RIOT FEST Critical Soundbites LIVE REVIEWS 2012
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RIOT FEST Critical Soundbites LIVE REVIEWS 2012 “As if to soak every drop of sunshine out of the waning summer, Riot Fest brought 60,000 fans and 47 bands on four stages to the West Side park for one final fling in ideal weather.… The park measured up as a comfortable landing spot for concertgoers; unlike the increasingly cramped confines of the smaller Union Park, which caps at about 20,000 people a day for the Pitchfork Music Festival in mid-July, Riot Fest felt a good deal more spacious. It lacked the human bottlenecks that plague Lollapalooza in Grant Park, and corporate signage was conspicuously absent. To fully saturate the senses, there also were circus rides, clowns, jugglers and professional wrestlers.‖ --Greg Kot, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/17/12 ―This summer, I caught parts of Pitchfork, Lollapalooza, North Coast, the Hideout Block Party/A.V. Fest and Riot Fest. Without question, the most easy going, least pretentious and fun crowd was the one I experienced over two days in Humboldt Park at Riot Fest. While Lollapalooza takes a bit too much advantage of its sprawling environs in Grant Park, both Pitchfork and North Coast seem rather cramped at times in Union Park on the west side. It was really the perfect setup because sound bleed wasn‘t a problem between stages (set times were well staggered which helped) and yet the stages were still close enough to allow concertgoers to catch as many artists as possible. Personally, I can‘t wait to see how they try to top this in the summer of 2013 because as it stands right now, Riot Fest is second in Chicago festival size and stature only to Lollapalooza.‖ –Jim Ryan, CHICAGO NOW (9/19/12) ―The transformation of Riot Fest from a late-autumnal, five-day club haunt into a last- week-o‟-summer outdoor festival now stabs a sharp period on the end of the increasingly eclectic and electronic season by blaring all rock and roll, all the time. …The weather agreed. After an opening night (with Neon Trees, the Offspring and more) indoors at the Congress Theater, the eighth annual Riot Fest expanded Saturday and Sunday into sunny, cool Humboldt Park, complete with four stages and carnival rides. Saturday‘s lineup featured party animal Andrew W.K., Chicago punks Rise Against and the creatures of GWAR in a rare daylight performance. Sunday‘s bill ran the gamut, too, from the basic pop-punk of L.A.‘s NOFX and Chicago‘s Alkaline Trio to veteran new wave kingpins and local garage rockers. Sunday spotlighted two ‘80s icons. First, the sedate statesmen of the Jesus & Mary Chain generated its torrents of guitar squall. I forget how sludgy they can get in concert, opening with a bass- heavy, almost country lope („Snakedriver‟) and then brightening up the guitars and the rhythm for „Head On.‟ Guy next to me: ‗They‘re like Helmet on Quaaludes.‘ Elvis Costello & the Imposters, on a main stage but in a sundown slot, played the most Attractions-rich set I‘ve seen the old curmudgeon deliver. Peeling off track after track from a best-of set list—‗Radio Radio,‟ „(I Don‟t Want to Go To) Chelsea,‟ „Less Than Zero,‟ „(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes,‟ „Pump It Up,‟ a raucous reggae take on ‗Watching the Detectives,‟ on and on-- he barely took a breath as his band of pros colored the old chestnuts but kept them hot. …Iggy Pop, his mane and his lumpy torso hit the stage embodying „Raw Power.‟ He and the Stooges spent the festival‘s final hour reeling between rockabilly grooves and punk attacks. The biggest hit of the weekend, though, may have been Humboldt Park, which acquitted itself well as a festival site. Riot Fest reports 30,000 people attended each day Saturday and Sunday, but the park sure felt roomy and easy to maneuver. The addition of carnival rides is a great touch. --Thomas Conner, CHICAGO SUN TIMES (9/17/12) ―After seven successful years in Chicago, punk festival Riot Fest descended on Toronto's Fort York for a day of punk rock, PBR and poutine, with a lineup that featured a mix of local bands, contemporary greats and a few punk rock legends. With the audience rapidly expanding early on, it was clear that most people wanted to enjoy the full day of music and weren't just coming to see one or two headliners. So the grounds were teeming by the time Andrew W.K. took the stage next for a rousing solo performance, bringing the crowd's energy level to a peak that didn't fade for the rest of the day. It was clear a lot of thought was put into designing the lineup of the day, as it moved between all types of punk music, never settling on one type for too long. There's no question Riot Fest delivered a day of great punk music, with each act dolling out a solid set... Each band got the spotlight they deserved, giving fans a great show and less familiar audience members a great introduction. At its core, Riot Fest was a great punk-fuelled celebration, and with any luck, one that will come back to Toronto next year. --Sam Carson, EXCLAIM!, (National, Riot Fest-Toronto, ON, 9/10/12) ―Riot Fest 2012 was a brilliant and timely close to this summer's end...