Shaky Knees Festival 2015 is less than a week away and now it’s time to start planning out your own personal schedule.
For those difficult decisions, we present to you the Shaky Knees Death Match. We will have each band in every time slot pitted against each other. You make the decision on who you must catch. Check back daily as we explore each time slot.
Shaky Knees Sunday Day 3, 4:45PM time slot is quite the tough decision, tons of great musicians in these two bands, both bands extremely great live. Dr. Dog at the Peachtree Stage and Diamond Rugs at the Boulevard Stage. Which show will you pick? Our thoughts:
Dr. Dog – Peachtree Stage
By Kristen Jones
Philly based band, Dr. Dog with their 60’s sounding, indie lo-fi vibes make for a great live show! In fact, not only have they released eight albums, they just put out Live at The Flamingo Hotel and it is unbelievably fantastic. If you haven’t heard this band, go listen to the live album. I bet you don’t miss the performance. I’ve seen Dr. Dog at a couple festivals over the years and they have never disappointed. One of the times was at Shaky Knees in 2013 and it was a blast despite all the rain! I tried to see them at the 930 Club in D.C. but their shows sell out. (duh, because they are glorious live!!)
I was kind of late to the Dr. Dog game. I randomly came across one of their videos on the YouTube and have pretty much been hooked ever since. The first song I heard was actually a cover song they did called Heart it Races by Architecture by Helsinki. Pretty sure this is the only cover they have ever done but it is undeniably fantastic. Sidenote: Architecture by Helsinki is one bizarre band and the cover sounds quite a bit different from the original (check out this video). I will say, as much as I love this cover, their originals are obviously where it’s at. I’d give ya some names of tunes to check, but you should really just listen to Live at The Flamingo Hotel.
The dudes in this band have great energy… one of them does that Chuck Berry type guitar dance deal which always makes everyone happy… and yes, I am confidently generalizing that statement. Plus, as much as I understand promoting new albums, typically Dr. Dog’s set list comes from a broad range of their album collection. Although, if they did play mostly from their newest album, B-Room you wouldn’t be disappointed because the album is real good.
In conclusion, don’t make bad decisions at Shaky Knees and miss this Dr. Dog. Who else is playing? It doesn’t matter.
Similar Artists: Delta Spirit, Alt-J, Deer Tick, Fruit Bats, Dawes, The Shins
Heart it Races Cover
Broken Heart
The Rabbit, The Bat, The Reindeer
Diamond Rugs – Boulevard Stage
By Mike Gerry
Diamond Rugs plays the Boulevard Stage Sunday at Shaky Knees Fest, and this is a must see show of the festival.
Diamond Rugs is an indie supergroup of sorts. Just take a look at this list: Deer Tick’s John McCauley & Robbie Crowell, former Black Lips guitarist Ian St. Pé, Dead Confederate’s T. Hardy Morris, Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin and Six Finger Satellite’s Bryan Dufresne. What does this list tell you? Rock ‘n roll is what it screams. And rock ‘n roll is what the Shaky Knees crowd is about to get.
If you have ever seen any of these bands on their own, you know the mayhem that ensues. Now put them all together, and we are talking one hell of a time.
Diamond Rugs first came onto the map with their self titled debut in 2012 to critical acclaim. While the driving force behind that album was McCauley, they just released their sophomore album together, Cosmetics, where St. Pé and Dufresne were the ones rallying the group together. These guys no doubt make some rock n roll songs we can party to, but with an introspective touch that keeps it real.
I’ve seen The Black Lips throwdown, I’ve seen Deer Tick plenty of times. They were once again one of my favorite shows at last year’s Shaky Knees, and especially the killer late night show at The Masquerade. I’ve probably seen McCauley with his junk out more than I care to remember. Heck, I’ve seen St. Pé crash a Deer Tick show, then proceed to shotgun a case of beer with McCauley during the show. There is never a dull moment with these guys, even if McCauley has supposedly calmed down some. You can’t contain him.
I had the distinct pleasure of seeing the very first Diamond Rugs shows, at the sold out EARL in East Atlanta. I remember how in sync these guys were for how new they were, how much fun they all had on stage together, and made sure we were all having fun with them. And yes, McCauley had it out and swinging around.
All I know is as soon as they play Voodoo Doll, Shaky Knees is going to be dancing their collective faces off. It’s going to be one of those festival moments, and you better be there for it.
Check out these artists on the Shaky Knees Spotify Playlist
