The weather got better on Saturday at Shaky Knees, but the early undercard remained filled with bands most people have never heard of. From Tanukichan and Daisy the Great to Me ND Adam, Beach Weather and Wilderado, the early hours Saturday were an opportunity for music discovery. Keep an eye on Olivia Jean.
Two early winners on Saturday were Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol and Shame. The former are an Austin, Texas outfit who brought mid day energy, which isn’t always the easiest thing to do at a festival.
The later might’ve been the best set of the weekend. Though the crowd was comparatively small, Shame put on a set that reminded me a lot of the first time Idles played Shaky. Though Idles was probably a little further along in their march to fame by the time they arrived at Shaky, the bands have a lot in common. The trajectory, the critical acclaim, the forceful and powerful front man. Charlie Steen owns it. At one point during their performance of “Six Pack”, Steen jumped in the crowd, standing on the hands and shoulders of the crowd, nearly doing the splits before he fell in the crowd, crowd surfed back onto the stage all while singing. Keep an eye on Shame.
On the strength of her performance in Daisy Jones and the Six, along with her general rise to pop stardom, Suki Waterhouse moved from the Criminal Records Stage to the Peachtree Stage in two years flat. Waterhouse brought star power to the undercard.
Add Futurebirds to the list of Georgia bands that played Shaky 23. The thing about Futurebirds is this – they know how to put on an engaging show. And they have the crowd to prove it. They fit as well at Shaky as they would at the 420 Festival across town.
Joey Valence & Brae brought a vibe at the intersection of Beastie Boys throwback, and Tik Tok relevance.
File Babe Rainbow under “most exciting bands on the Shaky undercard.” The Australian surf rockers bring a laid-back, beachy take on the kids-with-firecrackers free-for-all perfected by bands before them like the Black Lips. Signed to King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s Flightless Records, Babe Rainbow performed a mix of their fan favorites, and new music that should make you excited for their forthcoming release.
If you asked me before the festival, I would’ve chuckled. But you know what? I’ll say it. 311 haven’t lost a step. Lots of 90’s music in general feels pretty cringe in the light of day, and both halves of the 311 sound equation (dub-reggae and rap-rock) are peak 90’s nostalgia that don’t hold up as well. Yet, straight up, 311 sounded like the kind of throwback act that still has the magic that got them famous in the first place. Gotta give respect where it is due.
The Front Bottoms, Soccer Mommy and The Mars Volta all have one thing in common: really dedicated fan bases. At each of their sets, you could really feel that people weren’t passing through or popping in, they were here to see these acts.
And as the day gave way to night, Tenacious D whip-cracked with their swampy tail on the Piedmont Stage to the weekends largest crowd for a non headliner, while Phantogram brought out surprise guest Big Boi (for the second night in a row) to perform their Big Grams collaboration hits.
Saturday evening closed with a performance from Muse, who built a massive extension of center stage out into the crowd, in an almost Super Bowl style set up.
Muse has always had a reputation for highly energetic and visually stunning live performances. I can’t count how many times in the years since they first broke on the scene that someone said to me that “Muse is a actually a great live band.”
So I was definitely excited to see what people meant. Having now seen them headline at Shaky, I think that people are drawn to the fact that underneath radio-friendly pop hooks are some pretty shreddy metal themes, high energy theatricals and a downright anti-capitalist, anti-establishment message. I was ready to overthrow fascist oppresors with Matt Bellamy by the end of their set.
All in all, Muse was a spectacle. And Shaky Saturday was a win.
All photos by Mike Gerry
