Morningwood and Saul Williams blew me away.
Spoon rocked it too.
What was up with the sound on the main stage for most of the day? Not so good.

I agree, Morningwood was spectacular except for a few little vocal snafoos here and there. I really liked VHS or Beta as well. Spoon was kick ass. was very impressed. It really was a great day of music all around. So many good bands.
I am exhausted and pretty red.

No mention of Q and not U. This is one of their last few shows!!! come on people. A great band is going to be leaving very soon!!!!

No mention of Q and not U. This is one of their last few shows!!! come on people. A great band is going to be leaving very soon!!!!

ahhh after a shower i feel like a million bux again. i loved today, i only went for Spoon and Brendan Benson, and lemme tell you, it makes such a difference to only go for a couple hours, i had a great time in the breezy fog just seein the 2 bands i wanted to see, much easier to deal w/the crowds and standing around waiting. loved spoon's super long set and brendan's maybe not as well suited for this type of place but his super poppy stuff worked great. overall, a great Siren experience for me.

some pix here:
http://www.littlepants.com/music/spoon3.html

http://www.littlepants.com/music/brendan3.html

i got there just in time for the end of the Dears' soundcheck. i loved their set and managed to squeeze up to the front of the stage for Q and Not U, who were fantastic. those guys are a great live band. the kids around me all went nuts for "Soft Pyramids" and "A Line In the Sand." Saul Williams was pretty damn good, there was definitely a good vibe in the crowd during his set at the Stillwell Stage. VHS Or Beta were alot of fun too. and of course Spoon was fun. still, Q and Not U was my favorite of the day. a shame they won't play new york again.

Morningwood was hands down the best band. Holy Crap. Seriosusly. Holy Crap. That 40 minutes made my weekend. Anyone have an extra ticket to mercury this wednesdya to see them with the scissor sisters? I'll give you $20.

Oh man am I burnt. Those two hours when the sun came out were brutal.

waking up refreshed though, i can write a little about yesterday. I normally don't post here, but I have grown to love this blog so here goes...

For me, Siren was better than ever. I know everyone was complaining that there wasnt a mega headliner and they were disspointed with some of the bands on the bill, but the truth is that every band was good, and the slightly smaller crowd made the day a little more enjoyable for me and everyone else I think.

I have to agree with what i am seeing other people writing on this blog and others, that Morningwood really did steal the show. That Chantal Claret is an incredible performer and the band is so so tight. They have great songs that stick in your head but aren't cheesy, they perform the hell out of them, and they refuse to let you leave without breaking a sweat. There really wasn't another performance today that stood up to theirs', but there were good ones.

I loved Saul Williams. He was great, but I had to miss a little of his set to go see Dungen who i thought were really entertaining. VHS or Beta surprised me. I hadnt seen them before and everyone told me that they sucked live, but i totally disagree. I thought they gave a powerful performance.

I guess the one dissapointment of the day had to be Be Your Own Pet. I mean WTF? They played for 20 minutes? Did their mommies need them home by 3pm for tutoring? I mean please. There are plenty of other bands that were deserving of a slot on Siren festival, so that kind of pisses me off.

I ended the day with Mates Of State who I love, and love more after last night. I got up nice and close and they really sent me home in a good mood.

anyway, time to pick up where I left off and drink a bloody mary and get my day started.
M-O, M-O-R, M-O-R-N-I-N-G, W-O-O-D! Sing it!

For those who liked Morningwood, I got this email last week...

Next Thursday July 21st, PAPER is having a Rock N Roll party. It's called Sounds Like Paper. Clever, eh?

8pm-11pm
Don Hill's
511 Greenwich Street

Performances By:
Morningwood
Elkland
The Star Spangles

DJ:
The MisShapes

Booze:
Budweiser

Come get wasted and watch some ill as hell bands, all for free.

RSVP@PAPERMAG.COM

--

I love/loved Morningwood too, but since their publicist has obviously taken over the comments on this post, what did others think?

Morningwood was bad. I walked up when they were doing Knock On Wood (or whatever old doo wop cover), and it sounded like a wedding band. The rest of the songs are cookie-cutter, simple chord progressions that a hundred different bands are doing in their garage as you read this. Plus I hated the way the singer shook her boobs at random for photo opps, or maybe she was nervous. The saving grace, obviously, is that she can belt it. I'd go see them again to give her another chance, but they'd be better in a room, I bet. She seems like she needs the audience in her face to finally relax and be herself.

i thought that the Cyclone was the best act of the day.

i remember hear about this. i really wanted to go. but i dont live in brooklyn... or newyork for that matter.

I didn't make it to the second stage. I just camped out at the first stage where I hit the lead singer of detachment kit with a tennis ball...good times!

i really liked detachment kit, i thought their outfits were great, and they were a lot of fun, rather then pay attention to their music i was too into the tennis theme.
be your own pet was fun for a second, but then again they only played for a second, good energy, but no songs and it got boring and grating.
morningwood were really fun, i think the singer just happens to have big tits they happen to shake a lot when she dances, i don't blame a person for dancing, better then all that standing still looking stoic shit. their songs were pretty catchy, and i think they did an adam ant cover, which i love.
diamond nights had good energy, but all their songs sounded like other songs, i couldn;t tell if they were doing a thin lizzy cover or just passing one off as their own. the singer was boring. the beach balls were great.
saul williams was great.
mates of state and spoon were boring as shit.

spent the rest of the day on the beach and playing shoot the freak.

good bands we ambulance, dears, morningwood and saul williams. the rest were kinda bland. good hot dogs though.

