Riot Fest returned for another year to Chicago to embrace the city with its lineup of old (but gold) bands along with the new up and comers climbing their way to the main stages. Three days at Douglas Park packed with moshing, singing, and a whole lot of reminiscing.
This year Riot Fest’s main lineup included some familiar faces like the Original Misfits, who were there to witness the birth of Riot Fest in 2005 when it was still being held at the Congress Theater. Along with Nine Inch Nails making their very welcomed second appearance. And of course, the long awaited, highly demanded, My Chemical Romance. With the varying genres of the main acts alone, it’s safe to say that all lovers of anything Rock are more than likely to find something they liked.
It doesn’t stop with just those three, what Riot Fest manages to do exceptionally well is finding opening acts that can go toe to toe with the headliners. Akaline Trio, Portugal the Man, Taking Back Sunday, Yellowcard, Bad Religion, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs all in the same park together. A nostalgia overdose of some your favorite bands. And if that’s not enough, every 45 minutes brings you a brand new setlist and band to enjoy, Riot Fest is a whirlwind of new music waiting to be discovered. Their multiple stage design makes sure that no matter what direction you walk in you’ll be rushed by new music.
Friday:
Friday September 16th, a day I’ve been waiting for, for a very long time. I had bought my Riot Fest ticket a year prior when they had announced My Chemical Romance would finally be coming to the festival only for that excitement to be short lived, they had postponed their show and made plans for next year 2022… So be it, I held on to that ticket hoping they wouldn’t have another change of heart. It was 1pm by the time I got into my car, and I finally felt sure enough that it was too late for them to change their mind.
After a short trip from my place to Douglas Park I finally arrived! I got my wristband and made my way over to their main gate and was quickly taken in by security, the process was standard for the most part, but from the sound of it, super strict. Security at the front gate told me any “paraphernalia” found would be confiscated and you’d be handed over to the police right outside the gates. Pretty harsh for a festival, but I digress. It certainly didn’t put a tamper on the many people inside the festival either way.
Once inside, the familiar sight, smell, and feel of Riot Fest rushed over me. From the funnel cake, tacos, tasty drinks, carnival rides, to the Ferris wheels, and the long merch booths. It was just like I last remembered it; they had all the puzzle pieces they needed to create a memorable experience on the attractions alone. To start the day, I of course made my way straight to the funnel cake, I mean what’s a festival without it? It’s not often you get to indulge in fried dough and powdered sugar, and there’s no better place to do it than in front of a crowd of people moshing out to their favorite band.
Once the nirvana set in from my lovely funnel cake, I headed towards the stages to catch same new bands to listen to. I did try to make it to the merch booth but just like every year it is impossibly long, for every square inch there was 5 people. I stood around for 30 minutes 3 separate times and each time I was defeated. A guy can only do so much shoulder rubbing till it starts to get awkward. I mean I guess it’s a good way to get to know some of the concert goers (shout outs Iririan and Silvia it was nice meeting you guys!). But enough about the material things! Let me get started with the dope bands I was lucky enough to witness this year.
Starting with CLIFFDIVER, a killer band from Tulsa, OK. Their match up of dual singers was something I personally had never seen before, and holy shit was it amazing. The energy they brought out of one another was infectious, they made you want to get up on stage and jam out with them. And if that doesn’t sell you then their talented shirtless saxophone player will, and yes you did read that correctly. Be prepared to be swooned by a bare chest and some brass. I managed to catch their songs “Lost in IKEA”, “Super Saiyan Al Pacino”, a cover of Creed’s “Arms Wide Open”, and the amazing “New Vegas Bomb”. Hoping they come back next year with a little more time with their setlist.
Next up, a recommended band from a friend of mine, the ever so lovely Foxy Shazam. A Midwest band from Cincinnati, Ohio reappearing once again for today’s festival. Quite a few people turned out for Foxy Shazam, and they were all good company. They put on such a stellar performance, starting with their opening anthem “Unstoppable” to really get the blood flowing. They kept the ball rolling with fan favorite “Welcome To the Church of Rock and Roll”. And finally finishing it off with “Bombs Away” and “No, Don’t Shoot”. The singer had to have been a band director in his past life with how he controlled the crowd, if you want an immersive show, you must check them out next time they’re in town.
