Riot Fest 2022 (September 16-18, Chicago IL) Festival • Page 204

lol how many is enough then? What if MCR dropped?
Riot doesn't need defenders, it's okay to let people be mad about a thing that's maddening.

 

But now that we're much closer to the shindig, what's everyone's worst conflicts?
I'm pleasantly surprised to have almost nothing of note.

Friday -- It'll be my first (and likely only) time seeing Lucky Boys Confusion, so it'll be sad to leave for Foxy Shazam but I know I want all 45 minutes of Foxy. It'll be easy to leave or skip Jeff Rosenstock for Bob Vylan because my group's going to the Ska Dream aftershow.

Saturday - I've seen 4 Minute Mile before so I'll be okay seeing Surfbort and getting to TGUK late. Would've liked to see all of War On Women but leaving for Menzos/OTIP is an easy choice. I'm way more confident that I don't need to see Misfits, so I'll be comfortable staying at Yellowcard for as long as I feel like staying.

Sunday - Honestly my worst conflict for the whole weekend is The Linda Lindas against Joey Valence & Brae I'm regretting not getting tickets to the YYYs show with Linda Lindas and Japanese Breakfast in Queens now.

 

Okay, I have to ask: Is this what you do for a living?

This is so fucking nerdy and I'm totally here for it. The outlook is looking good so far, all things considered...

I could kinda get it if you're a local and don't need to travel. But Bauhaus had tour dates well before this and Placebo was doing another U.S. tour... If you don't care about any of the other bands? Why pay the festival ticket pricing? The value goes out the window. Just get a ticket to a single show somewhere else in the U.S., save on lodging because it's not during a festival weekend, etc.

Unless it's clearly marked as a festival exclusive there's usually more shows on the way. Especially if the band is coming from across the pond.

 

It kinda depends. Cause like for mcr. I'm traveling from florida to see them. And it's actually cheaper for me to travel spend 5 days in Chicago and try and get a good spot for them. Then it is for resale pit tickets. So if you went to riot fest just for one artist- mcr. I get it.

 

If MCR drop, they drop. I'd be sad, bummed, upset, whatever. I probably wouldn't post aggressively on the Internet about it. I think that's the big differentiator. And I'd still get a full day of music I enjoy.

I think what people in this thread are reacting to is the vitriol, not so much the disappointment.

Nothing truly heartbreaking for me but a few bummers. Jeff Rosenstock and RFTC clashing (and Bob Vylan, who I keep forgetting is even playing!) is a bummer. But I'll work around it.

My Saturday is pleasantly conflict-free except for the slight annoyance of War On Women overlapping with both 7 Seconds and the Menzingers. I was annoyed at first when I saw that Misfits and Yellowcard overlapped but I got over that one pretty quick, ahh.

On Sunday, I kinda wish I didn't have to split between Joey Valence and the Linda Lindas. And I dislike that Lunachicks and LTJ are playing at the same time but... I can't ever say no to a Less Than Jake set, so that one's easy.

 

My conflicts aren't too bad this year either.

Sparta / Jeff Rosenstock - Planning to see Sparta since I've never seen them, but Jeff is so fun live.
The Wonder Years / Cloud Nothings - Only a partial overlap but TWY is one of my main priorities and I'll probably want to just hang at the Radicals stage for Bleachers instead of running around at that point.
Sunny Day Real Estate / Yellowcard - Wish these didn't overlap at all but I'm glad Yellowcard has an hour and fifteen minutes so I can see half of their set after SDRE.
The Juliana Theory / Jawbox - Two bands I've never seen and that don't tour a ton. Probably going to be a game time decision or I'll just follow whoever I'm hanging out with at the time.
The Academy Is... / Nine Inch Nails - Seen both before. TAI is much more my thing but my roommate from college is coming specifically for NIN.

 

Indeed it is! I am a meteorologist. Forecasting for things like this is fun, I enjoy diving into the details of it. Definitely nerdy though, no doubt about it.

We produce consulting forecasts for events like Riot Fest, and I can tell you that behind the scenes there is a lot going on from a weather risk mitigation perspective.

 

You mean they're monitoring the forecast, keeping tabs on things, and the like? Interesting to learn that!

That's what I kept telling myself last year as Coheed was playing in the rain with thunder and lightning effectively popping off all around us: That somebody behind the scenes was monitoring the trajectory of the storm, seeing where the spots of lightning are, and determining whether or not they were going to need to pull the plug.

Is that the kind of thing you're talking about?

 

Exactly right! I’m not sure of the event specifics or what kind of consulting company Riot Fest is using, but almost all of the festivals hire a meteorologist or team of meteorologists to make sure that things go off without a hitch. At this range, it’s mostly the sort of stuff that i’ve been posting here - temperature ranges, precipitation risks, etc.

