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Such a comms failure for a fest that's usually good at it. Would've been so easy to give heads up that bands began at 2PM alongside gates with details to come, instead of leaving us guessing for two hours before basically cropping the same damn schedule. Thursday was on most of my crew's list too, more clarification would've worked wonders.
Instead, we're getting drunk and watching the rest of the Packers game before we head on down.
Fri: Quicksand (part), The Breeders, Tegan and Sara, Foo Fighters
Sat: Warpaint, Viagra Boys, Head Automatica, Death Grips, 100 Gecs, QotSA, Mr Bungle, Black Angels (LN)
Sun: AFI (part), Finch (part), The Used, The Cure
Had a good weekend. Got to see some friends after a little while, got to meet some people. Didn't do a whole lot in the city, besides tour Wrigley Field.
Post by xfinitypass on Sept 18, 2023 8:22:44 GMT -5
My favorite sets (roughly ranked)
The Cure: the encore especially was insane. Ending ok Killing An Arab, which feels like their most punk song, was a perfect way to close out Riot Fest
100 Gecs: finally got to see them, and it was worth the wait. The hop pit for Frog on the Floor is something I will never forget. And the circle pit at the end was so disorienting and amazing.
Turnstile: so much energy, can’t wait to see that in a venue one day.
Viagra Boys: finally saw them live and they ripped! Music is even more danceable and fun than on the records, give the sax and keyboard players a raise!
The Postal Service: amazing place to listen to an amazing album.
Gorilla Biscuits: Riot was definitely the place to see them. It was really cool to see how much appreciation so many of the bands on the card had for them, and them bringing so many people out on stage to just watch and set the vibe made this feel iconic. Felt like a history lesson for me as I’m starting to get more into hardcore.
Code Orange: they played a lot of new stuff I hadn’t heard and not enough off of Underneath for my taste, but had great energy.
Death Grips: I didn’t go as hard as I anticipated for this set, but it was still nice to watch the chaos unfold from a far and listen to an excellent live rap performance.
Overmono: I was a little too tired and drunk to enjoy this fully, but the half of the set I was fully present for was such a party! I wish more electronic artists like this played near me.
Foo Fighters: I was kinda annoyed they didn’t play anything off the new album, which I thought was great, and they did these false stops to just about every song. But still a fun song along to some iconic hits.
Honorable mention
Jehnny Beth: this would be a lot higher if I’d seen the whole set, but those 5 songs I saw were absolutely insane. I need to revisit her studio stuff, I didn’t realize it was that high voltage.
QOTSA: they needed a longer set
Quicksand: a high voltage set that I really needed to get my energy going
Bowling for Soup: a corny good ole time
Overall Thoughts -this was my first solo trip that involved flying since I went to primavera last year, where I essentially had a two week long anxiety attack and got overwhelmed by it all. It was difficult at first because I felt flashbacks to that trip because Chicago reminded me quite a bit of Barcelona for someone reason. I definitely ruined quite a few sets for myself just being in my head too much. But I eventually calmed down and enjoyed the sets that mattered most to me, and I feel like I grew up a lot this trip and took a major step towards overcoming some of the anxiety that has still been holding me back post pandemic. -got to properly meet LDshuck & sang_xcx who were all awesome! -skipped yard act that I had a ticket for because I forgot to change my portable battery and wasn’t confident in my navigating my way back to the hostel without it. Oh well. -found the best nachos I’ve had in a long time at a little Mexican shop across from California station that also had an outlet I could charge my phone with. When I make it back, that’s going to be a daily must for me. -Red Bulls and Gatorades powered me -Chicago style pizza and hot dogs rule -bees everywhere -this was another reminder and motivator for me to hit the cardio and diet harder, I was exhausted most of the time and definitely had to just sit out some sets I wanted to go hard for. -Can definitely see myself making it back to this next year. Or Pitchfork if I like the lineup more. Direct flights to Chicago from RIC + finding a cool cheap hostel in a good location and becoming more confident in navigating the transit system means I’ll be making it to Chicago a lot more!
This line isn’t moving at all, I’ll be lucky if I get in for Cults
This probably won't be an issue again, but getting into Riot Fest shouldn't be a single file line. The entrance is wide and there are gates in place to break up the traffic, I arrived just after 2pm, walked around the line, and was basically just waved in by security. Once past security there's at least 10 lanes open to scan your ticket. I realize the delayed start caused a bit of a clusterfuck, but most folks were waiting for no reason.
TLDR if you ever see a single file line at the entrance, just go around it.
Bummed Just Mustard weren't able to perform, they would've been dope. Ride was really chill, nice first set to start the day. Saw Drunken Lullabies by Dropkick Murphy's Flogging Molly and decided that was enough, and similarly only saw Miss Murder by AFI and that was also more than enough to satisfy my teenage Guitar Hero playing past self.
