I’ve got to give it to the
Voice. This year’s edition of the
Siren Fest was just great. I’ve heard and read all the gripes about there not being a good headliner and stuff, and perhaps there is some truth to that (neither Stars nor the Scissor Sisters have quite the same mainstream recognition as Spoon, Modest Mouse, Death Cab, etc.), but this year’s line-up was really stacked top-to-bottom. Oh yeah, and you know what, it’s still a
free festival so quit yer bitchin’! Also, maybe I’m imagining things here, but perhaps because the “headliners” were not quite as well-known as in past years, it didn’t seem quite as packed as it has. There were still a ton of people of course, it just felt a bit easier to move in and out of the crowds. I did spend most of the day at the Stillwell Stage which also may have had something to do with that, but that’s where most of the bands I most wanted to see were playing. I unfortunately did not have one of them fancy all-access passes (maybe next year!) so I couldn’t easily run back and forth between stages (plus I wanted to leave at least some time to walk around, eat, and drink Nathan’s 44 oz beers), but the day played out just perfectly in my mind. The pictures below (in order) are from the Stillwell performances by Priestess and Man Man, the Main Stage set from Tapes ‘n Tapes, and the Stillwell performances from The Cribs, Art Brut, and Stars.
Keep reading for a whole lot more from Siren Fest 2006.
Starting off the day at the Stillwell Stage were Montreal’s hard rockers Priestess (Myspace). Not enough bands today just rock out like they do. They’re not quite metal, but almost…a very late ’70s influenced brand of hard, head-banging rock that we all need a healthy dose of in our lives at least once in a while. The guitars really wailed, and the percussion just pounded, including a fairly lengthy drum solo towards the end of the set, during which the guy behind me screamed to me over the beat “Yes! NO ONE does drum solos anymore! This rocks!” Well said, sir.
Indie-licious favorites Man Man (Myspace) took the stage next, and proceeded to throw down what was probably the day’s best performance. Honus Honus, Pow Pow, and the rest of the fellas simply put on one of the most exciting, compelling, and entertaining performances you are likely to see. This is particularly true if you happen to be close enough to the band to really watch their wordless interactions on stage. While it may look somewhat chaotic, each member of the band knows exactly what the others are doing at all times. It’s hard to pick real standout songs from such a well-crafted set, but “English Bwudd” and “Against the Peruvian Monster” seemed to get the greatest crowd reactions, particularly among those who seemed to be at least relatively unfamiliar with Man Man’s music. I’ve written at length about Man Man before, so I won’t bother saying much more here except that they consistently put on one of the best live acts in indie rock today, and I already can’t wait to see them in Chicago in less than two weeks.
Following a not-so-brief wait in line for beer and food, it was off to the Main Stage to catch Tapes ‘n Tapes (Myspace). We actually made it over there just in time to catch Celebration’s last song; I was sorry I missed their set. They were quite good when I saw them at the Plug Awards and would definitely catch them again when they come back to town. It had started to rain a bit right before Tapes ‘n Tapes, and was drizzling pretty steadily throughout their set, but no one really seemed to mind. The set was short, sweet, and right to the point. They probably only played for about half an hour, but they seemed determined to put as much energy into the quick set as they could. The guys seemed less nervous than they appeared at their Bowery shows, which received a fair amount of undue negative attention, in my opinion. They are probably never going to be one of the premier must-see live bands, but with energetic performances of hits like “Insistor,” “Cowbell,” and “Icedbergs” they still put on a fun show that gets most everyone dancing, “weather” or not. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
After Tapes ‘n Tapes (and a brutally long wait at the Porta-Potties), it was time for a refill then back to Stillwell where we caught the last few songs by The Cribs (Myspace). They were good and all, I don’t have much to say about them though. It was pretty standard Brit pop-punk, nothing objectionable, but nothing terribly memorable either. They certainly had a ton of energy though, and most of the crowd was really into their set.
The excitement started building right after The Cribs’ set for the much-anticipated New York return of Art Brut (Myspace)…I mean, it’s been almost a whole two months since their last area shows. How have we gone that long without our Brut fix??? Well, a clean-shaven Eddie Argos once again cemented his place as the greatest frontman in the business. Even though we’ve seen the schtick a bunch of times by now, we know the jokes, we know he still won’t know which way to point towards LA (he even had a setting sun to help him this time), he manages to keep it fresh, fun, and exciting. If Man Man were the best act of the day, Art Brut were a pretty close second. The band was tight, they seem to be getting better each time we see them, which is obviously a good sign. And the crowd loves them. They are very rapidly becoming legitimate stars on the level that few indie acts can reach.
And speaking of Stars (Myspace), Montreal’s Arts & Crafts power-pop sextet had the honor of closing the night at Stillwell, down the boardwalk from the Scissor Sisters’ headlining gig at the Main Stage. But not to worry, because as frontman Torquil Campbell told us: “We’re almost as gay as the Scissor Sisters.” Stars are great, and Milan and Campbell make an adorable duo. I think maybe we sometimes take for granted how talented they are, but they certainly reminded us Saturday night. All the beautiful instrumentation came together brilliantly, as guitar and bass blended with violin and trumpet throughout their upbeat melodic set.
One particular bit of excitement occurred when an beach ambulance thing had to make its way through the ridiculously tightly-packed crowd. We never did find out what happened, hope everyone was okay.
So there ya have it folks, Siren Fest 2006. Good practice for the insanity that will be Chicago in two weeks! Also there: everyone, of course. J over at Heart on a Stick has the most complete list of links of the Festival’s coverage I’ve found, so rather than copy all his links here, go check his out.
