RiotFest 2018 – (Days 1 & 2)–  “It’s a Beautiful Day For a Riot Fest!”

Douglas Park, Chicago, IL September 14 – 16, 2018

By: Jenafur Schlangen

RiotFest (also known as Riot Fest & Carnival) is unlike any other outdoor 3-day music festival you have ever witnessed. It is definitely in a class of its own. Obviously, as the name suggests, it certainly isn’t your typical cotton-candy-filled pop festival, full of rainbows and glitter. And, it is definitely not a scene where those attending go to see or be seen in the latest fashions. It IS however, where the misfits, rejects, and the enthusiastic gather and the die-hard rockers unite…clad in black or unique/vintage concert t-shirts, of course.

My experience went a little bit like this:

First of all, the weather in Chicago was fucking HOT over this particular weekend, which is a bit rare since in past years (RiotFest started in 2005), it always seemed to be rainy and cold around this time of year. Either way, I don’t think the weather really mattered to anyone who was anticipating this 3-day, fun-filled, beer-soaked, audio/visual-packed, sensory-overloaded extravaganza. There were more than 80 bands performing on 5 stages strategically placed throughout Douglas Park. There were old-school carnival rides, nostalgic food trailers, contemporary food trucks, interactive tents, photo booths, and a plethora of beverage tents (“bars”).

So, it is Day-1 and I had not planned on heading down to Douglas Park until after I had finished up at the office, around 6pm. But, just one day earlier, I received

an email from the publicist of the band The Fever 333, providing links to their music and asking the media to take special notice of their RiotFest performance. It was only 20 seconds into to their song, “Made In America” that I made the decision to sneak out of the office the next day to catch them live. Their set started at 2pm and was to last only a half hour. My thought process was that I will just sneak out of the office, taxi over to Douglas Park, rock the fuck out, and return to the office like nothing had ever happened. So, that’s what I did. I Lyfted from downtown to Douglas Park on a mission to catch The Fever 333. Once I arrived, I waited for what seemed like an eternity in the Will Call line to receive my pass….I kept looking at my watch….it was 1:45pm, and there were still 2 people ahead of me in line. Shit! FINALLY, after grabbing my pass from Will Call, I then made my way

to the “cattle call” security line. There had to have been at least 150 people in front of me. Again, I looked at my watch….becoming frantic…..1:55pm. Five minutes to set time. Luckily, I had a map of the park and knew exactly which stage the band was performing and the fastest route to get to it. To my absolute surprise, the security line moved lightening fast and, before I knew it, I was having my bag checked within a mere 5 minutes! A sigh of relief left my lips as I bolted toward the Radicals Stage in order to be front and center for the band’s dramatic intro.

The Fever 333 was, BY FAR, my favorite performance of the entire fest. They are jam-packed full of energy and lyrical

angst, to say the least. The 3-piece hardcore rock/punk “super group” from Inglewood, California consists of former members of letlive, The Chariot, and Night Versus, respectively. Their lyrics are extremely controversial and could be compared to Rage Against the Machine but on steroids. This band hasn’t been out together for too long so I considered it a treat to be able to catch them live in my hometown of Chicago, with only hundreds in attendance, as I predict their fan base to grow into the thousands within a very short period of time. I highly recommend checking them out. A good place to start would be their debut EP Made in America, released in March of this year. And, if you have a chance to catch them live, I will give you the same advice their publicist gave to me just one day prior, to take special notice, and I’ll even add to that…..DOOOOOOO it!!!

Just as planned, I did it….then I went back to the office like nothing had ever happened. Zero regrets felt. I’m just thankful I received the email asking me to “take special notice.”

Another part of RiotFest that I simply adored was the RiotFest app. It was a treasure trove of information, including a detailed map of the enormous space of Douglas Park, outlining the locations of each of the five stages (Radicals Stage – Rise Stage – Roots Stage – Riot

Stage – Rebel Stage), water stations, restrooms, food trucks, and “bars” (which were really tents, each named after local and iconic participating Chicago bars/live music venues). The RiotFest app also allowed for “starring” your favorite

artists within the all-encompassing [approx.] 80+ band line-up. Yes, that said, 80+ bands – 5 Stages – 3 Days. By “starring” your favorite bands, it allowed for you to receive notifications (a/k/a reminders) as to when and where your “starred” bands were playing, in real time. The RiotFest organizers also got a bit cute with the notifications, sending WAKE UP calls every day of the fest, literally telling you to “Wake your ass up! It’s a Beautiful Day For a Riot Fest!” and, my personal favorite: “Have a Great Fucking Day!” Also among the notifications were messages throughout each day, reminding fest-goers to hydrate and look after their fest-friends.

 

 

 

 

 

On Day-2, I decided to walk through the security gates without a plan whatsoever. Because, after all, sometimes no plan is the best plan, right? In that, my next move was to head directly to one of the bar tents for an ice-cold beverage. Now, I will say that the hipster dude that took my order and my money was a complete and utter dickhead but I didn’t let him ruin my mood. No sweat! I ordered some sort of vodka mixed drink and for $13, it claimed to have a RiotFest souvenir cup however, just like the pleasantries I received from said dickhead, the cup was also amiss. Oh well. Shit Happens. Let’s rawk!

