POSTED: Monday, July 19, 2010, 5:45 PM
Blood, Sweat, Piers
words by Lori Hill | photos by Dominic Mercier
The shadow of the Cyclone did nothing to quell the brutal heat bearing down on the crowds at the Siren Festival. The 10th annual event at Coney Island was a sweaty mass of humanity, whose numbers didn't seem to mind too much when the talent took the Main Stage. Here's a quick sampling — not counting trips to the boardwalk for water, water ice, water, crappy pizza, a cool breeze and more water.
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| photo | Dominic Mercier |
| Surfer Blood |
Clean-cut
Surfer Blood's anthemic "Swim" set the tone for surviving the day ("swim to reach the end" indeed), and the band delivered its wonky harmonics with lots of pluck.
Night Marchers, featuring
John Reis of
Rocket from the Crypt (still rocking a mini pompadour) and
Jason Kourkounis of
Delta 72, killed it with their brand of driving punk.
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| photo | Dominic Mercier |
| Night Marchers |
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| photo | Dominic Mercier |
| The Pains of Being Pure of Heart |
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| photo | Dominic Mercier |
| The Pains of Being Pure of Heart |
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| photo | Dominic Mercier |
| The Pains of Being Pure of Heart |
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| photo | Dominic Mercier |
| Ted Leo |
From the opening "The Mighty Sparrow,"
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists kept the hits coming ("Where Have all the Rude Boys Gone?", "Sons of Cain," "Where Was My Brain?") without losing pace or energy. The man hardly seemed to take a breath, cementing his reputation as one of the hardest working musicians out there.
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| photo | Dominic Mercier |
| The Pharmacists |
Matt & Kim, we're sure you were awesome, but we were no match for the burning asphalt and unrelenting sun — despite those enterprising folks hawking "ice cold water, ice cold water" out of coolers on the boardwalk.
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| photo | Dominic Mercier |
