When fans were welcomed back to Riot Fest Chicago on Saturday, they were greeted by the same nasty conditions. They came prepared, though, most of whom decided to wear the same muddy pants and shoes from the day before. Why ruin another pair of pants and shoes when the muddy ones could’t get any muddier?
The same lazy mentality came full circle when The Pizza Underground opened the Riot stage. The band’s obsession with ordering, eating, admiring, and perfecting pizza made festival goers chuckle through the entire performance. The group also revealed a few new parody concepts, such as the cat-themed Billy Joel band, Pussy Joel, and feces-themed Bob Dylan project, Plop Dylan. Even though the band has been booed off stage at some shows, the Riot Fest crowed embraced them with open pizza boxes.
A dominant rock-n-roll force conquered the rest of the afternoon. Wavves packed distortion behind his bored and smoked-out punk drive with a dedicated audience in front of them, proving their next festival appearance deserves a higher billing. Anti-Flag was the only band to mention the ongoing controversy in Ferguson, MO but did so appropriately, connecting it with “Fuck Police Brutality”. The Dandy Warhols strummed psychedelic guitar chords to ease the audience into a rocky hazy, most notably in opening with two highlights from …The Dandy Warhols Come Down. Television served as the most special performance of the afternoon, giving off a twangy punk fervor to both dedicated fans since the release of their seminal debut, Marquee Moon, and new fans alike. They alone proved that “age ain’t nothing but a number,” when it comes to living with a punk spirit.
What probably caught most attendee off guard was Die Antwoord‘s electronic, raunchy, and energetic set. The fest’s previous lineups would cringe at any act that wasn’t guitar-based, but the South African duo smashed preconceived judgements with their undeniably unique craft. Lo-Landi Vi$$er’s squeaking rap flow was odd, at first, but made their many of their chorus insanely catchy and memorable. Not to mention, both Carrabba MCs wear a ton of tattoos and the zaniest haircuts you’ve seen on any performer. If that’s not punk, I don’t know what is.
Despite a nasty conflict with a legendary hip-hop mob, another extremely dedicated set of fans journeyed all the way to the Rock stage to see Dashboard Confessional before the sun set. While Chris Carrabba has toured the moniker’s material since its start in 1999, the band, complete with electric guitars and drums, rarely makes appearance. When Carrabba said “This band tours once every millennium,” after set opener, “Don’t Wait,” no rustiness was to be found, where they continued to drive with confidence. The band played deep cut after deep cut, everywhere from Swiss Army Romance to Dusk and Summer. The crowd’s vocals for “Screaming Infidelities,” “Vindicated,” and “Hands Down” blew Carrabba and his band away, even to the point where Carrabba would pull away from the mic in shock. While most people tag the band’s music as nostalgic, the band’s 45-minute set proved that those angsty emotions should still be celebrated, whether we want to or not.
With all the emotional and strange energy in the air, Riot Fest set the stage for their most theatrical performance of the weekend, The Flaming Lips. When it comes to festivals, the band has nothing to hold back, considering that they’re playing to their largest and most fun audience possible. They were prepared to shock with song one with a deep cut from Clouds Taste Metallic, “The Abandoned Hospital Ship,” but were stunted as soon as they dropped their first collective note. The intensity from their confetti blowers, string lights, LED screens, and amplification from every performer literally blew a fuse, leaving the band in darkness. It could’ve been a trick up Wayne Coyne‘s sleeve, but not this time. The dancing rainbow and mushrooms on stage didn’t even know what to do. Thankfully, after fifteen minutes, the Riot Fest reenergized the show and put the show on the road. Along with a fantastic set balanced by fan favorites “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1” and “Race for the Prize” and material from their new album, The Terror, Coyne also brought back the legendary hamster ball and rolled around hundreds of fans. They even snuck in a sneak peek from their upcoming rendition of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
The National was set to hit the stage at 8:45 pm but didn’t strike the first note until 9:05 pm. Due to travel delays in Canada, the band was forced to rush to the festival grounds and onto the stage. While most would feel overwhelmed by the entire situation, the band approached the stage with ease and drinks in hand. The core of their set was built from their latest album, Trouble Will Find Me, along with many highlights from High Violet. Vocalist Matt Berninger reached his emotional peak during “Graceless” where he screamed its final chorus and launched his wine in the air, which eventually carried him into the crowd for “Mr. November” and “Terrible Love.” Berninger strutted through the entire length of the crowd in the first couple rows during that conclusion, giving many the opportunity to sing with the man himself. A few were shoved in the mud in the process, but that’s what dedication will do to a casual bystander.
