siren Siren SIREN !!!

I didn't blog yesterday because I was caught in the wrath of the Siren Music Festival at Coney Island. Not that the lineup was particularly impressive, but the acts that were good were truly good. I arrived at 3:10 or something, just missing the Noisettes, a band I wanted to see (I had seen them at Roseland in 2005 opening for Bloc Party and The Kills,) but I did see The Detroit Cobras' great set. Prior to Siren I had only one track of theirs on my iPod, "Hey Sailor" which I always liked, but it never drew me to purchase any more of their music and whatnot. When I was confronted with an entire set of the Cobras' music, however, I was lovestruck. They displayed cold, hard enthusiasm, and a great sense of comfort amid the Coney Island scene. They mentioned the hot-dog eating contests and how in Detroit a "coney island" was the name of a chili dog. The lead singer [as well] completely contradicted the truth campaigns, making cigarettes look like glorious props to have while belting out a great rock song. I really enjoyed their set.

But, who I really came to Siren for was M.I.A., whom I have loved since "Galang" was a single in 2005. While she did have her diva moments on stage (i.e. needing water all the time, stopping the music occassionally,) I don't fault her. It was a hot day, and for the amount of time she was shaking her hips and rapping, she was looking out for her hot Sri Lankan self. I had a blast watching her. She played some great stuff from her upcoming Kala. Where I was standing in the crowd, not one person was standing still. Whether you were grinding with the stranger in front of you, doing the worm on the beer-stained cement, or shaking your head around breathing in the skunk-weed air, you were loving M.I.A. She shocked me with a great rendition of The Pixies' "Where Is My Mind," a totally new, hip, version of the classic. It got me moving. And following this cover, her DJ friend who layed down the beats she needed for her set, played the beginning riff of the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams," mashing it with a new song on Kala. It was simply "wayyyyy-cool!!!" Of course I enjoyed her classics "Bucky Done Gun," "10 Dolla," "Pull Up The People," and an awesome finish with "Galang," (everyone had their hands up on the 'ya-ya-hey' part,) but I really admired her new stuff: "Boyz," her new single which I'm not that crazy about was still fun live, and "Birdflu" was fantastic. Really fun stuff, guys.

I hope Siren revives itself for next year, despite the outrageous conclusion of Coney Island.

VIDEOS: