Blink-182 performs at Riot Fest in Chicago on Sept. 13, 2019
Well, it’s official. Day 1 of Riot Fest 2019 is on the books. And while there was a range of genres scattered across the Douglas Park grounds on Friday (Sept. 13), punk — in all its forms — was inarguably front and center, culminating with a headlining performance from Southern California pop punk outfit Blink-182.
Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Matt Skiba, who replaced Tom DeLonge back in 2015, took to the Riot Stage for their night-closing set, playing their third studio LP, Enema of the State, in its entirety. “Aliens Exist” saw a sea of inflatable green men crowdsurfing overhead, while album standouts including “Adam’s Song,” “What’s My Age Again?” and “All The Small Things” had fans of all ages bobbing and singing along.
The group filled out their set with some choice material from their extensive catalog, incorporating pyrotechnics on “Bored to Death,” while leading sing-alongs on “I Miss You,” from their 2003 self-titled album, and the iconic Dude Ranch track “Dammit.” At one point during the performance, Hoppus shouted out a few of his fellow Riot Fest cohorts — Descendents, Pennywise and Rancid — giving props to the trio of punk predecessors.
Rancid performs at Riot Fest in Chicago on Sept. 13, 2019
Earlier in the day, Rancid performed a wickedly satisfying set in front of a packed crowd over at the Radicals Stage, appropriately getting things started with a rousing rendition of fan favorite “Roots Radicals.” Songs from the 1995 album …And Out Come the Wolves were subsequently heavily peppered throughout the band’s performance, everything from the beloved “Olympia WA.” to the group’s immortal single “Time Bomb.”
Grizzly frontman Tim Armstrong recalled an old show with Operation Ivy in the Chicago suburb of Palatine, prior to launching into “The 11th Hour.” Bassist Matt Freeman later blew minds with his incredibly fast fingers on “Maxwell Murder,” while bandmate Lars Frederiksen encouraged listeners to “shake their a**” during the band’s ultra-catchy “Old Friend.”
Rancid performs at Riot Fest in Chicago on Sept. 13, 2019
Frederiksen was in an interactive mood on Friday night, urging the crowd to clap along during Troublemaker’s “Telegraph Avenue,” prior to leading an audience chant of “Daryl Smith is a c*nt” at the beginning of the track “Where I’m Going.”
The band called back their 1993 eponymous debut LP with a blazing take of “Rejected” and later gave some respect to their self-titled 2000 album with a speedy take on “It’s Quite Alright,” which they dedicated to “all our brothers and sisters who are no longer with us.” A weathered and wiry Armstrong also charged the group through Let’s Go tracks “Radio” and “Nihilism” before leading the crowd in a massive song and dance party to the iconic “Ruby Soho.”
Violent Femmes perform at Riot Fest in Chicago on Sept. 13, 2019
Earlier and elsewhere on the grounds, folk punk group Violent Femmes brought a mostly-acoustic show to Riot Fest, delivering a crowd-pleasing block of snappy singles infused with select new material and some good old-fashioned noisy musical experimentation.
The band’s hybrid mix of uppers and downers had fans dancing and singing along, particularly on timeless tracks like “Prove My Love” and “Gimme the Car,” the latter which frontman Gordon Gano accented with some feedback on the electric guitar.
Drummer John Sparrow accompanied Gano’s menacing guitar sounds with his subtle but effective handiwork on the Cajun drum box amidst a dark rendition of “Breakin’ Up,” from the ’94 album New Times, while Brian Ritchie pushed the boundaries of his bass during the group’s blazing take of “Kiss Off.”
Violent Femmes perform at Riot Fest in Chicago on Sept. 13, 2019
Over the course of the Femmes’ hour-long performance, the band pleased fans’ ears with a multitude of instruments including, not only the aforementioned guitar, bass & drums but also, the violin, the barbecue grill and a whole mess of winds and brass, courtesy of the Blaise Garza-led Horns of Dilemma. Ritchie also, later, laid down his bass to take up xylophone duties on a groovy, dance-inducing rendition of “Gone Daddy Gone.”
“I’m Nothing,” “Not OK” and an unexpected take on “God Bless America” from the Femmes’ 2019 LP Hotel Last Resort, also made welcome appearances throughout the set, which was rounded out with live staples “Blister in the Sun” and “Add It Up.”
In the early evening, Pennywise conducted an onslaught of circle pits over on the Radicals stage, ripping through tracks like “Live While You Can” and the anti-superficiality anthem, “Perfect People.” Jim Lindberg and company ran through a host of covers including Sublime’s “Same In The End,” Minor Threat’s “Minor Threat,” AC/DC’s “T.N.T.” and Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me,” which appeared many years ago on the SoCal skate punks’ 1989 EP Wildcard.
Pennywise performs at Riot Fest in Chicago on Sept. 13, 2019
The frenetic frontman had lots to say over the course of the group’s 60-minute set, joking that the band didn’t practice at all prior to their Riot Fest gig, while taunting fans to “go and stream [their 2018 LP Never Gonna Die] at a coffee shop.” The singer rounded out the group’s punk block, powering through tracks like “As Long As We Can” and Full Circle favorite “Society.”
Later, musical wizard Wayne Coyne and family brought a plethora of sound and spectacle to Douglas Park with a full-album performance of The Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Highlights among the colorful collection of tunes included the album’s title track, the endearing “Fight Test” and everybody’s favorite introspective gem “Do You Realize??.”
The Flaming Lips perform at Riot Fest in Chicago on Sept. 13, 2019
Coyne, who (not shockingly) could be spotted setting up his own stage theatrics prior to the performance, incorporated lights, confetti and his iconic life-sized bubble… taking the 2002 album to new heights with his mesmerizing bag of tricks.
The Descendents, Jawbreaker, Neck Deep, Senses Fail, Hot Water Music, Anti-Flag and Dashboard Confessional helped round out a rocking Day 1 of Riot Fest.
Pick up tickets to Riot Fest Day 2 & 3 here and check out our complete photo gallery from Day 1 below.
View our coverage from Day 2 HERE and Day 3 HERE.
(Photos by Laurie Fanelli)