‖ --Vern Hester, WINDY CITY TIMES (9/25/12) ―[Of Hot Water Music and Descendents set at Riot Fest Brooklyn] With a few hours to kill, pints were slammed, shots were drank, and everyone in the know got pretty smashed. What followed next was possibly the best show I've ever seen/photographed in my decade and some change shooting bands. Hot Water Music set up and played a high energy set that had the packed 150 cap room drinking and singing along. The Descendents finally came on after a short break and played every song you could ever want to hear. Almost 200 people were dragged back to their teenage years flicking boogers, being pissed at their parents and drooling over the opposite sex. The party raged on, all the bands and crowd hung out and had a real celebration of what it was to be young and now old, getting together to do what we all love, enjoying each other's company and listening to great music. I woke up the next day with one of the worst hangover's I've ever had and photos from a once in a lifetime opportunity.‖ --Nathaniel Shannon, ROCK SOUND (International music magazine, U.K. based 10/4/12) ―I‘m gonna f**k you right up the ass!‖ hollered Iggy Pop. The almighty, headlining Stooges were just gathering momentum on the Riot Stage, entering a barnstormer rendition of ‗1970,‘ as tens of thousands stood in awe… James Osterberg, Jr. was a force Sunday night, a creepy, horny, sixty-five-year-old force of nature, but the Stooges were incredible in their own right. As any rock n‘ roll scholar knows, if your only knowledge of the Stooges was their first album, your head would have exploded at Riot Fest. Even considering the later records, this band has become so tight and so talented as to be, arguably, at the all-time top of their game. …There‘s too much to be said about this set. All I know is there will never be another Stooges, and it‘ll be a sad day when Iggy‘s reign as the king of punk inevitably comes to a close. But it‘ll take the grave. And then, just maybe, we‘ll see another. Until then, we know where to look for inspiration.‖ --Dave Satterwhite, TIME OUT CHICAGO, (9/17/12 ―The final day of Riot Fest was anything but riotous. Perfect weather, a friendly crowd, old timer headliners and enough snarky t-shirts to stock 10 Alley‘s, the punk rock circus was a success. Headliners Iggy and The Stooges, Gogol Bordello, Alkaline Trio and Elvis Costello & The Imposters knew why they were booked. Each act played a greatest hits set, or at least hits to the crowd. The inaugural Riot Fest in Humboldt Park will hopefully happen again. No longer stuck choosing between legendary punk bands on opposite sides of the city, a Pitchfork-like setup made seeing acts, well, a day in the park.” –Brandon Weatherbee, HUFFINGTON POST (9/18/12) ―[Descendents and Hot Water Music] took over Saint Vitus and needless to say it was a packed, sweaty show, with the crowd moshing, crowd surfing, and going nuts.‖ --Jesse Mack Johnson, BROOKLYN VEGAN (Riot Fest-Brooklyn Review, 9/18/12) ―The Menzingers were on when I walked in. A bunch of kids on the Internet think they sound like Against Me, but they're all wrong. They sound like No Idea Records' back catalog, in a really, really good way. They have the whole dual vocals/battling leads thing happening, and I loved them. …New Brunswick, NJ's Screaming Females are probably unaware of how unassuming they are. Hidden behind a guitar that was nearly the same size as herself, Marissa Paternoster took all presumption from the audience and jammed it right back down their throats with pure, unadulterated shredding. Harmonizing her voice along with her guitar seamlessly one verse, while belting out such notes that would require the mic stand be bolted to the floor the following verse, this is a front woman everyone must witness. The Bronx. They are not from the Bronx, but Los Angeles.