Riot Fest 2025 Tour • Page 68

speaking of bands that open a stage on saturday - anyone know who is in Feral tact? i cant find names, and im bad with faces, but i imagine this has to be a side project of someone notable from chicago, because they barely have a footprint, but bands like sludgeworth and the bollweevils comment on their IG posts

edit to add finally found on their band camp that they are comprised of:
"Max- Drums
Mikie- Guitar"
but no last names

 

Found this on a show page:
Feral Tact is a two-piece band that leaves no music genre untouched. Feral Tact began in 2023 with guitarist Mike Ramsey (age 40) and Max McQuaid (age 14). Mike (previous bands such as Spar and The Downfall) was working with Chicago punk band Sludgeworth as a guitar tech. Max is the son of Sludgeworth (and former Screeching Weasel) drummer Brian McQuaid, and Max would play drums on one song at Sludgeworth’s live shows. Max had performed with his father’s band at Cobra Lounge, Riot Fest, and Bottom Lounge. Mike and Max would sneak off into their rehearsal room at Fort Knox Studios during Sludgeworth practices and create what is now Feral Tact.

 

More like, NepoTact, amiright? (Joking. Obviously.)

 

Dehd aftershow at the Empty Bottle 9/20

 

3 Day VIP almost sold out!

 

Doubtful. They said normal 3 day tickets where selling fast and there was supposed to be a price increase that never happened

 

But, but… They just posted it so it must be true lol

 

I meeeean... "Almost" is such a relative term.

 

Turns out no: They weren’t full of it. 3- and 2-day VIP are both sold out.

 

Cmoney being wrong again? I’m stunned

 

Yeah, y'know what? Wishy is really really good. They nail that "slacker 90s alt-rock with quirky production choices" vibe perfectly and that's an itch I always want scratched. Anybody into Dazy or Mannequin Pussy's latest album should love this shit.

I'm getting more and more excited about seeing them live.

 

early saturday of this year reminds me of early friday of 2023 where they have alllll the great smaller female fronted acts all up against each other.
Fri 2023 from 12-2 had: Fea, the aquadolls, calva louise, oliva jean, pinkshift & the bobby lees in various degrees of conflict

sat 2025from 12-2 has: speed of light, wishy, cliff diver, violent vira, girl in a coma

 

My partner has started to map out my meals and other shit outside of the festival for us. A few new spots and usual favorites. She always gets so amped about the vegan spots in this city.

Thursday: Fancy Plants for lunch. A session at the CatCade. Dinner/drinks at Bloom and Three Dots & A Dash.
Friday: Nothing because, and I quote, "you get too stressed out about getting in the festival to scope things out and I don't want to deal with you in that state."
Saturday: Breakfast @ Handle Bar
Sunday: Breakfast @ Chicago Diner
Monday: Elephant & Vine for breakfast. Lincoln Park Zoo. Penelope's for lunch and Planta Queen for dinner.
Tuesday: 11 City Diner for Breakfast.

I am getting more and more stoked on this year as the days pass!

 

Been way too long since I've been to Handle Bar.

 

Went for the first time last year. Great vibes and great food!

 

my first 7-8 year tradition was to always have brunch at Fork one morning for chicken & waffles, but then they closed down, which is always a bummer. my new tradition is breakfast at Cocula, just south of the pink line right when they open. their huevos con chorizo is sooo good.

on a different note, my ability to come to riot this year just went down further. already low becasue i have my first ever trip to europe this summer for my 40th, but then today, my wife and i successfully (and unexpectedly as we were expecting a bloodbath) scored tickets for one of the 6 Dolly shows in vegas in december, so that is also gonna cost us a small fortune, haha

 

Returning to some of these restaurants is about as close to a Riot Fest tradition as I've ever sorted out. Haha. My fiancee being vegan kinda forces us to plan out where we're going to eat, though, and TBH one of the primary reasons she's down to go is spending time in the city itself so it kinda forces me out of that.

If left to my own devices I'd just eat random-ass coffee shop breakfasts every day or a B.S. Dunkin' Donuts sandwich. Hah.

I'd say "that stinks" but the stuff you have planned is really great! Haha. We've got a trip to the UK planned for next week, and it took some doing, but... We were able to make it all work (both with our PTO and from a budget perspective).

Hoping you can too! Just take out a small business loan to pay for those Dolly tickets.

 

If you’re going to 3 dots in River North I’d also hit up Moms Place if you like karaoke and fun vibes. They’ve got great staff there as well! But this looks like a great time to me!

 

A friend of mine pointed out that somebody from the Damned shared a list of shows including one on 9/21 the day after they do Riot.

So lock the Damned in for a Bottom Lounge aftershow!