If Day 1 of Riot Fest was unofficially emo-day, then Day 2 on September 17th, proved to be the perfect antidote, given it was effectively classic hardcore punk day. Indeed, with such legendary bands as Fear, 7 Seconds, and of course the mighty Misfits on tap (who were headlining Saturday night), Day 2 of Riot Fest promised to be all killer, no filler.
First up was Fear, who delivered a mostly pummeling and raw mid-afternoon set under generous overcast and somewhat breezy conditions. They were performing their classic debut album The Record in its entirety, which, for that not privy, has its fair share of offensive material, so, was curious how well their performance would translate to a mid-day festival crowd in 2022.
In short, most folks seemed to be in on their shtick, and it probably didn’t hurt that frontman Lee Ving often introduced many songs with some amusing sarcasm (he described “I Don’t Care About You” as a touching, loving ballad dedicated to all of you (i.e. the crowd), and described “Fresh Flesh” as a tender, heartwarming, ballad about love, etc.). Have to say though, hearing a 72-year-old deliver the explicit lyrics to the aforementioned “Fresh Flesh” felt more than a little cringe, but also kind of funny depending on how fucked up your sense of humor is. Anyway, music-wise, the band sounded solid, and all those gross/offensive lyrics might just be the secret fountain of youth, as Lee Ving sounded great overall and was looking quite spry up there for a dude in his 70s.
After walking clear across the festival for a water refill (Riot Fest should investigate having water refill stations in more than just one area of the park), was able to catch a portion of Bridge City Sinners set, who were performing at the Rebel Stage. They were a bit unusual in that they featured a banjo-playing frontwoman, a violinist, a giant standing bass, etc. They had a stripped-down gothic campiness to them, sounding like an old-time-religion hoedown band with some frequent black-metal-esque screaming throw-in for good measure. Interesting, to say the least.
Back at the Riot Stage (which is where Fear performed), 7 Seconds seemed to deliver a solid set for the most part. This reviewer was actually somewhat surprised they sounded a bit more accessible live than anticipated, but it’s not 1980 anymore, so hard to find any legit complaints with their live performance overall. Was cool to see yet another legendary punk band.
Zig-zagging across Douglas Park for water refills wasn’t always a big inconvenience, especially when it led yours truly back to the Rebel Stage to checkout quite possibly the heaviest band of the entire festival: Madball. Indeed, the self-described “red-headed step-children of metal and punk” were in fine form Saturday evening, as the NYHC legends practically destroyed the sizable crowd on hand for their set, igniting an epic pit that stayed thoroughly active for the duration of their bruising performance.
In essence, their music basically sounds like the soundtrack to a prison riot, so depending on your disposition for punishment (or dishing it out), it doesn’t get much better than a Madball moshpit. Of course, if you didn’t particularly feel like getting your ass kicked (which was the case for this reviewer), checking out their set from the outskirts is always a good option. Whatever the case, if you happened to be in the general vicinity of the Rebel Stage at the time, was hard to deny that Madball’s patented brand of NYHC wasn’t brought with full force that evening.
After paying $20 for a piece of chicken on a stick (#inflation), it was time for Bad Religion to hit the Roots Stage around 6:30. And, have to say, coming from Madball to Bad Religion’s set felt downright relieving, which makes sense considering Bad Religion’s music has always had a generally positive/accessible/upbeat energy to it (comparatively speaking anyway). And the band was delivering that energy affably Saturday night, as their performance felt like the first headliner-quality set of the entire day. No offense to all the hardcore legends on display earlier of course, but hearing songs like “Infected”, “21st Century (Digital Boy)”, and of course “American Jesus” (which closed their set) couldn’t help but feel more refreshing relatively speaking. Cheers to Bad Religion, such a solid band, and a quality live act who has been at this whole punk-rock thing for roughly 4 decades now.
Immediately following Bad Religion on the adjacent Riot Stage, this reviewer found himself practically front-and-center for what might have been the most outright fun performance of the entire festival courtesy of Gogol Bordello. The band had actually been called-up on relatively short notice to replace Bauhaus, who unfortunately had to cancel due to Peter Murphy entering rehab (get well soon Pete). And although the two bands couldn’t be more different stylistically, after immersing oneself in the exuberant gypsy-punk freak party that encapsulated Gogol Bordello’s performance, was hard to feel like Gogol wasn’t an upgrade (unless you’re like 100% legit goth, then Gogol’s Bordello’s set was probably your worst fucking nightmare, but I digress).
In any event, Gogol Bordello definitely delivered their distinctive brand of festive, multicultural-flavored punk rock in their typical joyous fashion, creating what was probably the most outright cheerful/friendly gigantic circle-pit this reviewer has ever had the pleasure of parading around in. Seeing Gogol Bordello live is always a uniquely fun experience, but given the state of the world these days, the multicultural flavor of their performance (which at one point included a line of folk dancers dressed in Ukrainian flag colors) and the joyful communal feeling it invokes felt a little extra special Saturday night.
Closing things out on the opposite end of the spectrum on the adjacent Riot stage was a band that needs no introduction really: Misfits. They opened their set by performing their classic album Walk Among Us, which as you might imagine, launched the crowd into an absolute frenzy. For all their dorky/campy lyrics about martians, skulls, zombies, and the like, it’s hard to deny that the Misfits’ music isn’t catchy, original, and just flat-out entertaining, which certainly held true in a live setting.
Indeed, despite Glenn Danzig’s (kind of cheesy) evil-Elvis style, and his propensity for lots of “whoooooaaaaing” type of chants, it is admittedly a hell of a lot of fun to hoot-and-holler around with him and his legion of, well, Misfits, in a live setting. In fact, would have to say the intensity/physicality of the crowd during their set was at times borderline overwhelming, amounting to one of the rougher crowd experiences this reviewer has experienced in a while, but it was all in good fun of course. Speaking of fun, it doesn’t get much better than hearing “Mommy? (long pause)….can I go out and…KILL TONIGHT?!” live. The ensuing pit(s) for that song, were, in a word: legendary. Which is a fitting description for the Misfits performance overall, really, considering they rounded out their set with other classics like “Last Caress” and “Die, Die My Darling”, just to name a few. Would have to say experiencing the power of the Misfits live for the first time gave this reviewer a whole new level of admiration/respect for them personally. Indeed, it felt like Halloween had come early to Chicago this year, and it was a beautiful thing to behold.
Day 2 Tidbits:
Best horror movie t-shirt spotted: Sleepaway Camp (with a “fuck gender roles caption”)
Best random non-band t-shirt spotted: Norm McDonald (R.I.P.)
Number of people seen in a hotdog costume with an American flag cape: 1
One Response
You described, exactly, my experience.
From the Madball pit to the end! Epic! Good, accurate account. 🤘