Riot Fest 2022 (September 16-18, Chicago IL) Festival • Page 233

The fact that they found it alone is impressive.

 

Yeah I gotcha. I actually wouldn't hate it if they did end up moving it up there though- always enjoy trips up there.

 

i'm glad some of you had fun but after being there and seeing what a shit show friday was and how negatively the fest affects the community, i can't say i ever want to do riot fest again. i went friday and then spent the rest of my weekend doing touristy stuff around chicago and it was so much more enjoyable than 3 days of riot were last year.

 

Alright, now that I'm back home and settled here's a little recap from my perspective.

The Good:
- The music! Obviously. I was able to hit all of my must-sees for at least half a set with the exception of Jeff Rosenstock due to grabbing food and his set having a delayed start... And with one exception, they were just as good as I was hoping!

- The "cash-only" line at the taco food truck on Friday came in super clutch when lines were absurdly long.

- The deluxe VIP viewing area by Riot was really great for main stage acts and serviceable for bands on Roots if you were okay just hearing and only seeing a band member or two. Better than expected and the bar having the RiotPop was an added bonus! And generally, between the other perks it still felt like I got my money's worth.

- Overall, the layout worked out pretty well (with a few minor quibbles). The sun continues to be a pain at Radical for those 3-5pm sets but... Could be worse!

- The edibles I had on Sunday.

- Hearing the crowd sing along to "Helena" as we exited the park. I know the set was a whole mess of chaos, but man... It was cool to be a part of such a big "event" like that.

- Learning that Neil from the Lawrence Arms is currently drumming for Sparta.

- Taco In A Bag! It's a full meal that you can eat while you walk. With a lot of flavor.

- The Meet Stop was a great addition and between that, Festi-Bowl, and Island Noodle there were plenty of vegan options. Really cool to see it growing.

- Once we got beyond Friday, the crowds were by and large friendly and supportive. I saw a lot of happy people enjoying the days without a lot of drama. The "pit" during Less Than Jake was a particular highlight!


The Bad:
- Friday was rough. My partner and I had been up since 4:45am. So between how tired we were, how crowded it was, the long lines, cell service being pretty non-existent, etc. we wound up leaving not too long into MCR's set. I felt even better about my choice to see them in Boston a few weeks back! But yeah. Friday was easily the "worst" day I've had at Riot Fest, despite how great all of the acts that day were.

- Excluding Gerard speaking from the stage, I was pretty unaware of any of what was happening during MCR. But man, I'm glad people seemed to have gotten out okay

- The Deluxe areas for all but the Riot Stage weren't quite as bad as anticipated, but also don't compare to the way it was set-up in prior years. That said? The logic behind it definitely seemed to be safety given the extra barriers between stage spots (which was a bummer--but I also get it).

- I know I'm not the first to say this, but adding one other water station somewhere else across the festival grounds would have helped.

- I was supremely disappointed in Midtown's set. Something about it just left me going: "Wait, is this the same band? Seems like they're phoning it in."

- The lack of vegan options at Taco In A Bag.


Favorite sets: The Menzingers, Gogol Bordello, Cliffdiver, Less Than Jake, No Trigger, Jimmy Eat World
Runner-ups: Ice Cube, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Descendents, 7 Seconds

Overall, we had a really great time! There were some definite negatives but ultimately those don't outweigh the fun. Age is definitely catching up to me, so I'm not sold on attending next year yet but... I'm not ruling it out! It's gonna have to be the right combination of artists I've never seen before/haven't seen in a few years, I think.

 

Riot Pop was very, very good too.

 

I definitely did not think Midtown was phoning in. Tyler and Heath were holding it down. Tyler def had a monitor issue though. Have had the bass issue, but I thought they seemed happy to be up there for the most part. I enjoyed it.

 

I saw Midtown Saturday night with TAI, Sunday at the fest and last night open for MCR and thought they were super stoked to be there. Sound wise was worse at fest but they seem super pumped to be playing these shows.

 

I had such a great weekend. Arrived last Wednesday and touched down in London last night.

Friday was fun, I enjoyed Jeff Rosenstock’s set, but TWY’ sound was atrocious where I was stood. Really enjoyed Alkaline Trio & MCR though. Didn’t see the crowd trouble but a couple of friend’s got caught in it and said it was pretty terrifying.

Saturday was absolutely stacked. The Menzingers and The Front Bottoms ruled and I was SO surprised by how much I enjoyed Misfits. Gogol Bordello were huge fun, never seen them before but they put on a hell of a show.

Sunday was quieter (pun on JEW’s sound fully intended), but The Maine, Ice Cube and The Academy Is… were all great.

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Some things that surprise me as someone who does UK/European fests:

Lack of widely available free water points. It’s fucking hot guys, let people have water.

Drinks were EXPENSIVE. I thought it was bad over here but my god. I didn’t eat once at the festival but $10/$15 a drink seems a lot.

The transport links suck. You either get an over priced uber, a hugely over-crowded CTA or a really dodgy bus.

 

How did NIN sound so much better than any of the other main stage acts? Did they bring in their own sound gear?

It was wild hearing how crisp their vocals and guitars sounded compared to MCR and Misfits

 

I don’t know shit about how sound works, but I know bands typically have their own sound person mixing them live.

 

Just remembered the greatest thing I've ever overheard at Riot Fest happened this year:

“Yeah, Sleater-Kinney. It’s that band with one of the chicks from Garfunkel and Oates.”

 

I swear if it’s not a lineup I’ll be so pissed

 

The post literally says that Tuesday is "Riot Fest 2024 Lineup Announcement Eve." I wouldn't stress about it. They're just taunting people. Haha.