Photo Gallery + Bonus Coverage: Riot Fest 2026 • Day Two • Douglass Park • Chicago

Brassneck | September 21, 2026 | 0 Comments

Riot Fest

Douglass Park, Chicago, IL

Day 2: Saturday, September 19, 2026

Review by Jeff Elbel. Photos by Curt Baran.

Moderate temperatures and overcast skies were a boon for bands that played early on Saturday’s bill at Riot Fest. Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon and his band, the Painkillers, played to a respectable crowd on the Roots stage, performing “Better Before” and other material from his just-released solo album Not Bad for New Jersey.

Meanwhile, a larger contingent gathered at the adjacent Riot stage in anticipation of breakout duo Angine de Poitrine. The interstellar (by way of Canada) duo of guitarist Khn de Poitrine and drummer Klek de Poitrine arrived in full regalia, festooned in monochromatic polka-dots, body paint, and larger-than-life costumes. The pair’s music was a prog-friendly stew built upon deft creation and deployment of live-generated loops and inventive use of effects pedals. Khn crafted riffs and unusual melodies on a double-necked instrument, including a bass and a microtonally fretted guitar. Klek’s stop-on-a-dime rhythms anchored every complex, odd-time riff and swung from brainy funk to raw punk to furious breakbeats. Even Khn’s most baffling, complex guitar lines became hypnotic through repetition when backed by Klek’s sturdy propulsion.

The duo’s music was entirely instrumental, but fans cheered with recognition for the serpentine surf guitar lick that opened “Yor Zarad.” Khn and Klek tethered the swarming-bee guitar loop of “Sarniezz” to a durable midtempo beat. The off-kilter rhythm of “Fabienk” recalled Primus at its weirdest.

The duo addressed the crowd with triangle-shaped hand gestures that corresponded to backlit emblems on their costumes. The audience returned the signs in enthusiastic communion. Vocal sounds were filtered into indecipherable alien speech tones. At one point, however, Klek’s synthesized growl could be discerned as praising those assembled at Riot Fest.

The first raindrops fell as Angine de Poitrine’s set gathered momentum. From then on, the weather and a threatening forecast bedeviled the rest of the day. Because of projected evening lightning storms, organizers decided to end activity two and a half hours early. To accommodate, Bright Eyes moved from the Roots stage to the bafflement of uninformed fans who had made their way near the stage for a 3:20 PM set. The band appeared later at a more prestigious time slot on the Radical stage but were pitted against headlining prog-metal act Tool and perennial Riot Fest favorites Bad Religion.

Public Image Limited was among the first bands whose sets were truncated and moved up from their scheduled start times. Instead of beginning a 40-minute set at 4:05PM, the quartet played a 20-minute set of three songs that ended then. Frontman and former Sex Pistols provocateur John Lydon was in reliably caustic character from the moment he walked onto the Riot stage. “They are fucking with us today,” he complained. “If I was you, I’d ask for your money back.” Wild-eyed guitarist Lu Edmonds played the siren riff to the eponymous anthem “Public Image.” The set continued with the sinister licks and Lydon’s operatic warble during “Death Disco.”

“Sing along with Johnny,” demanded Lydon as the group launched an extended arrangement of “Rise.” The crowd gamely joined the blessing “May the road rise with you.” Bassist Scott Firth and drummer Mark Roberts led the band into a dub breakdown as Lydon posed the question, “What is anger?” The crowd responded and joined Lydon in repeating “Anger is an energy” like an activist mantra.

Lydon addressed the crowd a final time as the band left the stage. “Can you believe they cut us that short?” he asked. “Think [of] what you missed. Thanks for being here, anyway.”