I'm really surprised that everyone's going nuts over M'wood. I saw them open for Local H at the Khyber in Philly a year and a half ago and found them a bit one-note and pathetic. When I got stuck watching them open for the Wrens a couple months back, it was the same stuff. Gets real tired, real fast.

BYOP's a punk band -- you want more than 20 mins of that? I thought they were a blast, they just don't have much material, right now. Jemima explodes on stage, Chantal just seems to want to be loved.

The Dears had the best music I heard all day, easy (but I didn't stay for Spoon).

well she (chantal) suceeded cause i love her. she had way more personality and a better voice then BYOP's girl. I just found their songs and her voice annoying, but there was energy i will give them that.

i posted the previous post as well about the show, it didn't keep my name for some reason though.

i saw morningwood once and i don't understand why everyone loves them. that's a gorgeous photo of mates of state.

Siren. was pretty good this year. I got so sunburned..and some cute girl was giving out homemade demo's of her band, called storm petrel. I was wondering if anyone got one, and if so what do they think ? Because I listened to it, and I enjoy it.

...more shots of siren @ www.fotojenyk.com

It's surprising just how little music I saw... trying to negotiate between the two stages. The only complete set I stayed for was VHS or Beta Forget David Bowie, VHS/Beta had the Incredible Hulk make an appearance. Kind of an anticlimatic day for me.

Saw every band on the main stage and two on the second stage.

Best performance: Spoon
Worst performance: Diamond Days
Best sound: The Dears
Most boring: Brendon Benson
Most fun: Detachment Kit
Best Nirvana cover band: Nine Black Alps
Coolest accents: Dungen
Most embarrassing/intentional? see through clothes: One of the Dears keys players
Most pregnant: The other Dears keys player
Songs the most closely sounding like they do on the album: Ambulence LTD
Band that inexplicably played one of their most fun songs at half tempo, therefore causing me to lose interest: Q and not U
Band that seemed to be having the most fun: Dungen
Most sad to have missed: Mates of State

The real "Chris", not that fraud up above...hmmm...maybe I need to pick a less common name to go by...

As expected, all the big indie-yuppie bloggas followed the herd to Morningwood and slept through Q and Not U, who shredded the mainstage with their irresistable dance punk sui generis soon-to-be-extinct brilliance. Wazzup with the blogga ignorance regarding this terrific band? (Stereogum being the exception proving the rule.)

To everyone who said that this years line up sucked and didn't go, you missed an awesome day. from detachment kit all the way through spoon and mates of state. all really good sets. I guess Be Your Own Pet's 14 minutes was the only joke.
I wasn't familiar with Detachment kit, and they were a really fun way to start off the day. Brendan Benson, VHS or Beta, Spoon & Morningwood were the best of the day in my opinion.

More like "To everyone who said that this years line up sucked and didn't go, thank you for making this the most comfortable Siren I've been to so far by not taking up space with your too-cool-hipster asses"

Amen to that!

More pics?

just these so far:
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2005/07/morningwood_tak.html

I thought Siren was a good time all around besides being a bit to hot. I checked out The Dears, Q and not U, Saul Williams, VHS or Beta, and Mates of State.

The Dears were by far the best performance of the day. VHS or Beta were terrible, and I pray I never see them again. Mates of State were just so darn cute. I have a few pictures on my blog.

We send Jeremiah out to NYC to shoot Siren.
Check www.icecreamman.com for over 100 pics. We got EVERY band that played.
Dig it!

Mates of State will be back in NYC on 10/20 for a show at Bowery Ballroom. It's listed on the bands website, but not Bowery's website. They are also doing a show at my alma mater, Alfred. Wish they had cool shows like that when I went there.

Hey BV - we ever going to get more Siren pics?

the rest of the siren pics are on my crashed hard drive that I haven't been able to try and recover yet.

that really sux

Photos now up on the official site.

http://www.villagevoice.com/siren/2005/05_eventpics.html

Press Release:

"New York, NY (July 19, 2005) On Saturday, July 16, 2005 the 5th Annual Village Voice SIREN MUSIC FESTIVAL at Coney Island secured its status as the premier outdoor indie rock festival by again drawing over 100,000 music fans throughout the day to the annual free event with its stellar lineup."

over 100,000? please....

visit my forum at lonnybunnyhop

visit my forum at lonnybunnyhop

There are some really good web resources on sign language.

There comes a time when we must rise against the tyranny of democracy.

And my silent agreement goes something like "Because she was fucked up enough as a kid to decide to fuck on film for fortune and fame."

This is where Mr. Tall comes in. HeÒs not one to forget. Yay for horny men!

I switched the vibrator off and set it aside. My hips were starting to get sore, so Dangly picked me up & scooted me up the bed. I straightened my legs as he moved his to the outside.

Tristan Taormino (one of my favorite sex writers and educators. She's awesome)

‘and what makes it worse is that you stopped to think about it and have a look to see if anything was coming before you went through’

And my collar is lost somewhere in there.

Following on from my heron experience, I stood under a tree on Sunday evening watching a woodpecker* hammering at a tree trunk.

HeÒs impressed by how many people are keen to attend public talks and debates at the moment.