100%. All of those questions were legit softballs with easy responses. Again, not ones that would resolve the issues but would help people to feel heard instead of just dodging. I really hope they do something that puts Mike front and center after this... Not some rando with zero context. At least Mike can talk passionately about the festival and what it brings to the community. From these quotes the guy just didn't want to be there and it showed. I'm really not sure. Twitter has been super quiet since last Thursday (see above posts as to possible rationale as to why). We'll probably see a ramp up in tweets ahead of an announcement so... Definitely not today. And likely not tomorrow. Aftershows tend to be announced mid-August, anyway, so even if they come next week it'll be a little early compared to most years.
Seeing RF do the absolute bare minimum to check that "local engagement meeting" box is really fucking disappointing. They should be embarrassed about sending that condescending dickblast to scoff at their legitimate concerns (not to mention straight up lying about the alderman donation), they should be embarrassed they didn't give people a reasonable opportunity to attend, and they should be really, really, really embarrassed that they did not provide an interpreter so everyone present could understand and make their voices heard. I've looked forward to this every year for over a decade now, but goddamn. At this point I do hope they get booted.
My interview with Riot Fest's Brand Manager went live yesterday, btw! It was a ton of fun, for anyone that wants to check it out! Films for the Void!
Unsurprisingly, that guy is no longer working for Riot Fest. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news...display-ad-interstitial_bx-bonus-story_______
Definitely the right move, although I do think firing the guy is probably the bare minimum. I hope the festival takes the opportunity to have a real meeting (including the actual festival leadership) and commits to working with the community on their concerns.
glad he is gone, but that article is so one sided, its a bummer. the only times they even mention the potential postives (locals who like it, and what riot does do for the community) are just hyper links to other things, while the rest of the article is quote after quote bashing it... calling it 'inhumane' is ridiculous hyperbole, and they definitely dont make millions, and if they do its literally all spent for following years, riot mike aint scrooge mcduck..and it also sucks that riot seems to be taking 100% of the blame (which i understand is due to the noteworthiness of the meeting) with the other 2 fests and the alderman barely mentioned.
What's interesting is how much of the ire is being directed at Riot Fest versus the other two festivals. There was always people who weren't unhappy with it there, and now that there's more festivals in the area they are leveraging the time the parks are closed as a negative (which it is)... But directing it at Riot Fest exclusively? At least that's what it seems like, though I clearly have a bias in terms of what I see. Which seems odd because didn't one of the other festivals have a major incident/issue last year? Maybe I'm remembering wrong... At the end of the day, it feels like the core issues would be better directed at their local reps than any of the festivals. It's not really up to Riot to just say "eh, we're hearing some people in the neighborhood don't like us; we should move." That's not how the world works. I really do think a great way for Riot to nip this in the bud would be to hold a meeting where they literally hand people contact information: "We were told it's okay to be here by these people. We are just people doing a job. Here's what we do to help the community around here. What more can we do? If you want us to leave talk to these people. We don't want to do that. So what can we do better?"
TGUK, JEW, and Ska Dream are all tempting. No way I’ll do all three, might not do any. Really wish Elliot was on that AOF show or playing Chicago at all.
DEFINITELY doing The Maine, might do Alkaline Trio and Jeff Rosenstock too. Jimmy is super tempting but I'm seeing them three times in September already.
seems like they mostly stuck to one general area of the fandom for these, haha, outside action bronson and fear, lot of pop punk/emo-ish stylings. got my eye on ska dream for sure, maybe thursday doing full collapse even though i just went to their aftershow last year... also is this the most bands not on the line up having aftershows?
Do I buy a ticket for AOF or roll the dice and hope they don’t go up against the OTIP 10-year play fffff