(Photos) 4 Knots Fest: Hot Bands, Hot Weather, & a Real Fire

The second 4 Knots Music Festival at the Seaport crammed in a lot of music in its eight-plus hours… along with some real-life drama. The festival showcased a number of popular young bands and up-and-coming groups, but was headlined by the reunited Archers of Loaf, who delivered a rousing set clocking in at just under an hour to conclude the festivities. (See the Village Voice's 4 Knots coverage for more details and photos that are a lot better than mine.)

Team Spirit on the "Skipper" Stage.

This year's festival featured a small adjacent stage (the "Skipper" stage) near the main performance space, allowing for live music virtually nonstop during the afternoon. The only band I saw on the Skipper stage—a small, uncovered affair that was barely a foot the ground—was Team Spirit, which lived up to its pre-festival acclaim with a high-energy set. The band is a project of Ayad Al-Adhamy of Passion Pit, who sings and plays guitar.

The festival was humming right along till nearly 4 o'clock … until a three-alarm fire on Pier 17 brought things to a screeching halt. Hospitality announced during its set that it had to stop playing but would be back, and firetrucks could be seen and heard approaching the Seaport.

Hospitality on stage... before The Fire.

Amber Papini of Hospitality. More 4 Knots photos below.

The members of Hospitality stood at the back of the stage, watching the firemen putting out a fire that damaged part of the pier and caused the evacuation of several hundred people there. Fortunately, the many fans assembled to watch the main stage show didn't have to leave.

Hospitality came back on stage eventually, but played only one or two songs before exiting, to try to keep the festival schedule reasonably on schedule. San Diego's Crocodiles took the stage 40 minutes after its scheduled time of 4:40.

The indie-pop played by Brooklyn's The Drums mellowed things down a bit after the guitar assault of Crocodiles, but was enjoyable nonetheless. Archers of Loaf brought the crunchy guitar-rock sound back to the stage to wrap up 4 Knots. I've never seen them before, but judging by the crowd's reaction they seemed to do a good job of re-creating the sound they had during their heyday in the 1990s.

All in all, a good time at the second edition of 4 Knots. It didn't feel as hot as I thought it would, and overcast skies kept the sun from beating down on the crowd much of the time. The fire was a downer, not only because it delayed the show but caused the remaining acts to shorten their sets to close the stage down at 8 p.m. (Archers of Loaf ran maybe a couple of minutes past that with their abbreviated set).

Crocodiles:

Crocodiles at 4 Knots.

The Drums: 

Archers of Loaf: 

I don't think anyone had a better time at 4 Knots than this young fan:

2012 4 Knots Music Festival: Schedule, FAQs, Official After Party, & More

The second annual 4 Knots Music Fest takes place Saturday, July 14th, starting at 1 p.m., and you'll find the complete schedule below. The Village Voice-sponsored free festival, which is the successor to the decade-long Siren Festival on Coney Island, will be held at Piers 16 and 17 at South Street Seaport. (See directions to 4 Knots.)

The festival is all-ages and will go on rain or shine.

Archers of Loaf headline the second 4 Knots festival.

A standalone guide to 4 Knots is included in this week's edition of the Voice. If you don't have it handy, you can find out more about 4 Knots at this Voice article, which includes links to articles on some of the bands such as Archers of Loaf and Crocodiles, a map of South Street Seaport, and even a Voice food critic's guide to his favorite eating spots in the area. Also, see the Voice's 4 Knots schedule page, which also includes the 4 Knots Twitter feed; descriptions of the bands; and the 4 Knots FAQ.

Although the official start time being given for the festival is 1 p.m., there will be a couple of brief sets beginning at 12:15, as shown below.

