R-16

Another year, another Shaky Knees. This time, I went for all three days, and for two of those days, due to chaos and misfortune, I found myself able to experience the festival at the highest tier of attendee. It is an odd thing, at times, to have doses of luck scattered throughout our life rather than one gargantuan lump sum of it, and we remain grateful to our particular disbursement of it, forever on.

Friday

I spent the morning with my Honey Mother of a friend (because we must be more respectful than to call her a mere sugar mommy; we have elegance, refinement!), sad that dear Sunshine could not make it, but revelling in the company of each other! After brunch at the adorable and appetising Buttermilk Kitchen, we ventured through Atlanta Vintage Books, which is a magnificent and revolutionary place! Soon thereafter, we joined Sunshine at the place she was staying for the festival, and chatted and solved a puzzle until Honey Mother had to depart, and then us remaining festival attendees.

Hot Mulligan – fantastic first act, fantastic act, period! Midwest emo on a hot, late summer day, superb! I'll go through their discography in earnest, though I've loved what I've heard!

Geese – I was expecting more than I was getting at this one; there's been quite a bit of hype around this band, so I'll have to give their studio stuff a try before making a concrete decision on them...

Alice Phoebe Lou – I've been a fan of hers for years now, and finally seeing her in concert... just as spectacular and brilliant and glittering as I'd hoped! More so, honestly! She's witty and fun and cute and clearly was having fun onstage, even when the microphone blew! I firmly believe the heat contributed to the sound issues that were present throughout the festival – it was hilarious to hear Alice remark that she claimed zero responsibility for it before carrying on with the rest of her beautiful set!

Danny Elfman – you know, I feel bad not knowing his other stuff, aside of the things he's composed. I felt worse, realising how powerful and spectacular it was. And damn, did the man look pretty immaculate, shirtless and onstage, in his seventies? Commanding presence, great voice, and absolutely incredible show!

the Strokes – a great closing act! I had a great time watching them onstage! I don't think I'll necessarily pursue their music in sum, but that's a taste issue, not a quality issue. The banter was hilarious, the performance was grand, and it was an absolutely solid closing act for the night!

Saturday

Elio Mei – I feel about them as I feel about the Linda Lindas last year: I hate that I was late and missed most of the act, and all the songs I got to be present for were absolutely delightful! I'm recently into their work, but I was immediately enthralled! Sunshine and I dressed for this show specifically, in Renaissance clothes; it was absolutely incredible! Glad I got to see what I did, and hopeful to see her show (in full) sometime, again!

Sir Chloe – absolutely delightful; Sunshine and I were having fun coming up with bands they should tour with. Another band I'll be diving into with excitement!

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets – I was unfamiliar with this band (as, honestly, I was with many bands this year...), and I know now that I need to become very familiar with this band. I apologise to those who might be disappointed in me in this regard, and I humbly request the time and space to grow as a person.

Peach Pit – I say this respectfully: this was more of a backdrop band than one I was actively engaging with, and I loved that, honestly. It sounds like a diss, but I was having a good time sitting and chatting with Sunshine during their set, and having them be a mellowing space between PPC and Pierce the Veil was probably the best choice for someone like me, who needs transitions!

Sunshine, here, told me of the significance of my friendship to her, and so we have an interlude of sorts. I'm not going into the details of what we discussed, because I don't believe artists (or anyone, truly) have the responsibility to share such private and personal things with people who are not included. What she told me and what I've told her will remain between us and the people we deem safe to tell. I will, instead, reflect upon my ideas on friendship.

Years ago, my mother – during one of her many instructive conversations, as I'll call them – asked me what I thought a friend was. The first thing I came up with was that friends should be regarded as equals to each other. Back then, that distinction was purely hierarchal; parents nor teachers could be friends to children nor students, politicians could not be friends to their constituents, people with a general power disparity could not be friends.

I still hold that to be true; as with most definitions from my youth, I add more of an active clause to it. I actively seek to regard my friends as being my equals, and desire the reciprocation of that. That means I do not pity my friends; that means I hold them to the standards I hold myself; that means I treat them with the kindness and understanding that I seek to be treated with. I ask them if they want help instead of assuming they need it; I allow them the space to ask for what they need; I do my best to ensure they retain their agency in all the situations I can! And I check in to make sure I'm actually doing these things, to be sure that they don't need more from me on these fronts.

My philosophy on love drives every interaction I have with others, I've come to realise recently. For those unfamiliar, I'll briefly relay: love is the sincere desire and act to understand the subject of one's love. It's less a noun than a verb; it's an action one takes. A friend, then is someone who loves you to your core, someone who dedicates themselves to loving you. The difference between a friend and a lover is only the difference between a Master's and Doctorate; anyone who has reached the qualifications of one can certainly reach those of the other, but the former remains a pre-requisite of the latter.

