Riot Fest Day 2 Recap

Words by Hillary Hedstrom | Photos by Bobby Talamine

Bright and sunny, the morning proved that the weather would be perfect for Riot Fest. Sunny and warm, but not too hot for walking around. Being in a pit might get a little too warm, but that’s expected.

Day two started out with alum Masked Intruder. Although it was shortly after the gates opened, there was still a sizable crowd. Although Intruder Purple is still filling in for Intruder Yellow, fans wore their yellow masks. During their set, Green found a dance partner from the crowd. A young woman even came on stage to sing the duet “Heart Shaped Guitar.”

On the neighboring stage, the band The Hu came out next. Once Masked Intruder ended, the crowd began to chant “Hu.” The band, which blends Mongolian throat singing and heavy metal, came on stage to quickly tune their instruments. Some members played traditional Mongolian instruments, which couldn’t be easily tuned by the Riot Fest crew. 

The pit that broke out was different than the other pits of the day. It was more marching along with the beat. There was still pushing and shoving, but it was slower and more methodical. 

The Hu walked from their tent to the JBTV booth to interview with Jerry. They were being filmed while Jerry walked with them back to their tent. Fans who saw began to chant “Hu. Hu. Hu.” at the members, but nobody could achieve the gutteral sound produced by the band.

The Damned Things are a side project of several bands. With vocals by Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die, bass from Dan Andriano of Alkaline Trio, rhythm guitar from Scott Ian of Anthrax, and Fall Out Boy’s Andy Hurley on drums and Joe Trohman on guitar, this supergroup was not one to miss. 

Their sophomore album High Crimes recently came out, 9 years after their debut album. The catchy lyrics and heavy rock instrumentals had the crowd singing along while fighting in the pit. Security sprayed several bottles of water through the audience, trying to make sure nobody overheated.

Grandson’s political laden songs were paired with matching video clips behind him. “Overdose” was matched with clips of drugs and celebrities who overdosed at a young age. After his set, he walked over to the JBTV booth to chat with Jerry and to enjoy the rest of the festival.

The Struts energy made everyone forget how tired they were. Songs were cut up, spliced together, parts separated. A majority of the crowd had seen them live before. There was a lot of engagement with the crowd, with call and responses. 

The audience was encouraged to become fireworks during the climax of the set. Crouched down until instructed to stand up by frontman Luke Spiller. Once given the sign, everyone jumped up and confetti was shot loose. 

The biggest conflict of the entire festival was from 7:15-8:30 on Saturday. It was the choice between Manchester Orchestra, Andrew W.K., Wu-Tang Clan, and Rise Against

A chant of “party” is what drew Andrew W.K. onto the stage. It was his eight time performing at the festival over its 15 year run. 

Wu-Tang Clan had a huge crowd. They announced that they would be doing an album performance of 36 Chambers. 

Rise Against thanked Slayer for everything that they have done over the past 40 years.  JBTV was able to talk to vocalist Tim McIlrath from Rise Against. Jerry and Tim reminisced about old times and their first JBTV performance and interview, which was Rise Against’s first TV performance.

Slayer’s Riot Fest performance was their last Chicago/Milwaukee area show. A huge sea was there already to see them, and hoards shoved their way through. As Rise Against got off stage, the Slayer chants started.

Although they have been around for decades, it was hard to tell their age. They performed like it was 1983. 

With their final show over, the night was also over.