Stage Buzz: Riot Fest Chicago 2014 Preview

It’s Riot Fest’s 10^th anniversary this year, and what a way to celebrate.

Who knew that a little Chicago-based punk show at dueling clubs in 2005 would turn into a three-day weekend extravaganza filling up half of Humboldt Park with some of the most popular rock bands from the past four decades?

So far, since moving the Fest to Humboldt Park, it’s become a mammoth event. On it’s 10th Birthday it’s become bigger, and has been expanded to utilize more park space for its anniversary. For those of us who live on the North Side of Chicago, it’s a dream…RF is right down the street from home. And with roughly 129 bands playing over three days, if you can only make it there for a one day or a few hours, there’s no doubt you’ll see someone you like. Looking down the list of acts when first released drew more and more jaw-drops… Jane’s Addiction, Slayer, GWAR, Weezer, The National, The Flaming Lips, Paul Weller, Superchunk, The Afghan Whigs, and Patti Smith!

British “new wave”  legends The Cure has a two-hour show slotted…then there are blasts from the past like ALL, The Dandy Warhols, Naked Raygun, Social Distortion, Failure, Cheap Trick, Blue Meanies, Mudhoney, and even Television (yes – the Tom Verlaine-Richard Hell-Billy Ficca minus Richard Lloyd ‘70s NYC Television).

Riot Fest’s 10^th anniversary also introduces the new “Riot Fest Speaks” stage, featuring the hotly political Russian band Pussy Riot as the inaugural installment on Friday, Sept. 12. With Henry Rollins as moderator, the panel promises to “bring together a collective of progressive minds to discuss sociopolitical movements, music and art, and the cross-pollination between the two that generates changes in the traditional soliloquy of thought and action.” On the panel will be Nadya Tolokonnikova (Pussy Riot), Masha Alekhina (Pussy Riot), Greg Graffin (Bad Religion, Vocalist/Professor or Geology at UCLA), Tim McIlrath (Rise Against), Marcelle Karp (writer/activist), Michael A. Petryshyn (Riot Fest, Founder).

It’s all too mind-blowing to take in. If you’re a fan of rock music and you live in the Chicago area, you’d be a fool not to head to the fest at least for half a day. Go to www.riotfest.org for set-times and tickets (Friday & Saturday tix still available).

-Penelope Biver

IE and Riot Fest are giving away 2 pairs of 3 Day Passes to the event of the summer. Enter to win HERE Contest ends 6pm 9/10/14.

 

Friday, Sept. 12

Jane’s Addiction

Rise Against

Slayer

The Offspring

Pussy Riot Panel Moderated by Henry Rollins

NOFX

Gogol Bordello

Of Mice & Men

Mastodon

The Murder City Devils

Failure

Circa Survive

Clutch

GWAR

Stiff Little Fingers

Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears

We Came As Romans

Senses Fail

ALL

Title Fight

Emarosa

Pity Sex

From Indian Lakes

The Hotelier

Radkey

Pianos Become the Teeth

Red City Radio

Baby Baby

WOUNDS

Plague Vendor

Somos

¡Vamos!

 

Saturday, Sept. 13th

The National

The Flaming Lips

Wu-Tang Clan

Samhain

Descendents

Metric

Taking Back Sunday

Die Antwoord

City and Colour

Paul Weller

The Used

The Afghan Whigs

Cock Sparrer

Dashboard Confessional

Television

Saosin w/ Anthony Green

Say Anything

Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Tokyo Police Club

The Dandy Warhols

The Get Up Kids

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

Streetlight Manifesto

Buzzcocks

Face to Face

Wavves

The Orwells

RX Bandits

Samiam

7 Seconds

Anti-Flag

frnkiero andthe cellabration

Citizen

The World Is A Beautiful Place…

Lemuria

The Pizza Underground

Nostalghia

Skaters

The Unlikely Candidates

Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas

The Bots

Broncho

The American Scene

Restorations

The Picturebooks

Rose’s Pawn Shop

The Crombies

Daniel Wade

Buffalo Rodeo

Ex Friends

 

Sunday, Sept. 14th

The Cure

Weezer

Social Distortion

Primus

Tegan and Sara

Cheap Trick

Patti Smith

Bring Me The Horizon

Dropkick Murphys

Naked Raygun

Superchunk

Billy Bragg

The Hold Steady

Blue Meanies

Lucero

New Found Glory

Mudhoney

Hot Snakes

Motion City Soundtrack

Andrew W.K.

Bouncing Souls

Kurt Vile & The Violators

Mineral

La Dispute

Only Crime

The Menzingers

The Front Bottoms

Silverstein

The Whigs

In The Valley Below

Modern Baseball

I Am The Avalanche

Laura Stevenson

Cerebral Ballzy

PUP

Dads

Show You Suck

Lucki Eck$

My Gold Mask

Tiny Moving Parts

Team Spirit

Survay Says!

Netherfriends

Archie Powell & The Exports

Mutts

The Grizzled Mighty

Chumped

Tags: Jane's Addiction, Riot Fest Chicago 2014, Rise Against, Slayer, The Offspring

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly