OVER THE BOARDWALK

Of all the festivals on all the beaches, you had to walk into ours. And aren’t you glad? The Ninth Annual Siren Fest, hosted by some scuzzy rag called The Village Voice, waves the nerdcore flag high at Coney Island this year: Headliners are irascible postmodern rockers Built to Spill, who’ve been splitting atoms through their amps since you were in grade school. They’re joined by Baltimore hip-hop ravers Spank Rock, Ronettes-on-‘luudes fuzz-poppers the Raveonettes, wispy folksters Frightened Rabbit, post-punk happily-marrieds Grand Duchy (a/k/a Frank Black and Violet Clark), and scads more. And [insert histrionic recession allusion here] it’s all day and all free! Be sure to thank us while you’re shooting the freak.

Sat., July 18, noon, 2009