After two consecutive days of scorching temperatures, the skies opened up for the final day of Riot Fest, bringing a soaking rain to Chicago Sunday morning and most of the early afternoon as well. But, of course, that did nothing to dampen the spirits of the scores of fans who came pouring (pardon the pun) back into a decidedly damp Douglas Park for one last hurrah on a day that sported a lineup full of heavy metal legends. Considering that, the grungy conditions were downright perfect for all the muddy madness to come. Here’s a recap of all the action from the third and final day of Riot Fest:
Gwar
Many people have no doubt heard of Gwar. Their reputation precedes them, but do you, the loyal Glide reader, know much about what a Gwar show entrails? (whoops, I meant “entails”). Granted, like most folks, this writer was generally aware that Gwar performs on stage in elaborately gruesome monster costumes, and for those fans brave enough to soak in (pun intended) their set from the front rows of the crowd, well, chances are they will leave Gwar’s performance drenched in fake blood or other suggestive monster fluids. And, considering the soggy conditions, I might as well wash off all that pesky rainwater with some good old fake blood and the like, am I right?
All sounds like good dirty fun if you ask this guy, but there’s another component to Gwar’s performances that this writer did not fully appreciate: their “unique” sense of humor. To state the obvious, it should probably be noted that Gwar is not exactly the most PC band in the world. Indeed, it likely comes as no surprise to most folks that their performances are not for the faint of heart, but some of their comedic skits went places that would make Andrew Dice Clay look like Mother fucking Teresa.
A couple of skits involving Benjamin Netanyahu and a (pregnant) Taylor Swift were quite memorable (spoiler alert: it didn’t end well for either one of them), and on the more light-hearted end of the spectrum, they had some excellent zingers about P Diddy and Perry Ferrell but suffice to say nothing was out of bounds during Gwar’s hour-long spectacle of metal, vulgarity, and gore. This writer lost count of all the heads that got sawed off, the number of disembowelments, and all the ensuing blood and goo that spewed out onto the delighted crowd below, but it certainly left an impression, to say the least. Oh, and they also play reasonably good heavy-metal music, but honestly, that felt like an afterthought, considering it just served as a soundtrack to all the goofy/gross stage antics. While Gwar’s performance wasn’t exactly wholesome fun for the whole family entertainment, this reviewer would recommend checking them out at least once if you ever get the chance. Even if you regret it, you’ll never forget it. Moving on…
Laura Jane Grace with Catbite (performing Operation Ivy set)
After enjoying some $18 chicken tenders/fries around the corner at the food court (the fact I still had an appetite after Gwar’s set was quite remarkable, but in any event), Catbite and Laura Jane Grace were performing an absolutely killer Operation Ivy set at the nearby NOFX stage. This is all part of the “Operation Reunite Operation Ivy” initiative, which may be unlikely ever to happen, but given the resounding performance delivered by Catbite and LJG, who needs an official reunion? Bold statement, but that’s how good their set was, as they crushed it live with an impassioned performance that had everyone in the crowd dancing and singing their asses off with joyfully reckless abandon. It was a beautiful (not to mention incredibly fun) thing. On behalf of Op Ivy fans everywhere, thank you, Catbite and Laura Jane Grace, for that fantastic set!
Rob Zombie
It had been a minute since this writer thought about Rob Zombie. As a modest White Zombie fan back in the day, things started to get a little too campy/cheesy when he effectively went solo with the Rob Zombie moniker after his former band broke up, so this writer steadily lost interest as the years went by. Suppose you asked me what Mr. Zombie has been up to the past couple of decades. In that case, yours honestly might say something like “putting on reasonably entertaining performances with excessive pyro, and probably writing songs about fucking in a U.F.O. or some stupid shit like that”. And, as it turns out, that’s pretty much exactly what he’s been up to (he performed a song Sunday night titled “Well, Everybody’s Fucking in a U.F.O.”). You can’t make that shit up! And, as alluded to, his performance overall was indeed quite entertaining (in a cheesy/tacky sort of way). You know what you’ll get at a Rob Zombie show: big, dumb, fun, and he delivered the goods on all those fronts Sunday night. Even the normally quite stoic Michael Myers (who was taking in their set from the crowd) seemed to be enjoying it…(I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the real Michael Myers…moving on)…
The Decision…
After seeing Gwar and Rob Zombie, this writer had frankly had enough of all the (premature) Halloween vibes permeating from the AAA Stage Sunday afternoon/evening. It reminded of one of when people start decorating for Xmas too early…it’s still September folks, so let’s pump the brakes on all the Halloween shit (will be plenty of time for that next month). But that meant yours truly would have to make the somewhat agonizing decision between seeing the almighty Slayer, who were reuniting for their first concert in 5 years, or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, a newly reformed Sublime, fronted by the prodigal son Jakob Nowell (who’s father is the late great Bradley Nowell). All signs seemed to be pointing to Slayer: the cooler, windier, damper conditions, all the aforementioned metal performances, the lengthy Slayer hype video that proceeded the band taking the stage, etc. But truth be told, this reviewer didn’t wear his Toots & the Maytals shirt for nothing, so for all intents and purposes, the decision was already made in advance (but it wasn’t easy).
Dr. Dog/Sublime
And so it was that this writer made his way to the other end of Douglas Park to set up shop in the thick of the crowd gathered at the Rise stage in advance of Sublime’s performance, which allowed me to check out Dr. Dog’s set on the adjacent Radicals stage. For someone who was opting for a more joyful and jubilant way to close Riot Fest, Dr. Dog was having a jubilant-ass time in their own right, as they delivered a decidedly uplifting and soulfully groovy set that proved to be the perfect appetizer for Sublime, who took to the Rise Stage promptly at 9:00. Somewhat amusingly, everyone could hear Slayer jamming away to the intro of “Seasons in the Abyss” as Sublime was taking the stage, which, weirdly, technically made their entrance much more dramatic.
Even the cheeky Jakob Bradley later commented, “How cool is it Slayer was playing our walk-out music?”. Quite a contrast indeed, but as soon as Sublime delivered those opening beats to “Garden Grove” (which opened their set), and that funky synthesizer kicked in, any regrets about missing Slayer’s (no doubt epic) set soon melted away as Sublime cast their distinctly chill spell on the thousands of us in attendance.
For the first few songs, it did feel like we were all in a bit of a “spell,” so to speak, as the dance party didn’t get started adequately until the one-two punch of “Wrong Way” and “STP,” which arrived close to the middle of their set. And it doesn’t get much better than a Sublime dance party, not just because of the infectious rhythm of the music, spiked with that distinctive punky-reggae flavor, but because of all the love in the air and the fellowship and history that goes along with being a Sublime fan. It’s like a big happy/depressed hedonistic family that has remarkably endured over the years, and seeing Bradley’s son Jakob inherit the leading role only adds to the beauty of it all.
There’s something special about that, and seeing the images of Bradley playing with Jakob as a baby on the giant screen behind the band while they were jamming to “What I Got” couldn’t help but hit you in the feels a little bit. Suffice it to say there was a lot of love and happiness in the air during Sublime’s set, which was a hell of a lot of fun and proved to be the icing on the Riot Fest cake, so to speak, as another fantastic year of great live music came to close in Douglas Park Sunday night.
