Despite technical difficulties, the Village Voice-sponsored Siren Festival was a hit yesterday, with fourteen bands spread out over two stages, along side the Cyclone roller coaster at Coney Island's Astroland Park.
As far as set-up is concerned, the Siren Festival is everything a festival should be: laid-back and open without the daunting presence of "The Man" over your shoulder; I couldn't help but be reminded of the Lollapalooza festivals of the mid-nineties at Randall's Island, and the ecclectic line-up featured reinforced my nostalgia.
The Philadelphia-based Dr. Dog played one of the more inspiring sets of the festival on the main stage, which was located on West 10th Street. It is always good to see a band from Philly or Boston come to New York and play a good set, but it's even better when the crowd is fully receptive, as they were for Dr. Dog's crispy-fried, bounce-fest.
Later on, The Detroit Cobras tore up the Stillwell Avenue stage with their rock 'n' roll-infused, R & B wallop. Led by vocalist Rachel Nagy and rhythm guitarist Mary Ramierez, the Cobras ran through a 40 minute set full of ass-shaking thunder, and Nagy joked about the early time slot by asking, "What's that huge glowing thing in the sky? I've never seen that before."
Keeping it weird was Atlanta's The Black Lips, who turned in an interesting - if not completely confounding - set that included mock-vaudeville, chickens, and country bop that was reminiscent of The B-52's early work.
But the day belonged to Maya Arulpragasam, a.k.a, M.I.A. The Sri Lankan-born MC ran through a set of her signature electro-dancehall hip-hop, featuring tracks from her upcoming release, Kala, as well as her remarkable debut, Arular. Between songs, M.I.A. hipped the crowd to her recent legal struggles. After being refused a visa to enter the country by the United States government, M.I.A. was forced to cancel several performances, and in the weeks leading up to the Siren Festival, her performance there was still up in the air.
Also featured throughout the day were The New York Dolls, We Are Scientists, Cursive, The Noisettes, and Glasgow's The Twilight Sad. Many local acts were featured on the Stillwell Stage, like Brooklyn's own The White Rabbits and Matt and Kim.
As far as set-up is concerned, the Siren Festival is everything a festival should be: laid-back and open without the daunting presence of "The Man" over your shoulder; I couldn't help but be reminded of the Lollapalooza festivals of the mid-nineties at Randall's Island, and the ecclectic line-up featured reinforced my nostalgia.
The Philadelphia-based Dr. Dog played one of the more inspiring sets of the festival on the main stage, which was located on West 10th Street. It is always good to see a band from Philly or Boston come to New York and play a good set, but it's even better when the crowd is fully receptive, as they were for Dr. Dog's crispy-fried, bounce-fest.
Later on, The Detroit Cobras tore up the Stillwell Avenue stage with their rock 'n' roll-infused, R & B wallop. Led by vocalist Rachel Nagy and rhythm guitarist Mary Ramierez, the Cobras ran through a 40 minute set full of ass-shaking thunder, and Nagy joked about the early time slot by asking, "What's that huge glowing thing in the sky? I've never seen that before."
Keeping it weird was Atlanta's The Black Lips, who turned in an interesting - if not completely confounding - set that included mock-vaudeville, chickens, and country bop that was reminiscent of The B-52's early work.
But the day belonged to Maya Arulpragasam, a.k.a, M.I.A. The Sri Lankan-born MC ran through a set of her signature electro-dancehall hip-hop, featuring tracks from her upcoming release, Kala, as well as her remarkable debut, Arular. Between songs, M.I.A. hipped the crowd to her recent legal struggles. After being refused a visa to enter the country by the United States government, M.I.A. was forced to cancel several performances, and in the weeks leading up to the Siren Festival, her performance there was still up in the air.
Also featured throughout the day were The New York Dolls, We Are Scientists, Cursive, The Noisettes, and Glasgow's The Twilight Sad. Many local acts were featured on the Stillwell Stage, like Brooklyn's own The White Rabbits and Matt and Kim.
