Friday, June 19, 2009

The final Siren line-up is as follows...


...and actually, it's quite holistic and may well be the finest roster the fledgling festival has assembled in the past two years or so. Still, the fact that the unprolific party animals in Spank Rock are headlining over Bear Hands is kind of baffling (this is actually moot, seeing as there are several stages). Although Siren's humidity, vague tendrils of sea breeze, and groping hands still pale in comparison to the eclectic programs in the more serene environs of Prospect Park that Celebrate Brooklyn has assembled in recent summers, kudos to Village Voice Media (a.k.a. the Phoenix-based publisher that fired Robert Christgau and Nat Hentoff, in essence reducing the paper to a bowdlerized finishing school for Columbia grad students) for thinking about their constituents for a change and sticking with Coney -- and locally-affiliated musicians -- during these precarious months.

The full bill (with my reccomendations; times TBA):

BUILT TO SPILL

SPANK ROCK (*)

THE RAVEONETTES (*)

FRIGHTENED RABBIT

A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS

GRAND DUCHY

MONOTONIX

THEE OH SEES

FUTURE OF THE LEFT

JAPANDROIDS

MICACHU & THE SHAPES

TINY MASTERS OF TODAY (*)

BEAR HANDS (*)

JUSTINE D.

DEADHEAT DJS

For the laymen, Spank Rock and The Raveonettes may be "so 2007" for some, but their visceral stage shows will leave you spellbound (assuming ol' Jamal of the former group doesn't pull a Sly Stone, of course). Bear Hands are like Matt and Kim with a Beirut edge, while Tiny Masters of Today -- as written about yesterday -- may be very important in the future. All in all, a satisfying production... and don't forget your dancing shoes this year, with the Deadheat DJs and Brooklyn-based mixmaster Justine D. adding all the levity and then some that last year's chamber pop-laden proceedings could have used in spades.

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