Riot Fest 2021 (September 17-19, Chicago IL) Tour • Page 280

apparently our airbnb is one quick bus trip to douglas park so im stoked on this

 

I used to be of this mindset but then the pandemic happened. Now I’m a two car household. You don’t realize just how much time you lose waiting for busses and trains as well as how limiting it can be on your range. Still bike all over the city, don’t drive all that often, but I’d much rather drive myself and use transit for those occasional needs rather than solely rely on it.

 

i drive because my town is only 5 hours so its pretty easy, and with my air bnb right next to douglass, its been pretty easy in years past to find a parking spot and either leave it there the whole weekend, or hop in when i wanna get breakfast in the morning, or to an aftershow at night, both points where i can find another spot fairly easily when i get back to the airbnb.

 

Lines at the pink line stop can be pretty bad if you leave Riot after the headliner finishes. I think that's due to people not having Ventra cards, though, so if you have one pre-loaded you can bypass a lot of the wait.

 

I'm probably going to duck out 2-3 songs in advance of Run the Jewels and Slipknot finishing, but I'll be leaving Smashing Pumpkins early anyway to get to the MCS aftershow.

 

So a few things to point out. Along with the pink line that is closest to Douglas, if you go past that a little bit there is a green line stop. Both of those lines would have connectors to other lines in the loop downtown. If you do decide to use the bus or train, Google maps does a good job of telling which line, direction, and stops to take.

Also, rideshares have been a bit of nightmare in the pandemic here. Driver availability is a problem and it's driven prices up quite a bit. I would expect to pay more than you normally have for Riot. It has improved some, but it's still a bit of an issue here.

 

Do y'all recommend getting on/off the Pink line at Kedzie or California? I ask because the website recommends using Kedzie, but California seems to be closer to the proper entrance of the festival?

 

Yeah, rideshares have been problematic here too. So we're planning on using the trains almost exclusively.

Good looking out as far as the lines go! We're staying at the Freehand so we'll probably just plan to walk to the pink line every day. Bit of a hike, but probably equal amount of time if you're factoring in train waiting times, etc.

I'm not so concerned about the train on the way there, but how are the waits toward the end of the festival (from the start of the headliner on)?

 

I remember there being like a ton of busses just waiting at the north end of the grounds to take people home and the last few years I've lived off of Western so I just took that bus there and back. I've moved and am off California, but has anyone taken that bus back? I'm concerned about it running that late since it's not nearly as big/popular as the Western line.

 

Yeah the red line has a ton of construction and the brown line seems to run less often now. But the idea of never using public transit in Chicago is still a bit wild to me haha.

 

I've never done the train back, but I'd imagine most people congregate at the pink line bc it's first. So potentially walking a little further to the green might work, which is why I brought it up as an option.

 

I'm torn about my transit options this year. I've tried every weird combination of public transit options over the years, but coming in from the west suburbs (Lombard specifically) makes driving very tempting.

Usually I do: Drive to Forest Park -> Blue Line to Medical District -> Walk to Polk Pink Line -> Pink Line to the fest. It's not bad, it just takes a long time, especially at night when the Blue Line trains don't run super often on that branch. If I'm lucky I can catch a Kedzie bus north to the Blue Line after the fest, but those seemed to be rare last time.

I wish Metra ran more trains because the UP West line is pretty convenient for me.

Arriving, it doesn't make too much of a difference but Kedzie is a shorter walk since you don't have to go all the way around the park. Leaving - always Kedzie. Every train will be packed to the brim by the time it gets to California.

 

Yeah, you're right! Going from green to red is a very viable option and probably a bit easier toward the end of the night. Thanks for the tip. Good lookin' out!

 

I came across a bar called Reggies that does buses to/from the festival. Anyone done this before?

Seems like a good time but I imagine the buses get filled up pretty quick especially after the festival.

 

I've heard of friends doing it and it seems like its a party.

 

I've never done it but Reggies is legit. Good place to hang before/after the festival too.

 

Much appreciated! :)

 

Of course. Probably one of those things where if you guys know your stop for pink and green to switch to red, you can play it by ear each night and feel it out. Gives you some flexibility if you don't mind a little extra walking.

Also, as noted by someone earlier, get your ventra cards before riot and load money on them so you can bypass the crowd at those kiosks and just swipe through and go to the boarding platforms. If you think you might lose your card, you can load the ventra card onto your iPhone wallet as well.

 

For anyone on the fence about this, Liar's is one of the last true vestiges of Chicago punk shitholes now that The Mutiny and EXIT are gone so you're at least in for a somewhat wild time if you go. Daikaiju is pretty cool IIRC.

Reggies bus options are legit. Never used them before, but have friends who've spoken highly about them in the past.

 

Very good to know! Listening to the bands listed here, Daikaiju and Fukushima Laser Shark def sound like the most interesting/fun show to see. We have earlyish flights Monday, but I hope my buds and I aren’t too gassed Sunday night to check it out!

 

I am out in Crystal Lake. I have taken the train, it takes two and a half hours and the additional weekday will drive up the transit costs. I will park at my brother's house in Lisle, take the BNSF to Western and walk a mile. Pretty easy.

 

Fuck Reggie's. Last time I was there to see Vein security was literally shoving patrons out the door for moshing (myself included, despite the fact that I watched the whole show from the balcony)

 

I don’t go into Reggie’s after RF but I do use their bus to get out of Lawndale without having to fight poor signal/surge pricing/etc. Buy a PBR on the bus.

 

I'm coming from Melrose Park. Last 2 fests I drove to the Cicero pink line station and went from there. Parking cost like 2 dollars for the whole day.

I'll probably do the same this year. Maybe I'll just ask my wife to drop me off or pick me up for some of the days, depending on how busy she is.

In any case, let me know if you need any help getting there, I don't mind helping if you have troubles going or coming back. Lombard is not too far from here, I don't mind dropping you at home after the the fest if you are stuck.

 

Not to get into this debate, but I probably went to at least 10 shows a year at Reggies when I lived in Chicago and never had an issue. Security could get a bit rough at times, but that was usually with people who...did something to provoke it with hard moshing, crowd killing, or just being drunk. Probably was my favorite Chicago venue behind Beat Kitchen and Empty Bottle.