After the disappointing lineup announcements for Coachella and Governor's Ball, the announcement came out today for Atlanta's Shaky Knees Festival and . . . it doesn't suck! Only one of the three headliners is a 90s nostalgia act, and there's nary a hint of hip-hop or EDM. It's all good, solid indie rock and includes a lot of bands I would go to see and have gone to see on their own. My faith in the restorative powers of rock 'n' roll is renewed! Music's not dead after all (it just smells funny).
Sure, we could quibble about Huey Lewis and the News performing their album Sports, but a) it's not a headlining set, and b) it'll be good to know where all the d-bags are.
But on the glass-half-full side, Florence + the Machine! And My Morning Jacket puts on a great live show, as does JJ Grey and Mofro. And, oh look, The Decemberists! And we'll finally get to see Bloc Party (even if they are a decade past their prime). And Savages and Parquet Courts on the same bill!
It's like every time I look at the lineup, I see another band I'm excited about: The Kills and Explosions in the Sky (haven't seen either of them in a while). Phosphorescent. The Black Angels. Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Ought. St Paul and the Broken Bones. Shakey Graves. Even Eagles of Death Metal to show that the terrorists didn't win! I could go on, but I'm close to reading off the entire lineup.
Meanwhile, with David Bowie passing away yesterday, it makes Thursday night's TT Mahoney's Bowie In Sweats show less campy and all the more relevant.
The festival scene may be dead, but the live music scene is still, well, alive. Here in Atlanta, this coming week starts off a little slow but picks up momentum as it goes along, eventually turning into a veritable bonanza for jam-band fans, but there's lots of other things going on as well.
MONDAY, JANUARY 11
Aneurysm, Black Beach, Midriffs, Lethal Tender (529)
The only active stage for the evening is at 529, with headliners Aneurysm (Athens/Atlanta) providing a set of grunge-, progressive-, punk-, and hard-rock. A pair of Boston bands provide support, including loud, dirty rock 'n' roll by Black Beach andfuzz/surf punk by Midriffs. Local openers Lethal Tender are from somewhere Outside The Perimeter and promise "deadly and titillating," high-energy punk rock with female lead vocals. Nothing against the bands, but my advise for that night is to do what I'll be doing and find a sports bar somewhere and watch Alabama take on Clemson in the College Football Championship Game.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 12
Glen Iris, Out of the Fire (529)
For the second night in a row, all stages are dark except at 529, where Atlanta's Glen Iris, consisting of members of Rock*A*Teens, Brass Castle, The Close, and Sharps, promise "brawny, scalding, guitar-dominated rock that sounds concurrently blunt, brazen and invigorating." Spartanburg's Out of the Fire open.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13 x_______x, Obnox, Shocked Minds (The Earl)
Nothing at 529 on Wednesday night, but The Earl will provide a pair of Ohio punk bands, x______x and Obnox, supported by Atlanta's Shocked Minds.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 14 Bowie In Sweats, Alexa Dexa, Jeffrey Bützer (The Earl)
This promises to be a unique-to-Atlanta, one-of-a-kind, anything-could-happen kind of a show featuring some unique but like-minded musicians. Jeffrey Bützer collaborator T.T. Mahony (of the annual Charlie Brown Christmas shows at The Earl) will perform a "sweatsuited tribute to the Thin White Duke to celebrate his 69th birthday." In addition, New York's Alexa Dexa will perform her toy piano pop and Bützer will play two mini sets with his bands The Bicycle Eaters and The Compartmentalizationalists.
Fantasy Guys, Tamarron, Dryspell, Talk Radio (529) Meanwhile, Atlanta's Fantasy Guys will generate some groovy, tropical dream pop at 529, with support from two Austin bands, Tamarron and Dryspell, and Talk Radio opening.
Railroad Earth, Town Mountain (Variety Playhouse)
The week's jam-band jamboree begins Thursday night with the first of a two-night stand at Variety Playhouse by these two jazzy, groove-based, free-flowing, bluegrass-influenced jam-bands.
The Soft Moon (Terminal West) It must have been a tough week for the talent bookers at Terminal West - first, Wednesday night's planned show with Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation was postponed, and then Killing Joke cancelled their North American reunion tour, leaving the venue with only planned opener The Soft Moon as the Thursday-night headliner. Oh well, the show must go on.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 14 Grand Prize Winners From Last Year, Revel in Romance, General Heat, Judah, Fox Grin, and Bloodplums (The Earl)
This is a benefit show by Ignite The World to raise money and awareness for the MLK 40/40 Community Service Project (complete forty community service projects in forty days) and features a diverse line-up of Atlanta acts. We've seen GPWFLY before at the Atlanta Film Festival Sounds + Vision event at The Goat Farm, but the rest of the lineup is new to us, so here are a few samples to get us all acquainted.
Railroad Earth, Town Mountain (Variety Playhouse)
Second of the two-night stand by these jazzy, groove-based, free-flowing, bluegrass-influenced jam-bands.
Chris Knight, Radio Birds (Terminal West)
Country-influenced singer-songwriter set. Slang, Shepherds, Heavy Eyes, Satisfiers of Alpha Blue (529) Album-release and tour-kickoff show for Atlanta-based Slang, whose music is "stylish and dark, dramatic, yet dance-able, blending elements of the comic, the gothic, and the divine." Atlanta's Shepherds, Heavy Eyes and Satisfiers of Alpha Blue will provide soulful rock, garage punk, and experimental psychedelic pop, respectively.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 15 Those Darlins, The Gaye Blades, Justin & The Cosmics (The Earl)
Those Darlins at Variety Playhouse, July 12, 2012
Nashville's country-punkers Those Darlins will be calling it quits soon, but before that they're engaging in one last victory lap across the country with a farewell tour, which come through The Earl on Saturday night. The Gaye Blades and Justin & The Cosmics will open,
The Grapes, The Jeff Mosier Band (Variety Playhouse)
If you didn't get enough of a jam-band fix the previous two nights at Variety Playhouse, there's always Saturday night's 30th anniversary, special reunion show there by The Grapes. We caught The Grapes in 1994 at the Atlanta Pot Festival, but unfortunately, we have no existent reliable photographic documentation of that set (it was that kind of day). Fun fact: Back in the 90s, during the burgeoning days of clunky, Compaq office computers and the early internet, the first IT guy hired by any company I ever worked for was this seeming young savant who brewed his own beer, had an improbably hot girlfriend, and was a huge fan of The Grapes. Just sayin'.
Grace Potter, Eliza Hardy Jones (The Tabernacle)
Grace Potter & Th Nocturnals at Atlantic Station, 2010
Alternately, if you want your jam-band experience laced with a bit more soul and blues, with the occasional oldie thrown in, there's always Grace Potter at The Tabernacle.
Finally, it wouldn't be Saturday night in Atlanta without hip-hop, EDM, and metal:
Waka Flocka Flame, Russ, Kelechi (Center Stage)
The Atlanta rapper's set is billed as the Flockaveli 1.5 Release Show.
Wick-It The Instigator, Ployd, Andy Bruh (Terminal West)
Nashville-based EDM d.j.
Palaces, Hello Cobra, Zruda, Spore Lord (529)
Four sludgey metal bands for your musical enjoyment.
