Another equally toasty day greeted the masses who descended upon Chicago’s Douglas Park Saturday for a new day of action-packed music and attractions at Riot Fest. After a fun-filled Friday highlighted by legendary hip-hop groups, Saturday promised to be equally memorable, with some fantastic artists and bands from the world of alternative rock scheduled to perform across Riot Fest’s various stages. Here’s a recap of all the action from Day 2:
The Hives
Back in the early 2000s, it seemed like practically every month, a new “The” band was being declared the next big “thing” as part of the broader garage-rock revivalism trend that was super prevalent at the time. You know, The White Stripes, The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Killers, The Mooney Suzuki, etc.. Granted, most of those bands have stood the test of time, but back then, it felt like all you had to do was slap a “The” at the front of your band name and play throwback/recycled 70s-flavored rock music, and you, too, could be the next hip thing!
The Hives always struck this writer as one of those bands, so suffice it to say expectations were somewhat tempered for their mid-afternoon set at the Cabaret Metro stage (which is one of the two main stages). But despite my (somewhat dubious) reservations, all The Hives did was proceed to go out on stage and rip everyone’s collective faces off by delivering a scorching (literally/figuratively) set that put to rest any misgivings about their place in the “The” club.
The energy and enthusiasm of their performance were truly awesome to behold. The band delivered their distinctive brand of fist-pumping, prancy cock-rock with a swagger that would make Mick Jagger himself blush. And they dressed head-to-toe in their trademarked suits in the 90-degree heat, which only made their performance more impressive. The crowd was eating it up, as was this reviewer, who came away from their set with a newfound respect for the band. Good times!
Health
In contrast to the rollicking good-time vibes that characterized The Hives’ performance, it was then time for some good-old-fashion industrial gloom to follow it up on the adjacent AAA stage, courtesy of Health. The contrast was particularly striking, especially considering the ample sunshine and steamy temperatures. Still, in any event, Health did its best to damper things by delivering a serviceable set of melancholy industrial noise. For this writer, their set had a dreamy/shoegaze flavor in that it wasn’t overly heavy or intense. Still, it was often foreboding, like any good industrial outfit should be. It’s a solid set overall.
Clutch
One of the great things about Riot Fest is their penchant for casting a wide net and integrating an eccentric mix of artists and bands into their notoriously eclectic lineups. As a result, you get an opportunity to see bands that maybe you casually like but wouldn’t necessarily go out of your way to see if they didn’t happen to be at the festival itself. A perfect example of that, for this writer anyway, is Clutch, a band I frankly hadn’t thought about in years, but since they were scheduled to perform across the park at the Radicals stage at 4:45, it seemed like a solid late-afternoon option for yours indeed.
Taking in their set proved a good decision, as Clutch delivered their patented brand of rough-and-tumble bluesy hard-rock tailor-made for stoners and truckies in convincing fashion. It was a fun set, featuring plenty of down-and-dirty riffs, a harmonica, and even a cowbell (gotta have more cowbell)! There was even a dude in a banana costume frolicking around in the moshpit, to which Neil Fallon commented, “You know it’s a good festival when there’s a banana in the crowd”. Truer words were never spoken. Shout out to Clutch, who are still going strong over three decades into their career.
St. Vincent
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past several years, chances are you’ve heard of St. Vincent, who has emerged as one of the most singular artists of the past decade thanks to her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, a knack for experimentation, impressive (distortion-heavy) guitar chops, and her ever-evolving artistic persona/style.
Having never got the chance to see her live before, this writer had a feeling her performance would be something special, so he was keen to get in the thick of things for her early evening set at the Cabaret Metro stage. And special it was, probably an understatement in fact, as St. Vincent delivered a consistently fascinating set, complete of wickedly funky distorted beats, otherworldly soundscapes, and twisted/inverted guitar solos, all performed with her distinctive artfully carnal fervor that was truly captivating to witness.
Indeed, her performance felt like an artistic exploration of the forces of control/composure vs. the forces of mania/inhibition. That push vs. pull dynamic was played out compellingly both sonically and visually on stage. It was inexplicably cool, which is probably a good summation of St. Vincent as a whole. An immersive experience that left quite an impression, to say the least.
Beck
You know when you see a famous artist live. Because they have such an extensive catalog of classic songs and deep cuts, it’s nearly impossible for them to curate the perfect setlist that happens to align with your specific tastes as a fan? Such was the case with the last couple Beck tours.
It’s Beck, so he can’t help but be good in a live setting, but he didn’t quite check all the favorite song boxes so to speak. But for his closing set on a picture-perfect Saturday night at Douglas Park, Beck really could do no wrong as he delivered a fantastic career-spanning set that more than delivered the goods for yours truly and no doubt the thousands of other fans in attendance. And it wasn’t just because his set happened to feature some of his most alright fun, groovy, and danceable material (i.e. “Mixed Bizness”, “Que Onda Guero”, “Dreams”, “Sexx Laws”, etc.). Still, he often brought a decidedly bluesy flavor to the mix
Whether it was his hoedown-esque harmonica solo during “One Foot in the Grave” (an excellent old-school deep cut), or showcasing his chops on guitar as he performed a smoking traditional blues-flavored piece that eventually morphed into the intro to “Loser”, it often felt like Beck was getting back in touch with his groovy/bluesy roots throughout much of his set. He also flexed his impromptu comedic muscles as well with an absurdly hilarious performance about a girl he fell in love with from Chicago, who took him to Bed, Bath, & Beyond in Schaumburg, how he discovered the “Beyond” section, which was full of potpourri, etc… It was classic surrealist Beck that really had the crowd rolling.
So, all-in-all, Beck’s performance had a little bit of everything Saturday night: humor, beats, blues, riffs, soul, funk, you name it, Beck had it, and he executed it flawlessly, capping off what was another outstanding day of compelling performances at Douglas Park Saturday.
Random Tidbits:
- Number of flux capacitors spotted: 1
- Best costume/lookalike spotted: Pee Wee Herman
- Honorable mention: The Pope
- Number of vomit-soaked porta-potties this writer immediately backtracked from: 1
