Willie Davis

It's surfing the crowd, not skating the crowd

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There was a lot of energy at yesterday's 4Knots Music Festival, and some people decided to use it to propel themselves above the crowd—to middling results. Here, thanks to the crack shooting efforts of photographer Willie Davis, are a few notable shots of people engaged in the once-again-popular act of crowdsurfing, that storied practice of getting to know one's fellow concertgoers (or at least their outstretched hands) while ensuring oneself a better vantage point than the rest of them, if only for a few brief moments.

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Willie Davis

I believe the children are our future.

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There's lots of coverage of yesterday's 4Knots Music Festival coming throughout the day, but for now, why not ease into your Sunday with a slew of pictures chronicling the action onstage and in the lounge, shot by the eagle-eyed Willie Davis? If you were there, you might see yourself!

You don't have to go home, Tyler, but you can't stay here. All photos by Rebecca Smeyne.

​Another SXSW is in the books, granting great relief to those of us who were just subjected to five straight days of partying-related Twitter updates, and great sorrow to those who became accustomed to the 80 degree weather and not getting snowed on in freezing cold New York City. But all things must come to an end, even for Odd Future's Tyler, the Creator, who had to go home to his mom's house like all the rest of Austin's expatriate population come Monday morning. Our recap of the actual festival is to follow; in the meantime, intrepid photographer Rebecca Smeyne was there and brought back photos. Many involve people breaking things in convention centers (or maybe that's just Das Racist?). Either way, her selected photos are below (you can see the rest in full at our at our slideshow):

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​The year in music, circa 2010, started at the Cake Shop, with a shred-down to the New Year courtesy of Siren Festival MVP-to-be Marissa Paternoster and her band Screaming Females. After a tour through the NYE fetes of the Lower East Side and Williamsburg, that night ended amidst a marathon show at Bushwick's Shea Stadium, right around the time the Blastoids' drummer poured paint on his kit and started splattering away.

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Alex White, letting you know what her name is. All photos by Rebecca Smeyne.

​White Mystery, a duo compromised of Chicago garage insurgent Alex White and her younger brother (no White Stripes) came to town last night, paying forward the "Female Guitar Players Are the New Black" 2010 zeitgeist and generally slaying at Impose's Test Patterns party at Don Pedro's. Also in the building? Vivian Girls's Cassie Ramone, who recently announced she's maybe sorta working on a solo record, and Philly psych duo Reading Rainbow, who have been in NYC a lot lately. Photographer Rebecca Smeyne was there, of course; her shots are below. Nice shoes, Alex.

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!!!'s Nic Offer, greeting his constituents. All photos by Sam Horine.

​Despite the intermittent rain and vile humidity, a decent crowd turned up at yesterday's Pool Party to see !!! and Lee Fields play two very different vintages of funk on the Williamsburg Waterfront. Nic Offer spent much of the show in the crowd, as he often does; Lee Fields, meanwhile, rocked a truly impeccable pair of gold shoes. Weed and the threat of lightning were in the air, but luckily, this one came off without any further conflict with the police and/or parks people. That's a good thing, especially with the summer Jelly NYC have been having. Thank them for all these free shows when you see them. More photos are below, or you can consult Sam Horine's full gallery, here.

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Maluca cools things down. All photos by Rebecca Smeyne.

​Diplo's Mad Decent label has been taking its act on the road lately, throwing block parties in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. For Saturday's Seaport stop, the label teamed with local Pool Party auteurs Jelly NYC, bringing a slew of Mad Decent artists and horde of crowdsurfing, barrier-jumping fans to Pier 17 in lower Manhattan. Security was on edge--and, after Drake, can you blame them?--but the show ultimately went off without any major problems, unless you count Bronx-born firebrand Maluca spraying the crowd with any and all liquids within reach. Photos of that, along with shots of Das Racist's Himanshu Suri looking real GQ, a dancing, randy Mad Decent mascot, and some very sweaty people, are below, courtesy of photographer Rebecca Smeyne.

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Jim Jones gives punk rock the gas face. All photos by Rebecca Smeyne.

​These are strange, wonderful times for hip-hop fans in New York. Former Roc-a-Fella mogul and Jay-Z cohort Damon Dash is running a modern day version of Warhol's factory out of a rented loft in Tribeca. Curren$y kills time at Bubby's, down the street (where the other day we dined, in close proximity to Jay and Beyonce). And Harlem's Jim Jones, once and future Dipset capo, will happily jet across the river and crash gnarly DIY punk shows. At least, he did on Friday night, where the impossibly resilient Less Artists More Condos/Under 100 kids threw a party featuring Lionshare, Tough Knuckles (featuring Under 100's Ariel Panero on guitar), Das Racist, and Snakes Say Hisss, who brought Jones out for a supremely awkward and awesome cameo appearance at the end of the night, right before the cops showed up. In the back was Damon Dash himself, looking on with pride--an increasingly regular, though no less shocking, sight at DIY shows citywide. Intrepid photographer Rebecca Smeyne was there, of course; her photos and a bit of crazy-looking video are below.

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Ronnie Spector says hello to ? and the Mysterians. All photos by Rebecca Smeyne.

​And so it came to pass on Saturday that the exalted Lincoln Center became a venue for a bunch of aging, outré Detroit musicians. Blame Ponderosa Stomp, the 501(c) 3-certified cultural organization dedicated to the preservation of American roots music, in all its high and low forms. Hence "The Detroit Breakdown," a daylong festival dedicated to some of Motor City's most bizarre exports: the proto-punk pioneers Death; latter day garage rockers the Gories, fresh off a reunion spin through NYC that also included shows at the Bowery Ballroom and Maxwell's; '60s futurists turned early '00s cult rock 'n' rollers ? and the Mysterians; and the eternal endurance machine that is Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. The venue wasn't entirely full, and many of those who did come were old, but one of them was Ronnie Spector, so show some respect. Intrepid photographer Rebecca Smeyne was there: her photos and captions are below.

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During the audience participation portion of the evening. All photos by Rebecca Smeyne.

​The Arizona-based, telephone helmet-sporting, Tom Waits-endorsed one-man machine that is Bob Log III hit the Knitting Factory last night in a black leather jumpsuit, spraying the crowd with "boob scotch" and his signature brand of garbled delta blues. The results, let's say, were picturesque. Luckily, photographer Rebecca Smeyne, who doesn't really sleep, or take days off, was there, and captured Log III in all his baffling glory. Not bad for a Monday night:

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