For the past few years, Chicago festivals have been cursed by the rain, and, unfortunately, this year’s Riot Fest endured the brunt of it on day one. The green grass of Humboldt Park was transformed into mountains of mud within a matter of hours. For those that toughed it out and trudged through the mud, though, there were many moments to remember. Black Joe Lewis, Title Fight, Circa Survive, and The Hotelier served as a perfect start to the weekend. While The Hotelier ripped through highlights from their explosive sophomore album, Home, Like Noplace is There, Black Joe Lewis displayed enthusiasm from the horn players to his guitar against his amplifier.
Many fans were influenced to take a step back in the middle of the afternoon when they walked to the Riot Fest Speaks stage. As aforementioned, the Pussy Riot panel was one of the most anticipated events of the festival. Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alekhina, two members of Pussy Riot, travelled all the way from Russia to discuss their ambitions, hardships, and inspirations behind their music, a discussion the world has been waiting to hear. They’ve been bludgeoned, jailed, and humiliated by Russian police and have stood above it all. With Henry Rollins moderating the discussion, many hoped the group would weigh in on these experiences and, in turn, inspire the audience to leave thinking differently about our freedom of expression.
By the end, many wished Pussy Riot spoke more about these topics, but what they did say was memorable. Punk music is only a mode of communication for the band; the instruments don’t really matter. Their lo-fi instrumental approach was really meant for grittiness, a means of making their anarchy dirtier. They’re more revolutionary poets more than they are punk rockers. This energy came to a head when they performed in a Russian Orthodox church. When the event came up during the panel, they revealed that they weren’t expecting prison, since they weren’t arrested until a week after they performed. But, they knew a point was proven, especially after dictator Vladamir Putin said “he was hurt” by Pussy Riot’s message. At the time, he wasn’t aware that the band had a song called “Putin Pissed Himself” in their catalog, either.
Once the sun went down, the rain came down harder, but the bands embraced and rose above it. Mastadon. They served as a perfect sub-headliner for Slayer, who resurrected their signature album, Reign In Blood, in its entirety. The Offspring and Jane’s Addiction did the same with Smash and Nothing Shocking, respectively. The Offspring sound impressively similar to their album recording, Jane’s Addiction unleashed amazing instrumental expertise beyond the album’s barriers. Perry Ferrall caused jaws to drop as he roared in the outro of “Summertime Rolls”. Dave Nevarro, Steven Perkins, and Chris Chaney proved the same in “Mountain Song” and Jane’s Says”, bringing Friday to an amazing close. Even though Jane’s Addiction may not be relevant to Lollapalooza‘s current scene, they closed the first day of Riot Fest all too well.
