After what seemed to be a pretty hot day on Friday, Riot Fest attendees were met with an equally sweltering if not more so day two. And with little by way of shade on the Douglass Park grounds, the smell of sunscreen seemed to overpower the more expected weed and cigarette smoke.
The lineup for day two was also surprisingly shifted from day one with substantially fewer hip-hop acts and a second half that was dominated by indie acts you'd expect at Pitchfork rather than Riot Fest. But you'll hear no complaints from me or the massive crowd as the sounds were excellent and completely enthralling throughout the day.
Brutus opened up the day with some ethereal loudness underlined by drummer and lead singer (ALWAYS a winning combo) Stefanie Mannaerts. Princess Goes seemed to be the "if you know, you know" band as half the crowd was either eagerly anticipating or completely surprised by Michael C Hall fronting the group. But for the first half of the day it was clearly The Hives that took the prize for most energetic and down right fun set.
The second half of the day had a lot to live up to and boy did it with some stellar sets. Spoon continued their dominance as one of the most consistent bands going (and also as my favorite band). Supergroup L.S. Dunes raised the energy levels for the later crowd as the lead singer Anthony Green poured every bit of himself into his explosive performance. Waxahatchee stunned right after with her lovely and always enduring alt-country vibes. Pavement served as the AAA Stage's closer, delivering something that the old-school indie rockers and new school Tiktokers could get behind. And of course I had to catch NOFX on one of their last shows...well, last Chicago shows...probably.
