Photos by Bill Shouldis

Although the lineup wasn’t the strongest and the heat was particularly brutal, hordes of people still made the trek out to Coney Island for the annual Siren Fest on Saturday. Broken Social Scene, Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, Beach House, Islands, Ra Ra Riot and Jaguar Love were amongst the headliners this year.

One of the highlights included Ra Ra Riot’s inspired midday set. The only way I can think to describe them is Moz meets The Arcade Fire, done by a bunch of model-esque indie rockers. They have a new album out on Barsuk in August so be on the lookout for it.

Having Stephen Malkmus and Broken Social Scene on at the same time? Bummer. So I had to split my time between the two but they were both exceptional.

Another observation: There were some serious assholes in the press area this year. I really wonder how some of these people got in to the area. I’m not trying to sound like a pretentious prick but I don’t like getting pushed by drunk, Buckcherry-esque doucheholes.

Assholes aside, I had fun and my ginger ass didn’t get sunburn so cheers all around from me.

So, will this be the last Siren Fest? Personally, I doubt it.

Check out more pictures after the jump.

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The last Dear Tonight show has come and gone, and a phenomenal hardcore band is no more. Dear Tonight, formed in 2001, broke up this past Saturday after an incredible show at Brooklyn’s Lost & Found bar, surrounded by friends, fans, and great bands. Sets by Attica Attica, In First Person, LNWF favorites The New Dress, and Scream Hello led up to shit totally blowing up when DT took the floor in their usual cacophony of hardcore deliciousness.  I’m sad that DT decided to break up but it was a privilege to have known this band, been around when they were, and to have been there that night.

Click below for a few more pictures.

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It is a rare occasion when you go to a show and enjoy each and every band on the bill. It is even more rare when almost everyone in attendance stays inside for every band, especially during one of the hottest weeks Philadelphia has seen so far this summer. Last week, however, I had the pleasure of witnessing one of those rare experiences at the First Unitarian Church. Simply put, Blacklisted, Ceremony, Life Long Tragedy, and Sabertooth Zombie all straight up killed it that day.

Read more after the jump.

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Bridge and Tunnel and Attica! Attica! played Fontanas in NYC last night with their friends Slingshot Dakota. B & T put on a great show as usual and the new songs from their upcoming full-length sounded great. The record is definitely one of our most anticipated releases of the year so be on the lookout for it this summer from the great people at No Idea.

This was the first time I saw Attica! Attica! I knew of them because of the Marathon connection but I was not expecting them to perform as an acoustic duo. They pulled it off well despite a few slip ups, which were played off well (perhaps their first tour together?). For the last two songs Pat and Jeff of B& T joined them on stage to play.

More about the show and photos after the jump.
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Frenchman Anthony Gonzalez named his shoegaze/experimental electronic act M83 after the galaxy for a reason. His guitar sounds reverberate around your body while the sounds of numerous synths swirl around inside your brain, giving you the feeling that you may, in fact, be floating in space. Last night, the group stopped at Bowery Ballroom in support of their newest effort, Saturdays=Youth. While this album takes the band in a new, more poppier direction, their sound is still distinctly their own. Whether it was interpreting older songs like “A Guitar and a Heart” into a full on club banger, complete with a pounding bass drum beat, or making a recent song like “Skin of the Night” go from what sounds like a kind of cheesy 80′s inspired song on the album, into a beautiful, transcendent experience in person; Gonzalez knows how to tweak his tracks just enough to get as much as he can out of them live. I had been waiting to see M83 for over two years now and after last night’s show, I can say that it was certainly worth the wait.

More photos can be found on flickr and after the jump.

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