TVD Live Shots: Riot Fest Denver, 9/4

Riot Fest Day #3. The day that would end with the most anticipated reunion of the year. Yes, even bigger than Guns ‘n’ Roses. The buzz in the air was palpable as the Misfits die-hards bee-lined it to the barricade in front of the Riot Stage for the 9 hour wait where, as a small recognition for their efforts, they were greeted by none other than Jerry Only (sans makeup) supervising the stage set-up.

One look at the crowd would have given you a darned good idea who people had come to see … an informal survey confirmed that this was the only day of the three where Misfits t-shirts outnumbered the Descendents shirts. But there was much to see and hear before their 8:30 set time rolled around.

Culture Abuse kicked things off at the ungodly hour of noon. Clearly having taken advantage of Colorado’s recreational marijuana laws, the San Francisco band was happily baked is they tore through their set for a disappointingly small crowd and earning the day’s badge for best band that no one saw.

Next up, industrial act 3Teeth which was visibly shaken by having to perform in the blazing sun. From there the Riot and Roots stages bounced between hardcore and rock n’ roll. On the one stage, Converge and Hatebreed (who was greeted with a short but wet rain shower) had the crowd riled and rowdy. Juliette Lewis and Murder By Death contrasted with some feel-good vibes.

Chevy Metal, featuring Taylor Hawkins and Chris Shiflett of the Foo Fighters, carried forward the rock and roll theme with a set of covers. While oddly placed in the day, Taylor hit the nail on the head when he said, “the great thing about covers set is you know you’re never going to hear a bad song.” The set even had Spike Slawson from Me First and the Gimme Gimmes joining for a pair of Rolling Stones classics.

Speaking of cover bands, who would ever book two in a row at a festival? Well, that’s exactly what Riot Fest organizers did. With their punked-up renditions of genre-bending tunes, the Gimme Gimmes stirred the crowd into a mosh pit frenzy.

Remember the mention of Bleached from Day #1 coverage? Well, a quick exit from the Gimme Gimmes during their second to last song gave just enough time to hoof it on over to the indoor stage for their short but oh so sweet thirty minute set which sadly did NOT include their cover of the Misfits’ Astro Zombies.

A quick bite and a beer and it was back to the Riot Stage for Bad Religion where the crowd was absolutely packed for what was one of the best sets of the day. Denver clearly loves Bad Religion and their hour-long set, which wrapped as the sun began to set over the Rockies, would be hard to match for any band.

While one would have expected the Riot Stage crowd to stay put for the Misfits headlining set, that did not seem to happen. Much of the crowd migrated over to the Roots stage for gypsy punks Gogol Bordello who kept the momentum going and energy levels high.

Finally it was time. Riot Fest Denver was about to end right where things started back in May … with Glenn, Jerry and Doyle reuniting on stage for the first time since 1983. When the set time finally arrived, the black curtain was pulled away revealing a pair of massive jack-o-lanterns flanking stacks of crimson ghost branded speaker cabinets before the band tore appropriately into Death Comes Ripping. Despite the fact that Doyle appeared to be having guitar problems and the sound was terrible, the Misfits (joined by Dave Lombardo on drums and Acey Slade on second guitar) tore through their twenty-five hits from hell which were met with some mix of utter chaos and silent disbelief. Even the NAS fans wandered over after his set wrapped to catch history being made.

Back at the Summit Music Hall, the Misfits set was on everyone’s mind as Me First and the Gimme Gimmes prepared for their second set of the day. Clearly Fat Mike didn’t appreciate the Misifts set very much, quipping after their first song (Danny’s Song) that the Gimme Gimmes’ set was already better than the Misfits. Maybe so … or not … but it could be the last time (or second to last time if you’re going to Chicago) that anyone is going to see this particular version of the Misfits horror business live, so you better take it while you can get it.

3TEETH