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4 Knots Fest Recap

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It’s hard to believe that 4 Knots has been around for only four years. The fourth installment of the Village Voice organized festival happened this past Saturday with a pretty sweet line up. I say only four years because to me, it felt like an extremely well organized event that might have been around for say, a decade. It could also be that this is my first year experiencing 4 Knots in VIP fashion, which seems to be a beast of a different kind.

Upon arrival and after picking up said VIP/Press badges I hung around the small Front/Row Stage for Juan Wauters’ set. Much like his songs, it was short and sweet, even if Wauters was having sound issues throughout: he couldn’t really hear himself. Once his band (made up of a flutist and triangle/tambourine player) joined him, Wauters seemed to be more comfortable onstage. The idea of a flute and triangle seems extremely twee in the worst way, I know, but the genuine nature of the music overrides that. It was a welcome start to a warm, sunny day.

After meandering through the crowd at South Street Seaport, my boyfriend and I made our way to the VIP ONLY Peking Ship. Unfortunately, Viet Cong were already ¾ of the way through their set by then, and although I wish they were louder, their sound and energy was great, and the crowd below seemed to be digging it too. A (free) drink later and we’re making our way back off the ship for a pee break.

By the time we make our way back, Mac DeMarco’s setting up and a small line has been formed at the base of the ship. When we make it aboard, the crowd has definitely thickened with the sounds of 20-somethings networking like there is no tomorrow, and the groups of older friends who actually paid for VIP seemingly have a genuine good old time. We wait in line for more drinks and head to the edge of the ship to wait for Mac DeMarco. The screams of the girls below let me know that he’s about to start, though I can’t really see anything, there’s a bigger dude in front blocking me — isn’t there always? Two songs in though, he notices me trying to take a picture and graciously lets me stand in front of him acknowledging “You’re way smaller than me.” I hope that man has good karma for life. DeMarco and his band play through a bunch of jams, mostly from Salad Days. The feel good vibes seep through the crowd below and I mostly watched them and smiled as the crowd around me seems to be more interested in conversation rather than music.

During the short wait time for Dinosaur Jr. to hit the stage I realize that I’ve never seen them live before, which is kind of crazy considering they were one of the bands to have the honor of having their name written in Sharpie on my middle school pair of Converse. The sound felt really low overall all day, and even with all (or probably because of) those amps onstage J. Mascis’ voice was damn near indiscernible. The crowd was still whipped into a frenzy, moshing and shoving and well, kind of doing all the things I wished I was doing.

I guess you have to give up some privileges in VIP, right? Even Kim Gordon opted for watching from down below with the “plebes.” Dino Jr.’s set standouts in terms of crowd reaction were unsurprisingly, “Freak Scene” and their cover of the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” that got the two most interesting crowdsurfers up in the air: an older dude with long grey hair and a girl with some awesome Steve Buscemi print shorts.

4 Knots is a festival after my own (and many others’) heart. It’s free, it ends relatively early, and it has boasted a steadily great lineup over the years. One of the moments from this year that I’d deem “unforgettable” is the dude moshing and pogoing in the pit during Dinosaur Jr. who looked up at us VIP folk and stuck up both middle fingers in the air, I just nodded and smiled as if to say, “I feel you, bro.”

By Alex Martinez. Follow her on Twitter for more ramblings @xxalexm.



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