FRICTION NYC

The experience I had at this year’s Siren Music Festival was completely different from the experience I had one week earlier at the Pitchfork fest. Most of the 9 odd hours or so of the event were spent at the foot of one of the two stages. As I was kind of working – most of my focus was on the music instead of the entire event like a week before in Chicago. Given the differences, it was still a great time seeing acts like M.I.A. and Dr. Dog up close and personal. It was also nice to catch up with a lot of people I haven’t seen in quite a while.

THE TWILIGHT SAD kicked off the day with a pretty powerful set, playing songs from their debut Fourteen Autumns, Fifteen Winters. Frontman James Graham was the center of energy from the four-piece, screaming at the top of his lungs in his thick Scottish accent. He rarely faced the crowd, mostly facing toward either side of the stage throughout the entire set. At some of the more loud parts of the songs, he would go back to the drums and smash away on the cymbals, eventually snapping a drumstick, sending the splintered pieces flying into the crowd.

Philly’s DR. DOG followed The Twilight Sad on the Main Stage. I never really got into Dr. Dog, but they delivered with an enjoyable performance nonetheless. After Dr. Dog I headed over to the Stillwell Stage to catch the DETROIT COBRAS and LAVENDER DIAMOND. The latter was a nice change of pace from the previous three bands.

The Los Angeles quartet played mellowed out songs perfect for a summer day at the beach. Rebecca Stark’s delicate vocals were mesmerizing, capturing the crowd’s attention with her beautiful singing and between song banter about world peace and eco-friendliness. As a professional in the environmental field, I found her idea of “shitting in the ground and burying it” rather hilarious. “Why shit in the water?” she asked.

Heading back over to the Main Stage, M.I.A. snapped me out of the summer daze Lavender Diamond left me in with an incredibly energetic live show and in my book the real highlight of the entire festival. After being refused a visa on several different occasions, Maya arrived in New York City just in time to work over the Siren crowd like a pro, flowing and rhyming over the backbeats of her much touted Arular. It was my first time seeing M.I.A. – put off by the hype back when her record came out in 2005 and subsequent Honda commercials. I’m glad I got over my own issues and settled front and center for what turned out to be an impressive live experience.

The NEW YORK DOLLS with only one two (oops!) original members followed M.I.A. and due to photography obligations, I had to stay to see them. They were…uhh…fun…I guess?

It’s been rumored that this was the 7th and final Siren Fest at Coney Island due to the Vegas-like redevelopment of the park. Supposedly, all the kitsch that made Coney Island and Siren so much fun will be gone come next summer, hopefully the Voice can find another venue to keep the party going.

There were a shitload of bloggers there, so check around for some more coverage from the event. More pictures below.