Weezer – Riot Fest 2018 Day 1
Chicago’s Douglas Park was the place to be on Friday, Sept. 14, as Riot Fest returned to the grounds for its fourth straight year. The weather was on point and the vibe was right as festival organizers curated an eclectic playlist for ticket-holders, one that defied genre and satisfied the masses. Highlights from Day 1 included Cypress Hill, Weezer and Chicago’s own Liz Phair.
Phair graced Riot Festies with an early afternoon performance on the Roots Stage, delivering a catalog-spanning setlist of hits and fan favorites. From the iconic Exile in Guyville track “F*ck and Run” to the psychedelic Whip-Smart standout “Supernova” to the upbeat and catchy “Extraordinary” — from her 2003 self-titled album — the indie rock songstress served up the goods while jokingly vowing to join festival attendees in the mosh pits later that evening.
Female-led acts were front and center in the early hours of Riot Fest Day 1 with short but memorable sets from Speedy Ortiz and Blood People, among others. K.Flay pleased listeners with renditions of her smash track “Blood In The Cut” and Harvey Danger’s post-grunge anthem “Flagpole Sitta,” while P*ssy Riot, earlier, led an “in your face” performance of politically-charged electro-punk. “Poisonings and assassinations will not stop us,” said frontwoman Nadya Tolokonnikova, in reference to the recent hospitalization (from a suspected poisoning) of fellow bandmember Pyotr Verzilov. “We will survive.”
P*ssy Riot – Riot Fest 2018 Day 1Punk rock, in its many forms, was ever-present on Friday with shows from Lagwagon, Taking Back Sunday and the mighty strong celtic punk double bill of Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys. Ska new wavers The Aquabats entertained with a music and comedy routine that culminated with a one-two punch of “Burger Rain,” which saw the crowd showered with large inflatable hamburgers, and “Pool Party,” complete with “Tom Sawyer” nod. Later, Face To Face managed to pack in the numbers for a night-closing set on the far-off and isolated Rebel Stage. The So-Cal punk rockers, who recently reunited with Fat Wreck Chords (after a 20-year hiatus) for their 2016 album Protection, enthralled listeners with contagious melodies, driving guitars and hard hitting drum solos on a range of tracks including “A-OK,” “You’ve Done Nothing” and “Bent But Not Broken.”
Face to Face – Riot Fest 2018 Day 1
Earlier, Sum 41 hailed a massive crowd to the Rise Stage for a mega pop punk extravaganza and an onslaught of crowd surfers soon followed. Guitarist Dave Baksh dialed up the metal with a series of solos, one of which erupted during a cover of Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” prior to Deryck Whibley leading crowd-wide sing-alongs for the ever-popular “In Too Deep” and “Fatlip.”
Cypress Hill brought hip hop to Douglas Park in the form of their 1993 seminal album Black Sunday. Mix Master Mike, of Beastie Boys fame, kicked things off with some awe-inspiring work on the turntables, setting the stage for B-Real (who appeared at last year’s Riot Fest with his rap rock supergroup Prophets of Rage), Sen Dog and company to perform the aforementioned LP in true stoner fashion… back-to-front as opposed to front-to-back.
Cypress Hill – Riot Fest 2018 Day 1
By the time Weezer took to the stage for their Friday night headlining set, swarms of spectators, as far as the eye could see, packed in shoulder to shoulder for what would prove to be the largest group sing-along set of the night. From opener “Buddy Holly” to “Beverly Hills” to “Pork and Beans,” the masses belted out every word (and guitar solo note), at the tops of their lungs, in perfect unison. Bathed under a blue aura, frontman Rivers Cuomo led a spot-on rendition of “Undone – The Sweater Song,” prior to doubling down on Pinkerton hits “El Scorcho” and “The Good Life.”
Weezer – Riot Fest 2018 Day 1
Covers were prominent throughout the 75-minute performance as the “In the Garage” rockers ran through renditions of The Turtles’ “Happy Together,” A-ha’s “Take On Me” and, of course, Toto’s “Africa.” Cuomo and company also gave a nod to Blink-182 in the form of “All The Small Things,” an obvious shout out to Mark Hoppus and company, whom they filled in for after the group’s last minute cancellation due to health issues concerning drummer Travis Barker.
Saturday will see performances from Wolfmother, Twin Peaks, Cat Power, Gary Numan, Elvis Costello and the night’s headliner Beck. Check out photos from Riot Fest Day 1 below and view our coverage of Day 2 here and Day 3 here.
Head over to Riotfest.org for more info about the festival.
(Photos by Laurie Fanelli)