On the second day of Riot Fest, despite the fact that organizers said there were still tickets available, Douglass Park was packed with fans on Saturday afternoon. Food lines weren’t as long as the first day, perhaps a sign of organization more than a comment on demand, or perhaps people who waited in long lines the day before opted to sneak in snacks.
The day began sunny and humid but by 3 p.m., clouds had appeared and the wind kicked up. Fans didn’t seem to take note, but organizers have to be hoping the rain stays away, as having large puddles of mud and other damage will only add fuel to residents who have been protesting the presence of Riot Fest for several years now.
Here’s a look at some of the day’s sets:
Bad Religion
On Friday, Riot Fest featured The Descendents. On Saturday, another seminal punk band from California was featured — Bad Religion.
While both bands feature lead singers who are men of science — Milo Aukerman of the Descendents is a biologist and Greg Graffin of Bad Religion has a PhD in zoology and has lectured at Cornell University and UCLA — on Saturday Graffin was teaching a different type of class.
Bad Religion has always been one of the most astute bands, with songs related to religion, politics, society and the media, and one of the praises and criticisms of their catalog is that one needs a thesaurus to decipher their lyrics.
With several bands performing seminal albums in full, it was odd that Bad Religion didn’t do the same, as they have 17 to choose from since their first one 40 years ago in 1982. On this day, the pioneering band chose to mix up their catalog, playing 19 songs from many eras, which in the end, was a crowd-pleasing decision.
With the sun setting, Graffin and his bandmates came out and got right to business, not even saying hello before launching into their first song. Then he told the crowd that although it’s been a while since the band has been to Chicago, he had similar news to share, that these are still the “New Dark Ages,” and launched into that song.
Perhaps no punk band harmonizes better than Bad Religion and that was on full display Saturday night, on cuts including “F- - - You,” “Los Angeles Is Burning,” “Epiphany” and “Come Join Us,” to which the crowd sang along.
It helped that the winds of earlier in the day subsided so Graffin could be heard loud and clear. It also helped that Bad Religion are seasoned professionals who can still bring it. Along with the Descendents, they probably deserve a headlining slot at a future Riot Fest. On this night, they played like they were the headliners, even if they only had an hour.
Graffin also told the crowd that the first time they ever played Chicago they played the Cubby Bear to about 30 people, before launching into “F- - - Armageddon... This Is Hell.”
They also played “Suffer,” the song Graffin said has been “the most copied song we’ve ever done;” and crowd favorites “21st Century Digital Boy,” “Infected,” “Sorrow,” ending the set with “American Jesus.”
The Joy Formidable
Fans who arrived in time to see Welsh trio The Joy Formidable were treated to one of the best acts of the fest thus far. Often described as dream-pop and shoe-gazer rock, they were indeed dreamy, but hardly mellow, as evidenced by their song “Sevier,” which was one of only six they performed in a 30-minute set.
Lead singer Rhiannon “Ritzy” Bryan proved she has a strong stage presence and bandmates Matthew James Thomas and Rhydian Dafydd Davies certainly backed her up well.
Especially poignant was a song Bryan said they released this week — “CSTS,” which stands for “come see the show” — something more fans should do wherever this band is playing. Additional crowd pleasers included “The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade” and “Chwyrlio,” which is sung by Bryan in her native Welsh.
It was too bad that The Joy Formidable were limited to a short set early in the day, as they would be great to see at a more intimate setting, and for those willing to take a drive, they will be doing just that Tuesday night at Piere’s Entertainment Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Ukraine Tribute
At 2:30 pm. Riot Fest got political with a 30-minute tribute to Ukraine. It began with a video message from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and then some words from Eugene Hütz, the Ukrainian-born frontman of Gogol Bordello, a New York-based band who is playing the fest later today. Additionally, a traditional Ukrainian dance troupe performed.
The Get Up Kids
The Get Up Kids performed their album “Four Minute Mile” in its entirety Saturday afternoon in honor of its 25th anniversary, and it was fitting that it take place in Chicago. Although the band is from Kansas City, Missouri, the album was recorded in Chicago and produced by Bob Weston, a member of Shellac who honed his production skills under Steve Albini, another member of Shellac who happens to be a legendary producer.
The Get Up Kids have been cited as an influence by My Chemical Romance, Friday night’s headliner, and do not like the EMO description that is often used to describe their music. But it’s hard to deny “Four Minute Mile” is not an EMO album — even Rolling Stone in 2017 declared it one of the best emo albums of all-time.
On Saturday afternoon, the band came out to the theme of “Chariots of Fire” and keyboardist James DeWees wearing a Cubs “W” Flag around his neck like a cape — perhaps to show some “Chicago cred.” However, their performance was hardly worthy of the Olympics. It was solid, but hardly inspiring.
It also didn’t help that they were on the Radicals Stage, which is situated in the middle of the festival grounds, and when the wind kicked up, the sound from the speakers was often hard to hear. The crowd mostly stood silent during the set, as it seemed the mid-day time slot was a way for many to kill time before seeing other acts.
