All About the Buffet: Riot Fest 2014
For our coverage of Riot Fest 2014, we decided to share a conversation between Midwest Editor Jordan Mainzer and Senior Staff Writer Andrew Hertzberg.
Andrew Hertzberg: What was the best set you saw all weekend? What was the worst and/or most disappointing?
Jordan Mainzer: Patti Smith continues to amaze me. She played one of my favorite shows last year at the Vic, and I thought she fit Riot Fest well without getting lost in the noise of the weekend by being comparatively quiet. "Dancing Barefoot" and "Because The Night" were beautiful (as was her cover of Lennon's "Beautiful Boy"), her shout-outs to her husband and Humboldt Park were touching, and I don't think her idealism was particularly lost on the crowd. She gave the word "riot" a good connotation. It really pissed me off that she got 45 minutes and Social Distortion got an hour. I'd rather hear "Gloria" and "Horses" than "Story of My Life" and "Ring of Fire" any day.
The National are maybe my favorite band, but the fact that they had travel issues and therefore could only play for about 50 minutes was really disappointing. And the set itself, for the first time ever, seemed like them just going through the motions. It was almost as if during "Mr. November", Matt Berninger realized halfway, "Oh yeah. This is the song where I go into the crowd." Their set was definitely more subdued than other sets, too, but with The National, you don't really want that live. You want the Matt Berninger that screams and kills a whole bottle of wine on stage. To their credit, they've been touring the fuck out of Trouble Will Find Me for about a year and a half and probably need a break. It just bums me out that I caught them on a rare off night.
AH: Patti Smith was definitely a highlight of the weekend, as was the one-two punch of the Buzzcocks and Television. I’ve seen plenty of older bands just sorta cash it in (like the Pixies last year), and it wasn’t the case for any of these three artists. Weezer playing the Blue Album was a highlight, even if it was a bit more going through the motions on their part. It was still a great set to end the weekend on.
Jane’s Addiction was a bummer. I’ve never been a huge fan, but I was excited to see them. A combination of bad sound, shitty weather, and an obnoxious Perry Farrell had me heading home early one day one.
Were there any schedule conflicts you feel like you made the wrong decision on?
JM: No, but I regret not downloading the maps before entering festival grounds. I went the wrong way looking for Plague Vendor at the Revolt Stage and ended up hearing bits of Circa Survive, which was my original conflict. I ended up finding the Revolt Stage and hearing the end of Plague Vendor. I didn’t end up really "seeing" either band.
There were definitely moments where I walked by stages and wished for the power to teleport over just to catch a song or two and then teleport to a different stage. PUP and Silverstein come to my mind. I was instead getting food and watching Billy Bragg. I didn't even see one song of The Hold Steady, another band I've seen live a billion times.
But there were also times where I heard sets from afar and thought to myself, "I'm glad I'm not there," including The Afghan Whigs (who I just never got into) and Die Antwoord.
Were there any sets you walked by that sounded good and drew you in?
AH: Not really. The schedule was so packed that I mostly had every minute planned out the whole weekend, with a few minor tweaks throughout the fest. Either getting food or attempting to meet people or just getting around, I walked by Plague Vendor, Senses Fail, The Hotelier, Wavves, and Team Spirit, all of which left me feeling ‘meh’ or ‘ugh.’ Though I was pleasantly surprised by 7 Seconds. Maybe pleasant isn’t the best word to describe the Reno, NV hardcore band, but there are definitely worse bands to hear right before the Buzzcocks.
How were Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas? That was one I wanted to check out but didn’t make it to.
JM: Really good! I love when brass instruments are turned to a perfect live volume. Plus, she used to live in Humboldt Park. Their new album is great.
AH: Who do you think had the most intense crowd?
JM: Of all of the emo bands I saw over the weekend, I Am The Avalanche’s crowd was the most enthusiastic. Which makes sense, considering they were playing right before the Sunday night headliners at a small stage during Cheap Trick and Social Distortion, so those at the IATA set were true fans. I love that band, and they were great live. They played a lot of cuts from their last two albums, 2011's Avalanche United and this year's Wolverines.
AH: Dropkick Murphy’s, for sure. Jesus, that area was so swamped. Everyone was packing it in to that stage; I made the mistake of trying to get to the East side of the park to see a little of My Gold Mask or Hot Snakes, and to no avail. Die Antwoord, too. Lots of people were really getting into that set. Which was weird for a weekend catering mostly to punk, emo, and metal.
Did you go on any of the rides or attractions like the haunted house or mini-golf?
JM: No. I know it's called Riot Fest & Carnival, but one of my biggest pet peeves at music festivals is seeing people spend all the money they do and then just sit in circles, sleep, or prioritize waiting in line for drinks over seeing some actual music. I feel similarly about the carnival. I could have done mini-golf, but I can go do mini-golf anywhere, anytime. I can't see Patti Smith any time I want.