As I’m sipping on my drink and enjoying the hot sunshine, there is music blaring from every direction and, I know from the Riot Fest app, there are at least 3

bands playing at their respective stages at that very moment. I decide to head over to the Rise Stage to see who was playing. Front and center and allowing their sound to enter my ear space was the band Killing Joke.

Killing Joke is an iconic post-punk, industrial/gothic rock band out of London that has been around since the late 1970’s. I knew that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and they were definitely on my bucket-list…and my “starred” list (via RiotFest app) as well.

By the time I walked over, they were more than halfway through their set and the crowd was so large that I decided to hangout on the fringe. Their self-described “tension music”  was beyond amazing and I was completely blown away, becoming lost in the trance of the industrial beat and the monotone of the vocals. I truly loved it, as did hundreds of my fellow Rioters standing with me displayed. Their cheers were deafening and definitely added to this awesome experience.

Since I had no plan in sight, I thought I would reach out to a few friends I knew where also making a day of Day-2. However, since there is virtually ZERO cell phone reception at Douglas Park, it made communication basically impossible. I recalled this inconvenient issue from the previous year and I had hoped that the RiotFest organizers would find some remedy to fix it. No such luck. So, hanging solo and still without a plan, I decided to head on over to the Rebel Stage to see if I could get a glimpse of the band, Gwar. Good gawd, I had little idea of what I was in for but, boy did I witness a spectacle I will not soon forget.

Fortunately, I walked up to the Rebel Stage early enough to grab a spot near the stage. I was all set (and braced) for the thrash-metal / hard-core punk band Gwar.

Since I had several minutes to kill, I (once again) tried and reach out to some of my friends (still with zero success), all while the crowd around me grew at a rapid pace. As I became completely boxed in by a fans that differed greatly from those at Killing Joke, I began listening to the conversations that surrounded me. It was obvious that they were all veteran Gwar fans and as they were discussing past show antics, i.e. blood spatter, killing people, etc., I quickly began to question my proximity to the stage in front of me. Regardless, I decided to stick it out and see/hear this “performance” for myself. Needless to say, and after being tossed around like a pinball in a throw-back machine, I made my exit after only one song. But, don’t get me wrong, this band was indeed interesting and they didn’t sound all that bad either!

By now, it’s getting close to 8pm and I am halfway full of booze and decidedly hungry so I go on the hunt for food. There were several food vendors around but every single one of them had a line of people of at least a 120-people ahead of me. What’s worse is that while standing in line, I couldn’t even send a text, make a call, or send an IM due to the horrible cellphone service. Not cool, RiotFest….not cool.

Because I was starving, I had no other choice but to join the masses in one of the food lines. So, as I waited, I could hear perfectly the set of Jerry Lee Lewis, coming from the Radicals Stage. And, although I was stuck in an enormous line waiting for food, with zero cellphone reception, I normally would have been pissed but, I wasn’t! I was actually bouncing a bit and certainly smiling. From where I stood (a/k/a bounced), I listened to the legendary Jerry Lee Lewis sing, “Great Balls of Fire,” “Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On,” “Good Golly Miss Molly,” and several more of his classics. One word: Amazing!

After a 45-minute wait for a mediocre corn-dog, I headed over to one of the main stages (“Rebel Stage”) the main stage (Riot Stage) for Beck. Clearly, by this time, I was terribly late to the party as there were already thousands enjoying the show. I merely stood back, enjoyed the pristine sound, and fed off of the energy of those smiling, bouncing, and having a great time. Among others, Beck played his classics, “Loser,” “Devil’s Haircut,” “Where it’s At,” and “Sexx Laws.” I enjoyed them all…even if I had to do so visually via the jumbo-tron. J

 

 

To cap off the night, I attempted to get ahead of the mobs of people leaving the fest for the night and I headed out toward the main exit to head home. Of course, I still had ZERO cellphone reception so it was impossible to order a Lyft or an Uber. And, at this time of night, I wasn’t going to walk or take the el train alone. Plus, I had enjoyed a few (4) beverages, ya know. So, as I’m walking, trying to distance myself from the Park so as to get some sort (any sort) of cell phone reception, I happen upon the Reggie’s Bus and through the coercing of the bus driver and his offer to “buy me a beer for the ride,” I decided to jump on! Reggies is a known live music venue in Chicago, located on the southern side of downtown, catering to rock, metal, punk, and a variety of other sorts of music within their 2-concert-room venue. Conveniently, they’re right off the el train I usually take home, not far for a taxi ride home either, plus….the driver was going to buy me a beer!

So, from the beginning of the day with The Fever 333 to the end of the night on the Reggie’s Bus, Day-2 of RiotFest proved to be spectacular. Yes, it was annoying at times, but by the time I got home, my face actually hurt from smiling! Next year….ya’ll should give it a whirl! There’s definitely something for everyone and I assure you that good times will be had by all!! Thanks, RiotFest! Until next year……

 

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