I would say QOTSA could be a Riot headliner. Or a co-headliner. Depends on who else they booked. Context means a lot with a band of their size, though. Like... Obviously, at an active rock-leaning festival, an artist like Slipknot or Avenged Sevenfold is going to be billed over them. And at a pop-leaning festival, they are going to get second shrift to Paramore. But at Riot, I could see them get the headline slot again. I don't think their popularity has dipped at all. I could also see them as a co-headliner with somebody like, say, Paramore or the Postal Service. Though they would also be a sub to Nine Inch Nails, Green Day, etc. Basically, they could headline if Riot doesn't have anybody better to do so. But I could see them as direct support to somebody else too.
I’d assume they would close or else they wouldn’t necessarily want to play. They don’t move the needle for me at all but that’s just my opinion.
My opinion is you’re not missing anything. But if you’re interested, go for it. I won’t dissuade someone from trying out a new band.
Songs for the Deaf and their bigger singles are definitely worth checking out. They're a pretty good time I also personally really love their last album
Start with the singles and dig deeper from there. I'm a big fan but can also acknowledge that they're not really for everybody. Though I'd also be surprised if you weren't able to find at least a few songs to add to your regular rotation. They have some really great riffs and impressive vocal melodies. Basically, if you're a fan of riff-heavy hard rock with a tight groove and slower, quieter moments influenced by David Bowie and weed? You'll probably find something to enjoy. A fun thing to do with any QOTSA song, though, is to just skip to the chorus, close your eyes, and imagine some guy walking with a briefcase in a trailer for some spy movie. Inexplicably, every QOTSA song evokes that imagery for me. Was just coming in here to post this! I was half-expecting to see Tightwire be the "token Red Scare act on Rebel" for the year given that they're a younger pop-punk band with a new album coming out but... TBH, I don't think this precludes them (as they'd be on like, the second to last line on the poster LOL) but definitely makes them less likely. Wonder if they'll wind up having the Bollweevils again... And since I'm rambling about Chicago/midwestern pop-punk? Showoff just announced they are writing a record and booking shows. Could see them landing on Riot finally.
ACL is announcing their line up Tuesday, Assuming ours won't be announced that day, but it might give us some indication of some more possibilities.
At a glance... In 2019 there was the Raconteurs and Cherry Glazer. 2018 had Father John Misty. 2021 had Machine Gun Kelly and KennyHoopla. So not a lot of crossover but they've pretty consistently had at least one sub-headliner crossover act. And each year tends to have some smaller acts that could potentially crossover too (though, worth noting that they usually don't as far as I can tell).
That's a bummer :/ Still holding out hope that Against Me! wakes up from their collective nap to return this year. They were fantastic in 2017 2019. I hope so. That was a super fun set when they played a few years ago. EDIT: Messed up the year AM! played.
I also really hope Against Me! comes back soon, but if they don't, I at least take solace in the fact that my last time seeing them was ripping through four albums over two sets at Riot Fest 2019
At some point on this site we need to have an honest reevaluation of where we draw the line between “disgusting but maybe redeemable” and “personal non grata”. Because while a lot of us have pretty strong and unified opinions about bands like Sorority Noise and Brand New, I don’t see that same energy when it comes to artists like Aerosmith. I’ve been seeing a lot of Aerosmith chatter on different threads recently- ranging from positive to neural “business as usual” undertones. To me it feels like there’s more at play than just the known facts and evidence when it comes to accountability in our circles. Because I can’t imagine a headline like this coming out about someone like Jesse Lacey and then another positive word ever being spoken about him on this site again. I love this community and this forum. Not trying to call out anyone in particular- it just is wild to me how inconsistent our tolerance for this stuff has gotten.
It's still really weird to me that I went to a radio festival in 2001 that had Aerosmith on the bill. I still think about how wild the main stage line-up was to this day. From closer to opener: Marilyn Manson, Aerosmith, Black Crowes, Live, Green Day, the Cult, System of a Down, Everlast, Sevendust, Lifehouse, Dropkick Murphys, Coldplay, and American Hi-Fi. The second stage had Stabbing Westward, Tantric, Eve 6, New Found Glory, the Sheila Divine, and Cave-In. Looking back on it, I think that radio station's curation (or lack thereof) may be why I'm so fascinated with the Riot Fest line-up. Hah.
I think it’s even weirder that Marilyn Manson headlined over Aerosmith… Then again, he was massive at that time. Also, I’m assuming this was in Boston? Aerosmith’s hometown?…
I mean, yeah, it was in Massachusetts... Which is why Cave-In was on the bill. Hah! I think it was probably just a weird scheduling thing. The year before that, Cypress Hill played after Stone Temple Pilots because of STP's travel schedule. So it could have just been them not wanting to close out or something. Either way. It was a wild day of music. I remember being bored out of my mind at Aerosmith because they wasted 10 minutes of their 40 minute set jamming on guitars with the Black Crowes. It's not my thing now and it definitely wasn't my thing in 2001. LOL (And yeah, Steven Tyler is super problematic. So fuck 'em, anyway.)
Yeah, James and Andrew are busy with families and Atom is doing Lektron. That band needed a break though. It will return at some point and be cool.
Oh, so Lektron is just The Sekrets but Matt’s sober? I was at that Metro show. Holy fucking shit it was awful.
I was autocorrected and meant to say Atom. I can’t speak to what material Skiba is bringing to Lektron, but I don’t really see Hunter and Atom doing a project where they are effectively the Sekrets.