Main Stage
12:15 p.m.: The Smiling Lies
12:30 p.m.: The Fast Years
1:30 p.m.: Nick Waterhouse
2:30 p.m.: Bleached
3:30 p.m.: Hospitality
4:30 p.m.: Crocodiles
5:30 p.m.: The Drums
6:30 p.m.: Archers of Loaf

Skippers Stage
1 p.m.: Doldrums
2 p.m.: Devin
3 p.m.: Team Spirit
4 p.m.: Delicate Steve

There's also an official 4 Knots After Party at the Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club, featuring Black Lips and Kid Congo Powers with DJ Jonathan Toubin serving as host. Tickets are $15 (get tickets and more info here); doors to the party are at 7 p.m., with the show beginning after the Archers of Loaf set wraps up. Learn more about Toubin here and see an interview with him here.

The only 4 Knots act I've seen before is Crocodiles, which I saw at Maxwell's last year and enjoyed, so there will be a number of new discoveries for me. In particular, I'm looking forward to seeing Archers of Loaf, Hospitality, and The Drums, and I've heard good things about Team Spirit as well.

Saturday's temperatures should be in the mid 80s to 90 or so (much better than last weekend's temps of near 100 degrees). There's a chance of stray rain or thunderstorms, but any heavy rain isn't expected until late evening.

It should be another great free music festival in New York; check out the details and head on down to the Seaport Saturday.

Now Streaming: New CDs from Metric, The Hives, Alejandro Escovedo, & More

Some great albums are up for online streaming this week, including new releases from some of my favorites: Metric, Alejandro Escovedo, The Hives, Shawn Colvin, and Rhett Miller. And that's just for starters; you'll also be able to listen to the new albums by Pujol, The Temper Trap, The Tallest Man on Earth, The Melvins, Langhorne Slim, and soul legend Bobby Womack.


Above: One of the "Reflections" videos Metric produced for its new album, "Synthetica."

Speaking of legends, Womack isn't the only veteran artists with a new album on preview. This week you'll find the first new album by The Beach Boys in what seems like forever (see a New York Times review), a new release by Joe Walsh, and a special box set (and other commemorative editions) marking the the 25th anniversary Paul Simon's "Graceland."

I've been a fan of Shawn Colvin since I first saw her play with a rock band she had back in the early 1980s, so I'm definitely looking forward to hearing "All Fall Down," her first studio album in almost six years. It comes out tomorrow, the same day that Colvin's autobiography, "Diamond in the Rough," is released. (Colvin will do an appearance and book signing in New York Tuesday, June 6th at 6 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble in Tribeca.)

There's a second chance to listen to the new album from The Walkmen, Crocodiles, and Jherek Bischoff. And for all the fans of '80s rock and big hair, AOL Music is streaming the soundtrack of the "Rock of Ages" movie this week.

SoundCloud:
"Synthetica" by Metric

NPR First Listen:
"There's No Leaving Now" by Tallest Man on Earth
"'The Bravest Man In The Universe" by Bobby Womack
"In Our Heads" by Hot Chip

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Lex Hives" by The Hives
"Big Station" by Alejandro Escovedo
"Endless Flowers" by Crocodiles
"Heaven" by The Walkmen
"The Temper Trap" by The Temper Trap
"That's Why God Made the Radio" by The Beach Boys
"Graceland (25th Anniversary Box Set)" by Paul Simon
"The Dreamer" by Rhett Miller
"United States of Being" by Pujol
"Freak Puke" by The Melvins
"The Way We Move" by Langhorne Slim
"Composed" by Jherek Bischoff
"Analog" Man by Joe Walsh

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Rock of Ages: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" by various artists
"All Fall Down" by Shawn Colvin

Now Streaming: New Albums from Japandroids, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Kelly Hogan, & More

The new albums from Japandroids and Neil Young and Crazy Horse are two of the biggest attractions in this week's crop of albums streaming online, but there are some other much-anticipated releases as well. But first, a bit about the Neil Young album.

Japandroids at Maxwell's in Hoboken in late 2010.

Aptly called "Americana," it's Young's take on classical folk and traditional tunes such as "Oh! Susanna," "Gallows Pole," "Wayfarin' Stranger," and "This Land Is Your Land." And the album ends with a rousing version of "God Save the Queen" (the one that has the same melody as "My Country 'Tis of Thee," not the Sex Pistols' tune). This is the first album Young has put out with his old pals Crazy Horse in nine years, and all of his fans will want to check it out.

