4 KNOTS FESTIVAL

What a great day 4 Knots turned out to be! Going in as a rookie I didn’t know what to expect. “Would there be enough booze? Are there plenty of bathrooms? Would it sound good in the midst of downtown?”. Those were some of my questions beforehand but there was no need to worry as the organizers had it wrapped up with a nice little bow for anyone who wanted to attend the amazing and free festival.

My day started at the aptly named “Front Row Stage” where you could get real close to the bands that performed in the afternoon and took in most of the Dead Stars Indie/Pop set which was a fine way to get started. Next up was the most energetic band of the day in the form of Radkey, 3 brothers from Missouri who brought the punk and funk despite sound issues that forced them to play one song unplugged. During Radkey’s set I ambled on to the Pirate Ship and was amazed at the free selection of booze, beer and snacks, never mind the view from the Peking which was ridiculous all day.

Speedy Ortiz and Viet Cong followed on the Pier 16 stage and by then the crowd started filling in nicely in advance of the bigger acts. I then caught 2 songs at the “front row stage” by the local punk rock band, Nude Beach who were fantastic, before jetting back to the main stage for the night. Those Darlins followed with an energetic and exciting set of straight up rock n’ roll and even pulled out a fantastic cover of “Then He Kissed Me” by the Crystals. The Nashville natives definitely earned themselves some new fans, including this photog and should be one of the hotter acts of the summer.

By the time Mac DeMarco hit the stage the pier was almost at capacity and getting around was a bit strenuous but the fans took it in stride despite the low lying and blaring sun. Mac has some really passionate fans, mostly younger good looking folks that know every word and every beat to all of his slacker love songs and are eager to be heard. One fan went as far to bring a dead baby pig with the likeness of DeMarco tattooed onto the creepy jarred creature.

Up until this point the crowd had been really, I mean REALLY calm for a festival with up-tempo music but Dinosaur Jr changed all of that in just one chord. As soon as the veteran alternative legends started playing it was like someone injected them with adrenaline and the moshing and crowd surfing ensued. Having seen them recently I was happy to see they didn’t mail it in being a festival and all, but instead brought their A game. I decided to catch the rest of their set from side stage and took this video. The view was great, the ship was rocking, the kids were going off in front of one of the best bands in the world, an in that moment, I knew that 4 Knots festival was a complete success.

Article by: Shayne Hanley