I’m always good with seeing a lot of those bands. But unless some of them are playing album plays or something else to make the set different than the other times they have played. I know that some people don’t like album plays, but I’m a sucker for them. Especially for bands that I’ve already seen a lot of times.
I saw that comment too and the math is wrong. I saw roughly 40 repeats out of 102….which clearly isn’t 70%. And that was my final visit to Reddit. Regardless, approx. 40% is still a pretty high percentage.
One thing I’m wondering is who is playing the Tool stage? Angine de Poitrine and Frankie & the Witch Fingers make sense. But I’m wondering if some stages won’t be similarly themed like the last couple of years.
Genuine question: Which bands specifically were you all hoping for that would have prevented you from being disappointed? I'm kind of curious if all the forum users are on similar wave lengths
for either 2nd to last on same stage or closing out Nextdoor I could see either iggy or pixies getting that assignment
I’m guessing Chat Pile. I could also see Thrice being on their stage too, but I imagine they’ll get slotted on whichever stage PTV is playing
Oh no no, my ire at bad math was not directed at you. It’s just a shame to see an untrue claim like that and then people think it’s true.
That band is a blind spot for me and are now on my list of bands to check out. They seem like a great fit for the Tool stage.
Can’t speak for anyone else but aside from who I have mentioned previously (Hayley Williams, Courtney Barnett, The Strokes)…acts like Amyl and the Sniffers, Fontaines D.C., Ratboys, Wednesday, Joyce Manor, Snail Mail, Gladie (just to name a few who are touring new albums) vs. like…Morrissey, Alk3, TBS, Pennywise, etc. again and yes, some of these acts already have Chicago shows on the books but I am speaking generally as in “if these acts who are currently touring new albums and did not have any Chicago dates were on the poster it would be more interesting.” Also I know there’s more logistically that goes into this like tour routing and bands actually touring around Riot Fest’s dates…I just find it a little hard to believe they have to resort to repeat acts who take up higher spots on the lineup in such close years or back to back years consistently
I just remembered… Wasn’t Face To Face considered a lock? I could’ve sworn they had hinted they’d be on Riot, unless I’m thinking of a different band?
Definitely not a lock. They just said they were doing a live album play in a few cities (including Chicago) with all dates TBA. Obviously that spurred speculation but it wasn’t like the other dates were in September or anything.
It doesn't bother me so much that they double up on booking like Alkaline Trio, Bad Religion, or Descendents again. Because at least they tend to switch up the set lists a reasonable amount between tours. Other artists like Gogol put on such a killer live show that it doesn't bother me either... Because it just works. But Pennywise, Taking Back Sunday, and a few others just do the same shit every fucking time. But people still want to see it. So I can't really fault them. Just makes me care a whole lot less about them being on the bill. I've had issues with the "booking" of so many of the older punk acts for a while now. I like most of them. I still like seeing most of them. But I really just want festivals to give some of the younger artists a fucking chance... I love Good Riddance. But that slot could easily have gone to, say, Destiny Bond or Gouge Away (and I would be just as excited). Guttermouth is a problematic band for anti-vax loser edgelords. Murphy's Law is opening a stage anyway; I assure you it would have been a better business move to book a young, hungry, excited hardcore band like Start Today or Spaced. Not these bands exactly necessarily but you get the idea. The more I sit with the line-up, the more I like it. But I'm still left feeling like it's just not doing any of the genres they purport to support any favors by not big-upping the next generation. If you slot them in a set time later than they maybe deserve that's how you wind up with bands like Mom Jeans and Pup being as high up as they are. But they need to be given the chance first. This rant is a bit all over the place. But man... I just never fucking want to turn into one of those dorks with a mohawk in his 50s and a denim jacket talking about how excited they are for the day and then proceeds to list 3-5 punk bands in the middle of the poster and nobody else. That's when I know it's time to just sit the fuck at home.
I wouldn’t say it’s only booking old punk bands that’s an issue. It’s that they’re the same old punk bands as well. There’s a shit ton of old punk bands that haven’t played at all or in a long time. I’d like to see some of them play the fest. They could also pause on the constant 2000s repeats like Bayside & TBS for newer artists too. Too many acts old and new exist that fit Riot Fest to have such a high amount of repeats. It’s also my 11th Riot Fest, so Descendents, Pennywise & Bad Religion aren’t even on my radar this year since I’ve seen them so many times. Fortunately a lot of first time acts for me this year.
On a typical Riot timeline does the schedule come out before aftershows? Trying to figure out as much as I can in advance
What they said! But also: The dailies usually come out before the aftershows. So you should be able to get a sense of what the schedule might look like based on that. Obviously much less helpful if you're interested in the headliners, but better than nothing...
I stopped doing full weekends around 2018/2019 as I felt the same way. I could usually find a single day or two that were more my speed and not burn myself out seeing the same band every year or two. But since around Covid, there have been years where I couldn't even justify the single day so I just didn't go. Usually an aftershow or two. Waiting to see the daily lineups before making that call this year, too. I can see some of these bands only so many times, especially when they don't often change it up.
It's come up a few times what some of us would have liked to see on the lineup... That Mastodon, Deafheaven tour would have been massive.
The Bel-Air Lip Bombs announced a Chicago show just a few days after Riot and they would have been awesome on the lineup. My favorite indie rock/punk discovery of last year! The album they dropped last year is amazing.