Ranking Riot Fest Performances: Sunday (Day 3)

In honor of my attending Riot Fest in Chicago, I am doing a mini-series where I rank each of the performances I saw.  While I’ve discussed Riot Fest significantly on my podcast, Groupie and Harmony, it is historically a punk festival, though it has branched out into other genres.  This year, the main stages (Cabaret Metro Stage and AAA Stage) are largely genre specific by day (Friday is pop punk based, Saturday is alternative/indie based, Sunday is metal based), the NOFX stage has punk acts with NOFX headlining each day, and the other two stages (Rise Stage and Radical Stage) are kind of a catch-all stage.

On Sunday, Slayer was headlining for their first reunion show, and there were other featured notable acts such as Rob Zombie, Sublime, Dr. Dog, Oliver Tree, Something Corporate, Lamb of God, Mastodon (performing Leviathan), and NOFX.  The acts I saw (in reverse order) were Slayer, Pennywise, Something Corporate, Tierra Whack, Mastodon, Gel, Sunami, and Sprints; I hoped to see a few other acts, but I was slowed down due to plantar fasciitis (folks, I’m old…or at least my body is).

I want to preface this list by emphasizing that there were no bad sets for the third day in a row; it might sound like I’m copping out of criticizing acts, but I genuinely thought each performance was at least good.

 

 

1:  Slayer

8:15-10:00, Cabaret Metro Stage

While they started off with a strange decision to play a 15-minute documentary prior to them taking the stage, their set did not disappoint once they took the stage.  Just about every song they started prompted cheers from the crowd.  The musicianship was otherworldly, and they really put a lot of work into the theatrics of the show as well.  While it wasn’t as extensive as that of Fall Out Boy’s set, I thought the set might have had the best backgrounds, theatrics, and effects out of all the sets at Riot Fest this year.

 

2:  Sunami

2:30-3:00, Cabaret Metro Stage

Some of you who really know more underground hardcore punk/metalcore music might be familiar with Sunami’s reputation as a chaotic live band; they did not disappoint.  Their performance was explosive and intense with a level of musicianship that will likely go unnoticed.  Of course, the mosh pits were massive and entertaining to watch (I didn’t approach them; I’ll blame my foot as the reason).

 

3:  Mastodon (Performing Leviathan)

3:50-4:50, Cabaret Metro Stage

For the 20^th anniversary of their breakthrough album, Mastodon’s performance was so close to perfect.  The instrumentals were spot on and the vocals of one vocalist (lead vocalist Troy Sanders) were amazing.  The only reason this could not be ranked higher is that there were issues with the other mics; Brent Hinds’ vocals could almost never be heard, and Brann Dailor’s vocals weren’t picked up well either.  Despite all of that, it was an absolutely stunning display of musicianship and theatrics.

 

4:  Something Corporate

5:45-6:45, Radical Stage

I don’t know if I have ever seen an act on a side stage that had this much excitement about their set.  In addition to most people singing every word to every song, there were 2 wedding parties that were in crowd at different points (Riot Fest has a chapel where people get married).  The sound quality was very good for their set, and they appeared to have a lot of fun.  Maybe I shouldn’t be shocked about how much excitement the crowd generated considering the fact that their late night set sold out in minutes.

 

5:  Pennywise

7:00-8:00, NOFX World

It’s weird to say that an anti-establishment punk band also had an incredibly fun set, but they absolutely did.  They were explosive, got their point across, kept it light, and had fun doing all of it.  They brought out Fat Mike for a NOFX song, had a singalong of “Stand by Me”, and had everyone come out to join them for “Bro Anthem”.  I think the most telling aspect of their set was how many people were chilling and eating dinner went over to see what this set was all about and appeared to enjoy it.

 

6:  Sprints

1:20-1:50, Cabaret Metro Stage

Sprints’ set might have been more notable for being one of two mainstage sets that occurred during downpouring rain, but I still found it enjoyable.  They have really good chemistry and performers and were among the acts who seemed to be most on the same page.  Their debut album was also good; I wouldn’t be shocked if they are much more known in a few years (I hope they are).

 

7:  Tierra Whack

5:00-5:40, Rise Stage

Tierra Whack was at a disadvantage in these rankings since I was sitting during her set (I needed some sort of a break; my feet were killing me by that point).  That said, she is a good performer who knows how to entertain and engage a crowd.  The crowd seemed really into it, so I might have had her higher had I been in the crowd instead.

 

8:  Gel

3:05-3:45, AAA Stage

Even though I have them last in my rankings, Gel was good.  They probably were at a disadvantage because they performed right in between Sunami (who I ranked second) and Mastodon (who I ranked third), but they put on a good show.  They were probably given too long a set, which was clear when they ended more than 10 minutes early (their debut album is less than 20 minutes long).

 

 

Have you seen any of these acts?  If so, what did you think of them?  Any acts you love out of these?  Let me know in the comments!