass.

– Trevor Adams

Old 97’s used their early start time to effective set the early crowd into overdrive as they moved through their expansive discography. The alt-country legends were all grins and seemed very excited to be playing Shaky Knees, bringing 45 minutes of absolute joy and energy. 2014’s Most Messed Up got lots of love from the band who played single “Let’s Get Drunk and Get It On”, but what sent the older crowd into a frenzy were the older tunes Old 97’s broke out especially from 1997’s Too Far to Care. That album’s classic “Timebomb” is the perennial closer of an Old 97’s set and it’s clear to see why: the crowd was overjoyed to hear the country rock classic.

– Andy Tabeling

Best Coast performed at 3:45 at the Piedmont stage. The Californian duo, comprised of Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno, started their set off with “The Only Place” off of their second album of the same name. They played a few tracks from each of their albums. Their most recent album, California Nights, came out on May 5th, so the band played several songs from it, including “So Unaware” and “Fine Without You.” Cosentino announced that it was Bruno’s birthday. Throughout the performance, Cosentino advised the crowd to drink plenty of water, noting the heat. They finished their set off with the song “Boyfriend” from their first album, Crazy For You.

– Valerie Voswinkel

 

The rock band Dr. Dog performed on the Peachtree Stage for a large crowd. Throughout their set, the band was enthusiastic and entertaining. Many fans sand along and bobbed to the tunes. A few songs heard during their show were “Heavy Light,” Be the Void,” and “Lonesome.” The group ended their performance with their popular cover of the Architecture in Helsinki song “Heart It Races.”

– Valerie Voswinkel

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from Panda Bear, the member of the popular experimental pop group Animal Collective. What I got was truly a solo act with a killer light/projection show. While we couldn’t exactly see what was going on with all of the knobs and buttons, the seamless transitions between songs made it apparent that there was more going on than just hitting play. Many tracks were off of his new record Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper, although there were some others from previous work. There were also a truly absurd amount of beach balls; usually there are one or two at a show, but as soon as the first song started, no less than 15 beach balls began flying about the crowd. I personally thought that it crossed the line from being annoying to being humorous, but I don’t think many others thought the same.

– Trevor Adams

Backed by a band that included two backup gospel-inspired singers, Jason Pierce and Spiritualized dazzled the sweaty late-afternoon crowd. Mostly refusing to play well-known songs, the band spent their hour-long set in a fairly introspective mood. Pierce is a quiet vocalist and his guitar work was mostly delicate to compliment the softer vibe of most of the set. However, Pierce broke out old Spacemen 3 classic “Walking With Jesus” for the occasion, which heavily featured the two backing vocalists. Ending with Ladies and Gentlen We Are Floating in Space’s “Come Together”, Spiritualized proved they could make their gospel-space-rock sound work in a scorching summer festival daytime slot. It made me eager to see the band in a more intimate setting, as well as want to hear some new material from the band.

– Andy Tabeling

 

Ryan Adams kicked off his triumphant early-evening set with his single “Gimmie Somehting Good” off his recently-released self-titled record, but it was of course his classic Heartbreaker that won the most sing-alongs and cheers among the hardcore fans. Heartbreaker opener “To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is to BeHigh)” was the first moment were the crowd displayed their sheer elation to see the North Carolina singer-songwriter perform. Several other tracks from that album were featured, with Adams ending the set with signature ballad “Come Pick Me Up”, but even the Tame Impala fans that had been waiting for that band to start long before Adams even took the stage enjoyed Adams’ clever banter and his Mothers’ Day tribute in the form of covering Glen Danzig’s “Mother”.

– Andy Tabeling

The recently reunited shoegazers Ride may not be young anymore, but they can still put on a great show. The timing was perfect as the sun set over the penultimate act of Shaky Knees. The first two songs (“Polar Bear” and “Seagull”) were off of the legendary album Nowhere, but a wide range of tracks followed that gave a good representation of the English band’s catalog. “Seagull” in particular stood out to me, with the unforgettable bassline blaring out from the Piedmont stage. “Drive Blind” was another highlight, with a noisy breakdown that reminded me a little of the Swans show I saw at Terminal West a few months ago. It would be very difficult to point out any issues during the show (besides Mark Gardener’s fashion), and it was personally my favorite act of the day. If you have a chance to see this storied band before they disappear again, do it. You’ll be in for one crazy ride.

– Trevor Adams

Tame Impala just might become one of the biggest bands in the world very soon. Similar to last year’s Albama Shakes, Shaky Knees once again gave a young artist with a smaller discography a chance to prove they could own a headlining slot. With their elaborate lights and awe-inspiring jamming, Tame Impala proved they were up to the task. Opening with brand new single “Let It Happen” off the forthcoming Currents, Tame Impala used the hour-and-a-half set to play a great deal from their 2^nd record, 2012’s Lonerism as well as showcase some of their new material. Voalist Kevin Parker was in high spirits, praising the beautiful Atlanta evening and rattling off some of his favorite Georgia musicians (OutKast, Deerhunter and Migos) in between the band’s jam-packed (in more ways than one) set. Returning to the stage to play Lonerism’s “Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control”, it felt like it wouldn’t be the last time I see Tame Impala own a high-profile festival time slot.

– Andy Tabeling

 

After three long days of concerts, Shaky Knees came to a close with headliner Tame Impala. The Australian psychedelic band made for a great ending to a great festival. The group played their new single “Let it Happen.” They also played some popular songs like “Elephant” and “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards.” Behind the band, colorful images and shapes lit up the stage and provided a good visual element to the music. After the band played their final song, the fans begged for an encore and the group reemerged. They revealed that they hadn’t planned an encore when planning the set, but decided to because of the willingness of the crowd. The group played a song they normally reserve for their own concerts: “Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control.” The show was scheduled to end 30 minutes earlier than the prior two days, finishing at 10:30.

– Valerie Voswinkel