All Words and Photos: Emily Sisson
https://www.facebook.com/esofficialstudios
©Jason Pendleton
©Anthony Linh-Nguyen
Surfboart
Brought chaos like no other. This punk, edgy, chick-fronted band was so hardcore. Nothing makes me happier than when the band gets up close and personal with the crowd, and singer Dani Miller did just that and more. With a stage presence like no other, audience members like myself could not take their eyes off of the madness that was the Surfbort performance. Madness in the best way. Their first album ‘ friendship music’ was released in 2018 and I can’t get enough of it. With only 43,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, this band deserves much more notoriety. Seeing just what they did when handed this crowd, I look forward to seeing what they do next.
Jxdn Had his First Riot Fest performance on day two of the festival. Young and full of life Jxdn real name Jaden Isaiah Hossler played the Roots stage late Saturday afternoon, to a very cool and very comfortable crowd. Performing in pleated pinstripe pants and a judas priest shirt with the style and exuberance you can only expect from any hot shit 21-year-old. His style is iconic but makes you wonder what Jaden’s favorite Rob Halford song is. Along with playing a cover of “Break Stuff” By Limp Bizkit, he played his song “NO VANITY” off the “Tell Me About Tomorrow” album. Many know him from his Tik Tok presence but his music has quickly become the new ‘It’ sound. You will be damn wrong to deny the complete pop-punk revival through gen z. It’s official, we were cool before it was cool. It’s bittersweet in a way. Put it like this, if you’re in high school and out driving with your friends late at night, blasting his newest song “Beautiful Boy” with the windows or top down will surely put you in that indie movie vibe. With Travis Barker by his side as a close friend and as the man who signed Jaden to his record label, we know he is in good hands. What an honor to be mentored by such a legend. “Speaking of Riot Fest,” Jaden exclaims. “ I’ve got this song called Riot I haven’t put out yet and all I need you to do… is that shit right there!” And that they did. Drummer Tosh Peterson Shares an awesome look at the Chicago 2022 Riot Fest performance of “angels and demons” from behind his drum risers posted on his youtube channel and if you haven’t seen it, maybe try to.
Movements
reminded us just where their name came from during their 4:00 pm performance on the Rise stage. Their crowd all rallied up. This was the band’s first-ever time playing Riot Fest. A couple of singles have been released this year by Movements, ‘Cherry Thrill’ and ‘Barbed Wire Body” both were performed at the show. “Cherry Thrill” holds a vivid feeling of that smitten attraction you feel when first meeting a potential romantic target or interest. When the band performed the song Colorblind from their 2017 album ‘Feel Something’ the crowd went ballistic. Crowd surfers one after the other piled over the barricade as sweaty security guards tried their best to keep up. “Do you feel that? Don’t let that shit die! Keep this energy up!” singer Patrick Miranda shouts.
Alexisonfire had a performance that was out of control and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The band Alexisonfire performed at 4:30 on the radicals stage following The Get Up Kids. Those suffering from whiplash would not be recommended to attend any live rock show however more so, an Alexisonfire show. Every member of the band has such a stage presence you just don’t know where to look. Their performance of “Pulmonary Archery” yelled lyrics like
“ don’t care how things, were and I won’t
Apologize, I won’t apologize
Fuck you”
Only made the crowd rowdy and dazed. “This Could Be Anywhere in the World” off the 2006 album “Crisis” was also on the setlist. Fans will recognize the song as well as their video that shortly after being released won the MuchMusic Video Award for Cinematography of the Year.
Yungblud was only on his 4th beer and was well onto his 5th by the time song “Fleabag” ended.. or so he says. From the moment singer Dominic walked on stage his energy was high and rising. The performance of “Mad” birthed the life of a beautiful circle pit in the center of the crowd. This if anything proves stage presence and audience participation is a give and take. Don’t look away, before you know it this madman was running to the opposite side of the stage any time you blinked. I figured by that point it was best to keep your eyes open. After pulling out his guitar to play” I Love You, Will You Marry Me”
Yungblud pulled out Jaden Hossler( Jxdn) to join him on stage for a performance of “I Think I’m OKAY”. As it seems Yungblud couldn’t stop inviting people on stage, nearing the end of his show he even went as far as to bring on a crowd of 15+ fans viewing the show from behind him, for the song “Loner”. Leaving and on his way out, he left the crowd quite literally humming the melody of the song for a few minutes after he exited the stage.
The Front Bottoms We’re excited to be back to riot fest after their 2018 performance. Life is ironic and heartbreak has struck singer Brian Sella time and time again. This show was beautiful and poetic, to say the least. The passion and emotion put into this performance were simply spectacular.
I mean come on, they opened with “Twin Sized Mattress” and the show continued to get better! Being able to view and photograph the front bottoms performing that song was quite possibly the biggest highlight of my whole festival. *News headline and theme music * ‘This just in ‘Babies and concertgoers alike can’t get enough bubbles as the Front Bottoms proves to life just what fun a bubble can bring.’ The bubbles did add some giddy child-like energy to the already fun performance. The band playing “Cough it out” reminded us of how we feel when relationships end “And with or without your support, I will continue” Brian sings
“ But whatever I did for you last year, I cannot do again
It’s getting harder and harder and harder and harder for me to call you a friend
No matter how many times I say I won’t, I defend you if I can
But whatever I did for you last year, I cannot do again”
Brian confesses so much of what most of us deal with growing up as grown up. “Be Nice To Me” was a song I would have loved to see but sadly missed. Nevertheless, it was played during the set and if I know one thing it’s that the people in the audience loved it just as much as I would have. I talk a lot about crowd participation but will say I was genuinely surprised this Front Bottoms show brought out so many crowd surfers. I’ve never been to a show of theirs before but I just didn’t imagine. Maybe you do, maybe you don’t but I didn’t. At this point, after being present at the show I can see where all the pent-up crowd surfers get their energy from. With all these songs about loss and frustration, I feel it every time I listen to them. However, at the moment, my frustration comes from missing the second half of their set.
The Story So Far brought the pop-punk flair that the Riot Fest crowd wanted- nay, needed. Before you a legendary pop-punk band you’ve waited to see for years and behind you, a beautiful scenic backdrop of a beautiful sunset filled with carnival lights glowing in the distance. This was prime time to view a show. I was so excited to attend this set. Anyone who’s been to a show by The Story So Far knows crowd participation is the name of the game and game on baby. By the time “Roam” was played there was no holding the crowd back from piling to the front. The band hasn’t released a song that wasn’t “Lo-Fi” since their Proper Dose was released in 2018. This means attendee fans of the band have been listening to these songs on repeat making it even more surreal for the live show. Needless to say, a lot of classics were performed. After a deeply devoted performance of “The Glass” from their 2013 album “What You Don’t See” I turned to my left to see a fan with teary eyes. Now, was the performance so heartwarming she lost her composure, or was she simply just kicked in the face? These are questions that I might never get answered…
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