2012 Riot Fest

2012 Riot Fest, a set on Flickr.

For the 7th year in a row, I purchased an every day pass to attend Riot Fest. This pass is supposed to provide access to all events including after shows. IMO, in a complete bullshit move, they sold tickets to the after shows this year. Then, they granted these ticket holders access to the after show events with priority over every day pass holders. More on this later.

I arrived at the Inn of Chicago at about 3pm. This may be the least attractive hotel room that I have got by bidding on Priceline. I will be skipping the 2.5 star hotels from now on if someone else is sharing the room with me. After a brief nap, I decided to hit Reckless Records on Madison in the Loop. It was about a one mile walk which was fine as I like looking at the buildings in downtown Chicago from different angles and at different times of the day. I managed to walk away empty handed from there. The punk selection was very limited.

I stopped at the Elephant and Castle for a pint of Harp and some nachos and then took a taxi to the Congress Theater. I picked up my 3 day pass wristband and headed in. I arrived in time to miss Dead Sara as planned. I was able to grab a beer and up on stage came Pegboy. They played an energetic 30 minute set to a surprisingly already large crowd. Larry spent most of the time hanging on the barrier or on his knee on stage out of breath. The guy gives it more than his body can handle. I was dissapointed in the sound for them. Bass and drums too loud and guitar and vocals too low. I enjoyed the show but have seen them sound better. They skipped any song that Larry plays guitar on because they had a short set. They only played about 8-9 songs. Here is what I remember them playing.

Dangermare

Slipped Through My Fingers
Strong Reaction
Revolver (Mission of Burma cover)
Hardlight

I had a few more beers and a slice of Congress pizza in an effort to avoid Neon Trees. They were not my cup of tea. I can't believe they did a cover of "Mommy's Little Monster".

I was pretty excited to see The Offspring for the first time. The venue was pretty full by the time they hit the stage. They had a 3 guitar attack for most of their set. I enjoyed them, but had the same complaint about the sound as I did for the Pegboy set. I left at 10pm to head to the Subterranean for the Naked Raygun show. The Offspring were scheduled to play until 10:15pm. Here are some songs I remember them playing.

Come Out And Play

Days Go By
All I Want
Bad Habit
No Brakes

When I arrived at the Sub, the line was around the corner. I didn't think this was a good sign. Long story short, I was next in line to get into the venue when they quit letting more people in unless you purchased a ticket or were on the guest list as they had more than 400 people upstairs already. All I will say is this may be the last Riot Fest I attend due to the shenanigans of selling tickets for after shows after promoting admission to after shows to entice people to buy 3 day passes early to provide cash flow to fund the festival. Ever get the feeling you've been cheated!

Teenage Bottlerocket - Freak Out!

For years, I kinda blew off this band until Earthdog convinced me that I needed to go watch them in the corridor at the Congress Theater during a Riot Fest weekend.  So, here we are in the lobby crunched between stage, the beer stand, and the stand selling the famous Congress pizza slices.  The sound sucked all day long because of the echo from the concrete floor to the concrete ceiling.  Then, these Ramones looking youngsters from Wyoming hit the stage.  Holy shit!  I was addicted to them from that point on.  I have seen them a few more times at Insubordination Fest in Baltimore with Earthdog.  They play Ramones style simple (for someone who may play an instrument) chords with catchy, most of the time funny lyrics.  Most of the songs just crack me up.

Well, their newest release, Freak Out!, is no different.  I've been listening to it a lot the last few weeks.  And, it has been growing on me with every listen.  I can't stop listening to it tonight so I figured it would make for a great time to write about it.

I can't wait to see them at Riot Fest this year!!!

1. Freak Out! - quick blast with more mentions of Freak than any other words and gone in a flash.  As the Guinness commercials said, brilliant!
2. Headbanger - a song about a guy that whips his head so fast he gives himself a concussion.  How can that not be funny?  They even give a throwback to the last release and mention the Kiss Army - "what the fuck are you talking about?"
3. Cruising for Chicks - just what you would think it is about in Wyoming.  "In my mother's old Suburban, cruising for chicks."
4. Necrocomicon - a parody of the San Diego Comic Con.  "I thought I saw fucking Yoda."
5. Maverick - a parody of the movie Top Gun - "I'm the only guy in Top Gun she ever dated."
6. Done With Love - the anti love song.
7. Punk House of Horror - Don't go there as Rat smells like piss and the place is a fucking dive.
8. Never Gonna Tell You - (That I Love You) the love song.
9. In the Pit - a sarcastic song about the jocks who couldn't make the football team.
10. Mutilate Me - the X rated sex song.
11. Who Killed Sensei? - " I wanna know who killed Sensei?"
12. Radical - the 2nd love song about a girl that you can not afford.
13. Summertime - the song about the weather extremes of Wyoming and being hot as Mexico in Summertime.
14. Go With the Flow - the 3rd love song and the back and forth break ups that take place during teen love.