As we get closer and the forecast becomes more clear-cut and the intricacies become apparent, the meteorologists are monitoring everything from wind gust speeds and directions (and how they’d affect the stages and equipment) to temperatures, clouds and storms. With rain, lightning or any severe thunderstorm there are almost always certain thresholds and precautions in place, too.

Lots going on behind the scenes!

 

Headliners are different than support acts. People have every right to be mad, it's just the concept of blaming a festival that the only two bands they want to see dropped and they wasted the entirety of the ticket money on them. There's 40 bands/day and weird to blame a festival for something that's out of their hands.

 

i think its fair to defend riot fest the organization when people start envoking 'bait and switch' or 'screwing over the fans' when they had literally nothing to do with the reasons the bands dropped. people acting like its riotfest's fault placebo couldnt get their visa issues sorted when theyve had these dates booked for probably close to a year and decide to let everyone know 2 weeks before hand that it wont work or its riotfest fault peter murphy is going through some shit. riot fest doesnt deserve to have to start dolling out thousands in refunds becasue 2 out of 90+ bands bail. its the mis-directed anger that makes me want not so much defend them, but just say 'hey youre frustrations are valid, it truly suicks, but you dont have to be a jerk online about it" i was absolutely gutted when NIN ,FNM, and Bungle dropped lats year but i never once thought about screaming at riot for it or canceling my trip.

but per your other post about worst conflicts as a more positive-ish discussion lol:
friday:
foxy vs wargasm
everything 7:00-9:00, but was to be expected.

Sat
bad religion vs madball

Sun
linda lindas vs joey V & Brae
JEW vs alice glass
NIN vs ice cube

 

the silver lining on this that im convincing myself is the fact that between these 2 bands combined, the oldest member is only 22 years old so both should have regular/frequent touring. hahahaha, god damn it im old.

 

Worst conflicts for me are:

Friday
Descendents vs. The Wonder Years (probably going to skip Descendents to get a good spot for TWY, which is a bummer)

Saturday
Bad Religion vs. The Front Bottoms vs. The Story So Far (watching first 20 minutes of Bad Religion, then catching The Story So Far)

Sunday
The Linda Lindas vs. Joey Valance & Brae (still not really sure which to pick here, as I like both)
The Maine vs. Yeah Yeah Yeahs (The Maine, then the last 20 minutes of YYY)
Ice Cube vs. The Academy Is... (first half Ice, then some TAI)

 

Only have a handful of notable conflicts all weekend
Friday
Anberlin vs Algiers - passing interest in both, I'm going with Anberlin
TBS vs Cloud Nothings - seen both multiple times, TBS will be a more fun show I think
First part of Marky Ramone vs holding my spot for MCR - not going to deal with the stress of going back and forth, just going to stay at Riot after TBS

Saturday
Bully/Joy Formidable/Charlotte Sands/Thick - the one time all weekend when I want to see everything playing. Going with Bully
Gogol Bordello/Gwar - probably going to split them in half

 

I've always wondered what the plan is if the weather gets really bad really quickly. I've been at Lollapalooza when they've had to evacuate the park and people went into the parking garages or the businesses on Michigan Ave. Is there anywhere around Douglas Park that can hold that amount of people?

 

I mean, in 2018 I travel from Mexico to Riot just for blink-182 (there were more bands I liked, but they were the selling point for me). I was mad, but still understand shit happens that they cant control and they do their best under those circumstances to provide a decent line up.

 

I was surprised they didnt evacuate last year during the storm that hit on Friday night. About a place to shelter... the cinespace studios are a few blocks away which are massive, but dont think they will let people in

 

It's fine to be upset about lineup changes, but taking it out on people who have nothing to do with a lineup change is a bit much, to me at least.

 

So my observation here is that a lot us think these people bitching about the situation are doing some amount of material harm by whining online, and that it outweighs whatever catharsis or personal satisfaction the complainer gets. I just disagree with that math.

Like I said initially, it’s not gracious or generous, but I think it’s valid enough (and now I’d add, largely harmless).

 

I’m just upset pedialyte isn’t a sponsor anymore so I have to bring my own electrolyte powder

 

I know it’s not the same but I bought a 32-pack of LiquidIV for three people and I’m excited to try it out!

Maybe I need to consider the electrolyte situation though…

 

yeah I was gonna grab some liquid IV to try out, I like having a booster to get me through the heat

 

The Midtown-Jimmy Eat World partial conflict is bad for me. Midtown is one of my most hyped bands and Jimmy Eat World is one of my dad's so we're splitting up briefly for the first time in three years of doing this fest for their sets.

 

I hope LS Dunes releases another song soon, I'm getting very hyped for their set.

 

Sincere Engineer / Pale Waves / Holy Fawn overlapping on Friday is disappointing for me. Has anyone seen any of those bands live? Probably leaning towards Holy Fawn at this point