[GlassyLight]

So many good sets. Impossible to pick the best.

GWAR, NOFX, A Wilhelm Scream, Less than Jake and Gogol Bordello were probably my favorites, but you can't knock Coheed, Dropkick, or Alk3, and Iggy & The Stooges were unreal.

[davidwalbrun]

I would have to go with the majority here and say this weekend was awesome, everything about it was good and I honestly can't say there is anything I was disappointed in other than maybe merch selection I thought bands were gunna have tents like warped but it was basically like a couple merch items for the smaller bands. Adtr has to be my fav set of the weekend they own every time

[Fourchordwonder]

Originally Posted by davidwalbrun

I would have to go with the majority here and say this weekend was awesome, everything about it was good and I honestly can't say there is anything I was disappointed in other than maybe merch selection I thought bands were gunna have tents like warped but it was basically like a couple merch items for the smaller bands. Adtr has to be my fav set of the weekend they own every time

When I saw the Story So Far on Friday in Peoria, I overheard their merch guy saying that Riot Fest was only letting them have one shirt for sale or something like that.

[davidwalbrun]

Originally Posted by Fourchordwonder

When I saw the Story So Far on Friday in Peoria, I overheard their merch guy saying that Riot Fest was only letting them have one shirt for sale or something like that.

You are correct, instead of allowing all the bands have their own tents, they had a fairly large area devoted to all the bands but it was only big enought for some of the smaller bands to have one shirt and maybe like one other thing im pretty sure tssf had usad on vinyl for sale too, i heard that show at bradley was crazy, am i hearing right? They even said at riot fest that it was sick

[Cursethishearse]

Originally Posted by osubuckeye

I've been reading this site religiously for years but decided to register and post here just to comment on how amazing this weekend was. Everything about Riot Fest - lineup, setup, price, crowd size, location, vibes, production, and how each stage sounded was absolutely perfect. After going to Lolla the last three years it was so refreshing to have good sound at every stage, a douchebag-less crowd, and the ability to actually move around and see every band I wanted to see. Kudos to all of the Riot Fest people for making this happen. I will definitely be going next year if the lineup is as good.

Ranking my sets from the weekend: 1. ADTR 2. Chiodos 3. Rise Against 4. Alkaline 5. Gaslight 6. Awolnation 7. Coheed 8. Minus the Bear 9. Dropkick 10. August Burns Red 11. Descendants. Pissed I missed out on Less Than Jake and Imagine Dragons due to gnarly hangovers each early afternoon. ADTR, Chiodos, and Rise Against were a step ahead of everyone else, all were in the top 10 best sets I've seen in my 7 years of going to 20-30 shows a year. Crowds were unbelievably fun.

The Alk3 set was weak. ADTR and Chiodos stole the weekend for me.

Originally Posted by kidinthebushes

I went to all 3 days and overall I had a lot of fun. I loved seeing Fireworks, TSSF, Gaslight, Alkaline Trio and A Day to Remember. I was disappointed with Andrew WK and GWAR. I had seen AWK at Warped a few years back and he is someone I only needed to see once. GWAR and AWK are both gimmicks to me.

That being said, whether or not I attend RF 2013 will solely depend on the lineup. Warped on the other hand, I'm a lifer and will definitely be going to Warped 2013.

I don't go to Warped every year because the lineup doesn't always appeal to me anymore. I would go to Riot Fest each year on out in its current format.

[davidwalbrun]

Originally Posted by Cursethishearse

I don't go to Warped every year because the lineup doesn't always appeal to me anymore. I would go to Riot Fest each year on out in its current format.

I would have to agree, although I can easily still handle a day of warped it was just nice at riot fest that i only wanted to see a few acts so it gave me much more time to take in the whole festival and look around and catch some bands i dont know and just chill where as warped is band to band to band etc, and riot fest isnt in a parking lot which is great and it just was an overall better experience than warped for me, i hope riot fest keeps this format 4 stages with like 50 bands, the only thing i would do is just make it 3 days in the park and move on from the clubs, although if i continue to go to this for years to come im sure the lineup will be as good as i think the current warped lineups are

[NateFoundGlory]

Anyone know why Trio cut their set short by 10 minutes? That was a buzzkill.

