A good friend of ours, Mike Damante (henceforth known as Polar Bear today) recently attended Chicago’s Riot Fest. The lineup boasted some of pop-punk, screamo, emo whatever’s best bands, both past and present, and spanned three days in the Chi’s Humboldt Park. Hit the jump and recap his time there with him.

Many thanks to Mike for writing up a review and letting us have it.

-grizzly c/o polar bear


photo credit: huffpo

The organizers of Chicago’s Riot Fest put together what could best be described as the best of Warped Tour throughout the years, appeasing new and old punk rock fans alike. A stacked lineup saw legendary acts like the Replacements, Blondie, Public Enemy and the Pixies atop the bill alongside current favorites like Fall Out Boy, blink-182 and Rancid.

Every stage (small and big) drew large crowds all weekend, which was a testament to their smart booking practices, covering all genres and subgenres within the scene and bringing in a wide variety of fans of the bands. Like all good festivals, it would be impossible to check out everyone on your to-see list. Humboldt Park also boasted a spirited carnival theme to accompany the punk rock aesthetic of the weekend.

Day 1:

The Smoking Popes and Andrew WK – who is huge in the Midwest by the way – were delightful, upbeat starters early Friday evening. Punk’s resident grandfathers Bad Religion, fresh off of a European tour, put on one of the best performances of the fest. Greg Graffin also debuted his silver mane, looking more professor-like than ever. Age aside, Bad Religion puts on a bombastic show of energetic, intelligent punk rock that still manages to put younger bands to shame. The band worked in some rarities in “No Direction” and “Beyond Electric Dreams,” to accompany usual classics like “American Jesus” and “I Want To Conquer The World.”

GWAR‘s shock-rock was enough to send atheists want to go to church. The schtick featured the band skinning alive a crucified Jesus before spraying fake blood into the crowd – you know, a regular run of the mill GWAR set. Joan Jett had an old-school set, and also played some new jams. As a special treat, Jett had Against Me’s Laura Jane Grace join her on stage for a duet Grace co-wrote with her.

Friday’s headliner was local favorite Fall Out Boy, who true to the event’s name, almost incited a riot. The band had to stop multiple times to tell he crowd to stop pushing toward the stage. Coming out in ski masks (hey, I thought that was Masked Intruder’s thing?) the band started an sea-sized dance fit, kicking off the performance with “The Phoenix” and didn’t stop with a set heavy in the band’s catalog of pop hits. Fall Out Boy seemed to pander a little to the punk crowd with videos complete with punk monologues and on-stage shout outs to local legends like Screeching Weasel and Naked Raygun. They even covered Naked Raygun, bringing singer Jeff Pezzati up for guest vocals. After closing with “Saturday,” Fall Out Boy closed opening night by bringing out something that was teased on social media in the weeks leading up; the coveted Stanley Cup, which was hoisted in Chicago by the World Champion Blackhawks.

photo credit: huffpo

Day 2:

Veteran acts Dinosaur Jr. and Pennywise had good showings to their respective indie/alt rock and skate punk audiences in the afternoon, while Lawrence Arms were another Saturday highlight wowing its home crowd with a set dominated by tracks off Oh, Calcutta. Re: singing along to songs that make you feel young again – Saturday night was a nostalgia romp with two of the best sets of Riot Fest, Rancid and blink-182.

Rancid rocked through its collection of rootsy punk with “Radio,” “Fall Back Down” and “Maxwell Murder” as standouts. They even brought out WWE superstar and Chicago native CM Punk, who could be seen rocking out to “It’s Quite Alright.”
Blink-182, Saturday’s headliner, had the most energetic and active crowd of the weekend as the bodies crowd surfed, bounced and moshed in the sea of humanity to all the hits you would come to expect. Mark Hoppus gave props to acts like Flag and Rancid, and showing respect to punk predecessors was a reoccurring theme from all the bands over the weekend. Newer songs ” Dogs Eating Dogs” and “Heart’s All Gone” went over well after making it into the set, but older pop-punk gems “Josie” and “Carousel” best represented blink’s set – and the crowd’s best interest.

photo credit: huffpo

Day 3:

Sunday was more subdued due to the older audience, the rainy weather and obviously, the acts playing that day. The beachy Best Coast and the nostalgic emo of Saves The Day distracted viewers from the muddy conditions around them during the day’s waking moments. The massive crowds were treated to a set from the elusive Brand New, which had the makings of a Coachella set. The usual stoic and emotionless Jesse Lacey managed to crack a smile several times. Fellow New Yorker Kevin Devine joined them on stasge for “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows” while “Sic Transit Gloria, Glory Fades” and the set-closing “You Won’t Know” were the crowd favorites.

AFI‘s opening one-two punch of “The Leaving Song pt.2” and “Girl’s Not Grey” allowed for a great and engaging intro, eventually leading them to display newer Burials tracks, “I Hope You Suffer” and “17 Crimes.” A cover of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” was a welcomed surprise as well. But without a doubt, the final night (and really the whole festival) belonged to The Replacements, who reunited for the first time in twenty years for Riot Fest. Onlookers were an age-spanning bunch that stood in awe of the legendary rockers known best for “Alex Chilton” and “Can’t Hardly Wait.” The performance summed up what the weekend was all about by perfectly and seamlessly blending the Replacement’s vintage rock’n’roll with the punk rock spirit of Riot Fest.

-Mike Damante, polar bear (@mikedamante)