Riot Fest Chicago

The bands:

Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls

Larry & His Flask

Minus the Bear
Coheed & Cambria
Dropkick Murphys
Imagine Dragons
Less Than Jake
... And so many more

The venue:

Humboldt Park, Chicago

Date: 

September 14-16, 2012

Riot Fest was an all-around great experience.  I had a 2-day pass and had planned out an ambitious schedule for myself. I failed pretty miserably at following it but I did hit my three must see bands: Frank Turner, Larry and His Flask and Imagine Dragons. I caught a few other acts, as well.

I still feel like a bit of a novice when it comes to music festivals so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve definitely never been to a festival like Riot Fest. While I didn’t make it through the whole day either Saturday or Sunday, I was there long enough to know that the vibe was really excellent. 

We started Saturday with Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls and we weren’t disappointed. There’s nothing like watching one of your favorite musicians perform live and up close. But it’s also a special moment to be a part of a whole crowd of people who feel the same as you. That’s one of the most remarkable things about Frank Turner – his ability to connect with his audience, both through his songwriting and his performance. Each of his songs tells a story and his set feels more like a conversation than a concert.

Next up was Larry and His Flask. You might think “Whoa, didn’t you just see these guys and Frank Turner the Tuesday before Riot Fest?” This is true. But they were both so awesome, that I couldn’t pass up the chance to do it all over again. LAHF once again amazed me. This was the one set, though, where the crowd was more irritating than inspiring. I’ll never understand what motivates someone to elbow their way to the front of a crowd only to stand stock still and not pay attention to the musicians who are playing their asses off in front of them. 

Following LAHF was Minus the Bear. Fortunately for MtB, the crowd was huge. Unfortunately for us, we were getting nowhere near the stage. We listened to a song or two then left in search of food and rest. I'd seen Minus the Bear before, and they were phenomenal so I both wished to stay and also felt okay about missing their set. We came back to the same stage awhile later to see Coheed and Cambria who sounded great and put on a great show. I didn’t know any of their music and haven’t listened to them since but they sounded good enough that I’d recommend giving them a listen. 

Our energy was flagging so we left Coheed and Cambria before the set was over and hit Dropkick Murphys. Again, we were miles from the stage but it was cool be a part of such a big crowd. I could see on the screens that the band was having an awesome time. Unfortunately, the sound wasn’t great and sounded a little garbled. I’ve always liked the little bit of Dropkick Murphy’s music that I’ve heard but ultimately fatigue dragged us away from the show and back to our hotel. 

Sunday we were back at it, earlier this time because Imagine Dragons had the first slot of the day. Imagine Dragons was Win’s must see and since she showed nothing but enthusiasm at being dragged to my shows the day before, I geared up, despite only knowing one of their songs. 

They were awesome! They started the set a little late, and the lead singer was sick but they put on a really great show. You could almost see the music coming from within them and the response from the crowd was actually moving in its enthusiasm. 

I wanted to stay the whole day, especially to see AWOLNATION, Alkaline Trio and Elvis Costello. Unfortunately, there’s this annoying and terrible voice of responsibility in my head that wouldn’t stop screaming that I had work and a job interview the next day so after lounging around and listening to the first part of Less Than Jake’s set, we cut the day super short and hit the road back to Michigan. 

Overall, I would absolutely go to Riot Fest again. It was a great lineup this year, laid out pretty well in a very suitable location and had plenty of porta-johns, which is pretty crucial, in my opinion. I’m curious to know how popular the carnival aspect was. It seems like a fun idea but loading a bunch of adults full of booze and fair food onto carnival rides sounds like a recipe for disaster.