[Fourchordwonder]

Originally Posted by davidwalbrun

You are correct, instead of allowing all the bands have their own tents, they had a fairly large area devoted to all the bands but it was only big enought for some of the smaller bands to have one shirt and maybe like one other thing im pretty sure tssf had usad on vinyl for sale too, i heard that show at bradley was crazy, am i hearing right? They even said at riot fest that it was sick

Yeah, it was absolutely insane. One of the best shows I've been.

[KidRobot]

Originally Posted by ACA

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/542170_916530363909_2091469338_n.jp g

lol.

Loved this festival, definitely planning on going back next year. If you saw a guy and a girl picking up cigarette butts all weekend that was me and my girlfriend (got a free ticket for next year!)

[ACA]

Riot Fest was a fantastic weekend, with a well-planned and easy-to-navigate stage setup, wonderful sound, long set times, cheap drinks, fantastic local food, plentiful bathrooms, friendly crowds, and a cheap ticket price. In comparison to the much larger (but fairly similar) Bamboozle, Riot Fest was leaps and bounds stronger in every meaningful way, scoring extra points for a ridiculously solid lineup, headlined each night by real rock bands and not fleeting pop acts.

This contains complete setlists for each performer I saw this weekend, as well as a quick rating of the band’s setlist selection and overall song quality (“songs”) and their live show that day (“performance”). Some great bands I didn’t manage to catch also performed during this weekend, including Descendents, The Gaslight Anthem, Slapstick, Built to Spill, and The Promise Ring.

Cursive
A Gentleman Caller
Warmer, Warmer
Caveman
The Casualty
This House Alive
Rise Up! Rise Up!
Art is Hard
The Cat and Mouse
From the Hips
Drunken Birds
Sierra
Dorothy at Forty

Songs: Great
Performance: Great

The Story So Far
Daughters
Mt. Diablo
Swords and Pens
Four Years
680 South
States and Minds
Roam
Quicksand
High Regard

Songs: Good
Performance: Average

Hot Water Music
Remedy
Mainline
Trusty Chords
Giver
Drown In It
Old Rules
Drag My Body
Paper Thin
Paid In Full
The Traps
Rooftops
Strong Reaction (Pegboy cover) (with Tim McIlrath)
State Of Grace
Wayfarer

Songs: Great
Performance: Great

Minus the Bear
Steel and Blood
Lies and Eyes
The Game Needed Me
Throwin’ Shapes
Diamond Lightning
Toska
My Time
Lonely Gun
Knights
Pachuca Sunrise

Songs: Great
Performance: Great

A Wilhelm Scream
Mute Print
(unidentified song)
(new song “Gut”)
Me Vs. Morrissey In the Pretentiousness Contest (The Ladder Match)
Famous Friends and Fashion Drunks
The Horse
I Wipe My Ass With Showbiz
The Rip
The King Is Dead

Songs: Great
Performance: Great

Coheed and Cambria
No World for Tomorrow
Blood Red Summer
The Suffering
Ten Speed (Of God’s Blood and Burial)
Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute
Devil in Jersey City
Everything Evil
Sentry the Defiant
A Favor House Atlantic
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
Welcome Home

Songs: Great
Performance: Great

Dropkick Murphys
The State of Massachusetts
Captain Kelly’s Kitchen
Which Side Are You On?
Citizen C.I.A.
Going Out In Style
The Gauntlet
(unidentified song)
(new song “The Boys are Back”)
(new song “Echo”)
(new song “Lost Your Way”)
The Irish Rover
Your Spirit’s Alive
(new song “Rose Tattoo”)
Worker’s Song
I’m Shipping Up to Boston
TNT (AC/DC cover)

Songs: Great
Performance: One of the best of the weekend

Rise Against
Help Is on the Way
Alive and Well
Re-Education (Through Labor)
Blood-Red, White & Blue
Ready to Fall
Everchanging
Wait for Me
Satellite
Like the Angel
Prayer of the Refugee
Give It All
For Fiona (No Use for a Name cover) (acoustic)
Jealous Again (Black Flag cover)
Savior

