It’s been 732 days since Riot Fest last took place at Douglass Park in Chicago, Illinois, and man, it is still weird to see a large gathering of people.
Riot Fest added a special preview party on the Thursday before the festival, with limited acts performing on two of the five stages set up throughout the park. They offered free carnival rides, exclusive merch, a dunk tank, and many other special treats for limited ticket holders.
Each set had many memorable moments, one being Joyce Manor closing their set with a cover of “Helena” by My Chemical Romance, who were slated to headline in 2020, pushed it to 2021, but are now one of the sole acts already announced for the festival in 2022.
The legendary Patti Smith drew quite the crowd and you could see just how grateful she was by the smile plastered on her face and how she interacted with the audience, even having security grab a concert-goer’s vinyl copy of her 1975 release, Horses, and signing it on stage. I’m watching a man skank while Patti plays and it’s brought the biggest smile out under my mask. I am so excited to see people out and dancing once again.
Local natives Alkaline Trio ran onto the stage and commanded an energy from the crowd that I forgot existed. I watched a man in a wheelchair crowdsurf. Everyone was having such a good time. Matt Skiba joked that he hit his head on a tree branch and threw up right before the set.
The vibes mellowed out a bit when it became time for Morrissey. He swooned the crowd with his rich baritone, running through many hits, including several from his days with The Smiths. If the preview day was this eventful, I can’t wait to see how the rest of the festival plays out.
ALKALINE TRIO
JOYCE MANOR
MORRISSEY
PATTI SMITH
RIOT FEST 9/16/21
