On Day Two of Shaky Knees, the rain held off until around 6:30 pm, starting as the most inconsequential of occasional raindrops, easy to ignore, and slowly building up to a downpour by 8 pm. I left early during the downpour and missed The Replacements and Modest Mouse. I had gone back to my car where I had stashed a raincoat and dry clothes, but when I got to the car, I couldn't convince myself to head back into the crowded audience to try and find a spot even remotely close to the stage. My legs and feet were tired, and frankly, I just wasn't having fun anymore, so I changed my mind, got into my car, and drove off.
Day Two of Shaky Knees had the weakest schedule of the festival (Friday > Sunday > Saturday), so it's not surprising that I lost interest. For what it's worth, here are some pictorial highlights of the day:
WAKE OWL
I had not heard of this band before but enjoyed their quiet, moody songs. Bonus points to their keyboardist for best beard of the day.
APACHE RELAY
Nashville's Apache Relay was more boisterous that Wake Owl, and provided the little KITA that I needed at that time.
HAYES CARLL
Country troubadour Hayes Carll played a thoroughly entertaining set of quirky, off-kilter songs about aliens, LSD, Texas, and a redneck version of Life of Pi.
TOKYO POLICE CLUB
A band I always get confused with Bombay Bicycle Club, Tokyo Police Club provide radio-friendly guitar pop.
LORD HURON
Although easily the day's highlight, the magnificent Lord Huron's set was marred by a vocal microphone that didn't work until 20 minutes into the set, so that no one could hear the vocals, despite chants of "Louder" and "Vocals." Still, the instrumental playing was exciting and exhilarating, and when the vocals finally kicked in for the second half of the set, it was the best of the day.
This was our second time seeing Lord Huron (he opened for Alt-J at The Tabernacle last year). Here's a pic of the Lord Huron crowd:
We saw Minneapolis' Phox open for Typhoon at Terminal West during March Madness, and it was nice seeing them again in a festival setting.
DAWES
Third time seeing LA's Dawes. The first raindrops started falling during their set. Some people immediately put their raingear on. Others, like me, ignored the intermittent sprinkles and partied on.
PORTUGAL. THE MAN
Anchorage's Portugal. The Man were basically the same thing as Tokyo Police Club. The rain started falling a little harder during their set.
CONOR OBERST
Oberst (Bright Eyes) was backed by Dawes, so his set was virtually Dawes, Part Two, but with a different vocalist. Still, it was the best of the day after Lord Huron, and he covered my favorite Bright Eyes song, Danny Callahan. However, the rain started falling harder and harder throughout his set, eventually turning into a downpour, and I finally headed back to my car to get my raincoat (see paragraph at the top of this post).
Today's forecast calls for a mere 20% chance of showers between 5:00 and 7:00 pm, and zero for the rest of the day, so it looks like we might finally get a break. Still, the weather's been far, far better than it was for last year's inaugural Shaky Knees, and, having made it through the uninspired Day Two line-up, we have a solid lineup today featuring San Fermin, Local Natives, Edward Sharpe, Alabama Shakes, and more. FWIW, here's the promoter's video recap of Day Two:
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