Live Review: Riot Fest Day 1

Chicago, IL – 20 Sep 2024

Fall in Chicago means one thing, it’s time to Riot!

September in Chicago usually means one thing in the punk rock world…….RIOT FEST! The annual outdoor festival and carnival returned to Douglas Park in Chicago for this year’s edition (NOTE – It was originally planned to take place at the Seatgeek soccer stadium outside of Chicago, but was moved back to its original location). The weather was perfect for the first day of the fest. There was not a cloud in sight, though plenty (maybe too much) sunshine! I was there bright and early to ensure prompt entrance onto the festival grounds. My first stop is always to my friends at the FAT WRECK booth to drop some serious cash. This year was special for record collectors, with NOFX offering Chicago exclusive “Final Show” color variants of many of their albums. I could do an article on that all by itself! Now it was time to head to the stages to start the non-stop musical onslaught. I should note, that especially with the presence of the NOFX World / Stage, this year I watched more bands than any other year of attending the festival.

My first stop for the day, as expected, was NOFX World, which consisted of the NOFX stage and an exclusive NOFX merchandise tent which contained dozens of shirts, hats, posters and beyond. The first band of the day for me was San Francisco’s Get Dead. This band has been active for over a decade and has appeared on many labels. Their last proper full-length Dancing With The Curse was released on Fat Wreck Chords. The band has a strong cult following and blend all things punk, folk and Americana to create a unique genre. There was a small, but dedicated crowd at the stage early to see Get Dead. Their song “Stickup” from their most recent album seemed to receive the biggest response, and they did a great job of warming up the NOFX World.

Next for me were veteran UK82 punks The Exploited. A couple personal notes before I continue reviewing their set. This band, along with many other UK82 and crossover bands on labels like Metal Blade and Combat Core, were hugely responsible for my transition from thrash metal to punk and hardcore in the late 80s. I don’t always think enough credit is given to these bands as they were “Green Day” for us older guys as our introduction. Even if you are not familiar, lead singer and sole original member Wattie has had various health issues in recent years, specifically his heart. They have canceled tours and fest appearances. I was so happy to see Wattie approach the stage in good spirits and with a smile. The crowd was extremely happy to see him. The classic “Let’s Start A War” kicked off the 30 minute set. Right from the get-go, fists were in the air and bodies were flying. The band ripped through many classic songs old and new, such as “Cop Cars”, “Beat the Bastards”, “Porno Slut”, and the set closer “Fuck the USA.” The NOFX World stage was now officially warmed up!

Next up on the NOFX World stage was The Defiant. This is a supergroup of sorts fronted by Dicky Barrett, better known as the frontman of that band who used to be in Converse Commercials. Hunger took over so I heard some of their set as I made way for a $15 slice of one of Chicago’s finest, Bacci Pizza. 

Following The Defiant was my most anticipated set of the day. It was the return of ALL to Chicago! I believe it has been roughly 25 years since I last saw the band, who nowadays performs infrequently with their last vocalist on record, Chad Price. The band has performed only a handful of times in recent years, including an appearance at Punk Rock Bowling. Their return to Chicago was met with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. The band performed 13 songs which mostly covered the Chad Price era of the band. “Original Me” from Price’s first appearance on the Breaking Things album kicked off the set. This track was followed immediately by the fan favorite “Fool” from the Allroy’s Revenge album. Now the crowd was fully warmed up as the band continued to perform their unique blend of experimental pop punk. As expected, the major label single “Million Bucks” got the biggest response from the crowd. A personal highlight of the set for me was “Scary Sad” which was the second Scott Reynolds era track performed. As a longtime fan, I was more than pleased with the performance and setlist. My sole complaint was the band being given only 30 minutes. 

The next time slot was my first “conflict” in terms of having to decide which band’s set to catch. Face To Face were performing at the NOFX World at the same time as Hot Mulligan. I have recently been getting into some of the more modern emo-tinged pop punk bands such as Hot Mulligan and figured this would be the chance to see them. I have not seen Face To Face in many years so assumed I would know very little of their set. My plan was to catch the beginning of Face To Face and then head over to see Hot Mulligan. Let me cut to the chase. I never left the NOFX World stage! F2F were flawless. They opened with the title track from their most recent album No Way Out But Through. The remainder of their set centered around their first three albums, Don’t Turn Away, Big Choice and face to face. I had seen that they have performed various three-night stands performing these albums in full. The band must know what the fans wanted and delivered a solid hour long set of sing-a-longs that brought us all back to the mid-90s. These three albums meant so much to me. This set was the biggest positive surprise for me all weekend.

