Friday at Riot Fest. A pretty stout, if not all time great day of music. But that leads to conflicts. Below are videos of acts I’d like to consider in general order by start time. And there are only four acts on Friday that I have seen before.
While they don’t announce it, Riot Fest seems to give their days different themes. And Friday is the Punk day this year. From OG punks of The Exploited and Circle Jerks to the stacked day at the NOFX World stage to the finale of pop punk superstars Fall Out Boy. And some OG rap mixed in. Saturday is the Alt-Nation day. Sunday is Metal.
But there are conflicts. A good sign of a great lineup. By comparison, I had no conflicts at Lollapalooza this year. Here are the conflicts that need to be resolved on Friday.
<Edits> There was some movement of bands and some additions. Most notably, Suicidal Tendencies moved from Sunday to Friday. They will be added below.
- Hot Mulligan or Face To Face or Suicidal Tendencies
- New Found Glory or The Lawrence Arms
- Sum 41 or Cypress Hill
- The Offspring or Public Enemy (and I’m not even considering Circle Jerks which is a crime)
- Fall Out Boy or NOFX or Marley Brothers
The Exploited – 1pm NOFX World
One of the early UK punk bands of the ilk of other punk bands we have seen, UK Subs and GBH. Lead singer Wattie Buchan is the only remaining original member. He’s an old 67 and had multiple heart attacks. They were scheduled to play last year but had to cancel because of his health.
The Defiant – 2pm NOFX World
This is a tough one for me. The sound is great. But I have issues with them. They were formed by Dickie Barrett from the Bosstones after he blew up The MMB after his anti-vax stance. Additionally, he got the drummer that was kicked out of The Offspring for the same stance, Pete Parada. Add a former member of Smashmouth and this could be considered a supergroup. Considering watching them up close wearing a mask. Or just skipping them in protest…that’s punk right?
ALL – 3pm NOFX World
What happens when your lead singer wants to be a biochemist? You get ALL. When Milo, singer of the Descendents, decided to get a PhD in molecular biology and work for DuPont the rest of the Descendents didn’t want to give up and formed ALL. Three quarters of this band will perform double duty and play both as ALL and Descendents at Riot Fest.
Hot Mulligan – 415pm Metro Stage
Emo from Lansing, Michigan. I didn’t find much more noteworthy, except they are good and have interesting song titles.
Face To Face – 4pm NOFX World
SoCal punk band that came up the same time as Offspring, Guttermouth, and Voodoo Glow Skulls (Charlie Brown you’re a clown). Will be on the NOFX stage as they have been on Fat Mike’s Fat Wreck Chords label.
Suicidal Tendencies – 455pm Rise Stage
S!T! Seen them a few times and they are great live. Included below are a couple of clips from Surf City Blitz. If you look closely you may find us in the crowd. I didn’t, but you may.
They were moved from Sunday to Friday.
New Found Glory – 5pm AAA Stage
Pop punk from Florida; formed in the late 90’s. Seems like they play every Riot Fest. However, I’ve never seen them.
The Lawrence Arms – 530pm NOFX World
Punks from Chicago. Played at other Riot Fests. Been on both Fat Wreck Chords and Epitaph, which is a good sign for me.
Sum 41 – 605pm Metro Stage
Punks from Toronto. This is part of their farewell tour. The other “normal” dates have The Interrupters opening for them, so that’s an endorsement for me. Never really listened to them past “Fat Lip”, but “Fat Lip” is a banger.
Cypress Hill – 620pm Rise Stage
Do they really need an introduction? We saw some Cypress Hill at Riot Fest before. B-Real was in Prophets of Rage and they did some Cypress Hill.
The Offspring – 710pm AAA Stage
Another no explanation needed. Except they are playing their album “Smash” in its entirety. Not a fan of album plays as most albums have a slow portion, Smash included. And it’s 45 minutes long leaving only 15 minutes for other songs (Dance Fucker Dance…).
Public Enemy – 725pm Radical Stage
How many Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame members have we seen at Riot Fest? NIN, Patti Smith, Foo Fighters, Cory Feldman. Not many but here’s another. I’ve seen them before…touring with The Cult. And odd pairing for sure. And they are exactly what you expect. Great rhythmic old school rap, Flavor Flav jumping around with his clock, military dressed support on stage, Chuck D owning the stage. Another act we saw a few songs with Prophets of Rage as Chuck D was a member.
Fall Out Boy – 815pm Metro Stage
Chicago emo pop punk. Very successful and popular. Co-headlined Hella Mega tour with Green Day and Weezer a few years ago. Unfortunately couldn’t play a few dates because of COVID. An endorsement by Green Day and Weezer should be good enough.
Marley Brothers – 830pm Rise Stage
Bob Marley’s catalog is beyond reproach. The songs speak for themselves. This is five of his kids performing his songs. Could be a can’t miss show…if it wasn’t up against Fall Out Boy or NOFX.
NOFX – 830pm NOFX World
NOFX are completing their farewell tour this year. Riot Fest are their last shows in Chicago with only their three Long Beach shows left in their career. They have curated their NOFX World stage, selecting all of the acts. And great acts that could have you camping at that stage all day all three days. They are headlining each night as say they will play different songs, though they have never been one to stick by the rules. The key is picking which night(s) to see them.