Sunday of Riot Fest Chicago was the only day that sold out, and after looking at the day’s schedule, it became obvious why. From up-and-coming emo bands Dads and Modern Baseball, folk strummers Kurt Vile and Billy Bragg, to rock n’ roll legends Patti Smith and The Cure, it welcomed the most diverse set of music communities. On the other hand, it’s surprising how the fest’s planner organized it all without too much chaos; other than the Primus/Weezer vs. The Cure conflict, of course.
Kurt Vile’s “Wakin’ on a Pretty Day” was all too appropriate while basking in the beautiful Chicago sun and kicking everything off. His crunchy acoustic guitar roared through the Riot Stage‘s PA speakers but only for a brief 30 minutes. Thankfully, he pushed his set time a little bit to keep fans in his hazy slacker daze.
The Riot Stage hosted the afternoon’s most impressive sets, from The Front Bottoms to Motion City Soundtrack. The Front Bottoms was built with a full-band, as opposed to their typical two-man lineup, and made a slew of jokes that Blink-182‘s Tom DeLonge would be proud of. This pop punk outfit and the band that followed, The Hold Steady, share similar dedication to their hometowns, but Craig Finn dissected their rock songs down to two beings, the boys and girls. What they want to do, what they do, and how they communicate was the common theme of the set, especially in their pickings from Boys & Girls in America and Separation Sunday. In the end, they wished their fans to stay positive, which was reinterpreted to get “fucked up and die” during Motion City Soundtrack’s performance. With a new album on the way, the band’s performance was surprising, definitely something I wasn’t expecting. This writer was glad to leave as an intrigued Motion City Soundtrack fan by the end of the set.
Tegan & Sara‘s Riot Stage performance brought punk back into the picture whenever they picked up their guitars. While their new album, Heartthrob, is more dancey and fitting for the 80s, their guitar prowess kept things edgy. Sara Kiersten discussed their initial draw to music was playing punk songs of an acoustic guitar, an effort to make something soft hard-hitting. Dads, who played the Revolt Stage in the middle of their set, proved that on every instrument during their set. The band is only made up three people, but the way they play their instruments was piercing. People like emo music for the impact, both poetically and sonically, and Dads consistently proved that with every beating given to their instruments.
Patti Smith made a similar statement with her powerful voice and wisdom when she welcomed Riot Fest attendees into the evening. Her set was powered by love and freedom, which she embraced as she smiled bright and pranced around the stage. Her most powerful moments gripped every audience member’s ears when she screamed, “You are free! Live your life, and be free! You will make this world great!” She covered John Lennon & Yoko Ono‘s “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)” in tribute to the most loving person she knew, her late husband Fred Sonic Smith. The emotion displayed on the stage was real and invigorating, and the crowd was lucky enough to see a rock n’ roll legend in her element.
When the sun began to set, fans were forced to solve the most difficult scheduling conflict to end the evening. While The Cure surely delivered a legendary performance on the Riot Stage, Primus and Weezer performed similar feats on the other side of the field. Primus hashed through a set of funky jams from across their catalog with assistance from Tool drummer Danny Carey. Les Claypool honored their regular drummer, Tim “Herb The Ginseng Drummer” Alexander, and his on-going fight against cancer in the middle of the set before diving into a clipped cover of Tool’s “Ænema” as a special surprise. “My Name is Mud” and “Jerry Was a Racecar Driver” served as the set’s pumped up conclusion and gave Rivers Cuomo and Co. difficult expectations to follow.
Weezer satisfied expectation with five hard-hitters from their singles catalog, from The Red Album‘s “Pork and Beans” to Pinkerton‘s “El Scorcho.” After racing through them, the band left the stage, changed backdrops to a classic blue one, and delved into their seminal debut, The Blue Album. The connection of “No One Else” and “The World Has Turned and Left Me Here” flip-flopped hearts between selfishness and loneliness, in the best way possible. The crowd’s loudest chants were uncased during the opening dialogue of “Undone (The Sweater Song)”, which was reenacted by guitarist Brian Bell and bassist Scott Shriner, and classic chords of “Say It Ain’t So.” The album’s climax of “Holiday” and “Only in Dreams” threw the audience in an up-and-down roller coaster of vocal and instrumental intensity, only to be closed by the album’s monumental dueling guitar solos to end the album. It was a special moment with a special album and the perfect way to end a special weekend during Riot Fest 2014.
