My day was pretty good. Drain was really cool to see from the side. The energy was wild and the ending was hilarious. Bowling For Soup were tons of fun. I always forget how funny they are. Rival Schools was a bucket list band for me. They were so good. I split Enter Shikari's set with Spitalfield. It was so weird seeing Enter Shikari like this, without their usual stage. It took a bit out of the show for me. They were still great. Spitalfield were wonderful as always. I saw Thomas Ian Nicholas rocking on the stage. I went to relax by the rebel stage before Sleep Token and caught Eshu Tune. I don't listen to that stuff much but it was really fun and by the end I found myself dancing along. Sleep Token sounded amazing, the crows was INSANE for them. They started late but still did their whole set. Getting out of there afterwards was a nightmare. Tomorrow is the last day, which I am thankful for. I don't know how much of this my body can take. And of course, it was cool meeting Troy.
I biked home 10 miles because the bus I was waiting for never showed up. It ended up being super fun, but damn Divvy is expensive. It was more than the uber I took to the fest this morning.
I'm wondering if Finch is doing an unofficial WIITB album play tomorrow. They haven't really done anything else since they cane back.
Today was fun! Pool Kids was great, a crowdsurfer broke ny glasses during Enter Shikari and Postal Service got me crying from the start. Postal, along with Drain and 100 gecs were my favorite sets of the day. Also I met Franz from Turnstile and Stefan from PUP. Shoutout to @KindaFatMike, it was great meeting him! (I write this as Im standing next to him at Thursday's aftershow)
Had great days so far! Day 1: Aquadolls -> Origami Angel -> Yard Act -> Interrupters -> Screaming Females -> Breeders -> Sludgeworth. Lot of fun shows. Breeders win show of the day hands down, Last Splash is an excellent album and such a pleasure to hear it all. Kim was in great form. A shame they didn't go all in with "Gigantic" in the encore. All shows were fun, Yard Act were the surprise of the day as I didn't mean to see them (arrived too late for Paraliment and had a terrible spot). Sludgeworth was also really special, small and dedicated crowd who gave up on Foos. Day 2: Pool Kids -> Warpaint -> Bowling For Soup -> Viagra Boys -> Frank Turner -> Death Cab -> QOTSA -> Postal Service. Amazing day too. Pool Kids just might win show of the fest so far! Felt really special, they sounded great and were visibly excited, crowd was super into it, those kids are talented as fuck and just brought it. Also the redhead bass player is... quite something, wow. Warpaint also positive surprise, some angelic songs, had a blast. All the day was great, really. Loved the Ben Gibbard fest, both albums were very special to hear. Crowd was great for PS. However, for Death Cab I think a lot of people expected a bangers-fest and not a weepy emotional album. A major problem for me in Riot Fest IMO is set times being a bit too short all around. Almost every artist had to leave some great stuff out. Let the bands play! And the worst offender is just 60 minutes for QOTSA. They were great, but they easily could have played 30 more minutes of bangers and we would have all been happier. That's why their set wasn't as epic as it should have been. Overall amazing two days. bring on tomorrow!
Flash flood warnings now. Might make things interesting. Already have my jeans on and rolled up. Was thinking of wearing my Chelsea Docs, might opt for my old and beat to fuck old pair instead. It's going to be a sloppy day.
Yesterday my wife insisted I take a poncho, I ended up wearing it for like 3 sets. You can usually get these things for cheap at Walmart and it's a life saver.
Last day at Riot Fest, it's a short one for me. My body is broken but I will give it everything I have left. I'll be wearing a red Chevelle shirt. Some overlaps but nothing too dramatic. @troyplaysbass Are you taking the train again?
Aaron West and Roaring Twenties rain jacket or grey Guster shirt today. This is the schedule I originally planned on but the only sure thing is Thursday. Might bail right after them or maybe catch a little Earth Crisis and B+C. If I’m feeling really good I’ll stay for AFI, but I doubt it. I’m going to try the juvenile detention center parking garage.
Going to be an absolute struggle to get there today but have to make it for B&C and AFI and then whatever happens happens. Green rain jacket black hat and backpack most likely. Prob a single mothers or restorations long sleeve