Shaky Knees 2025: Day 3
The best way to prevent the Sunday scaries is to see Wet Leg, Fleshwater, Vampire Weekend, and blink-182 perform back to back. With a lineup this stacked on Shaky Knees’ final day, the excitement couldn’t possibly wear off.
Wet Leg by Sloane Johnson
English rock band Wet Leg were as hot as ever. Frontwoman Rhian Teasdale crept onto the Ponce De Leon stage like a stalking lioness, letting the prolonged screams of her fans’ anticipation build with every step. At the satisfying climax, she flexed her arms and the crowd roared with delight. Teasdale was a natural performer who managed to build a palpable tension between herself and her audience. She maintained intense eye contact, feeding on the infectious energy of her onlookers as they did hers. During several high points she contorted herself into impossible shapes on the ground, bending into a mini acrobatic routine while maintaining an incredible sound. The band played a few of their highly danceable hits like “Wet Dream” from their debut self titled album, and “catch these fists” off their latest record, moisturizer. It ended all too soon, but made for an incredible start to my final day at the festival.
Re-energized, I trekked across the park to catch Fleshwater at the Criminal Records stage. This crowd was itching to form a pit. The moment the first reverberant guitar chord buzzed into earshot they did exactly that. A never ending crowd surfing conveyor belt was formed directly in front of the stage. I was standing near where security staff were catching surfers and safely escorting them back to the ground. They all emerged out of breath with wild eyes. It usually only took them a few seconds to get their bearings before diving right back into the crowd for another round. The Boston native band fuses shoegaze and nu-metal, earning them comparisons to Deftones. Lead vocalist, Marisa Shirar, injects a contrasting softness into the otherwise harsh instrumentals. They played a few selects from their latest record, 2000: In Search Of The Endless Sky, including “Drowning Song”.
Vampire Weekend by Sloane Johnson
Tom Delonge of Blink 182 by Sloane Johnson
As the sun set, Vampire Weekend graced the Piedmont stage. Lead singer Ezra Koenig began on his own, with just his guitar as accompaniment, until the curtain dropped and prompted the rest of the band behind it to join him. All together, they created a rich, symphonic sound. My favorite tracks were throwbacks like “Unbelievers”, “A-Punk”, and “Diane Young”, but they also played several songs from their latest album, Only God Was Above Us. Near the end of their set, Koenig performed a rendition of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man”, except he changed the lyrics a bit. “Spin us a web, you’re the spiderman, spin us a web tonight,” he grinned. They ended with “Walcott”, which resulted in the park echoing, “Don’t you wanna get out of Cape Cod, Out of Cape Cod tonight?” as we migrated over to the Peachtree stage for the fest’s final performance.
Tom Delonge, Mark Hoppus, and Travis Barker appeared after a WWE style introduction sequence. Between songs, they were up to their usual antics: Delonge and Hoppus continually joked at the other’s expense while Barker kept quiet and stuck to playing drums. Among the openers was their iconic song, “First Date”. The fast paced pop-punk track had everyone on their feet. They also played “Feeling This” forcing a sing along moment during the chorus, “Fate fell short this time, your smile fades in the summer / Place your hand in mine, I’ll leave when I wanna.” The trio’s fun, nostalgic energy felt like the perfect note to end the festival on.
That’s a wrap on Shaky Knees, until next time!