Songs: Great
Performance: One of the best of the weekend

Chiodos
Thermacare
Two Birds Stoned at Once
There’s No Penguins in Alaska
Bulls Make Money, Bears Make Money, Pigs Get Slaughtered
A Letter From Janelle
All Nereids Beware
Is It Progression If a Cannibal Uses a Fork?
Baby, You Wouldn’t Last a Minute on the Creek
The Undertaker’s Thirst For Revenge Is Unquenchable (The Final Battle)
The Words “Best Friend” Become Redefined

Songs: Good
Performance: Great

NOFX
60%
We Called It America
Perfect Government (Mark Curry cover)
Murder the Government
I’m Telling Tim
Instant Crassic
Can’t Get the Stink Out
See Her Pee
I Wanna Be an Alcoholic
Franco Un-American
Seeing Double at the Triple Rock
Linoleum
I Believe in Goddess
Eat the Meek
Stickin’ in My Eye
Leave It Alone
Louise
Eat the Meek (with Angelo Moore)
The Man I Killed
The Moron Brothers
Dinosaurs Will Die
What Now My Love? (Herb Alpert cover)
The Separation of Church and Skate
Bottles to the Ground
Kill All The White Man

Songs: Poor
Performance: Poor

Elvis Costello and the Imposters
Lipstick Vogue
Heart of the City (Nick Lowe cover)
Radio Radio
(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea
Less Than Zero
Bedlam
Watching the Detectives
(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
Clubland
Stella Hurt
Pump It Up
(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding (Brinsley Schwarz cover)

Songs: Good
Performance: Great

Alkaline Trio
This Could Be Love
I Lied My Face Off
Armageddon
Calling All Skeletons
In Vein
Warbrain
She Took Him To The Lake
Clavicle
’97
Emma
Mercy Me
Blue Carolina
Cringe
Nose Over Tail
Radio

Songs: Good
Performance: Average

Gogol Bordello
Ultimate
Sally
Not a Crime
Wonderlust King
Tribal Connection
My Companjera
Trans-Continental Hustle
Immigraniada (We Comin’ Rougher)
Break the Spell
Start Wearing Purple
Alcohol
Think Locally, Fuck Globally

Songs: Average
Performance: Great

Iggy and the Stooges
Raw Power
Search and Destroy
Gimme Danger
Shake Appeal
1970
Fun House
Night Theme
Beyond the Law
I Got a Right
I Wanna Be Your Dog
Open Up and Bleed
Penetration
No Fun
The Passenger
Cock in My Pocket

Songs: Average
Performance: Average

[ACA]

Originally Posted by KidRobot

lol.

Loved this festival, definitely planning on going back next year. If you saw a guy and a girl picking up cigarette butts all weekend that was me and my girlfriend (got a free ticket for next year!)

I was standing next to you for much of Elvis Costello. I saw you pick up a butt and say "money in the bank" and concluded you were either a lunatic or.. a lunatic haha.

How'd you manage to pick up butts for a free ticket?

[KidRobot]

Originally Posted by ACA

I was standing next to you for much of Elvis Costello. I saw you pick up a butt and say "money in the bank" and concluded you were either a lunatic or.. a lunatic haha.

How'd you manage to pick up butts for a free ticket?

Nope, that wasn't me, I was done collecting by Chiodos on day 2.

But at the info tent if you picked up a zip lock bag and returned it with butts, bottle caps and zip ties(da fuk?) they wrote down your email and you got a free ticket for next year. It was a fuck ton of work though and I doubt I'd do it again. The bag was HUGE and it had to be full.

[ACA]

Originally Posted by KidRobot

Nope, that wasn't me, I was done collecting by Chiodos on day 2.

But at the info tent if you picked up a zip lock bag and returned it with butts, bottle caps and zip ties(da fuk?) they wrote down your email and you got a free ticket for next year. It was a fuck ton of work though and I doubt I'd do it again. The bag was HUGE and it had to be full.

That's badass and a great way to inspire people to care about the environment. Good work man.

Chicago is awful with smoking -- and I thought NY / NJ was bad.