Riot Fest 2023 Tour • Page 31

I got a bloody eye because some dude body slammed me to the ground and my head hit the pavement right on. I honestly don't know how I'm not dead.

This was bamboozle 07? 08? I forget

My chem the only pit I ever got legit injured.

 

I've never timed it but that walk to the pink line is definitely long. I think it's at the very least 10 minutes but probably closer to 15ish. Regardless, compared to Pitchfork where you exit and you are right at the green line stop or Lollapalooza where you exit and you are really close to the red/blue/green/brown/pink/purple lines, there really should be an open exit closer to the pink line stop.

Also I think the reality is that most attendees do not live in the area and moving it north will better benefit pretty much everyone. There will be more transit options (not just one line) and it will not be as much of a clusterfuck getting home. Sure, Pitchfork is similar with the one transit stop but it's a smaller crowd, and Lollapalooza can be chaos if you stay for all of the headliner, but everyone is kinda going in all different directions so it's not ridiculously terrible. Riot is large crowds + one transit stop that does not come super frequently which = a mess.

 

Also regarding that StarEvents post...

From the Reddit post on the sub about the post:



Personally I think people worrying about where the festival will be held is uh, kind of a valid thing to worry about. Especially since that will determine where people book hotels/air b&b's and also because of people's view on the situation with the neighbors of the park.

 

I would gladly take a 42 minute walk to get to this imaginary festival location.

 

Is that the alderman that was responsible for them leaving Humboldt? Was there much community pushback aside from him? Also, do we know when exactly his term ends?

 

Yup it was him. I think the pushback was mostly him too.

 

what's the humboldt neighborhood like

 

Park-filled

 

All for Humboldt, fingers crossed.

 

that's all of chicago

 

More gentrified than DP area but not quite as much as, say, Logan Square. Would probably a little bit easier to get to for the majority of the city/visitors. I went to the couple years they had it there before Douglass and it was good, but it was a while back and I hadn't been to many festivals so I don't remember everything and don't have any critiques.
That being said, considering politics make things move at a snails pace, I don't think it would end up back in Humboldt because this guy isn't coming back, at least not this year. Maybe next year?

 

What do we think the odds are that they slightly scale down this year, use that soccer stadium on the far south side, return to Humboldt in 2024, and stay there until the Bears leave Soldier Field and then transition to more of a (punk rock) Sonic Temple type-fest?

 

Considering most people use public transit to get to and from the festival and the public transit to the stadium in Bridgeview sucks ass, I cannot see how that would make festival goers happy or willing to show up. Soldier Field just made a Facebook post about booking there for festivals or other events: https://www.facebook.com/3693315369...5hazgSkSmU67D5VZN5DpuCUhp98l/?mibextid=cr9u03 and considering Spring Awakening used to be there and made it work, I could see it as a possibility.

Personally I like how the festival is now, mostly. (Not talking about location to be clear) Like I think they definitely need to work on it being more gender balanced but there aren’t any other festivals here where you can see like, Kississippi, Beach Bunny, Ratboys, Alex G, etc. and say, Slipknot on the same lineup.

 

my only critique of the Humboldt years was that layout was so spaced out

 

i don't have a problem with the festival, really. i love it dearly, i just can't square supporting it if it's going to stay in douglass park.

 

The way they had it the last two years at Humboldt was really annoying, mostly because of the sheer size. There was 7 stages of music, only two pairs of which were side-by-side. And one set of stages had carnival rides at the back of it which led to people in the back getting crushed up against those barricades during the bigger acts of the evening.

Part of me wants to believe that if they kept things as they are now (5 stages) it would be a whole lot easier. I think they've learned a lot over the last few years about what does or does not work for the festival in terms of spacing...

My ideal would be the two main stages where they were previously with a pair of stages where the "Rock" stage used to be. And then a pair of smaller/side stages off somewhere else (which would add more bands on the smaller end of the poster and make more room for some bands that will mostly want to play later in the day but maybe might not be justified a slot later than, like, 1pm on the main stage).

 

I think they're heading in the right direction, diversity-wise. Though I hope they continue to do it while staying true to themselves from a genre perspective.

What they did last year was kinda cool by booking a bunch of weirder, harder-edged "pop" acts. So much of that wasn't for me but in watching it I felt like I fully "got" what they were going for and appreciated it. It made sense given the Riot aesthetic.

So that's cool. But at the same time, I feel like they really don't give much of a chance for smaller, younger bands from the punk, ska, and/or hardcore scenes. Which would be my ideal. Like, having No Trigger on the bill last year was really cool. I love them. But they're a band who has been around since like, 2005. That entire band is in their 40s. I was stoked they were playing... But I dunno. That slot could have gone to somebody younger hardcore/pop-punk band with more diversity in their line-up. I bet there would have been just as many people at the stage at that time if it were a band people didn't know.

I'd honestly rather they focus on newer bands at the bottom of the poster than forcing mellow indie-rock toward the middle of the poster that doesn't fit the aesthetic. But that's more me just wanting to see the genres of music I love grow. Part of it is the fault of the fans of that music, though, TBH. Most of them are pretty close-minded unfortunately. Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk. LOL

 

On that note regarding younger ska…if only Riot could have gotten that Catbite/We Are The Union/Kill Lincoln tour

 

Speaking to my above point: That would be cool. I love those bands. But they aren't really new or young. Having them on would be really awesome! Even cooler, though, would be pulling in some of the other bands associated with them who don't get the shine from BrooklynVegan and might be on the younger side (at least in terms of how long they've been a band). Eichlers, Tape Girl, Best of the Worst, Dissidente, Joystick!, Bite Me Bambi, Half Past Two, and Grey Matter all come to mind.

And like, having Madball at Riot last year was "cool" for some people I'm sure. But they could have just as easily booked another, younger hardcore band at the draw would have been the exact same.

I just wish festivals would take more chances on younger bands. I don't know that they realize it but they truly run the risk of like, choking out genres they claim to love instead of giving them an opportunity to grow on a larger stage.

 

yep, agreed. the last year in particular I remember having to leave something like 20 min early just to get to the stage La Dispute played on which seemed INSANELY far.

 

The muddied paths didn't help. Haha. But yeah, I definitely had to skip a bunch of sets I might have otherwise been able to check out simply because of the distance.

I do think, if they kept it to a smaller number of stages, that this could be alleviated. Having Riot/Roots where they used to have them and pairing another stage where the Rock Stage was at... And then having a second pair of side/smaller stages elsewhere in the park (maybe off where the other pair of stages used to be; like where Weezer/Primus played) would work nicely.

Honestly, the distance would still be farther than we have it now. But not by much. And spacing it out that way would allow the walk to be much quicker than it used to be... Because things would be (theoretically) less digested.

 

Yeah I think MCS and La Dispute overlapped and it literally did take 20 mins lol

 

Would love to see dissidente on riot.

 

Knapsack seems to be teasing a return. Seems like a good get for Riot