Jeff Rosenstock is up next on the stage, and he comes in fast. “NO TIME” starts blaring as soon as the fans arrived, getting everyone in the mood to mosh about. Once the dust settles in “Scram!” kicks in keeping the mosh circles going. At this point there’s so much jumping around I get lost in the setlist, Jeff Rosenstock kept the songs rolling one after another giving everyone what they wanted. I was covered in sweat by that point. Thankfully I caught the song I was waiting for, “You, In Weird Cities” a bittersweet punk song about being proud of old band mates finding their new projects and moving to something new all while feeling stuck and in place yourself. A relatable song many of the people in the crowd felt.
The sun is finally setting, and the crowds are only getting bigger, it soon turned into a sea of people the closer you get to the stage. The fans were absolutely pumped for the next two acts,
Opening with Alkaline Trio you could start to feel the crowd shift. As soon as they took the stage you were transported to the early 2000’s, a blast of nostalgia hits you right in the gut, it’s been so long to hear this kind of punk music something that’s been missing for a long time. Opening with “Time to Waste” you could’ve sworn you were back in the Warp Tour era. People started to rush towards the stage just to get a little closer to this moment so many were waiting for. Matt Skiba (lead vocal) was the most energetic I’ve seen in such a long time; the band must’ve been riding the high from playing the Metro just the night before. They kept rolling with the energy playing their hits “Calling All Skeletons”, “Cringe”, “Fatally Yours”, “Back To Hell”, and “Every Thug Needs a Lady”. Each song only getting more and more hectic ramping up to “Mercy Me” a personal favorite of mine. The crowd shifted back and forth with each note played, belting out each lyric. Finally with the sun set Alkaline Trio gives their sendoff songs with “This Could Be Love and Radio”. A bit of a sad moment for fans knowing the day was going to be ending in the next hour.
But before we come to that inevitable end, there’s one final act left to play. A long-time requested band that has been echoing in the comment section of Riot Fest’s social media accounts for years now. My Chemical Romance finally making their debut! I, along with the thousands of other people in attendance have waited a long time for this moment. As soon as the lights went down you could hear the roar of the crowd get louder.
My Chem opened with “The Foundations of Decay”, their newest single 12 years in the making. What so many people thought they’d never get a chance to hear live are suddenly relieved to know they’re right where they should be. Gerard Way (Vocalist) dawning an Audrey Hepburn inspired outfit immediately kicked into “Na Na Na” to get the crowd absolutely going, I can’t remember the last time I jumped around so much. From there they mixed it up from wild to tame with “Give ‘Em Hell Kid”, “House of Wolves”, to “The Ghost of You”. A little piece of every album to satisfy the old and newer generation of My Chem fans.
Things did however get a little too chaotic at certain points, notably the band had to stop after every two songs or so just to get the crowd to stop pushing so far up. Gerard Way noticed the crowd shoving a bit too much and paused to make sure fans were being attended by medical staff accordingly. Not an unfamiliar sight to Riot Fest, this usually tends to happen with the bigger name bands that come to town. If you don’t do too well with tight spaces, I highly recommend staying away from the middle front.
Once the crowd settled down “The Black Parade” carried on. “Thank you for the Venom”, “Boy Division”, “Helena” was all up next. Every lyric to every song was sung with so much emphasis, people have waited a long time to sing the words “so long and goodnight” and that night was everybody’s chance, and they took it. Another fan favorite, “Teenagers” played right after and for that moment everyone was back in high school again listening to it for the first time. They followed with “This Is How I Disappear”, “Vampires Will Never Hurt You”, “Mama”, and “Welcome To The Black Parade” their classic from the album of the same name. You never get over the piano chords that play at the opening, it pulls something from you each time those keys hit.
Finally, the show wraps up with “Famous Last Words”, “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”, and “The Kids From Yesterday”. By this point everyone’s voices were blown out from yelling out the lyrics to I’m Not Okay, and to many people there was truth to that, the show was coming to an end and the lights were starting to dim out. After waiting for what felt like an eternity, My Chem was here and gone in the blink of an eye. Even with the lights dimmed down and the stage cleared, people still hung around hoping to catch one last glimpse of the band before it was truly over. A spotlight flooded the stage and out came Gerard Way to sing one last song, they sent the showoff with a somber hit, “Cancer”. As the piano played and the words “the hardest part of this, is leaving you” filled the air everyone finally knew it was over. Tears streaming down peoples face and voices cracking to each lyric, they picked the best way to say goodbye they could think of. Gerard exited the stage after taking a bow and the rest of My Chem went on their way.
Read Part 2 here:
FESTIVAL REVIEW: Riot Fest 2022 Part II Douglas Park, Chicago IL
WORDS BY SAM MEJIA
PHOTOS BY RANDAL HICKS