Siren Fest '07

Ah, my first Siren Festival. And my first trip to Coney Island. Yes, I've lived in New York City for over five years now, and I've never made the trip. I usually seemed to be somewhere else in the dead heat of July (thanks to a wonderful thing called summer vacation, that I now miss). So I arrived off the subway with childlike excitement, gazing wide-eyed at the roller coasters and beach in front of me. But we had bands to see, and little time to stroll, so with a VIP bracelet in hands (mucho thanks Aaron), we headed to the "main stage" for Twilight Sad.

Pat and I checked out the Scottish band a few months ago at Knitting Factory and although I left completely deaf, it was a brilliant show for a band I knew very little about at the time. Since then they've received a significant amount of buzz, including a coveted spot at this year's Pitchfork fest, which know means its solid gold for the young band. I only had time to catch a little bit of their set this time around, but sometime tells me it wont be the last. The intensity emoted from the lead singer's stares and vocals can be a bit intense at times. Even with the sun beating down and the Cyclone riding by, I was totally entranced.

But, of course, it was off to see my favorites: the White Rabbits. In what could be considered stalking tendencies I never miss a show by this band. It's an excuse for me to feel totally giddy while checking out my top album of the year live. Luckily, their shows never get old as they tend to throw in a few newbies and covers along the way. This time, they played the incredible "Sea Of Rum" that worked perfectly in its surroundings. Dressed in adorable preppy beach attire, those six boys have yet to disappoint me live.

From there, my wonderful boyfriend decided it was a good idea for me to go on the Cyclone for the first time. Now don't get me wrong, I love rollercoasters. But those rickity wooden ones always leave me with a headache, and a bit shell-shocked. This time was no different as I left the ride thinking I had had a near death experience, with my neck and head in pain. Obviously, I needed a drink.

We headed on over to check out Lavender Diamond whose album I quite enjoy, but was a bit taken a back by their live show. Perhaps it's just a bit too odd for my liking, but the lead singer kinda creeped me out in a very unnatural way. I don't think she made much sense, maybe out of nerves, but her in-between banter caused a lot of "huhs" and "whats." However the songs sounded pretty stellar and I was surprised at how many people were into it. Maybe it was just me, after all.

So we decided to check out the Noisettes, who I had never really heard much about, but Pat explained a bit and it sounded cool to me. Definitely the surprise of the day, as the band put on a tight set that was, by definition, rock and roll. The lead singer was enigmatic with her poofy hair and rowdy attire. At one point the drummer disappeared from the stage, and left the band (and us) in confusion. Luckily he came back and the set continued. I imagine this band would be pretty crazy in an enclosed venue. Will have to keep note of when they come back.

It was a tough decision for me to choose between We Are Scientists and Matt and Kim. Damn you Village Voice for putting two fun local bands on at the same time. But since I had seen WAS a half a dozen times and M&K only once, we headed back to the other stage and boy was I glad. I needed a bit of an energy boost by this time and this duo was the perfect medicine. I really don't think a band could be more adorable both musically and personally. Apparently Kim was super nervous before getting to the fest, but it didn't show. The same ruckus ensued and they nailed every song. Too bad all the die-hard fans were behind the barrier. For the first time in my life I wanted to be in the middle of a crazy mosh pit.

After that, I was pretty exhausted. I listened to Voxtrot while lounging on the grassy knoll behind them and moseyed on over to catch a bit of MIA. I then realized I looked like a lobster (whoops, forgot the sunscreen) and decided to head on home to avoid any chance of serious damage. All in all, a really fun time for my first trip over there. Next time, I'll pass on the Cyclone.

For more pictures from the day, clickity-click over to flickr.

this is why i should not blog.

I used to tell funny stories about my tendencies to stalk (I mean, admire) pseudo rockstars, but when I started seeing these people more than once after exclaiming my love for them publicly on the Internet, it stopped. I have to be a professional a lot more these days, which yields the 13-year-old inside to hide more and more these days. But since I'm on this kick of not really caring what I write in here any more, I'll entertain you with a little anecdote of a usual Sunday afternoon.

