Siren Music Fest - NOT dead. Whee!

So, it may or may not be apparent here, but I'm not a big fan of outdoor, all-day music festivals. I know a lot of people love them, but I don't care for standing around in a crowd, in the middle of summer, in the heat, all day, waiting for bands to play. Take All Points West, for instance - it's rather close to home, and this year's line-up is good, with a lot of bands I'd like to see, but not good enough to warrant standing in the heat and shelling out all that money for tickets when I could see all the same bands play in New York during the rest of the year and not have to wait through twenty other acts first.*

Anyway, rant over. Point is, Siren Fest is really the only outdoor, all-day festival I've bothered to attend over the past few years, due to proximity and the fact that it's free. I'm okay with standing around with a bunch of sweaty hipsters for a day when it's free.

That was a long segue into my main point : after Astroland closed down last year, I heard people say "It's over" and others say "It's not." Moot point now - Village Voice has just announced this year's initial line-up :

BUILT TO SPILL
THE RAVEONETTES
FRIGHTENED RABBIT
GRAND DUCHY
MONOTONIX
MICACHU & THE SHAPES

It'll be held on 18th July, running from noon 'til about 9 pm at - you guessed it - Coney Island.

And it's still free.


*Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that they've started a big festival in the tri-state area for those who are interested in such things. But, again, I personally am not, unless my jaw drops at the line-up. As for fests like Coachella and Bonnaroo, etc., funds and timing often stand in the way.

Siren is this Saturday.

Yeah, yeah, you've all see this year's poster and the schedule of events.



The official afterparty, featuring Apes & Androids, A Place to Bury Strangers, and Marnie Stern, will be held at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.


Siren is the only festival I've made an effort to attend for the past two years, mainly because 1) there is a definite lack of festivals in my area (though that's changed what with All Points West coming in) and 2) I'm not really big on the whole "festival" thing. But Siren is free and in NYC and although I've been less and less keen on the line-up over the past three years, I may make an effort to go this year.

Maybe not. We'll see.