Chicago’s Lawrence Arms was the next set I caught on the NOFX World stage. I realized that day that surprisingly I have never seen Larry Arms live! I have seen Slapstick, The Falcon, and Brendan Kelly solo, but never this amazing trio. The band performed a solid set that covered most of their career. Unfortunately, I think following a flawless F2F set proved difficult. It was now early evening which is when the early birds take a break for food and drink, as the latecomers start to arrive. The crowd was not as lively as I would have expected for the hometown heroes. Regardless, Larry Arms still performed an energetic set. My favorite performances were “Porno And Snuff Films”, “Quiet Storm”, “Are You There Margaret? It’s Me, God.” and the flawless “The Slowest Drink at the Saddest Bar on the Snowiest Day in the Greatest City.” 

After my own personal dinner break consisting of an amazing Chicago-style polish sausage and fries, I returned to the NOFX World stage. One of the greatest skate punk bands of all time, the Circle Jerks, were up next! I last saw them a few years back when they did the tour with 7 Seconds and was stoked for another opportunity. This was a band in mid school who were a major gateway for me personally from thrash metal to hardcore. They were a band I went to see regularly. They still pack in as many songs per set as in the old days. Now though, its obvious father time forces them to take more breaks throughout the set. They perform their set as blocks of songs. As one would expect, much of the set was focused on Group Sex. Everyone in the band plays flawlessly, including their current drummer Joey Castillo (Danzig, Wasted Youth, etc). Keith Morris is always entertaining live with his attempt at humorous in-between song banter. If you haven’t seen the Jerks live, you must do so while the opportunity is still there.

What hasn’t been mentioned yet is the placement of stages throughout the Riot Fest grounds. The bands are spread across 5 stages. The NOFX World stage backs up to the main grounds which contain the two largest stages that are side by side. This works out well for patrons of that area as one band begins immediately following the end of the previous band on the connecting stage. Unfortunately, this resulted in hearing those stages overlapping onto the NOFX World area, leading to many not-so-friendly commentaries from the bands on the NOFX stage regarding the more mainstream bands, such as Offspring and Fall Out Boy.

I made my way up to the rail for the first of the final three Chicago area appearances for NOFX. I have nothing at all against the Offspring and would have gladly watched their set if it didn’t conflict with the Circle Jerks. I was not in the mood for random folks singing along, poorly I might add, to their songs while we were awaiting NOFX taking the stage. Soon enough, the lights went down as the opening notes of “Time Warp” played over the PA. The crowd roared as the band took the stage to act out the dance steps for this cult classic. After some introductory banter the band kicked right into “Backstage Passport” from their docuseries soundtrack. “Stickin’ In My Eye” followed which kept the energy level at a steady pace both onstage and in the crowd. This setlist was very heavy on Punk In Drublic tracks which seemed to please everyone. The crowd almost drowned out Fat Mike’s vocals on “Leave It Alone” and “Linoleum.” Key tracks from other albums such as “Six Years On Dope” and “Franco Un-American” were highlights as well. The band dug beyond album tracks in performing “Six Pack Girls” and “Timmy The Turtle.” The set included all the Fat Mike banter you desire and expect.  Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin told a hilarious tale of performing at a festival with Slayer (who were headlining Riot Fest on Sunday evening). Kerry King did not permit Fat Mike to partake in any of their backstage snacks. This banter carried onto the next night as well. El Jefe did a fantastic job with his lead vocal and trumpet performances. Smelly was a true drumming machine throughout the set and to me has been an unsung hero of the band throughout these years. Karina from the Dancehall Crashers is part of the live band for these final shows. She lent both her vocal and keyboard talents to many songs, most notably on “Lori Meyers.” The personal highlight for me was the encore of the set. The fury and energy of “The Brews” followed by “Cokie The Clown” is something I will not forget. All in all this was an incredible setlist full of many fan favorites.

Day 1 was a complete success all the way around. The weather was as perfect as all the band’s performances. I did have the chance to quickly check out the new Riotland section of the grounds. The Punk Rock Museum held an exhibit that was housed in a building that was designed to look like the classic Fireside Bowl venue in Chicago. That included many flyers and photos from their collection. More on Riotland in my Day 2 review.