Atlanta metal legends Mastodon played their hometown indie festival on Friday afternoon. Troy Sanders noted from the stage that he didn’t know if his band would be invited to play Shaky Knees, but there they were on opening day. It was a bit odd catching Mastodon under a bright sun and blue skies, but no worries. Here’s a gallery:
I’d never had a chance to see Interpol before, and I sure wasn’t disappointed in their 12-song set at Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. Kind of odd seeing a band like Interpol under bright sun in a big field, but there you have it. I liked enough of my photos that I thought they were worth a post of their own:
Day 3 of Shaky Knees in Atlanta’s Central Park was headlined by Tame Impala, a perfect closing act for a festival focused on indie and alternative acts. Crowds remained strong on Sunday, but the sprawling festival can easily accommodate even more people.
Tame Impala:
I started my day a little later than on Friday and Saturday, but I still managed to catch some great guitar work from Steve Gunn before heading to the Ponce stage for Old 97’s.
Constantly touring and briefly Savannahian noise/psych/stoner/indie/shoegaze/awesome rock steamroller Creepoid stopped through town a little over a week ago and delivered a killer set at Hang Fire. With guitarist/vocalist Sean’s hand in a cast, the band brought a backup guitarist, but when Sean insisted on playing too, we were treated to a knotty, hazy, three guitar performance. The music, coupled with the tireless smoke machine and illuminated bass drum. made for an amazing night. Wet Socks and Blackrune opened the MusicFile production.
Creepoid’s upcoming lp Cemetery Highrise Slum was recorded at Savannah’s own Dollhouse Productions by Peter Mavrogeorgis. Check out one of the tracks below while you preorder it here.
Click through for more pics.
You’ve got to love the way The Avett Brothers always put on a show. Before a thrilled crowd in perfect concert weather, they ripped through a 24-song set on Saturday night at Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta’s Central Park.
I took some photos — lots more after the jump:
The Strokes will play Landmark Music Festival in DC and ACL in Austin later in 2015, so consider yourself lucky if you saw them on Friday night at Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta or the next night in Tampa at Big Guava Music Festival.
Friday’s set in Atlanta’s Central Park was really strong — 17 years after forming, The Strokes sound as good as ever. As Stereogum notes, the band “played their Room On Fire track “You Talk Way Too Much” for the first time since 2004, and did Comedown Machine‘s “All The Time” live for the first time ever.
Set list from last night at Shaky Knees! (Via @InDaSunSunHvnFn) pic.twitter.com/kTR5x14mbZ
— The Strokes Fans (@TheStrokes_Fans) May 9, 2015
I was especially surprised by the passionate young people in the audience, and with the light on stage so tricky for photographs, the kids in the front row were definitely a lot easier to shoot. The atmosphere in front of the stage was simply electric.
Day 2 of Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta featured more of the same from day 1: great music and sound, big crowds, bright sun. I spent a little less time wandering on the second day than I did on the first, so I was able to enjoy more of individual sets and spend more time relaxing in the shady, grassy areas near the Peachtree and Piedmont stages.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to run into so many Savannahians in Atlanta for Shaky Knees. With a lineup this good, that 250 mile trek up 16 and 75 doesn’t look so daunting.
The Avett Brothers closed out day 2 with a beautifully staged, high-energy set; their performance came on top of strong performances by Social Distortion, Interpol, Flogging Molly, and lots more.
I’ll have more to say and a lot more photos to post in the coming days. So here are some pics from day 2, with more after the jump:
The Avett Brothers:
Social Distortion:
We’ll have more photos and detailed coverage in a few days, but here’s a quick recap of some personal highlights from day 1 of Shaky Knees Festival, which began yesterday in and around Atlanta’s Central Park on the southern edge of midtown.
The venue is lovely, if a bit sprawling. Crowds seemed really strong on the opening day, especially by the time The Strokes closed out the night on the main stage with a tremendous set that had much of the crowd ecstatic.