Honestly, I feel the same way about seeing local bands at Chicago music festivals. It's cool to support them, especially if they're your friends, but even they have to understand if you'd rather see something you can't pay 5 dollars to see any given weekend. Right?
How much local music did you see?
AH: To me, most music festivals are a buffet, where I sample as much as I can without committing to one entree. I think we can both agree that weather and sound conditions at music festivals generally aren’t the best ways to see your favorite bands. Since more people are there to be seen than to see, you gotta sorta go with the flow that people will be talking around you and getting drunk and bumping into you. No use being a crotchety old man about it. That said, I felt no guilt leaving Billy Bragg’s set early to go see the end of Netherfriends’ set. Haven’t seen him all summer, and his set was tight. And yes, I did see him later that week at a free show at Emporium. Which had its own vibe and intensity.
I didn’t actually see as many local bands as I had planned, though, just because logistics of the park made it difficult to get around. I did see The Orwells and Vamos!, who were both great, and a little bit of Lucki Eck$, who was very disappointing. For local hip hop, I much preferred Show You Suck’s set the night before at Cobra Lounge. Vamos played there, too, and Archie Powell and the Exports played a fun, sweaty set.
Any memorable fashion styles or t-shirts that stuck out?
JM: There was too much good music to notice anybody in the crowd. I feel like Pitchfork is the more interesting festival fashion-wise, anyway. And Lollapalooza, if you count cargo shorts and Imagine Dragons tour t-shirts as interesting.
AH: There was a dude with an Oakland Raiders shirt that had a Tusken Raider as the main logo instead of whatever is usually there. I thought there was a lot of great fashion in general. People do more interesting things with their hair, even beyond just mohawks and spikes. Sure, there were great conventional punk looks (I guess that’s a thing), but there was everything from pirates, to steampunks, to dapper gentlemen, to normcore (a la Greg Graffin). Not to mention the sideshow “freaks” walking around the park on stilts and what not.
Any smaller bands you took a chance on that paid off?
JM: I usually go into festivals having done a lot of research and with pretty definite decisions, except for blocks of 2 or 3 hours where there's nothing I want to see. That's when I seek out the random stages. This year, I caught Rose's Pawn Shop, a bluegrass outfit from LA that was pretty fun.
AH: I saw Baby Baby. They were ok. Sorta funny, but definitely a bit amateur and unfocused. Fun to watch for a little bit. I missed Radkey (again!) who I’ve really wanted to see. But NOFX was playing “The Decline”, so I couldn’t miss out on that.
A lot of the bands I saw played cover songs this year, which I thought was great. Did you experience the same?
JM: Yeah. Dropkick Murphys played "Taking Care of Business", "We're an American Band", and the first words of "Blitzkrieg Bop". Flaming Lips played a bombastic version of "Lucy and the Sky With Diamonds". Social Distortion did their version of "Ring of Fire". But the only cover that didn't come across as "Fuck it, why not?" was Patti Smith playing Lennon's "Beautiful Boy", which fit thematically within her set and was a meaningful tribute. I like cover songs live when they're tributary and/or completely unexpected (like when I saw Okkervil River cover "Dancehall Days"). The other ones I mentioned kind of made me shrug my shoulders.
What were some of your favorite covers of the fest?
AH: I had no idea Stiff Little Fingers had a version of “Doesn’t Make It Alright”, which was probably the highlight of their set. Billy Bragg’s Woody Guthrie cover was entirely appropriate, since I kept describing him to my girlfriend as an English Woody Guthrie. I heard 7 Seconds cover “If The Kids Are United” while wandering around trying to find the phantom water-station that wasn’t. They also did “99 Red Balloons.”
Parts of Grant Park are still closed off to the public over a month after Lollapalooza. Humboldt Park seems to be going in the same direction. Is there a better way to organize these festivals that doesn’t destroy the city’s parks to the public for the rest of the summer?
Or is it really worth it at all?
JM: Chicago has so many great indoor venues that it's a shame they're not used more come festival time. What if all festivals were like Tomorrow Never Knows: all indoors and spread across various venues? One flat fee for all shows? They wouldn't be able to jam-pack the schedule with conflicts, obviously, but it's worth a thought. Would that create a logistical nightmare? Too much traffic? Put too many people out of work?
AH: Considering Riot Fest used to be an indoor multi-venue festival, they must have decided they can make more $$$ off of having a festival. I mean, there are plenty of after-shows, but who wants to pay $30-$60 on top of the hundreds of dollars you already spent at the park? With good weather, it is quite enjoyable to be outside watching music and hanging out, and you can’t see Wu Tang Clan from a Ferris Wheel inside the Empty Bottle.
