Riotfest 2014
Chicago, Illinois
Humbolt Park
September 12th, 13th, 14th, 2014Every little punkers dream is a festival that doesn’t suck. Sadly Warped Tour isn’t that show for us anymore. Less punk bands and more tight pants and parasols. But this year the best punk festival in the states celebrated its tenth anniversary so it was that much better. Now just a heads up this review is gonna be a little bit different then you are used to reading from me. I’m used to covering one to three bands so writing about dozens of my favorite bands kind of gives me a nerdgasm but I am going to try and be as professional as possible so here we go!
Chicago, Illinois
Humbolt Park
September 12th, 13th, 14th, 2014Every little punkers dream is a festival that doesn’t suck. Sadly Warped Tour isn’t that show for us anymore. Less punk bands and more tight pants and parasols. But this year the best punk festival in the states celebrated its tenth anniversary so it was that much better. Now just a heads up this review is gonna be a little bit different then you are used to reading from me. I’m used to covering one to three bands so writing about dozens of my favorite bands kind of gives me a nerdgasm but I am going to try and be as professional as possible so here we go!
Saying this show was an adventure would be an understatement. The theme the last few years is the weather and this year was no exception. The three days were each as different as being in a different city.
Starting with Friday the mood in our car on the way making the 6 hour drive was super excited and ready to dance the day away. After checking into our HOJO we jumped on the train and heading down to Humboldt Park. That second, city-weather decided to roar its ugly head and remind us who the real boss was. It started raining, and I don’t mean a sprinkle here or there, I mean dumping all day. Getting to the park on Friday is always strange. The number you would expect to be there just isn’t. I always have to take a second and remind myself that it’s a Friday afternoon and the fact there was 75k people give or take is a good number but when it started this year people didn’t stop coming in to see their favorite bands.
Now since it was Riot Fest’s birthday, they did something that has become somewhat of a trend it seems, a lot of the bands decided to play their “hit” album. Which is fun but I think unnecessary due to the fact that the festival was special for what it is. No extra needed. Now I saw so many amazing bands Friday it was insane. It was an incredible start to the weekend. NOFX, Gogel Bordelo, Gwar, Slayer, All Title Fight ,and many, many more make the rain bearable.
Riot Fest turned out large numbers on Saturday. I don’t know exact number but I would assume well more than 200k, and you know what, weather wasn’t that horrible. But today’s adventure was the mud. Boy was there mud. So many dead pairs of shoes. But it wasn’t raining! It was a chance to experience all that the fest had to offer today between bands. First, there is so many wonderful food vendors. I get to eat many amazing vegan food options and before you start to point fingers yes I am a straight edge vegan, so suck it J. Things that Riot Fest offers besides bands and food are tons of venders to spend all of mom or dad’s money, a zombie themed haunted house, and if you know much about us at Revenant Media – we love our zombies, Rides and Slides, Mexican Wrestling, and random hammocks. Making it from stage to stage was a bit more difficult today than it was Friday. The mass loads more people mixed with the seven feet of mud… So sadly didn’t get to see all the bands today I would have liked too. The location this year was different and I understand having to change parks for this event but this park the distance between stages was pretty crazy. But for gripes that isn’t that bad if that is the biggest issue. Some of the amazing bands I got to see Saturday with 200k of my friends where Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies, Anti Flag, Seven Seconds, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Buzzcocks and many more of my heroes. Two out of three days done for what turned out to be an astounding weekend.
Sunday, the third day, started out a little slower than the first two days. By this time my legs and back were sore as balls from walking around in the mud. But like every other good punk boy and girl we trudged on. Sunday held some of the big hitters the Festival had to offer, so as if it were possible there were more people at day three then the first two. So getting from stage to stage was like pulling teeth today. But the bands we got to see were worth it. I am 30. Not young or old, just right. So some of the bands I got to see on Sunday, I never would have guessed I would have gotten to see in my life and some of the pioneers of punk rock that are getting towards the end of their life spans. Bands like The Cure, Social Distortion, and bands getting their second wind like Weezer and Primus. There really isn’t much to say about day three that I haven’t on days one and two except an inevitable sense of departure from something you love. Like getting done with the last day of summer and having to start back to school, because to a lot of us, Riot Fest is our summer vacation. It’s a dream show that happens once a
year that you will have stories about for the rest of your days. Even when you are an old crusty punk sitting on your porch, yelling at kids for not being punk enough.
Now if you have never been to a show like this there is a few things you need to know to help you have the best weekend you can. Bring a water bottle to save a little bit of money. Sure there is a metric butt load of vendors to get every food of your choice but any little bit you can save is great because the second thing I want to talk about is the severe amount of money you will be spending over the weekend. Tickets alone will cost you an arm and a leg so every little bit you can save is something you are going to want to try and do. That’s not to say the price of admission isn’t reasonable, considering what you will get, but it is something to prepare for. Third thing and seems to be the majority theme of this review is the weather is going to shit on you so come prepared. Bring a disposable rain suit and sunscreen. And lastly be prepared to be around large amount of people. Give yourself extra time to get between stages to make sure you see all the bands you want to see.
I had so much fun doing this show and meeting a lot of awesome people from all around the world. I’m hoping next year I will get a chance to give it another try with what I know now. Thanks a million for supporting us over the years here at Revenant Media. You have given us a chance to let me and Adam live our dreams chasing around bands and taking their pictures and getting to meet some of our heroes.
For a fill line up of this event, as well as high lights from both other shows, please check out http://riotfest.org/2014/07/chicago-riot-fest-day-lineup-single-day-tickets-now-available/
