Scripture in Shakey Graves: A night at The Fox

I have never found solace in church. Even as a young child I remember questioning my mom about God, imploring why such a benevolent creator would cause so much suffering for his beloved children. Yet somehow everything that religion promised (acceptance, community, and love) I have never experienced in a church, but instead have found to be deeply ingrained in the very fabric of music and live shows. On December 6th, Shakey Graves only cemented this idea further as he acted as our pastor, with the audience as his disciples, at his sold out show at the Fox Theater in Oakland.

Kolars opened the night with a highly energetic set that sat in between 70s rock, grunge, rockabilly, and anthemic alt-pop. It was weird and funky, and honestly seemed like something that wouldn’t work, but Rob Kolar and Lauren Brown didn’t care as they succeeded in getting the entire audience to dance. One of the best parts of the night was Brown’s tap-dancing: a vital part of her percussion kit.

“If you knew what was going to happen tomorrow, would it be worth it? Would you want to keep going?” Alejandro Rose-Garcia, better known as Shakey Graves, asked the crowd. This marked the first of many questions and random, obscure advice Garcia gave the crowd, in addition to one of the many instances where Garcia acted as a preacher.

Throughout the night, Garcia encouraged the audience to participate by singing call and answer style, or by directly telling us to sing along. You could feel the energy of the crowd, all too happy to heed any of his requests as they screamed the lyrics right back at him. Their energy was infectious, something you could feel to your core, and it uplifted and enlightened.

One of my favorite things about a Shakey Graves show is that he doesn’t pretend to be cool; what you see is what you get. Every now and then he would pantomime his lyrics, but he keept it simple and ensured the music always came first. He seems so genuine that you wonder if he really is a rockstar, but it’s just part of his charm. Garcia managed to keep a high energy throughout his show. He even livened up some of his slower tracks like “Tomorrow,” filling them with a newfound energy, rage and introspection.

I was struck by how personal the concert felt and how much Garcia called upon us to look into ourselves and question the meaning in life. His quirky, offbeat comments and jokes perfectly matched with his almost cliche advice, yet he still managed to not seem like a cheesy cat poster that tells you to keep hanging on. After performing “Kids These Days,” Garcia reminded the audience: “Keep on doing whatever you’re doing, because time keeps slipping on by. You never know what’s going to happen.”

Most of the advice churches give me tends to make me angry. My family questions how I can’t see a God (in the traditional sense) and seem skeptical about my spirituality, and I always find myself frustrated and asking the same questions. I do not understand why we must have such a tangible image connected to our beliefs; I am okay with not knowing and don’t feel that I have to prove myself to any higher power. Shakey Graves reaffirmed this feeling — he didn’t force anything down my throat, he didn’t make me accept his statements as truth, but instead he guided me and challenged me to consider myself and how I can improve. Leaving his show I realized that this was how I should feel in church. I was, and am, in love with how spiritual the connection was.

Before finishing with “Dearly Departed,” Garcia laughed and gave a small shrug before stating, “Shit’s gotten a lot weirder over the years. Sometimes you listen to your heart, your brain, or people talking into microphones right now.”