siren fest 2008, coney island, nyc (aka, surface of the sun)

photo courtesy of... Google image search?

Last weekend, some friends and I headed down to Coney Island to catch the Village Voice's annual Siren Fest Music Festival and roast ourselves in the nearly unbearable 100° heat. Despite a few unfortunate circumstances and mishaps -- overlapping set-times, a long trek between stages, and friends were dropping like flies due to dehydration -- I managed to squeeze a decent concert experience out of the day. Highlights:

- We first caught Parts & Labor at the main stage. They were fun, though I can't say they blew my mind.
- Tracked down my roommate while waiting for the Dodos to get started. They ended started a half hour late because they took an eon to set up. I ended up catching just a slice of their set, though my friend reported back that they could only manage to squeeze in three songs. Bummer?
- Next, Beach House: I was super excited to see them, but rather unfortunately, 30 seconds into "Gila" one of my friends passed out. We managed to get him on his feet and on his way home in time for the last few songs of their set.
- Islands was my favorite of the day. They're genuinely good performers, and I loved the array of instruments on-stage -- including a violin, a xylophone, an accordian, and a garbage can.
- Stuck around after Islands and spied Ted Leo inconspicuously DJing up-stage. I've always loved Ted Leo, and it was kind of funny to see him just chilling and singing along to whatever it was he was spinning.
- Caught the first half of Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks. I've heard plenty of Pavement but I can't say I've heard much of Malkmus' solo-(ish?) work, but I did really enjoy seeing him and the Jicks. He's also a pretty funny guy, which made for some entertaining banter between songs.
- Headed back to the other stage to see the end of Broken Social Scene. They sounded great, but their were so many friggin' people! I actually regretted not sticking around for more of the Jicks' set, as I had a much better vantage point and plenty more elbow room over there.

Overall, it was an interesting day. The distance between the two stages was pretty frustrating, though, and I lost a lot of time shuffling between the two. It will be interesting to see what happens with Siren Fest next year, as the amusement park is shutting down at the end of the summer.

Next up on the summer festival line-up -- ALL POINTS WEST, August 8!!!! (read: RADIOHEAD!!!!!!!!11!1OMFG!)