Olga Bas Photography + Music Reviews » siren festival

Update: Siren Festival pt. 4 – The Raveonettes, Built to Spill, Spank Rock

Galatea — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:52:01 +0000

Rounding off the festival, The Raveonettes played a lively set as the sun started to set over Coney Island.

The Raveonettes at Siren Festival; July 18th 2009

Built to Spill stepped on the Main Stage to tremendous cheers (and a whiff of marijuana), ready to close off the festival on that side of the Wonder Wheel.

Built to Spill at Siren Festival; July 18th 2009

On the other side, Spank Rock invited chaos, with the crowd climbing over the barricade to dance in the photo pit until security intervened. I heard there was an impromptu after-show on the Williamsburg Bridge around midnight. With Spank Rock, the chaos never stops.

Spank Rock at Siren Festival; July 18th 2009

And that wraps up my Siren Festival coverage. I hope you had fun while it lasted.

In the near future look forward to a few album reviews and some photos from a show with Friendly Fires and The Phenomenal Handclap Band.

Update: Siren Festival pt. 3 – Frightened Rabbit, Grand Duchy, A Place To Bury Strangers

Galatea — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 01:52:11 +0000

Main Stage crowd at Siren Festival; July 18th 2009

Frightened Rabbit, from Scotland, drew a very excited crowd (and played a fairly long set).

Frightened Rabbit at Siren Festival; July 18th 2009

Grand Duchy, featuring Frank Black (pictured) and his wife, were underwhelming, musically.

Grand Duchy at Siren Festival; July 18th 2009

A Place To Bury Strangers, another Brooklyn band (surprise!) played a moody set at the Stillwell Stage.

A Place To Bury Strangers at Siren Festival; July 18th 2009

Coming up in the next and last Siren update are The Raveonettes, Built to Spill, and Spank Rock.

Update: Siren Festival pt. 2 – Bear Hands, Japandroids, Thee Oh Sees

Galatea — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:09:03 +0000

The day continued to get hotter and the bands continued rocking Coney Island.

Bear Hands, another Brooklyn band, were fairly mellow (particularly when compared to some of the more energetic acts on that day) and unmemorable: a trend for Brooklyn bands, it seems.

Bear Hands at Siren Festival; July 18th 2009

Japandroids, who’ve been heavily name-dropped on many music blogs recently, were okay and have never played to such a large audience before. At least they were from Vancouver and not Brooklyn.

Japandroids at Siren Festival; July 18th 2009

Chalking up another win for the Stillwell Stage, the Thee Oh Sees put on a highly energetic set that was fascinating to watch. Particularly manic was singer, John Dwyer, effectively stealing the limelight from the rest of the band.

Thee Oh Sees at Siren Festival; July 18th 2009

Next batch will include photos of Frightened Rabbit, Grand Duchy, and A Place to Bury Strangers.

Update: Siren Festival pt. 1 – Tiny Masters of Today, The Blue Van, Micachu and the Shapes

Galatea — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:27:00 +0000

I hadn’t been planning on going to this years Siren Festival because I’m not a fan of the sun and none of the bands held any particular interest, but was asked to cover the event for Skyscraper and I couldn’t turn down the press treatment (even if it meant running around on the boardwalk between stages every 15-20 minutes).

Siren Festival at Coney Island, Brooklyn; July 18th 2009

Tiny Masters of Today were the first band scheduled at the Main Stage (right next to the famous Cyclone roller coaster). One of the many Brooklyn bands performing at the festival, they did not distinguish themselves very much.

Tiny Masters of Today at Siren Festival; July 18th 2009

Next, doing the opening honors at the Stillwell Stage, were my new favorite band, The Blue Van. The Siren program dubbed them “Nordic rock gods” and I’d have to agree. I stayed for the whole set (one of two whole sets I saw all day) and if that’s not a clear indication of liking, I don’t know what is. ‘Man Up’ has become my summer jingle.

The Blue Van at Siren Festival; July 18th 2009

Hustling off after the excellent set by The Blue Van, I made in time to get the general idea of blog-darlings Micachu and the Shapes. I can’t recall their brand of indie, just the fact that I didn’t stick around for long.

Micachu and the Shapes at Siren Festival; July 18th 2009

Next batch of Siren photos will include Bear Hands, Japandroids, and the Thee Oh Sees.