Shaky Knees 2019 - Day Three

Day three.  Tired legs, and no wind couches allowed still.  The hawkers outside the gate are back to selling bottled water and tickets, and the security line finds, again, more people than I would expect for the time of day.  Shaky Knees is growing in popularity, and despite the rainy forecasts before the weekend, Day Three only has the potential for quick, scattered rains. 



First on our agenda today was The Murlocs, an off-shoot of the Australian band, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.  Here, the KGLW keyboardist plays guitar and sings lead, as well as a bit of harmonica.  He arrived dressed to impress, but the southern heat persuaded to let go of the jacket and sweat still more.  He provided a very energetic performance and wasn't shy about the expectations of leading a band.  I'd liken them to a number of 60's bands, with lessons learned from simple guitar melodies, surfy reverb, and harmonica.  "Space Cadet" for example. 

The Murlocs

The Murlocs

I almost forgot about Calpurnia.  I'm a fan of Netflix' Stranger Things, and Finn Wolfhard plays the lead role in the show.  And has a band on the side.   I'm not sure if the crowd was more excited about the music or the actor, but I'll hope it was the actor.  The band has a way to go.  So so melodies, vocals that don't quite agree between members, and a wasted talent on guitar.  Ayla Tesler-Mabe didn't get to play lead much, and when she did, you hardly noticed because it was a short solo, and she did nothing to draw attention to herself.  She can flat out play, but her abilities aren't really necessary for the music the band is putting out currently.  Still, it was a fun set, and Wolfhard is a personable frontman.

Calpurnia

Deerhunter is an Atlanta band that puts out well received albums, but their music never really caught with me.  I checked out their music before the festival, but I liked it a lot better live.  That happens sometimes, and it's one of the joys for going to festivals.  I was disappointed they didn't include "Element" from their latest release, by far my favorite song.  "Desire Lines" was one of a number of strong songs.  Good set.

Deerhunter

FOALS

Maggie Rogers is an up and comer with a large crowd for an artist with only one major release.  But it certainly ?found its market.  I wasn't interested, but stopped for a very brief listen when traveling from a food truck to the Peachtree stage to wait for the closer, Tame Impala... and discovered that a our favorite food truck, The Pickle, was hidden away from the other food trucks... after three days of sticking with Chipotle's truck, which had the best $ to heft ratio.  Sigh.

Maggie Rogers

My son and I could have gotten much closer to the stage, but not real close, and that would require a lot of standing.  So, we camped on an incline and waited it out, while watching one guy in particular who could make every frisbee throw precisely, including skipping it off the ground.  And there were several ladies doing interpretive dance with their hula hoops, which may as well be a workout regimen.





Overall, this was a very good show and set an appropriate mood for ending the festival.  Not too heavy, not too light, with a good bit of variety throughout.

I'll be back.