The final installment of my Riot Fest Recap, I provide some general thoughts and takeaways from the event Please see my other write ups on Standout sets of Riot Fest and Surprises from Riot Fest. Also check out Jason Zero’s Day 1 and Day 2 recaps 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.
Location
Will we ever have a year where Riot Fest does not have some kind of snafu that pisses off a large subsection of its patrons? I’m guessing no. In June, Riot Fest announced the announcement for the announcement. One of the announcements involved moving the entire fest from its home in Douglass Park to Seat Geek Stadium in Bridgeview. Some people love change, what the heck… try something new. Others hated the idea of going out to basically nowhere, being far from the aftershows, having sketchy access to public transportation, having some good and some sketchy hotel choices, and generally having to think about dealing with a new venue. I would put most people in the intrigued but concerned camp. What would the layout look like? Would they use the stadium? The parking sounds good, but will it take hours to get out? Douglass Park has trees to hide under when the blazing sun attempts to incinerate you. Would SeatGeek? After much consternation, people began to warm to the idea of Seatgeek. They bought parking. They booked hotels and AirBnBs. The world was right again. Then… on August 14, just before they dropped the schedule, Riot Fest dropped this, “We’re Back…” Meaning they had moved Riot Fest back to Douglass Park. The people mentioned above simultaneously cheered and booed depending on what camp they were in. Some cheered and then booed, and then boohooed because they couldn’t get out of their Air BnBs or other accommodations, or maybe they just like airplanes (SeatGeek is near Midway Airport).
Weather
Remember the aforementioned blazing Sun and incineration? Those who attended Riot Fest on Friday and Saturday got a good taste of it. Both days peaked out around 92. Read my other articles if you would like to hear more whining about the heat. We spent a lot of time in the shade of the trees and thanked Riot Fest for moving back to Douglass where some respite from the sauna-like conditions could be found. I hear Seat Geek doesn’t have a lot of trees, that might have been a nightmare. Sunday brought heavy rain early, then a misting rain later with a high of 76. We welcomed the cooler weather and dealt with the rain. I invested in a pair of muck boots back in 2014 when it seemed deluge and Riot Fest were synonymous. They came in handy. You can’t control the weather (or can you…), so you get what you get and you don’t get upset. Riot Fest has chosen a weekend (late September) that typically has mild weather. With climate change and conspiracy theories, who knows.
Riot Land
“Stop blocking the sun and raining on all of my stuff!!” Man shouting at clouds. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see the point of Riot Land. I’m from the old school. It’s all about the music, some beers with friends, some tympanic damage, that’s it. Every year, I go through the schedule and fill up my dance card. Sometimes I get a break, but I use that time to catch a new band. I’m just not drawn to the diversions. This year the entertainment area included the carnival section that Riot Fest has long espoused, in addition, Riot Land included a wedding chapel, a wrestling event, a half pipe, a replica of Fireside Bowl, among other attractions. I did want to check out the Fireside bowl because it contained some punk artifacts brought from the Punk Rock Museum in Vegas.
To accommodate Riot Land, some stages had to be moved. In the past, you had two main stages sunk back to allow for the massive crowds at the end of the night (Previously known as Riot and Roots). A few hundred yards in front of those stages you had two satellite stages (Previously known as Radical and Rise). Then, tucked away in a wooded area at the bottom of a knoll you found the Rebel stage. Rebel stage hosted some great shows, often interesting local jams, or off-the-radar rockers. Last year Sleep Token played Rebel, as well as Insane Clown Posse, Corey Feldman, and Screaming Females. Over the years I’ve seen some great acts there and I love that little area. Plenty of trees to get away from the raging sun. Room up on the hill to get a good vantage point. Far enough from the other stages to avoid the sound bleed. This year, the Rebel stage real estate was seized via eminent domain to Riot Land. RIP Rebel stage. This forced the renaming of the main stages to AAA and Cabaret Metro, these stages were side by side and alternated, then you had the NOFX World stage a couple hundred yards in front of them and another dual stage of Rise/Radical (old names die hard). The setup worked and having two dual stage setups made it convenient for the crowd. I’m guessing there are people out there that love the diversions and Riot Land probably made them giddy with excitement, I’m more inclined to enjoy the music.
Soundbleed
You may have caught the mention of “soundbleed” in my Lawrence Arms‘ blurb. Well, we experienced plenty of it this year. The compact setup forced by the addition of Riot Land (and removal of Rebel stage) led to some bands basically playing over each other at times. The term I use for this is soundbleed, when the band on another stage is very audible when you are watching a band at a different stage. If you really want to avoid hearing other stages, you should position yourself right in front of the band and as close as possible. Even then, when that band isn’t playing, or they are playing a quieter song, you will hear other stages. I get it, it’s a festival, some of this noise pollution is unavoidable. The only real solution involves spreading things out and having a larger footprint. Hard to do when carnival rides, wrestling matches, and other miscellanea take up half of your acreage.
Food Choices
In previous years, I would try to eat a big meal before showing up so I didn’t have to wait in line for food. This flies in the face of one of my cardinal Riot Fest survival tenets, “Eat what you can, when you can.” Back in the day I’d skip a meal in there and totally run out of gas by the time the headliner dropped their first barre chord. Riot Fest does a good job hooking its patrons up with solid food choices. They have a road dedicated to food trucks/stands and all the best Chicago fare can be had. If I had to bet I’d say that Bacci’s pizza provided the most popular meal. They served up giant guitar body sized pizza slices. They had to be about three days’ worth of calories, so perfect to get you through five hours of moshing. For my money, Big Star offered the best value. They pedaled a variety of pre-made burritos. For a quick $10, you got a meal that filled you up without busting your gut. Gotta save room for beer you know. Someone in our group hit Harold’s Chicken shack for their chicken and fry bucket. They also hook you up with some solid food at a fair price.
Way too early Lineup Guesses
I’ll have a better handle on my lineup prognostications in Spring of 2025, for now here are some shots in the dark:
Weird Al. Supposedly he has an opening in his tour schedule that coincides.
Saves The Day. Bad Religion, Alkaline Trio, Blink 182, The Replacements, Bob Mould, Gorillaz, Dashboard Confessional, Senses Fail, Thrice, Ministry, The Cult, All Time Low, The Wonder Years, Teenage Bottlerocket, Off With Their Heads.
Dream: Laura Jane Grace with Mick Jones, Topper Headon, and Paul Simonon do a The Clash set.