The wonderfully noisy Canadian duo Japandroids are back with "Celebration Rock," and they've got a lot to celebrate. They've gained a lot of buzz over the last year or so, and their New York shows next month sold out quickly. Which makes me all the more glad that I got to see them about a year and a half ago at the intimate room at Maxwell's.

I loved last year's self-titled album by Marissa Nadler, and will be looking forward to hearing her new release, "The Sister," which is available for preview over at Spinner. Another female singer I'm eager to listen to is Kelly Hogan, the longtime backup singer for Neko Case. Having always liked her voice, I've been interested to see what songs she would choose to tackle. On "I Like To Keep Myself In Pain," she sings songs written for her by some of her well-known collaborators besides case: such as Stephin Merritt, John Wesley Harding, M. Ward, and Vic Chestnutt. There's also one tune that Hogan wrote.

There's a lot more good stuff for preview this week, including the new releases by Liars, Gemma Ray, Julia Stone (without her brother Angus), and more. [Update, May 30: Rolling Stone has added the new album by Crocodiles; see link below.]

And you'll get a second chance at listening to new albums by artists including Sigur Rós, Regina Spektor, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

It's a jam-packed week of album previews; dig in and enjoy.

Rolling Stone:
"Americana" by Neil Young and Crazy Horse
"Endless Flowers" by Crocodiles (if that link doesn't work, try here)

NPR First Listen:
"Celebration Rock" by Japandroids
"I Like To Keep Myself In Pain" by Kelly Hogan
"Valtari" by Sigur Rós
"WIXIW" by Liars

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Heaven" by The Walkmen

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"The Sister" by Marissa Nadler
"By the Horns" by Julia Stone
"Here" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
"What We Saw From The Cheap Seats" by Regina Spektor
"Internal Logic" by Grass Widow
"Anxiety" by Ladyhawke
"Island Fire" by Gemma Ray
"Oh Michael, Look What You've Done: Friends Play Michael Chapman" by various artists (featuring Thurston Moore, Meg Bairds, Maddy Prior, and Lucinda Williams)
(and many more albums at Spinner's website)

New Tunes: Dum Dum Girls "Coming Down" Video; Songs from Garbage, Japandroids, & More

Some great new tunes have come out this week, from bands including Dum Dum Girls, Garbage, Japandroids, and Silversun Pickups. First off is the video of "Coming Down" by the Dum Dum Girls, directed by the band's own bass player, Malia James (who is also a photographer/videographer/writer/who knows what else).

The video uses a shortened, four-minute version of the song, which ran six-and-a-half minutes on DDG's "Only in Dreams" album from late last year. (Related: see photos from the February Dum Dum Girls show at Maxwell's.)

Here's all the new stuff:

* Dum Dum Girls, "Coming Down" video:



* Garbage's "Battle in Me" video (U.K. single). (Via Consequence of Sound, which also features the track listing.):



* Japandroids have a new single, "The House That Heaven Built." You can listen to it at their website. Also: the band is playing Bowery Ballroom on June 27th; get tickets here this Friday at 12 Noon.

* Stereogum as posted a new song download by Screaming Females, "Expire." At the link you can also find their live dates; they're kicking off their tour with an album release show at Maxwell's on April 5th.

* Silversun Pickups are out with a new song, "Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)," which you can listen to at the link or listen to below (for some reason, SoundCloud embeds aren't working for me).



* Crocodiles, the band fronted by Brandon Welchez (husband of Dum Dum Girls frontwoman Dee Dee), is preparing a new album and has a new video of its own: an album teaser that sends up those old Time-Life Records collections of the past. (Via NME.)

Free Music: Sleigh Bells Streaming Tonight; 50-Foot Wave Gives Away Its Tunes; & More

If you're looking for some new tunes to listen to, you'll have plenty to keep you busy this weekend. From a live streaming concert to a new set by F*cked Up to Soundgarden's frontman covering Dolly Parton (and Whitney Houston), here's what's happening:

* Watch Sleigh Bells performing live tonight at New York's Terminal 5. The show is sold out, but you can watch it at 10:30 p.m. Eastern at www.youtube.com/bowerypresents.

