Going from a 20k soccer stadium to a 3.8k indoor venue is a pretty steep decline. I had no idea that show got downgraded. I feel like this means they might not be top line anymore, despite the fact that Riot gives bands bumps on the lineup. I mean, you see it with other fests, Phoenix used to be top line (or at least very high up) at Lollapalooza and they have drastically declined in popularity and now probably would not crack the top line. Animal Collective used to headline Pitchfork but now has been slotted a few down from headliner due to a decline in popularity. The time I saw them live at Northerly Island (somewhere between 7-8k capacity) it was pretty crowded, so I wonder what caused the decline?
Given the other bands on that line, Coheed would work perfectly where Bauhaus is from a placement and schedule perspective. They're inarguably a more popular band than SDRE and Bad Religion (and certainly play bigger venues more consistently). The other two might have gotten better billing based on legacy (Bad Religion) and it being a reunion (SDRE) if that's how it was booked originally... But all things considered? I don't see Riot shuffling around the poster for a change like that unless it's something demanded by a particular band. A band like them is always going to have ebbs and flows in popularity based on how long it's been since the last tour, whether it's a co-headliner or not, how people are feeling about the new album, etc.
My left field guesses that I haven't seen thrown out there are Social Distortion, who have history with RF and would fit well in the Fear, 7 Seconds, Bad Religion, Misfits vibe, and DETHKLOK, cause they just played in Philly a month ago and I'm currently watching Metalocalypse on Adult Swim.
For example, the Bad Religion/Alkaline Trio show in Chicago last year was sold out weeks in advance, and it was at the same venue of the Coheed/Alkaline show in August that wasnt sold out even with the venue downgrade. Buuut, I also feel there is more fanbase overlap between Bad Religion and AK3 than with Coheed. It was a weird billing.
Y'know, Social D is a great bad guess! Annoyed I didn't think of that already haha. Not a perfect replacement but I dunno, they're a legendary "punk" act, about the same size popularity-wise, etc. Personally, I'd love for it to be them. I think that Bad Religion/Alkaline Trio show was an incredibly strong billing. There's overlap in both band's core fanbases, as well as people who are super into one but are casual fans of the other. So it makes sense that tour would do super well. Bad Religion and Alkaline Trio also don't tour super consistently. Whereas Coheed pretty reliably dos a U.S. tour at least once a year or so? And I feel like the last 3-5 years, they've either been part of strong co-headliners or its been album plays when they've been in larger venues. This tour was pretty lukewarm as far as the openers were concerned. Like, I'm sure there were DGD fans who are Coheed fans but I don't know that that's reciprocated, and I would argue the same for Alkaline Trio (though there's certainly a bit more overlap there). I wonder how that tour would have done, though, had it been with Alkaline Trio from the start. Like, I wonder if the Chicago date (if no others) would have done much better.
The Replacements broke up again a few years ago. Definitely not them. Sorry. Hahah. It was sitting right there... It had to be done. Seriously, though. I really hope we get them today too! I can't wait!
The Coheed/Trio show was in a tough spot because of the date. There were several conflicting shows that day, including Joyce Manor. Bottom Lounge had another show with some crossover. Sub T and Chitown Futbol also had a festival thing going on. For a while it seemed like every show was happening on that same day. Add in Alkaline Trio getting added later and it was going to only be the Coheed fans and then a few ride or die trio fans. People committed to other shows for the most part.
If one of Tenacious D/Pixies/Coheed got added it would be a net positive for me. Never was big into Placebo though I would've watched some of Bauhaus, they seem cool. And if there is a silver lining, I'm choosing to be optimistic that these bands cancelled for non-Covid reasons. Maybe the pandemic will be less of a factor this year. ::knocks on all the wood:: Fingers crossed we get new acts today!
I would guess the new additions are definitely between this afternoon and Thursday (the day, not the band, or both) ... I don't think they are gonna wait until Friday
Ah! That's very important context. The general swath of tours this summer coupled with ticket prices is important too. I'm arguably in the core target demo for that tour (a "geriatric millennial" who was in college when both bands were at that peak but still really loves both Trio and Coheed) and on the day-of I considered buying a ticket. But I decided the prices were too much to justify the touring package, what the set lists were, etc. Especially considering I had just seen Coheed at Riot last year and I saw Trio twice in 2021 and would be seeing them again at Riot with a longer set in a cooler environment. And I definitely can't be the only one who opted out for that reason. I hear you! For me, whoever it is replacing Placebo is less of a concern as it's gonna take somebody pretty impressive for me to skip Jeff Rosenstock and/or Rocket from the Crypt. But with Bauhaus, there's not much going on. So whoever it is, it'll probably be a positive thing for me. Pixies would be a massive upgrade for me!
I don't know if they have the time to pull something that would really be out of left field (depending on what you consider left field)
Carly Rae Jepsen, Limp Bizkit, Smash Mouth, or, as a surprise, The Pop Punk Band That's Breaking Up's Final U.S. Show
I know they said they are only playing 3 shows this year, but The Dresden Dolls would be an interesting choice as a replacement.
Did anyone else see this insanity on the subreddit? What in the world? https://www.reddit.com/r/RiotFest/comments/x6dh18/ukraine/
What in the actual fuck? This has all the markings of someone whose personal plans changed so they're looking for an excuse to dump on the festival and feel better about not being able to attend. OP seems to think it's going to be 20 minutes of Riot Mike just going "Fuck Russia! And Putin!" Rather than what it will probably be... Which is a message about peace and about how much war sucks. And maybe a moment of silence at some point. I also love the whole "Gonna go to Fest instead" as if that festival and bands they book aren't more outwardly political with their stances. LO fucking L.
People are eating him alive lol. People keep saying it's more complicated than it seems but just from seeing who Putin aligns himself with pretty much tells me everything I need to know.
What a fucking baby lmao. It's not like the entire festival is shutting down, just go get some Island Noodles or take a nap or something.
Didn’t expect someone making a fuss about it, but also not surprised. To be honest, when I first saw that post, I thought the user was a Russian bot/shill.