Siren Festival - Coney Island - July 18, 2009

Words by Vaughn Kritsas
Photos by Chris La Putt via BV

A veteran of the annual Village Voice Siren Fest for the past 5 years, this year marked the first year that I could legally drink and the first year that I made a conscious effort to see the headliner of the main stage. Prior years I would usually stick with the Stillwell Stage headliner, except for the NY Dolls, who draw a more eclectic musical presence to the show. Usually I would strategize about running from stage to stage to catch as many bands as humanly possible in the heat stroke inducing sun. However, this year I decided to chill out and take Siren Fest for what it really is: a free concert.

After filling up on Coney Island's very own Nathan's hot dogs and two XL Coors Lites (only $6.50!) I made my way to the main stage to catch the Japandroids. Hailing all the way from Vancouver and selling out their previous NY stop at Pianos, I was anticipating their brand of teen anthems spewed with 90s fuzz. For some reason listening to the Japandroids seems so wrong; however, to deny oneself enjoyment of lyrics like "your style is such a mess, I shoulda known I used to date a stylist" backed by loud snare and crash cymbals is a fucking crime.

Despite having a great time enjoying a beer and listening to the Japandroids, I made a snap play decision to scamper off to the Stillwell Stage to catch Thee Oh Sees. It was during my run to the Stillwell Stage that my masculinity was put to the test in the form of a simple game of "Shoot-the-Freak" and the XL beers from Nathan's finally caught up with me. When I finally reached the press pit I was told that I actually missed Thee Oh Sees set. I guess my 2009 Siren Fest experience has been denied its right to lo-fi psychedelic garage rock.

Next up: Future of the Left. Hailing all the way from the bowels of Cardiff, Wales, Future of the Left took to the stage screaming such lyrics as "violence will solve everything" and "Audience Please! Every minute matters!" backed by crunchy guitar rock and deep distorted heavy bass. The angsty crowd took to Future of the Left with great energy by showcasing their fist-pumping and head-banging techniques. This ultimately culminated in bassist Kelson Matthias (who previously took jabs at America’s good ole Cheetos) throwing himself over the much-disliked press barricade into the flock of adoring angst ridden fans.

I would say it would be hard to follow such a strong act, but Brooklyn three-piece A Place to Bury Strangers successfully brought their tinnitus inducing noise-rock to the sunny shores of Coney Island. While the breeze rolled off the Atlantic Ocean, frontman Oliver Ackermann crafted simple pop melodies drenched in feedback, which called to mind such predecessors as My Bloody Valentine and Jesus and Mary Chain. A beach may be the wrong place to see such a band, who are known for playing dark, dingy Brooklyn lofts, but Oliver and co. held their own and blasted the audience with enough feedback to shake The Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone.

Taking the headlining slot for the main stage was none other than Built to Spill, who are set to release their first album in three years, There Is No Enemy, this October. Kicking their set off with “Liar” from their latest LP, Built to Spill threw down the gauntlet for naysayers who constantly draw comparisons to the Neil Young and Crazy Horse riffage. The setlist consisted of a nice mix of four previous LPs and was completely void of songs from Perfect From Now On, which the band played in its entirety at their last NY appearance. As the sun set, Built to Spill moved into such crowd favorites as “You Were Right”, which was met with crowd singalongs. The band ended the night with “Carry the Zero” while I was wondering who has the better beard: Doug Martsh or Brett Netson?