Here we go. Installment two of my Riot Fest Recap. Please see my other write up on Standout sets of Riot Fest. Also check out Jason Zero’s recap detailing his escapades at Riot Fest 2024. Just for clarity, I consider “Surprises” to be bands that I didn’t quite know what to expect, or expected little, and was pleasantly surprised. Keep an eye out for my third recap which will include (mostly) non-band related thoughts.
Polaris Friday, 1:20pm, AAA Stage
Believe it or not, I do quite a bit of research for my work at TGEFM. This year, I did extensive listening of the undercard at Riot Fest. I did not want to miss a potential diamond in the rough (see Sleep Token last year). One band came up time and time again during this process: Polaris. My notes on them: “A little heavy. A little metal. Screaming. This is good. Remind me of Callous Daoboys or Underoath.” After all of my listening, Polaris emerged as a must see. Our band of revelers shared my interest; thus we got out the door early and made it to the AAA stage by 1:20 (that’s gotta be a record for our group). As the sun crushed us with heat, humidity, and radiation, Polaris assaulted our senses with their powerful brand of Screamo/Metal. Good call from Riot Fest, pummeling the crowd early with heavier bands. Polaris’s set blew by like a comet, leaving us all scorched in its wake. They closed with “The Remedy,” fitting considering we all needed a salve to cool our burns.
The Warning Friday, 1:55pm, Cabaret Metro Stage
As the heat dome reached its zenith, our bodies and ears received no mercy. The Warning, hailing from Monterrey, Mexico took the stage. The band consists of three sisters, but don’t confuse them with The Carpenters or The Osmonds, this family was born to rock! When I scoped them out on Spotify during my aforementioned research, they didn’t make it onto my “must see” list. Luckily, fate brought me to the stage to catch some of their set. The Warning sisters create a tidal wave of sound, the drums pound, and both vocalists can wail. Their recorded material belies the heat that they bring live. Some standout songs in the set: “Sharks,” “Automatic Sun,” “EVOLVE.”
Princess Goes Saturday, 1:10pm, AAA Stage
Hard to believe, the two hottest days found us sweltering in the heat bright and early. When I listened to Princess Goes, I had them pegged as an 80s dark wave wannabe. Through my usual exhaustive research, I came to find that Michael C. Hall (Dexter) fronted the band. We all had to see what Dexter was cooking up, so we braved the pounding sun to catch the set. I wasn’t too far off with the 80’s comparison, PG definitely steep themselves in the textured guitars and weepy synths of bands like Joy Division and The Cure. Hall showed off some vocal range akin to his forebears: David Bowie and Marc Bolan. Let this be a lesson to the uninitiated, Riot Fest has a method to their madness when curating their lineup. Do your homework and you will be rewarded.
Oliver Tree Sunday, 6:50pm, Riot Stage
Speaking of expectations, I had absolutely zero for Oliver Tree. I didn’t know anything about OT going into Riot Fest, and I came to find he’s some kind of internet star? Somehow, he flew completely under my radar. I had no intention of catching Oliver Tree’s set, but going by, it kind of sucked me in. As Oliver dropped catchy tunes in his sing-songy presentation, classic 80s visuals flashed on the screen behind him. The audience bounced along with the vibe and the performance really created a spectacle. As I stood there, and Tree kicked into a sort of party anthem, it dawned on me what this performance evoked memories of… Andrew W.K. Oliver Tree is sort of an indie A.W.K. for this generation. He definitely kept the party going, something everyone appreciated on Sunday evening at Riot Fest.
Pennywise Sunday, 7:00pm, NOFX World Stage
At Riot fest, it’s really helpful if you have the ability to be omnipresent. Omnipresence is the power to be multiple places at the same time. Although it may seem that I have this ability, I just move around a lot. I’m surprised myself that I happened to catch three acts that were occurring at the exact same time. First off, Rob Zombie. What can you say? Zombie has his act nailed down. This guy puts on a show, pyrotechnics, wardrobe changes, light show, etc. We caught a little of the set and were yearning for something a bit more punk rock. We popped over to see Pennywise. The contrast between this and the previous set was stark. Pennywise just lays it down. They’ve been doing their thing for over thirty years! These guys are pros! I first heard of them on the Epitaph Sampler More Songs About Anger Fear Sex and Death. As luck would have it, soon after we strolled up they broke into “Living for Today,” which is on that comp. That was a Riot Fest moment for me and why Pennywise was one of my surprise sets.
Pavement Saturday, 7:40pm, AAA Stage
I can count the number of bands that I stayed for the entirety of their set on one hand. Pavement was one of them. I’m not the biggest Pavement fan, but I’d never seen them, and I’ve been listening to them voluntarily and involuntarily since college. When you see a band live, you get an opportunity to learn what the band is comprised of, and how they lay down their sound. If you had told me that Pavement had an investment banker/recreational golfer as a band member, I would have given you a quizzical glance. Yes, they have a guy that looks like a suburban dad, and his job is basically to scream in the background (and play a little tambourine). It’s good work if you can get it. Stephen Malkmus, the singer and spiritual force behind Pavement can still belt it out in his twangy, slacker, talky style. They dropped “Cut Your Hair,” which brought the house down. Stephen joked, “This is our new single” when he broke into “Harness Your Hopes” which apparently has caught on with a new generation of listeners. It’s safe to say after soaking up Pavement’s 90’s slacker vibe for an hour I stumbled away a little slanted, and definitely enchanted.
Sublime Sunday, 9:00pm, Rise Stage
A running theme with this Riot Fest is that certain bands I had no intention of seeing ended up being surprises for me. We had settled down at the NOFX stage and I had planned to catch their last Chicago set in its entirety. The vibe just didn’t keep us there, we decided to check out Sublime. Sublime used to tour with Rome. Who did a decent job of filling in for Brad Nowell (the original lead singer that passed away in 1996). There was just something about Sublime with Rome that didn’t hit. Well this time around, Sublime was fronted by Brad Nowell’s son, Jakob. The apple does not fall far from the tree. Jakob and co. pulled the crowd into a wormhole and we ended up at a Sublime show circa 1994. They dropped all the classics, “The Wrong Way,” “What I got,” “Santeria.” The band is as tight as ever and Jakob did his dad proud. As Riot Fest came to close, we shuffled through mud and puddles to the exits. Sublime dropped a set that stuck with us and will hopefully get us through until next year.