It is the highest honour to me, what Sunshine divulged about the significance of my friendship. I am grateful to her for telling me. There are thousands of things I wanted to say in that moment, millions of words in languages that don't quite exist. Metaphor is too weak to relay what I wish. I love you, Sunshine, if you're reading this. It doesn't feel enough to say that, and so I hope you'll let me continue to show you a semblance, an indication of what I mean, for as long as it's good for you to have me in your life.

I'll spend the rest of my immortality doing my best to show the ones I love how much I do.

Pierce the Veil – oh, how saddened I was that your show was overrun by rain and thunderstorm! I felt a single hit of hail upon my head and lamented immediately; moments later, we were instructed to abandon the park for the weather. I wish those weren't the circumstances for me tasting Three Peaches' gelato for the first time (the lemon + basil was delectable!), and I absolutely hate how distraught this made the fans, including Sunshine.

I won't share the details of Sunshine's and my adventure thereafter, but I will say that it would probably make a better adaptation of the Odyssey than some recent ones. Sunshine and I know what occurred.

Twenty One Pilots – if I become the performing artist I envision myself becoming, I hope to be even a sixth as engaging, entertaining, energetic as these lads. Sunshine told me about a decade ago that I needed to get into their work, and I, unfortunately, was not in an emotionally safe place to do so. I'm glad to say that I believe I am now, and so I'll delve into their discography in totality. The fact they still put on a show is a testament to their tenacity and kindness and authenticity, and I applaud and appreciate them for it. What a fucking show!

Sunday

Coheed & Cambria – I've heard about them for years now from about every friend I have, and I apologise to all of you (and, honestly, myself) for delaying my delving. Correcting that shortly after Twenty One Pilots. It's actually very soothing to know I'll never play guitar that well. There's always satisfaction to be found in recognising things about yourself. With the amp, sir? You... you played guitar with the amp??? Sir??? No, Reader, you don't understand... he used the amp to play the guitar... he...

OK Go – if grunge is divorced dad rock, OK Go is married dad rock. They played a fantastic set, I delight in them always, and I'm ashamed that I'm not caught up on their recent stuff.

Santigold – didn't know her before, was immediately enthralled! She ties with Knocked Loose for crowd engagement from me; she brought people up on stage and had them contest in choreography; it was a fun time! And her music is absolutely glorious, will be diving into her discography soon!

Modest Mouse – better in studio; was ready to leave by the middle of the first song.

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – so glad we left Modest Mouse for them; much better show, enthralling, fun the whole time, it was cool seeing them cover classics and remix them in their style, an actual show!

Wu-Tang Clan – there are classics and greats who retain their status, and these are better than the ones you just thought of.

Knocked Loose – there are some genres of music my body cannot handle, and these lads from Louisville are one, and! And! I had such a great time. Their show was incredible. We had crowd-surfing on one side of the audience and a circle pit in the other... their speakers blew multiple times (and they played the same stage as Alice Phoebe Lou, so I'm thinking it might've been that particular sound system...) but it was still an amazing show. I realised that people enjoy scenes as those the same way others enjoy rollercoasters and other such rides. And it was really cool to see the band immediately stop playing when they were alerted that someone needed medical help – it cut the energy to stillness, which allowed them to get assistance pretty immediately, which I thought was a brilliant practice. Lots of safety considerations were included in the romping, and it thrilled me endlessly! There are many things about humanity I love, and ensuring each other's safety and well-being, even when being riotous and raucous, is near the top of the list.

Gorillaz – the closing of the festival; an impeccable act! It was glorious, to dance with strangers; I was going so hard that the people around me gave me a little more space than usual, which I loved and, apparently, needed. The performance was great; the guest performances were legend; Noodle was her usual queen self; it was lovely! If, somehow, the people I danced with/beside are reading this, please know that I had the best of times. I think one of you won't quite remember the time you had, but you seemed to be enjoying yourself. And the lad who was rapping with me and dancing with me, I'm so glad you and your partner found us; that energy was amazing and I hope it follows us everywhere.

Again, I cannot thank Honey Mother and Sunshine enough for being in my life, let alone helping me have such wonderful experiences! Every moment spent with you two is a blessing, truly, thoroughly. I'm excited for our future adventures. And to all the acts who performed, thank you for sharing your art with us! Even if I wasn't enthralled with or didn't attend your show, it was beautiful to have you there. I learned a lot, artistically; I absorbed so much from this festival. I'm excited to amalgamate and share that in the art I make!