Month: July 2019

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Riot Fest 2019 Countdown 9 – Manchester Orchestra

This week we go to four posts a week.  Tuesday through Friday.  So much stuff to listen to, so little time.  For our Riot Fest previews this week, we’ve got a mix…pop punk that matured, skate punk, newer Canadian Punk.

Manchester Orchestra.  Closer to emo than punk, but not really either.  I’d say they are straight up alternative.  Trying to find a comparison, I’m having a hard time (which is a good thing).  Cold War Kids come to mind, but not perfectly.  But I look at them both the same way….what if a pop punk/emo band grew up and started doing deeper musical arrangements and lyrics.  That’s this band.  Probably too popular for an aftershow, but it would be nice to see them on a smaller stage.  But I’ll take any stage.  A top 5 must see.

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Riot Fest Countdown – Bonus part 2

We’re continuing our bonus coverage of acts that don’t need any preview for Riot Fest. Bands we’ve seen before. And video from those same shows where we’ve seen them. This week we’ve got Rancid and Pennywise and Blink. Pennywise from Riot Fest 2017. And some video or Pennywise and Rancid from Surf City Blitz, an all time amazing fest. And even some early Blink from a Warped Tour a few of us went to. And yes, “Bro Hymn” deserves a double shout out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdZPegJ2E7c&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPgCNf8jF84&feature=youtu.be
https://youtu.be/UKQCzvcSCuE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64prC_GN3CA&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dDLncdMfaE&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhdDeLfDkpM
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Riot Fest 2019 Countdown 10 – H2O

I saw H20 at the Bash with our Surf City friends Rancid and S.T. (plus Bosstones and L7).  They’re great punk.  They’re from New York but they could be from the West Coast as they’ve worked with Epitaph before.  I think I remember them on one of those Epitaph “Punk-A-Rama” samplers. They’ve had the same lineup since practically the beginning 20+ years ago. Just old school fun skate punk. The stuff we loved at the first Warped Tours before it got all emo and pop punky. Put on the short list if they have an aftershow.

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Riot Fest 2019 Countdown 10 – Streetlight Manifesto

Streetlight Manifesto played at Riot Fest 2017.  We saw them on the side treed stage (Riot Fest’s version of the Elle King stage at Lolla).  They entered to Van Halen and had about a thousand horns.  At least seemed like it.  One guitar, one drum, five or six horns?  Were real fun.  A great ska side show to hardcore punk.  We left early to catch the opener for the Buzzcocks aftershow.  And had to figure out how to get CK a ticket.  Nothing against Streetlight, but thank god.  That was Slaves and amazing.  Maybe we can see more Streetlight this time.  Maybe we leave early and catch another amazing aftershow.  Either.

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Riot Fest 2019 Countdown 10 – Masked Intruder

This week are all bands I’ve seen fairly recently.  One at Riot Fest 2017, one with The Interrupters, and one with Rancid.

Masked Intruder.  They feel like a band your friends were in in college.  If they weren’t already in the Barking Sharks.  And if they wear masks.  I saw them open for The Interrupters (sidenote…Rat Boy was on the bill also…check him out).  They’re pure pop punk with a sense of humor.  Not necessarily a good sense of humor but I like they don’t take themselves seriously.  All wear masks and go by the name associated with the color of the mask…”Intruder Blue”…a poor man’s “Nameless Ghoul?”.  And we’ve been impressed by mysterious bands in masks before.  Someone told me there was a rumor that Jack Black was their anonymous guitarist (Intruder Green).  While untrue (likely) he does fit the physical bill.  Not a fan of the cop part of their act, but they have fun so let it be.  When I saw them they said Yellow was in jail so they had a fill in, a female appropriately named “Intruder Black”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMwuN3wAhDU