Musings…observations from the fourth line on the festival lineup poster

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Riot Fest 2021 Preview – Dinosaur Jr., Skating Polly, Joywave

Dinosaur Jr. – Friday and Saturday Aftershow

They were at one of our Coachellas but we didn’t get them enough attention.  Really a pioneer of alternative music and on a heavy play rotation on HFS in the early 90s.  You may hear some grunge but they are way more than that.  An early signee of SST Records that included Black Flag, the Minutemen, Sonic Youth, Bad Brains, and Husker Du.  Great company to keep.  They deserve our attention just to pay homage.  Plus their lead J Mascis is just cool.  And their drummer gets drunk with KJ.

Skating Polly – Sunday

Riot Grrrl or Punk.  Dunno.  But they freaking rock.  Step sisters from Oklahoma have never been so punk (plus little bro on drums).  Their big break happened when the met Exene Cervenka from X and she became a fan and produced their second album.  They fit that loud quiet loud (and then louder) sound that many of us like.  And again, they freaking rock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US0uJI2GfZE

Joywave – Saturday

Alternate Electro Pop?  That’s what it sounds like.  An outlier at RiotFest but could be a great break from some of the harder acts.  From upstate New York.  They collaborate with a lot of others in typical electro fashion.  You may be familiar with Big Data’s song Dangerous (a Coachella act of ours).  They were on that.

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Riot Fest 2021 Preview – Thrice, Anti-Flag, The Sounds

Thrice – Friday

Post-hard core.  Melodic hard-core.  Somewhere in there.  From the OC and cite Bad Religion as one of their influences.  They’ve recently released on Epitaph and their bassist was in Angels and Airwaves for a moment (but so were a few bassists…Tom doesn’t keep them around long).  Looking at their c.v. they deserve our attention.  I like them and am surprised I haven’t seen them before.

Anti-Flag – Friday

Good old punk from Pittsburgh.  Been at it since the late 80s.  Pretty political and it’s safe to say they didn’t vote from Trump.  Giuffre would refuse to see them.  You got to love a lead singer with the name Justin Sane.  The last video is unrelated but I ran across it looking for Anti-Flag videos and just had to post it.  Cyndi Lauper doing Black Flag!

The Sounds – Friday with Saturday aftershow

Could be super interesting.  They’re Swedish.  They’re indie.  And if Wikipedia is correct their sound is somewhere around Blondie, Missing Persons, and The Cars.  Why not?  Check them out.  They have an aftershow at Reggies on Saturday and an opener hasn’t been announced yet.  Something to consider

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Riot Fest 2021 Preview – Knuckle Puck, White Lung, Radkey

Knuckle Puck – Sunday

We’ve saw them at Riot Fest 2017 on the Rise stage.  Pop punk/emo akin to last week’s post.  But probably my favorite.  They sound a little different.  Plus their name came from a hockey term in the Mighty Ducks movie.  And they are Chicago locals.

White Lung – Sunday

Canadian punk RiotGrrrrl.  From Vancouver.  Good.  Very good.  Three piece (no bass).  Their singer, Mish Barber-Way moved to LA and is married to the singer of the stoner rock band Saviours.  She’s a journalist and is the executive editor of Penthouse.  Jimmy probably reads her all the time if he’s not just looking at pictures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-bYEeSFmwA

Radkey – Friday

Punk version of Hanson.  Brothers from the Radke family.  And they freaking bring it.  Also will be at Lollapalooza so making a return trip to Chicago a few weeks later (they’re from the midwest).  Maybe we’ll get a scouting report from our Lolla friends.

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Riot Fest 2021 Preview – New Found Glory, Motion City Soundtrack, Simple Plan, Mayday Parade

We’re going four wide this week with Pop Punk/Emo. All are good but sometimes that formula feels like it’s on repeat. Love the guitar rock and all deserve attention. Just that many don’t differentiate themselves. Yes, my dad said the same thing 40 years ago about The Clash and The Ramones.

New Found Glory – Sunday and a Saturday aftershow

Pretty much the epitome of Pop Punk.  Good Pop Punk.  If Pop Punk had a Biggie vs Tupac East Coast vs West Coast, NFG from Florida would be Biggie and Blink would be Tupac.  But I don’t think they were in a turf war.  And Blink hasn’t had a hologram at Coachella.  Anyway, probably the biggest name on the bill for the generation behind us.  Well worth our attention.

Motion City Soundtrack – Friday

Simple Plan – Sunday with a Saturday aftershow

Mayday Parade – Saturday

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Riot Fest 2021 Preview – Taking Back Sunday, Bayside, State Champs

Taking Back Sunday – Saturday and Sunday aftershow (sold out)

Share the top line on the poster for Saturday with Rancid and Dropkick so they’ve got something going for them.  But also likely to conflict with them.  So sad too bad.  Like the Horror, they’re from Amityville.  With an early connection to another Riot Fest band of the past Brand New.  Another Pop Punk band but I may put them closer to post-hardcore.  They have a pretty wide range.  One song is pop, and the next will be punk.  Will have a huge following at Riot Fest. 

Bayside – Saturday and Sunday aftershow

Pop Punk or emo from Queens, NYC.  Their name was inspired on the way to a New Found Glory show.  It seems all pop punk goes back to NFG, Blink, and Green Day, which puts them back to Buzzcocks and The Ramones.  Bayside have been around about 20 years.  They had a tragedy in 2005 when their tour bus crashed after a Boulder, CO show killing their drummer.  They have done a cover EP and do covers at their shows, which would be cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTmJ9DAHNpw

State Champs – Saturday

Another pure Pop Punk band.  From upstate New York and have been around for about 10 years.  Early on toured with other Riot Fest bands, Motion City Soundtrack and Bayside.  Also a veteran of the Warped Tour.  And opened the main stage at Reading and Leeds.