Posted up for The Cure and made an effort to try and pay attention to The Mars Volta. Some of the jams/extended parts sounded interesting but I wasn't vibing with most of the set, oh well. First time seeing The Cure, and they met all my expectations and then some. Didn't know too much about them before this year besides like 5-6 of the big songs, but I've started digging in and really enjoying them, should've given them a chance sooner, now I kinda want to see them at their own show lol.
Found a parking spot and made it home in time to walk the dogs and walk over to the Empty Bottle for Yard Act, who fucking ruled! Was worried I'd be too tired to enjoy them but they gave me the boost I needed, definitely seeing them again next time they come through (and it sounds like they've spent a lot of time in Chicago and love it here so they'll be back again for sure.) The opener Scam Likely was a fine punk band. They're from Milwaukee and their family members came down for it and were so loud and supportive it was so cute, otherwise nothing special.
Enola Gay opening for Viagra Boys man, helluva first show in the states I'll definitely being see them again. Viagra Boys were so dope too at Metro. Was disappointed they didn't play the full 1hr 20min the set times said they would (left 10 min on the table) but they said they'd been up 24hrs so I'll give them a pass (just this time though)!
Dark Matter continues to be the best vendor at any of the Chicago festivals, went there multiple times yesterday. RIP to the Orange Wit beer from All Rise but the Blonde was good enough. Saw a lot of people with Funny Water, felt like I should've tried that after seeing how popular it was. Grounds were bad in spots but I thought the park would be in worse condition than it was honestly. Would go again for free, thanks Do312! Kinda wished I went on Saturday now too lol oh well
10. Foo Fighters - Did they sound great? Yes. Is Dave Grohl an amazing front man? Obviously. I just wish they would have fit more songs into that 2 hour set rather than making each song twice as long as it needed to be. White Limo was unexpected and sick as hell and that saved the show for me!
09. Enola Gay (rail) - Felt really cool catching a band's US debut! I feel like they are following the trajectory of a lot of the other great British post-punk bands and will be getting a lot of buzz once they drop a proper LP. Frontman came down and hung out with the crowd after the set which was fun and unexpected.
08. Code Orange - Total pros and knew how to work a festival crowd! Was also really impressed with the range of genres they covered in their set. I was kinda mesmerized by the rhythm guitarist's super long hair and how she was able to whip it around without getting it stuck in the guitar strings lol
07. AFI (rail) - I'm mostly a fan of their earlier work, but Davey is still an incredible front man and was on his A-game vocally the entire set! IDK how, but he's kinda able to pull off the Vulcan eyebrows? I was directly under him while he was singing in the crowd with my hand supporting his left foot and it felt like I was helping!
06. The Mars Volta (rail) - Cedric always seems to be more animated during festival sets! One hour is not enough when most of the songs are over 6 min. That had to be the longest, most self-indulgent Cicatriz ESP of all time! It was almost like when a comedian keeps doing a bit and it gets annoying, but then becomes funny again.
05. Turnstile - Pretty much everything I've ever wanted from a Turnstile set. No notes. Sounded surprisingly great and good flow to the setlist. I wonder how much touring with blink helped with transitioning from club crowds to fields/stadiums of people. Ready for a new album!
04. Viagra Boys (rail) - PUNKS LOVE SHRIMPTECH ENTERPRISES! Basically a nonstop dance party! Really surprised we got ADD and the freakin BASS CLARINET. Another set that could've used an extra 15 to 30 minutes.
03. Jehnny Beth (rail) - I'm not the biggest fan of her solo work, but the setlist worked SO WELL for this fest! That Closer cover was EVERYTHING. She was consistently on the rail right next to me and when artists get that close its like WHAT DO I EVEN DO?? SHE KEEPS STARING DIRECTLY INTO MY SOUL!
02. The Cure - It was similar to seeing Paul McCartney at Roo 2013 when the hits just keep coming and coming: nonstop dopamine rush! I was especially pleased with myself because I started the show as far back as you could get, but as people kept leaving and spots kept opening up, about 40 minutes in I was dead center in line with the soundboard. Sound and lights were superb and I kept dancing even though everything HURT!
01. Queens of the Stone Age (rail) - I NEEDED MORE. Everything else about the set was perfect though, from the stage setup to the sound balance. They made the most of their short time slot and I don't know what changes could be made to that incredibly tight setlist. Hope the band's health continues improving and hope to see them again soon!
So I've been going to fests for a bit now and IDK why it has taken me so long, but this was the first time I ever showed up early and just hung out on the front rail all day. I know it’s probably obvious to everyone else, but man, being front row for your favorite bands is just on a whole other level as far as concert experiences go. Pretty sad I missed Drain, Pup, and 100 gecs, but these days my shitty feet and back can't take the running around and appreciate being able to lean on something all day. Regardless, there's no wrong way to festival, I'm just pumped that I tried something new this year at it really paid off!
First Riot Fest was a big success. Every band we saw was good. All the people we hung out with were awesome. We tried all of the Chicago things, deep dish from Pequod’s, Kuma’s, Chicago style hotdog, Harold’s chicken and we even tried Malort for some reason.