Writing by Kyle Land of Chicago Crowdsurfer.
A sticky, sunny, pristine blue skied afternoon welcomed the throngs to Riot Fest 2019 for Day Two. With the promise of a heavier lineup the metal heads came out in force with plenty of long hair, beards, and chains on display balanced by the hip hop heads there for Wu-Tang and the typical punk rockers and emo geeks that have kept the brand afloat all these years. An intergenerationally mixed crowd has always been a staple of Riot Fest and as 80s acts like Slayer and Anthrax were headlining it’s no wonder there was plenty of grey hair among the crowd. Continuing the trajectory set during day one we hit the ground running, packing five acts into the first three hours and never slowing down till the post-rock bliss of Bloc Party’s final feedback faded away.
Masked Intruder
These Madison, WI punks are the ultimate gimmick band (Gwar not withstanding) and their cop/robber theatrics were a big hit with the early afternoon crowd. New record III hit this spring with their octane fueled pop punk on full display, and a high energy show that includes their Police Officer character Officer Bradford, beating them while they play, crowd surfing on an inflatable doughnut, and eventually stripping down to an assless unitard, made Masked Intruder the perfect dose of wake up medicine!
Lando Chill
While only being able to catch a few tunes from Chicago born L.A. emcee Lando Chill was regrettable, the rapper/poet/producer left an indelible impression with lines like “We are all just sparrows in the snow storm.” and “Beneath a bed of hearses is where we lay our nation’s curses.” he captured the imagination in a few short moments. Last fall’s Black Ego is worthy of your hearts and ears.
Cherry Glazerr
For just a trio, Cherry Glazerr produces a mountain of sound. Harnessing the power of distortion and echo Clementine Creevy and crew power pop their way into the brain with plenty of fuzzy delight. This winter’s Stuffed & Ready saw them make huge strides musically and their early afternoon set was one of the days brightest performances.
Turnstile
Hardcore has long been a Riot Fest staple,and with only a few of the much beloved genre’s acts hitting this years stage it was of utmost importance to witness the glory that is Turnstile. While the first third of the crowd was reveling in the hardcore madness, including sending an ecstatic handicapped kid and his walker crowd surfing, the rest of the audience looked on in confusion wondering at the intensity that is written all over last years stunning Time & Space.
Prof
Minneapolis has its own brand of hip hop and Prof falls right into the heart of the sound. Signed to prototypical Twin Cities label, Rhymesayers, Prof dropped the cheeky Pookie Baby last year and is enjoying a round of indie hip hop success. His towel waving, fun loving, scream inducing, audience pleasing set was a hit with the Radicals Stage crowd. “Scream so they think something cool is going on here!” Ahhhhhhhhh!
Surfer Blood
With their light surfer punk aesthetic, Surfer Blood was a welcome change of pace from the early morning hip-hop and hardcore sandwich. Clearly having a blast playing together the Palm Beach quartet’s interactions were all genuine enthusiasm as they met back to back or jammed out with instruments together several times each. Their new release Hourly Haunts EP is chock full of blissed out indie surf rock that will bring back the heat of summer to the cool fall days.
The Selecter
The dance party of the weekend was had during the two-tone blast from the past that was The Selecter’s full album play of Too Much Pressure. An English classic, the record turns forty next year, but it hasn’t lost a bit of its classic ska lustre. Not to be confused with ska punk, two-tone has far more in common with reggae and as Pauline Black so eloquently put it: “Punk is a state of mind, no?”
Grandson
A crowd of at least four thousand were on hand for the protest hip hop/hard rock mix of Canadian American Jordan Edward Benjamin and his cohorts. Never one to back away from shock tactics grandson’s backing videos were filled with images of our country’s modern and past horrors, and with his ongoing a modern tragedy EP series (vol.3 was released Friday Sept. 13th) Benjamin is on a mission to give each and every one of his platforms a raw and uncensored take down.
The Struts
The Struts provided a much needed rock n’ roll shot of adrenaline to get the whole fest hitting on all cylinders. With their classic rock vibe and laying it all on the line effort, the English quartet had every last member of the crowd in the palm of their hand. Last year’s Young & Dangerous was full of instant radio hits like “Body Talks” and the single “One Night Only” is as infectious as rock gets. There’s a reason these guys have opened for The Who, The Stones, GNR, and Mötley Crüe.
Andrew W.K.
Who is Riot Fest? Andrew W.K. is Riot Fest. For the eighth year in a row the party hard maverick has been on the bill, and his headlining sets the past few years have been a sight to behold. 2019’s edition may have had the largest audience yet, with at least three to four thousand at the smallish Rebels Stage for a beautiful shout-along set. His anthemic party tunes have given way over the years to an inspiring set of values that includes a pro-therapy/self help, anti-descrimination, and living with optimism platform. What other rock star truly wants to help his fans more than Andrew W.K.? “Music Is Worth Living For”!
Bloc Party
The blissed out English post-punk perfection of Bloc Party was the perfect balm for the senses after ten hours of genre push and pull. Performing their classic debut Silent Alarm, albeit not in album order, the London quartet entered doning animal masks, which didn’t last one song, but gave an air of mystery to the post-rock mavericks. When they busted into “Helicopter” the bubble burst and the crowd went nuts, screaming along: “Are you happy for a miracle!”
Saturday regrettable misses:
Cursive, Microwave, Senses Fail, Manchester Orchestra,Rise Against.
Saturday unforgettable moments:
Masked Intruder’s Officer Bradford’s tear away stripping moment.
The moon behind the clouds as we caught in passing, Rise Against doing “Swing Life Away.”
Saturday Advice:
A music festival is not the place to drink until you puke. Especially by four in the afternoon.
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