2 weeks ago
Shaky Knees 2019 - Day One
This was my second Shaky Knees festival, held in Central Park in Atlanta's historic "Old Fourth Ward" community. A week prior, the forecast for the festival included dismal prospects of rain: 50% Friday, 100% Saturday and 100% Sunday. However, the weather service is on a roll of late of completely missing on forecasts. Despite occasional threatening clouds, the weekend was clear except for Saturday evening during the final set.
As usual, we were greeted by the Atlanta's ever-present scalpers, buying or selling wristbands, as well as those selling bottles of water (not allowed within) and T-shirts (unofficial ones). Security, I'll say was fairly easy and organized, but I didn't read this year's edition of the rules. Having spied "Wind pouches" - essentially thick plastic bags that you swoosh around to fill with air to make a chair or couch - I brought one this year, the perfect thing for hanging back when the music matters less and the back and feet deserve a break. Well, not permitted. What the heck? There is literally no place to sit within the park except on the ground. I can manage that, and did, but c'mon.
The side benefit was that I had downloaded the Lime app in preparation of a future need, and therefore was prepared to try out Atlanta's burgeoning "sharing economy" means of transportation, namely an electric scooter. They're super convenient for the final gap of a commute when using public transit or for downtown residents. Or, they're a public menace for drivers and pedestrians. It depends on who you ask, and my opinion is that they're some of both. Around the festival area, the scooters could be considered "littered" along the sidewalks.
Afflicted cities are studying related injury rates, and it turns out that hospital data is suggesting that about 30% of the injuries they receive are by first time riders. That doesn't include the injuries that don't make it to hospitals, so... it's just a statistic, right? No worries, though! Helmets are required per the City of Atlanta and the Lime app. Only, eh, no one walks around with a helmet, and no scooter company has yet to figure out how to provide them without going broke.
The scooter was intuitive to operate with accelerator on the right handle and a brake on the left, with a sturdy frame. Overall, I saved about 30 minutes to return my contraband to the car. Interestingly, Atlanta apparently passed a regulation that they're allowed only on the streets. That's a death sentence given Atlanta's street conditions and its frustrated drivers, so, like everyone else, I stuck to the sidewalks, which weren't too bumpy but featured low lying limbs and, of course, pedestrians to dodge. My son later told me that "Coming through!" is the common notice to people in your way, and I suppose that's the way the younger generation literally rolls. In any case, for $1 to unlock and $0.15 per minute afterwards, it was a bargain, allowing me to return to the venue in time to catch the second half of Curtis Harding's set. Music. The reason I came.
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Curtis Harding |
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IDLES |
Speaking of the crew... A good time was had by all. That's my son sporting my 1990 McCartney tour shirt.
Then it was on to Peach Pit, a serviceable band, with a share of fans who knew some of their lyrics.
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Peach Pit |
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Sharon Van Etten |
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Liz Phair |
Next up was a brief
visit to hear Dashboard Confessional, a favorite of the daughter of someone in
my group (#DaddyFail). We politely listened to a couple of songs from Rock's answer
to Nickelback, and departed
posthaste.
This also gave us the
opportunity to get a little closer for Incubus. This is one of those
bands you've probably heard on the radio but didn't care enough to figure out
who they were because they sound a lot like a number of bands.
"Drive" is their big hit, which they didn't play on this occasion.
Decent, good performance, but I was distracted by the bright red shoes in
the VIP side balcony. Why? It's right in the sweet spot for
post Red Hot Chili Peppers rock music, good for a beat and fairly
mindless.
Next up was Tears for
Fears, a favorite in my college days. My son and I only stayed around
into the third song, because of all the weekends, one of my favorite prog rock bands chose this night to play
just down the road, and we had to get there in time, resulting in cutting this
show short and missing Beck completely. They started off with
"Everyone wants to rule the world," which was solid, then
"Secret World," a snoozer,
then the Beatles-ish but overly long "Sowing the Seeds of
Love." They played "Creep" by Radiohead which I would have liked to have heard, but they
only played three tracks off their classic Songs from the
Big Chair album. So, I can live with having missed the rest
of the set.
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Tears for Fears |
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