Without a cloud in the sky, the heat came to Shaky Knees on Sunday. It was a bit more manageable for the earlier parts of the day, while bands like Anna Kramer & Easy Now, Water From Your Eyes, Puma Blue and Atlanta’s own Nrcssst took to the stages to kick off the third and final day of Shaky 23.
But as the day continued, it got roasty. Sun Room should be used to it by now though; they brought their surf/garage rock sound to the Piedmont stage for the 2:00 time slot. If you’re going to any other festivals this year, it seems like they’re hitting the circuit and worth a watch.
Other early afternoons slots went to Trash Panda, Off! and Snail Mail the ever-solid band with a strong fan following.
One noteworthy afternoon performance came from Live, or rather from front man Ed Kowalczyk and his new backing band. I was amazed how many people – particularly folks in their late 30s and early 40s were explicitly there to see Live on Sunday. It’s easy to hand waive 90s alt rock in the modern era. But Live, for as definitive as Throwing Copper was to the mid-late 99X era, went through quite a lot before being reborn in their current construction. This Rolling Stone story about the conman who tore the band apart is a definitive read on the band, their impact in their era, and all the crazy shit that happened towards the end of their first era. Welcome back, Live. I can feel it coming back again.
Meanwhile, The Ries Brothers stuck around and signed things for fans after their set, which ran opposite of Live. I don’t see too many bands do that at festivals, I thought it was really a cool touch.
Go ahead and mark Future Islands down as one of the best of the weekend. It’s funny to see them during the day. They feel like a night band. But Samuel T Herring’s signature howl and dance moves were on full display, alongside hard hitting synths. You’ve never seen a man wear tighter clothes, and still pull of shoulder high leg kicks, until you’ve seen Samuel T Herring dust his moves off.
Father John Misty is an elusive icon, isn’t he? His set started a little slow, but by the end it was a full on dance party, all the way to the back of the field at the Piedmont stage. His set ended so strong, it’s worth looking up on Setlist.fm: Chateau Lobby #4 > Chloë > Date Night > I’m Writing a Novel >I Love You, Honeybear > Real Love Baby >The Ideal Husband, if you’re keeping score at home.
On the opposite side of the festival at the same time, The Black Angels provided the hardest head to head matchup of the weekend. They are bona fide psych rock icons at this point. I was worried coming into the weekend that people were sleeping on The Black Angels; that somehow folks have forgotten just how good the band really is. They quietly released their best album in a decade last year, Wilderness of Mirrors. And their late night set The Loft was perhaps the single high water mark for the entire festival. If you missed them, circle back around on The Black Angels. It was icons all the way down at Shaky, 5:30.
As the day gave way to evening, Hozier took to the main stage. The thing about Hozier is this: the music is definitely radio friendly, which can be a turn off for indie heads. But, when you stop and listen to his deeper cuts, Hozier is all about haunting melodies and thought-provoking lyrics. And he is as humble a major performer as you will ever see. When I make a list of the Shaky alumnus that I probably heard first on Star 94 at the dentists office, few are as worthwhile on their rock merits as Hozier.
Meanwhile, Tim Sweetwood himself introduced Fidlar, who served as the closing act of the weekend on the Criminal Records stage. And then it got completely wild. The band and the crowd fired all the way up, with a giant mosh pit and tons of crowd surfing. And among the crowd were tons of the other bands who had played over the weekend. Fidlar was without a doubt one of the wildest, and most high energy set of the entire weekend. The fans fucking love Fidlar. Tim loves Fidlar. Other bands love Fidlar. OpenEars loves Fidlar too.
The Flaming Lips performing Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots was the biggest “get” for Shaky Knees 2023, in my humble opinion. They are an absolutely legendary band, live theatrical icons performing their very best album as the sun set on Shaky 23. This whole performance felt like the kind of thing usually reserved for bigger festivals like Bonnaroo or Coachella, and here it was in Central Park. Fuck yeah Shaky Knees.
To complicate matters for music fans, Hamilton Leithauser’s band The Walkmen were absolutely killing it at the same time, across the festival to close out the Ponce de Leon stage. Fresh off the heels of an exceptionally in-demand show the night prior at Terminal West, Hamilton and crew sounded as in control of their music as they did nearly 30 years ago. Though they feel more like a venue band than a festival band, the sound speaks for itself.
In a weekend that felt light on competitive show matchups, Sunday afternoon and evening were hard to navigate. Lots of really great bands to choose from: Black Angels or Father John Misty? Flaming Lips of The Walkmen? Fidlar or Hozier? Funny to think that Pond had to pull out the festival at the last minute; Australian psych rock fans would’ve had to make hard choices too, if they remained in the mix with all these other great acts. Sunday was, without question, the best day of the festival in terms of bands on full display.
And with that, The Lumineers took the stage to close out Shaky 2023 the same way they closed out the very first Shaky in 2012. Sweetwood introduced the band, and thanked everyone for a decade of Shaky. I think this about The Lumineers: Cleopatra is a beautiful contribution to the Folk and Americana annuls. People tend to hand waive the kick drum folksy stuff in 2023, sort of like they do with the 90s alternative.
But The Lumineers, in the decade since they headlined the very first Shaky Knees, have contributed to the national music narrative. They’ve made something lasting. Something wholesome. A family affair. What more you could ask for to put a wrapper on the tenth Shaky Knees? They were the perfect band to pull up a seat under a tree, catch a feel and be glad that this festival keeps giving year after year.
All photos by Mike Gerry
