Coney Island

I know it's been forever since I've posted. I've just been too busy taking the city in, and I haven't made time to write about it. But I'll do my best to go back and cover the happenings from the last two weeks -- obviously a lot has been going on. Today Megan and I took the D train all the way through Brooklyn, out to Coney Island for the Siren Music Fest. While I'm not sure we took full advantage of the free concert, we did soak in the of sights, sounds, smells and screams of Coney Island. I think we hit all of the highlights except for maybe a ride on the Cyclone or Wonder Wheel. We did, however, eat Nathan's World Famous hot dogs - home of the official hot dog eating competition in which contestants have 12 minutes to devour as many hot dogs as possible. In case you're curious, it's broadcast live on ESPN every Fourth of July. This year's record: 53.75. One was enough for me. A salsa cheese dog, to be exact. And some creamy garlic fries. And old-fashioned lemonade. You can be jealous. It was really good.

It started out as a rainy afternoon, but it didn't take long for some sunshine to break through and give us a beautiful day. Coney Island is a pretty incredible place. It's a swirl of colors and lights and laughter and fun.

My old roommate and wonderful friend Adrienne was up for a weekend visit from Miami where she's a slave to the creative gods of Crispin Porter + Bogusky. It was really good to see her and catch up a little bit.

We got about a dozen free CD's and got to hear music from Man Man, The Stills, and Dirty on Purpose. We enjoyed a walk on the boardwalk and some time at the beach. Although Coney Island was delightful, I'm not sure what I think of it as a concert venue. With all that was happening, the thousands of hipsters swarming around, and the sub par sound quality, I found it hard to concentrate on the music.

Overall: decent concert, tons of free stuff, friends, beach, sun. I'd call it a good day. Even though I came for Siren, in the end I was thankful for the distractions.

-Death Cab for Cutie-