Did you watch Friday Night Lights? #Sports.
Well, if you did watch Friday Night Lights, then you might find some satisfaction in knowing that Alejandro Rose-Garcia, Shakey Graves, was that dude, “The Swede,” that Julie Taylor had a thing with during the same Summer that you wish you had a romantic fling, but instead you were binge watching Friday Night Lights, while eating a pint of Cherry Garcia ice cream. This feeling of eating Cherry Garcia ice cream and watching Julie and “The Swede” swoon over each other, I imagine, is very similar to actually having a romantic fling with Alejandro Rose-Garcia. Take that as you will.
If you didn’t watch Friday Night Lights and #Don’tLikeSports, THAT IS OKAY. It is important, however, as you listen to Shakey Graves, to know that was an actor-turned-musician. The reason for this, is because Shakey Graves was put on this earth to confuse us. “Why?” you ask. Because Shakey Graves gives such a strong feeling to every song. But is it just him being a really good actor? We’ll never know. It seems that Rose-Garcia’s acting career peaked on Friday Night Lights when his music career seems to have no end in sight.
Shakey Graves has the sound and aesthetic of a country artist that joined a biker gang, but secretly plays sappy love songs at bars on the weekend. His voice has grit for miles, and has a warm gooey center to it. A song that truly highlights his vocals is his acoustic song “Hard Wired” that focuses around jaunty finger picked guitar and nostalgic lyrics. Though Shakey Graves writes and sings like an acoustic artist many of his songs are filled with heavy blues guitar. The guitar adds more intrigue to Shakey as it takes him out of the regular alt-country genre and throws him in the crowd with artists such as Gary Clark Jr., and that is a fantastic crowd to be in. Having seen Shakey Graves twice before, once at Sasquatch two years ago, and then again at Sasquatch last year, I can let you in on a well-kept secret. It’s really not a well-kept secret at all, though. Shakey Graves is wonderful live and his bluesy side really shines through in his performances.
Shakey’s debut album, And The War Came, came out in 2014 and the range of sounds that it produced urgently made me want to hear what he has coming for his sophomore album. Though, the studio version is not my absolute favorite, my favorite song on this album has to be “Dearly Departed (feat. Esme Patterson)”. This song is adorable, real, and will make you feel so many feels. The best version of this song is the live session that Esme and Shakey did at SXSW. This version shows the fantastic playfulness of the song and shows, better than the studio version, the power of Esme’s voice, which is terrifically full.
Opening for Shakey Graves at The Moore Theatre on November 1st is another band I highly recommend. Tennis, (#Sports !), is not nearly as country as Shakey Graves but you can find fantastic similarities in their simple foot-stomping percussion. Tennis focuses around the pop voice of Alaina Moore and imaginative and synth-heavy instrumentals.
The Moore Theatre will be a fantastic place for Shakey Graves and Tennis. With its wonderful lighting and beautiful seating a night of jaunty pop music and alt-country will certainly be beautiful. The Moore is very good at starting shows on time, and you will not want to miss Tennis, so be sure to get there by 7 p.m. or you will be disappointed in yourself, I will be disappointed in you, and Julie Taylor will forever be more romantically satisfied than you.
Marcus Shriver | A Jar of Towels | KXSU Head Reporter