So even after an exhausting day yesterday at Siren Fest, I couldn't miss this Sunday at McCarren pool because of its stellar lineup: Oxford Collapse, Annuals, and Band of Horses. But we'll get to them a little bit later. So I spent the morning nursing my sunburn and then made my way up to the L train. Now I was perfectly fine minding my own business, listening to the new Justice album on my iPod and reading this weeks Entertainment Weekly but I happened to walk in front of a certain lead singer who was sitting on the bench reading the newspapers. And it happened to be Keith Murray from We Are Scientists (I wont link to avoid any more embarrassment).

The "normal" thing in this situation would either be to totally ignore him completely, or get up the nerve to say hi, re-introduce yourself and laugh about that one time you interviewed them and it was totally awkward. But no, I never said I was normal. Instead, I decided to be covert and snap a picture of this guy on my sidekick, thinking I could get away with it.

But I didn't.

There's a flash.

Needless to say, any chance of me hiding in the background was completely shot to shit when the flash went off and he looked up. I immediately grabbed my magazine and pretended to be deep concentration reading about the new Simpsons movie. About 30 seconds later the train came, and Keith got up. Instead of walking straight ahead into the doors, and thus being in the same train as me, he sprinted down as far as he could.

And this, my friends, is why I should not blog.

But I'm never one to let a little embarrassment go to my head, so when Keith was at McCarren pool to perform with Oxford Collapse I pretending the whole situation never happened. I mean, it's not like I followed him there, of course. The rest of the day was nice and hot, with three bands I've written about here before many a times. It's very strange to say but I'm looking forward to getting back into the working week. These weekends have worn me out completely.

Oxford Collapse and friends:

Annuals:

Band Of Horses:

More pictures on flickr.

I Still Heart We Are Scientists

It's been a while since I posted about previous hottie-of-the-week band We Are Scientists, but something tells me it wont be long until I take back over this blog, among others, in preparation of their new LP. We ran an exclusive interview with said hottie, Keith Murray, today on CMJ.com in which he reveals the new album's title is in fact tentatively titled What $ of $ Do That Cost. While their sarcasm still remains the same, the sound may not as he hints there may be a bit of a change for their follow-up to the Underrated favorite With Love And Squalor.

Are you consciously looking to one-up Love And Squalor?
We definitely went into the studio with the intent to move along from the sound of the last album. This isn't to suggest that we think it wasn't a good album. It was, in fact, a great album, if the American press and our parents are to be believed. We recommend that other bands pick up where we left off and make a fortune mining our old sound. Ultimately though, we felt that it would be beneficial to grow as writers, or at least fake growth by cosmetically changing our sound slightly. I like to think that we've done the former....
(read the rest here)

I'm really looking forward to seeing WAS back on stage next weekend for Siren Fest. I've always been out of the city past years, so it'll be fun to actually experience the day firsthand. Chris has the complete schedule here and you will notice that my other loves, White Rabbits, will be one of the first bands up -- so get there early. I saw the band earlier this week at Highline Ballroom for a fantastic show...maybe I'll post some pictures or a review over the weekend.

Too many shows, never enough time to blog about them.

Checkin' in with Colin | I'm From Rolling Stone Episode 2

I may be the only person really watching I'm From Rolling Stone, but whatever. I've taken it upon myself to comment on this, we'll see if this becomes a weekly effort. I was watching this week's episode (I'm late, whatever) and I couldn't help but (once again) feel for my little hipster boy Colin. He had the task of interviewing We Are Scientists (who, I had to laugh when they called "indie"). If you remember, I interviewed the band last year, about this same time, and understood his frustration. The boys in the band are undeniably nice gentlemen, but I have to say it was one of the hardest interviews I've conducted. And for someone like little Colin, who really has no experience whatsoever, I could tell this was going to be a task.

See, the band likes to be sarcastic. But when you need an angle and have to write an article -- there's only so much sarcasm you can take. Like Colin said, they take control of the interview with is one big no-no in journalism. You always have to be in control. And when your staring at the hottie that is Keith Murray, well that's much harder than it seems. (Maybe not for Colin, but go with me here)

Anyways, it looks like Russell is the main man and a shoe-in to win. He's got the edge and understands the process and what's needed to get a story out of someone. Whatshername, Miss Hip/Hop is already a pain in my ass and if I were El-P, I would have smacked her in the face. I'm glad her piece didn't get published. I bet it was all about her.

No update on Colin's website which is annoying. I was looking forward to some behind-the-scenes info on a weekly basis.

Anyone else watching?

When I Am Gone | Sparrow House

Hi.