People who lamented missing Thursday’s full-length headlining set by reignited ‘90s Minneapolis alt-rock heroes Sugar at Metro saw their consolation prize of an hour at Riot Fest diminished even further than planned. Singer-guitarist Bob Mould, bassist David Barbe, and drummer Malcolm Travis made the best of their shortened time by charging through thirty blistering minutes of tuneful favorites delivered with muscle and maximum velocity. Diving into “The Act We Act,” Mould played the song’s chugging, overdriven chords while bounding and twirling with energy. Barbe’s driving bass line kicked off “A Good Idea,” and Travis and Mould crashed in behind him. Mould conserved precious seconds by careening directly into “Changes,” but took time for a brief greeting before “Hoover Dam.” “Guess who’s back?” he called into the crowd, noting that it was his own “fifth or sixth” time at Riot Fest, but the first for Sugar. Before Beaster track “Tilted,” Barbe added his appreciation. “Thank you for standing out in the rain,” he said. The slightly soggy fans got Mould’s furious, fretboard-splintering solo. Next came the super-catchy but troubled portrait “Helpless” from Copper Blue, featuring Mould’s irrepressible and deceptively optimistic guitar figure. “Gee Angel” and the spirited blast of “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” brought the brief set to an adrenalized conclusion.

The next person on the Roots stage was evidence of the festival’s collective sense of oddball humor, bringing beloved WGN weatherman Tom Skilling out of retirement to greet fans and tell them about the precipitation they were currently experiencing. The good-natured Skilling told a related story about a time when then-Senator Barack Obama held him responsible for a cloudburst at a public event. He then explained the need for the accelerated festival schedule, with Tool’s headlining set to end at 7:30PM instead of 10PM.

Social Distortion played a feral set of melodic Southern California punk-pop on the Riot stage, beginning with “Born to Kill.” Tattooed frontman Mike Ness donned a Gibson Les Paul over his silk shirt and gold chains. “We don’t have much time, so we’re not gonna talk much,” he said before launching the grim “No Way Out.” Highlights include the sneering “Mommy’s Little Monster,” go-for-broke “Reach for the Sky,” and wry “Bad Luck.”

“Sorry for the rush,” said Ness when introducing the band’s final song. “Social Distortion has been fighting against racism for over 40 years. We believe that immigrants make the country.” The band concluded with the defiant “Don’t Drag Me Down.”

Former Smiths frontman Morrissey began his return to Riot Fest on the Roots stage as Social Distortion’s final notes faded. Striding onto the stage in dark jeans and a navy-blue jacket, the famously morose singer declared, “The rain! The lightning! The thunder! We’re all gonna die!”

“I’m pleased to be here,” deadpanned Morrissey while teeing up the melodramatic “First of the Gang to Die.” “I’m pleased to be alive,” he added. “It’s a miracle!” Morrissey’s five-piece band performed the song in front of a backdrop image of the New York Dolls. 2006’s darkly themed “The Youngest Was the Most Loved” followed. The song described a beloved child who was sheltered and doted upon, but nonetheless went bad. “There is no such thing in life as normal,” repeated Morrissey in the chorus.

Moz was next to bemoan the weather’s impact on his set. “We have been warned that we have to be very quick tonight,” he said gloomily. “Otherwise, I get my face kicked in, which I’m used to.” The band then played the urgent and eerie “How Soon Is Now?” Morrissey took an improvisational approach to the familiar song, twisting phrases and melodic movements into different shapes. It was the first of three Smiths favorites in the set, followed soon by “Shoplifters of the World Unite.” During the wistfully fatalistic “There is a Light That Never Goes Out,” Morrissey danced across the stage with a bouquet of bird of paradise flowers splayed behind his back like peacock feathers.

Solo catalog highlights included the chime and jangle of “Suedehead,” during which Moz mopped his forehead with his tie before throwing it to the crowd as a token. The singer played a pair of blue maracas while offering the swooning melody of “Every Day is Like Sunday” and its portrait of loneliness and paralyzing ennui. The resolute statement of identity and political opposition, “Irish Blood, English Heart,” was a jagged, anthemic set closer. In the song’s final moments, Morrissey removed his shirt, wiped his chest with it, balled it into a fist, and threw it into the crowd. He then turned on his heel and left promptly without a word of farewell.

Just a few minutes later on the Rise stage, New York City gypsy punks Gogol Bordello wrapped their nine-piece, sweat-soaked musical melee. Saturday’s lineup beat the deteriorating weather out the door with earlier headlining slots by Tool, Bad Religion, and Nas’ picturesque hip-hop.