2 weeks ago
Shaky Knees 2019 - Day Two
Day Two threatened storms, and while the weather raged briefly in the morning, that was in the far north suburbs. It turned out to be a perfect day until Cage the Elephant, the closer.
First up this day was Mark Lanegan, who spoke little and croaked a lot. A former lead vocalist for Queens of the Stone Age, his voice has recently transitioned from a smoky baritone to a listenable rasp to a distress call to the ENT doctor. Still, the music was good, even if the presentation wasn't as compelling as hoped.
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Mark Lanegan |
Next up was Jade Bird, featured in 2018 by NPR and already a SXSW veteran. On record, her country/rock songs sound "polished" in the sense that the audio quality is good, but the nuances of her voice aren't on full display. So, what do find from a 21 year old who looks 16 and sings about heartache? She puts on a great show, with much more expression and vitality than one might expect. And who knew jump suits were popular? Or even manufactured any longer? "Ruins" and "I Get No Joy" were great examples of songs that raised the roof when she put her vocals to it. Recorded, not quite flat, but not lively either.
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Jade Bird |
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Chon |
Japanese Breakfast, essentially Michelle Zauner with a backing band, was next. A different shade of other bands I've heard before, I'd call it "delicate pop stylings," Lyrics were introspective, regretful or otherwise just another instrument in the mix, Zauner delivered the songs with enthusiasm and plenty of smiles in front of an audience that seemed very familiar with her songs. Zauner returned the appreciation by calling the show her "best ever in Atlanta."
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Japanese Breakfast |
Interpol arrived with a buzz from their recent shows. I wasn't familiar with them, but they delivered a confident set of indie rock songs that sounded vaguely European despite their NYC roots. It's in the steadiness of the beat, the vocals, and the keyboards. If The Struts, an English band, covered the songs, they might sound like American arena rock. It's not hard to re-imagine "If you Really Love Nothing" with a chutzpah delivery.
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Interpol |
Then the masses headed for the Peachtree stage, where Cage the Elephant would headline the evening amid a steady, though light, rain. It started with pyrotechnics and lead singer Matt Shultz's best Mick Jagger impressions, dancing, twisting and gyrating across the stage. After a costume change, he morphed into Gollum/Smeagle with a near nude look and odd crouching postures.
Rhythm guitarist Brad Shultz, Matt's older brother, was no less extroverted. Exhorting the crowd with frequent fist pumps and shouting along with the lyrics aside his brother, it's not hard to imagine him as the rowdiest English soccer fan in a pub working the fans into a frenzy. He was a man of the people, several times going into the crowd and body surfing. All in all, this was another band I wasn't very familiar with, but a set of 21 songs made it clear I've heard quite a lot - "Come a Little Closer," "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked," and "Cigarette Dayreams" among them. The performance, great performance and variety of song styles left no question as to why they were a headliner for the event.
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Cage the Elephant |
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