I feel like I've been neglecting this blog lately, and I'm here to apologize. You are probably thinking to yourself..okay, this girl is crazy. She hasn't missed a day posting. I realize that. But to me the posts as of late have been quite lackluster. I never really know the right balance between personal and straight forward blog posting, and I still am a little bit lost. I've missed posting about shows I've gone to, CDs I've listened to. I've forgotten about my 52 albums a Week adventure, and I have no one to blame but myself. This time of the year always gets me a little bit crazed, but I should be able to stop once in a while and attempt at some musical pontificating.

Now, while I go away on Friday for a week (mmmm...vacation) I'm going to try and play catch up this week as much as I can. You still have my "Top 25 Songs of 2006" to look forward to, that I have been pinning over and over and over again, re-ordering, adding, subtracting etc. These list things are a big deal, aren't they?

Last week I went to The Friction Party which is always a super dooper time. I saw Tall Hands play as a full band for the first time and really dug them. It was an added bonus that the younger Pete from Nickelodeon’s most underrated show, Pete & Pete is their guitar player. The sparks were flowing, and then I realized I had to go.

BreakThru Radio recorded a live session with my favorites A Brief Smile that night, so I hopped out for a few hours to watch. I'll have pictures and maybe an exclusive MP3 up here before I leave hopefully. Their full session will be up next week for you to listen to, so please don't forget.

I ventured back to Friction and caught the tail end of Bound Stems who were without foliage, but still sounding as stupendous as ever. Sadly I missed my song (you'll find it in my top 25 songs of the year post), but they played to an enthusiastic crowd. Each time I see this band I like them a little bit more. It's that kind of sound that grows on you. Kind of like trees. Now I see the connection.

Thursday I hit up the Filter party and got to catch up with the Ra Ra Riot kids, since I missed them the night before. It's a very odd experience drinking and seeing a band in a clothing store. I think it's mostly due to the very bright lights. I spent most of the time there trying not to spill my free Bass on the gorgeous coat I was so close to buying. And then I saw Keith from We Are Scientists in the audience and I hid behind a clothes rack. One of these days, I'll stop being so silly.

Ra Ra Riot put on one of the best shows I've seen them play thus far, mostly because they were one with the audience. The six piece was literally running into each other amongst the clothes and the hundreds of people who showed up. It was rowdy, to say the least and ridiculously fun. I don't care what you say or think about this band, I think they are fantastic. I can't wait to see them truly blow up in 2007.

After Filter headed to the last Stolen Transmission party at Annex. Not going to lie, I'm looking forward to fewer nights at Annex. You know how I feel about this place. Didn't stay too long. Too much beer makes this blogger sleepy.

Friday I had planned to stay in and catch up on some z's, but D persuaded me that her new party Neon Lights at Delancey. Okay, I'd give it a shot. It was Friday night afterall. So I dragged Sean there early for the $3 PBRs (I can't pass up a good drink offer) and was there in time to see Bell, a female singer/songwriter donned with a keyboard and a very Regina Spektor-esque voice. I thought she was, in short, fabulous. Extremely likeable in her presence and with a voice that echoed throughout the small stage, I think everyone there was pretty captivated. It was catchy with a certain charm. As Borat would say: very nice.

I caught a bit of the second act, Lismore, but migraines and exhaustion ensued, and I had to call it a night. I went home and watched Cheaper By The Dozen 2 on HBO and passed out half way through. I'm not sure if I was just that tired, or if it was just that bad, but I was asleep by 11 on a Friday. I'm that cool.

Saturday was an early start and off to Prospect Park for what Nora and I have donned "Blogger Bowl," where some of your favorite bloggers played flag (er, towel?) football while we cheered along and drank a lot of red wine in the afternoon. This weather is crazy, considering its December, but I was all for it. It was a beautiful day in the park and a hilarious attempt at football. The rest of the day/night turned into a drinking fest, which the details will remain unsaid, and a bit blurred.

So that brings you up to date with a bit of the shows, and I promise I'll try and keep this thing with a more organized routine. I'll work my ass off to get everything squared away before I leave on Friday.

Oh, and here's a song that I've forgotten on my Top 25 in 2006 list, but deserves attention nonetheless. Jared just emailed me over the weekend and is sending me a copy of his EP Falls so I'm pumped to take a listen.

Sparrow House - When I Am Gone