Douglas Park – Chicago, IL – 19 Sep 2021
Day 3
Sunday at Riot Fest is kind of like the day after Christmas, with ten hours of punk bands playing. There's just something about Sunday that is a little bit subdued. When Morrissey sang “Every day is like Sunday” I think he meant every day is silent and gray. We soldiered on. One of our merry band of revelers did begin the day by bowing to the porcelain god. Not the kind of worshipping anyone wants to do. Strangely, I felt pretty good.
The lineup for this day was pretty wide open. I did not have anyone that I absolutely had to see, except for Devo. We did want to see Kennyhoopla and arrived in time to catch the last 15 minutes. KH is basically two guys running around rapping to background tracks. They were solid. I had Melkbelly circled because Laura Jane Grace gushes about them. Caught some of The Bled on our way over. They were shredding! Gotta revisit them. Melkbelly brought some pretty ok Sunday afternoon music. They did continue the trend of playing music of bands that dropped off by covering Pixies' “Gigantic.”
One can't-miss band on Sunday's schedule was Body Count. I remember when this record came out and all the controversy around the track, “Cop Killer.” Ice-T doesn't half step anything and Body Count rocks! The band is super tight and the guitarist just shreds. This was up there as a stand out set. After BC, we needed a rest. I caught a little of Fever 333 at the Radicals stage. I don't know much about them, but they do everything you can ask for at a festival, they play loud, fast, rock out, and bring tons of energy. A surprise find.
Simple Plan appeared next on the Radicals state, so we copped a good spot in the shade and waited. As we waited, I was shocked that Anthrax, on a stage about an eighth of a mile away was very audible. Another bonus, sitting in the shade watching Anthrax rip it up from distance. Simple Plan finally came out, and they played pretty standard pop punk. I hoped they would inspire me to listen to more of their stuff. We'll see.
We popped up before the end of the set and headed to the Riot Stage for Devo. As much as I've been around, and seen many shows, I have never seen Devo. I was not going to miss this. They did open with about a ten minute video, but it really helped to put you in that 80s mood. These guys are 60 and sound great. They played everything: “Whip It,” “Girl U Want,” “Satisfaction,” “Freedom of Choice” (poignant). The theatrics, the costumes, the videos, their ability to reproduce their songs, just floored us. Top three set of Riot Fest.
Devo dovetailed perfectly into Flaming Lips, another band I really wanted to catch. As is often possible at a Lips show, things might be happening and you just can't figure out what is going on. Wayne was up there talking, about COVID and staying together or something. We just couldn't really hear what he was saying. He got into and out of the ball, I waited for the sound to improve and it just didn't. This was the same stage where Anthrax slayed from distance, so I just don't know what was up. They did bust through “Don't Use Jelly,” which I appreciated. We had to cut out of that scene and hit the Rise stage for New Found Glory. I don't love NFG, but I do like some of their songs quite a bit. They had a cool backdrop for their set, and brought their style, loud and snotty. “All Down Hill from Here” was a standout.
Many folks shed a tear when Nine Inch Nails withdrew from the fest. I had that triple circled to close out Riot Fest on a high note. Slipknot didn't do it for me. We hung around anyway to wring out the last drops before reality sets in and we start thinking about next year. We caught some of Machine Gun Kelly first, to see what the fuss was about. It just didn't rock. We only heard one song, but it sounded like watered-down The Clash. We didn't hear him diss on Slipknot, but he was probably pissed that they were blowing him off the stage. Rather than deal with the cacophony, we gave in and checked out Slipknot. Their brand of metal and scream singing isn't my thing, but their stage show certainly entertained. We decided to beat the crowd and call it a night. We let Slipknot carry us out. They even provided the soundtrack to our street taco nightcap. Just like that, it seems like a blur, 2021 Riot Fest is in the books. Mark your outlook for September 16-18, 2022: My Chemical Romanceand Misfits. See you there.
the white drew carey (aka – Jeff Sorley) is the founder and head editor of TGEFM. He's lived (outside of) Chicago, Madison WI, (ugh) Penn State, Lyon FR, Oxford UK, central New Jersey, and now within earshot of SFO in the Bay Area. When not scouring the web for more great bands and labels to post about, he also spends time drawing (mostly) silly sci-fi and anime stuff under the name Asplenia Studios.