While the end of summer is always sad, at least it ends on a huge high note because Riot Fest was here last weekend to close out the season. This long-running and ever evolving festival went through some more changes this year, including moving locations briefly, only to (thankfully) move back to their regular home in Chicago’s Douglass Park. Not only did the fest go through some improvements this year, but so did the park, including some new paved walkways. The fest kicked off on Friday and it was a really hot, sunny day.
First up was The Exploited. This early generation UK punk band was supposed to play at least one prior Riot Fest but had to cancel due to lead singer, Wattie’s, various health scares that he thankfully overcame. These legends played a half-hour set full of their old favorites and drew a great sized crowd for so early on opening day. Wattie had no shirt on and you could see the big scars on his torso from his heart surgeries, which just made him look that much more badass and punk! It was a treat to have the finally get to play this fest, and thankfully Wattie overcame his health problems and seemed to be in excellent shape this day. The band sounded great and they were fun to watch.
Poison The Well were on the AAA stage (one of the two main stages, both which were renamed this year) and had a huge crowd watching them. They played their metallic hardcore/post-hardcore with precision. They were a total powerhouse and had heavy riffs, plenty of speed, but also mixed things up and had some more melodic parts. The singer has good range between the growling and the singing, and the kids went nuts for them. Their 30 minute set whizzed by in the blink of an eye.
Since the Descendents were playing this festival, and it has been awhile since All last played here, it seemed only fitting that both bands would play the fest this year. All were over on the NOFX stage, which was a hugely popular stage this year due to most of the punk rock bands (especially the longer running ones) playing on that stage. This lineup of All saw Chad Price returning to the lead vocalist position. The band has always put on pretty flawless performances and this was no exception. While not as popular as Descendents, they are a great compliment to that band and their more quirky and sometimes technical indie rock/punk sounded great on this day. It’s always a treat to see All play a show these days and many people were very grateful for it. It’s a shame they only got a half hour to play, but any amount of time getting to see All is always welcomed and appreciated.
Face To Face has been a fixture of Riot Fest over the years and they made another welcomed return this year over at the NOFX stage. They opened with “No Way Out But Through”, which got things started on the right foot. From there they proceeded to deliver an hour of their trademark high-energy, melodic punk rock. They are always a great live act and they easily lived up to their past Riot Fest performances, if not topped them.
Suicidal Tendencies return to the fest for their third time and proceeded to devastate the entire audience who witnessed them play the Rise stage. It’s unbelievable how much energy Mike Muir has while performing. That dude never holds still and runs back and forth across the stage pumping his fists, jumping and squatting. It’s exhausting just trying to keep up watching him! The band appeared to have a couple member changes since last time but it made zero effect on the sound. They were a huge wall of sound and played fast. They mixed up old hits with some of their later material and the crowd went crazy for all of it.
Chicago’s Lawrence Arms returned again this year and they’re another band who always puts on a great show. Brendan Kelly didn’t even show up drunk this time before taking the stage! They played a solid hour of really great pop-punk and being hometown heroes, it was no surprise that they drew a huge crowd to watch them.
Hardcore punk icons, the Circle Jerks, took the NOFX stage next. Last time they played the fest it was pouring rain, thankfully this time the weather was pretty perfect. They blasted out hit after hit and it’s amazing how great these old-timers still sound. It is like they never age, they play with the same speed and energy they had four decades ago! Keith Morris is one of the best frontmen in hardcore history, he was one of the blueprints for the genre, and his vocal performance was spot-on. Pretty much every older punk fan in the park was at this stage for them, as was tons of kids who weren’t even born when the band was releasing records. Having them back to the fest this years was something pretty special.
Public Enemy haven’t been an active band for a number of years now, but they made their triumphant return Friday evening to finish out the day of bands on the Radical Stage. Time stood still for them because they played so well that you’d think they had never taken a break for a few years. Their stage show was full of flashing lights and was totally backlit, which made it hard to see the band members as they appeared more like shadows in front of the giant multimedia display they had going on the huge screen on the stage behind them. It was aural and visual overload and made for an incredible looking presentation that fit Public Enemy’s music perfectly. The band was and is totally in a league all their own in the rap/hip-hop genre and they are among the greatest rap acts to ever pick up a microphone. Their 60 minute performance was one of the best of the entire weekend! Let’s hope they keep performing after this because the world needs Public Enemy more than ever.
NOFX are in the middle of their farewell tour and they were playing all three nights at Riot Fest to close out the evening on the stage that was named after them. The band had about a hundred people standing on stage behind them watching them play the first of their final three shows ever, or until they un-retire a few years from now as we all know that music retirements are about as final as professional wrestling retirements. Assuming that this really is goodbye for good, a massive crowd squished in as close as possible to see the first of the three sets. The band came out to the “Time Warp” song from Rocky Horror Picture Show and then Fat Mike spent at least five minutes talking to the crowd and making wise cracks before the band started playing. They promised a unique set each night.
When they did finally start playing, they opened with “Backstage Passport” and then immediately followed up with “Stickin In My Eye” (a personal favorite of mine)! They played a ton of songs from their vast catalog and even played “Six Pack Girls” from their first 7″ on Mystic Records! They were a lot of fun and the kids went nuts for them and it was a much better way to close out the first night of Riot Fast than what was on some of the competing stages, at least it was if you were a punk rock fan.
The first day of Riot Fest 2024 was a scorcher, both in weather and in amazing performances all day long. What a great way to kick of the most fun weekend of the year!
