Village Voice Shuts Down Siren Festival, Announces 4Knots Fest

After 10 years the Village Voice has decided to shutdown Siren Festival. It's a bummer to see it go but frankly, it was pretty hellish. Standing in a parking lot all day with a 95 degree sun beating down on you while you're surrounded by sweaty, drunk hipsters is not much fun.

That is exactly why the only two years I went were years I had VIP passes. Oh man, let me tell you - awesome VIP section. Free booze and snacks under a nice big canopy with industrial fans blowing on you the whole time and when you wanted to check out a band you walked up to the reserved section in front of the stage. It was fantastic but yeah, sans VIP badges it was kinda horrible. Pretty good bands most years though.

With Siren Festival a thing of the past the Village Voice has announced it's next endeavor - 4Knots Festival. They haven't announced any bands yet but they have announced the location, South Street Seaport. It's a better spot than Coney Island for sure but when the Seaport Space gets packed all hell can break loose. This will be interesting. 

Initial Siren Festival Bands Announced

I thought 2008 was supposed to be the last Siren? I guess not, huh? Well, so far it's only 6 bands but really all I need to hear is Monotonix and I'm sold!

New York, NY (April 28, 2009) The Village Voice, the nation's largest alternative weekly newspaper, is excited to announce the initial line-up for the 9th Annual Village Voice SIREN MUSIC FESTIVAL™
at Coney Island on Saturday, July 18, 2009 from 12:00 noon - 9:00 p.m. Scheduled performers include BUILT TO SPILL, THE RAVEONETTES, FRIGHTENED RABBIT, GRAND DUCHY, MONOTONIX, MICACHU & THE SHAPES, DJs and more to be announced.

2008 Siren Fest Lineup

The lineup for this years Siren Festival was announced and it's pretty, um, well let's just say it's not for me. I mean it's bands the blogosphere and the NYC indie kids love but I don't know if I'd head all the way to Coney Island for it. Anyway, here it is:

STEPHEN MALKMUS AND THE JICKS
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
THE HELIO SEQUENCE
BEACH HOUSE
TIMES NEW VIKING
JAGUAR LOVE
THE DODOS
ANNUALS
FILM SCHOOL
PARTS & LABOR
DRAGONS OF ZYNTH
THESE ARE POWERS
and more to be announced!

Tonight: Everyone Must Hurl 7

Every year my brother and his friends throw a huge bash on Aug. 24th. It's called Everyone Must Hurl and it's a tribute to excess. It happens in my hometown and draws people from all over South Jersey but it's mostly just Cumberland County folks.

But here's where it gets weird...this year the Village Voice wrote about it! Yeah, it makes absolutely no sense at all but it's the truth. Go to the corner and grab the latest issue then flip to page 40. I've been in a mild state of shock since I first saw this. How does the VV find out about a wild keg party almost 3 hours away in the woods of South Jersey?

Here's what they wrote:

Nowhere in the history of college survival kits does it say that swimming in a kiddy pool of vomit constitutes a good time—at least not that we can remember. The Everyone Must Hurl party doesn’t intend for you to actually wade in a pool of vomit, but it does ask for your most generous, bile-filled donations. The plan is basically for binge drinkers to guzzle bottles of Samuel Adams and Natty Ice until they can’t suck down any more and then let it rip. Prizes (in the shape of drink tickets) are doled out for the best upchuck and projectile hurlers score extra points. Even after spewing up the remnants of your lunch, you’ll be expected to drink some more like a real trouper. In Vineland, New Jersey.

Anyway, the party is happening tonight. I'm going to be there for the first time in 4 years and you should try and go too. And since you probably don't want to go all the way down to SJ for one party consider this, GBH is having a party in Atlantic City the next night so it's a good weekend to be in Jersey.

Links:
EMH7 in The Village Voice
Everyone Must Hurl MySpace (Details & Pics)

***That's Cutie puking in the pic above. You may remember him as the former official photographer of Brooklyn Ski Club. He also got a shot published on MyOpenBar.