The Strokes
I kept in motion much of the day — so many bands that I wanted to catch that it seemed best to divide my time between stages where possible. But I still caught a lot of Pixies, who are still as sharp and seamless as you would expect:
Thursday, 5/7
Matt Pless (folk punk), The Hippie and The Punk and The Girl, Maryssa Pickett (Sav’h lo fi folk) – Sentient Bean
Positive Control, Seance, Mental Violence, The Anxiety Junkies, Sherman’s Boot – Sweet Melissa’s
X Ambassadors, Dreamers, Chief Scout – Hang Fire (9p, $10)
Casket Sharp (Sav’h rock-soul)- Ampersand
Friday, 5/8
Joe Cat (Athens singer-songwriter), Alex Killeen Raffray – Sentient Bean
Niche (Sav’h rock) – Congress Street Social Club
Savagist, Dropout (Atlanta hardcore), Prone (Sav’h punk) – Jinx
Drivin’ & Cryin’, Big Engine – Coach’s Corner ($15/25)
Saturday, 5/9
Accomplices – Moon River (3p, $20, Ogeechee Riverkeeper Fundraiser)
Charlie Fog Band (Sav’h Grateful Dead covers) – Molly’s
Funk You (Augusta funk) – Congress Street Social Club
Kylesa (Sav’h rock), Crazy Bag Lady (Sav’h punk), Wet Socks (Sav’h garage rock) – Wormhole ($6)
Magic Rocks (Sav’h classic rock) – Bayou Cafe
Tuesday, 5/12
Moonlight Co (NC Americana) – Foxy Loxy Cafe
By all accounts, Crazy Bag Lady put on one of their best shows in Savannah Friday at Hang Fire.
The fearsome punk foursome released their debut album, Hunks (available now on Retro Futurist) to an absolutely packed house. They also did it right. For seven measly bucks, fans got a great bill, as well as a free copy of the album. It was the cheapest show in town, and one of the best.
It was also the cray boys’ first (real) show back in Savannah since their first ever month-long tour that took them to the likes of Austin and elsewhere.
CBL was tight on Friday. They spanned through all 17 tracks on the new album, plus a couple more, like weathered rock veterans.
It’s always amazing to watch frontman Josh Sterno in action. His wild stage presence has also ways been the center of their live shows. Probably more impressive on Friday was his ability to stay on point all night. Whether on his knees in a swarming mosh pit, surfing above said pit, or with the microphone chord strangling him, he hit every lyric without a miss.
I was fortunate to get an advance listen to Hunks. I had trouble turning it off during the week. It’s a solid punk album and a pretty stellar debut for the young band.
It’s not all that surprising though. If you frequent the music scene, you’ve probably seen CBL at least a dozen times in the last year. They play a lot. For Hunks, they went into the studio with Savannah’s patriarch of metal, Kylesa’s Phillip Cope. Couple their insatiable songwriting ethic and performance panache with Cope’s expertise, and you’re left with a badass punk record that’s sure to garner some attention.
I already posted a preview of day 1 of Shaky Knees Music Festival, which runs from May 8-10 in Atlanta. The Friday lineup might be my favorite of the three days, but there’s no doubt that many music lovers are more excited about Saturday’s and Sunday’s acts.
As I’ve said before, the lineup is especially impressive when you consider the depth of it. I mean, really, a great band like Field Report at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday? Matthew E. White at the same time on Sunday? The Saturday headliners include The Avett Brothers, Social Distortion, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, and Wilco, but there will be fans who show up just because of earlier acts like Interpol and Neutral Milk Hotel. On Sunday, Tame Impala, Ryan Adams, Ride, and Old Crow Medicine Show are at the top of the bill, but the quality is awesome all day. Click here for the printable schedule by day.
The Shaky Knees lineup is all the more impressive when you remember that this is just the third year for the festival. Sure, Atlanta is a big market, but a music fest with so many independent and alternative acts — the festival is named after a My Morning Jacket song — doesn’t create itself out of thin air. Check out this 2013 Atlanta Magazine piece about the festival’s founding.
I already posted a Spotify playlist just for Friday’s acts, so here’s that one plus another playlist for Saturday and Sunday.
The Train Wrecks performed at this year’s annual Doggie Carnival, put on by the Humane Society for Greater Savannah, in Forsyth Park. Here are some photos from that event (more after the jump).