* 50-Foot Wave, the trio led by Kristin Hersh, has released its latest EP, “With Love from the Men’s Room,” and its entire catalog, for free download. The zip file is 1.35 GB. This is a logical step for Hersh, who for years has made her music (solo work, as well as tunes by 50-Foot Wave and Throwing Muses) available on a pay-what-you-wish basis.

F*cked Up is still celebrating the Chinese zodiac, and you can celebrate by streaming it free.

* Canadian punk band F*cked Up has issued "Year of the Tiger," the latest in its series of Chinese zodiac recordings. You can stream the set at the link; it includes F*cked Up frontman Damian Abraham performing a duet with Annie-Claude Deschênes, the singer for fellow Canadian band Duchess Says.

* Dum Dum Girls have posted a couple of hand-picked compilations on their website this week. Or rather their leader Dee Dee has. "Get Lost" was done for Rough Trade features songs from Morrissey, Jesus and Mary Chain, Kurt Vile, and others, and runs 71 minutes.

The second mix, called "Stoned in Love," is a set Dee Dee says she and her husband (Brandon Welchez of Crocodiles) put together. As you'd expect from this couple, it's an eclectic box of Valentine's Day chocolates, with tunes from Slade, the Soft Boys, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Serge Gainsbourg, Primal Scream, and Leonard Cohen. It runs 42 minutes.



* Finally, above you'll find a video that's been bouncing all over the blogosphere recently: Soundgarden's Chris Cornell performing "I Will Always Love You," written by Dolly Parton and, of course, made famous by the late Whitney Houston.

Dum Dum Girls Wrap Up Their Tour at Maxwell's (Photos & Album Stream)

Dum Dum Girls singer and guitarist Dee Dee.

California's Dum Dum Girls concluded their 2011 U.S. tour last night with a show at Maxwell's in Hoboken, and I've posted a few photos here. If you're not familiar with the band, they mix the girl-group vibe of the late 1950s and '60s with garage, lo-fi, and punk sounds, often with twangy surf guitar, reverb, and echo.

The band's second full-length, "Only in Dreams," came out on Sept. 27th on Sub Pop. Earlier this year they released the EP "He Gets Me High." (You can stream "Only in Dreams" at the end of this post, or at the Onion AV Club here.)

In addition to recalling the old girl-group days, the Dum Dum Girls actually have a connection to that era: Richard Gottehrer, who produced both of the band's 2011 releases, is a pop legend who co-wrote the songs “My Boyfriend’s Back” and “I Want Candy.” In the past he has worked with Blondie, the Go-Go's, and The Raveonettes.

Dum Dum Girls guitarist Jules.

Besides their nod to the sound of a bygone era, the band members have a distinctive look, too; a kind of girl-group-meet-Goth appearance featuring dark eye makeup and mostly black outfits with short shorts and black stockings. The band's leader (and singer and rhythm guitarist) is Kristin Gundred, who goes by the stage name Dee Dee; the other band members are referred to simply as Jules (lead guitar), Sandy (drums), and Bambi (bass).

The Dum Dum Girls played a number of songs from "Only in Dreams." They opened their set with the leadoff track, "Always Looking," and also played songs including the title song; their latest single, "Bedroom Eyes;" "Wasted Away," and the slow, sad ballad "Coming Down." Other songs from their older releases that they played: "Bhang Bhang, I'm a Burnout," "He Gets Me High," and their great cover of the Smiths tune "There is a Light that Will Never Go Out."

Preceding the Dum Dum Girls on the Maxwell's stage were Crocodiles, a noise-pop band led by Brandon Welchez, who happens to be Dee Dee's husband (she came on stage to do vocals on one of their songs). Welchez played in an early lineup of Dum Dum Girls.

Dum Dum Girls will be playing in Europe in November; see their tour dates here. 

Dee Dee.