And to be fair, I rode my bike through Humboldt Park a few weeks after the fest and didn’t see any fences still up. I also saw a heron nab a fish out of a pond, steps away from where the main stages were. So the natural ecosystem already seems restored there. [ED note: Riot Fest caused $182K in damages to Humboldt Park.] Either way, whatever’s happening in Humboldt Park certainly isn’t as shifty as what’s happening in Grant Park.
We both agreed that the Fest is moving away from nostalgia, but then again, they also had ten bands play ten classic albums in full. Are they just getting better at finding the right balance between old and new?
JM: Yes. Also, hardly any of those albums were, in my mind, "classic". It's sort of like reunion shows: everybody got so pumped when, like, Mazzy Star reunited, but I thought to myself, "Ok, how much did you really listen to Mazzy Star back in the day?" I knew all of the Offspring songs, but do people actually still listen to them? I still listen to the Blue Album all the time, but I pretty much forgot the Offspring even existed until Riot Fest announced their lineup.
Was the Offspring set for you a total nostalgia fest, or do you still listen to them?
AH: Total nostalgia, but also totally great.
An issue I had last year was that the fest is really dude-heavy. Pitchfork does a pretty good job of leveling the playing field. But Pitchfork also employs a more diverse lineup. Does Riot Fest have an obligation to diversify the lineup?
JM: In the spirit of punk (and some metal), which claims to be all-inclusive and about those who face hardships, yes, Riot Fest has an obligation to diversify the lineup. Or at least give Patti Smith more time than Social Distortion.
AH: Totally. During the Pussy Riot panel, Riot Mike lamented that there’s not more women making music. There are, Mike. You’re just not booking them. Try these: No Doubt, Garbage, Bikini Kill or the Julie Ruin, Siouxie Sioux, Vice Squad, the Raincoats, the Vaselines, Lydia Lunch, Dresden Dolls, Shonen Knife, the Donnas, Tsunami Bomb, the Distillers, Perfect Pussy, Tinsel Teeth, Guerilla Toss, and fuck it, why not Hole. Yes, I’m aware some of these don’t play actively, but keep in mind this is the festival that got the Replacements back together.
Who’s on your wishlist for next year?
JM: In alphabetical order: Against Me!, Bayside, Behemoth, Every Time I Die, Four Year Strong, Joyce Manor, Lucinda Williams, Prawn, Self Defense Family, Slint, Slough Feg, Trap Them, Trophy Scars, Weatherbox.
AH: Aside from the aforementioned ladies, Talking Heads, Blur, Pulp, and Suede. And Elastica. I want a festival to bring Carsick Cars or PK14 a larger audience. The Pop Group would be amazing, but I still don’t think the world is ready for them. Depeche Mode would be great. James Chance, The Dickies, The Vandals, 88 Fingers Louie. Lucky Boys Confusion for all the hours I spent playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater in my parent’s basement to their music. Definitely newer bands that skew away from traditional punk: Pile, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat, Running, anything loud and fast and different.
JM: A lot of what this festival was about for me was seeing killer sets from this "new" wave of "emo" bands, including Title Fight, The Hotelier, The Menzingers, The Front Bottoms, La Dispute, and I Am The Avalanche, plus a revitalized Say Anything. I know you're not as into this so-called "revival" as I am, but did you see any of these bands?
AH: Nah, not really my thing at all. It seems even more sentimental to see new bands rip off the old instead of just seeing the original bands for nostalgia. It’s weird though to read recaps from other sites like this one from Chicago Magazine and read it as if it were an entirely different festival. Does that say something about the modern music festival experience? Going back to being in a park, what does it matter that so many people were at the same fest, if we had different experiences? Should a music festival be about unity? Or should it just be about fun? Should it be about anything? I’m curious to see what happens to the music festival bubble. This shit can’t last forever, right? Will I still want to go to Riot Fest or Pitchfork in 2024?
JM: I hope so! How was the Pussy Riot panel, by the way?
AH: Henry Rollins really turned me off. Since it was billed as a panel with Pussy Riot, that’s what I expected and who I wanted to hear from. Instead, Rollins turned the show all about him, with a few words from Greg Graffin and Riot Mike, and only occasionally addressing the Pussy Riot members with any actual questions. I hope they do more panel stuff like that like Riot Mike suggested as a possibility in the future but find better moderators that know how to cast the spotlight on someone besides themselves.
JM: Do you think the Flaming Lips' power outage was just a way to fill time because of The National's late arrival?
AH: Ha, that’d be clever but probably not. I’m sorta surprised it’s never happened sooner at one of their shows. There’s so much going on. I think it was just a bizarre coincidence, and they should have kept playing until the National arrived.
JM: I know you were looking forward to seeing Billy Bragg, so you were probably mad about Kurt Vile going over his time. Were you so totally pissed off in that moment?
AH: Pretty much, especially because I knew I wanted to dip early and catch a bit of Netherfriends. But he played “To Have and To Have Not” and “Accident Waiting to Happen”, so it worked out in the end. It’s all about the buffet.
