Sep 21

Sep 21 Riot Fest Day 2 Recap: Misfits, Yellowcard, Sunny Day Real Estate Shine in Chicago

Riot Fest 2022 – Day 2
The Original Misfits, Yellowcard, Sunny Day Real Estate, and more
Douglass Park
Chicago, IL
Saturday, September 17th, 2022

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

On a particularly overcast day, fans returned to Douglass Park in Chicago, IL for round two of the highly coveted Riot Fest in Chicago, IL. Today would be a day dominated by solo artists, album playthroughs, and some of the craziest sets that would be seen throughout the weekend. Much like Friday, there was no shortage of excellent music to be found throughout the sprawling festival grounds.

Saturday would bring forth the most album-heavy date of Riot Fest, with bands dedicating their entire set to exclusive full album playthroughs. On the Riot stage, punk icons Fear played The Record in its entirety, while later that evening, The Original Misfits would close out the night with a career-spanning set that included a full performance of their debut Walk Among Us album. Glenn Danzig, Doyle, and Jerry Only ripped through song after song like their lives depended on it, before performing a selection of fan favorites. The Rise stage would find The Menzingers playing On The Impossible Past in its entirety, while The Get Up Kids would perform their iconic Four Minute Mile record from start to finish.

As I mentioned earlier, there were many solo artists dominating the Saturday lineup. To kick off the main stage festivities, Florida’s Poorstacy took the stage for an intense performance that found him melding hip-hop, punk, and heavy metal into one eclectic package. Jxdn, one of the scene’s fastest rising emo-rap and alternative stars, performed to one of the largest crowds of the day. Jxdn is a dynamic performer, and his Riot Fest set proved that he’s not just another social media star that also happens to be a musician; he’s a burgeoning new artist that’s only just getting started. Later in the day, Yungblud took the stage for one of the weekend’s best performances. I’ve waxed poetic about Yungblud; his show at Sacramento’s Ace of Spades has been living rent-free in my mind all year. He’s the scene’s next big rock star; he exudes confidence at any given moment, and you cannot help but be thoroughly entertained as he makes his way through song after song. On the Rise stage, alt-pop artists like Mothica and Charlotte Sands brought forth powerful performances, while acts like Movements and The Story So Far conjured up pop-punk and emo goodness that got crowd surfers barreling over the barricades.

Over on the Radical stage, the spirited Alexisonfire played host to one of the most intense sets of the weekend, delivering every song with a fiery intensity. Mere hours later, The Front Bottoms would inspire massive singalongs and lead the way for the return of emo originators Sunny Day Real Estate to bring people back to the roots of the genre in glorious fashion. Punk was a force to be reckoned with on the Saturday day in particular; over on the Rebel stage alone, Surfbort, War on Women, and Madball delivered the goods with cogency and forcefulness, with the intergalactic GWAR ending the night by doing…what else? Soaking the crowd in “blood” as they tore through a collection of thrash-inspired tracks. The main stage featured performances from the lively 7 Seconds and always-enthralling Bad Religion, before Gogol Bordello brought forth their unique brand of Romani-inspired punk for a fantastic performance to close out the Roots stage. Gogol Bordello are indeed one of the most unique bands in the punk space, and I loved every second of their performance.

While The Original Misfits were tearing up the Riot stage, another massive event was taking place over at the Rise stage, just across the way. For the first time in nearly seven years, the gentlemen in Yellowcard reunited for a career-defining performance. “I know that my mother is here, but what in the actual fuck?!” exclaimed vocalist and guitarist William Ryan Key as the band vamped before heading into the second song of their set list that evening. Key has explained in interviews many times before that the band really did believe that their final show in 2017 would be their last. Time allows for perspectives to change, a reassessing of priorities, and a chance to slow down and relax. Much like Anberlin, Sunny Day Real Estate, and The Academy Is…, I’m glad that Yellowcard decided to not hang it up. They’ve always been a consistently incredible live act, and there’s nothing quite like hearing “Ocean Avenue” in a crowd filled with screaming fans.

As a special treat for those attending the festival this year, the newly reunited Yellowcard pulled out all the stops and played their iconic pop-punk opus, Ocean Avenue, from start to finish. And they played it in order, making the album’s title track the third song on the set list rather than the closing number of the evening. After walking off the stage, the band returned and dove headfirst into some of their biggest and best hits from throughout their career, including “With You Around” and “Lights And Sounds”. “Of course we’re going to play more songs!” exclaimed Key, looking the happiest I’d seen him in years. I can honestly say that after seeing Yellowcard dozens of times throughout their tenure, this was the best show I’ve ever seen them play. Maybe it was the anticipation of seeing them return, maybe it was the fact that they’d had some time off to regroup, but my god were they immaculate. It was the best possible way to end the second day of Riot Fest, and I walked back to the train feeling incredibly grateful that the world once again got to hear and see what this band could do. Welcome back, gentlemen. You’ve been missed.

The Original Misfits Set List
Walk Among Us
20 Eyes
I Turned Into A Martian
All Hell Breaks Looks
Vampira
Nike A Go Go
Mommy, Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight?
Night of the Living Dead
Hatebreeders
Skulls
Violent World
Devil’s Whorehouse
Astro Zombies
Braineaters

Death Eaters
Some KindaHate
Hybrid Moments
Hollywood Babylon
Bullet
Halloween
Earth A.D.
Horror Business
Last Caress

Encore:
Where Eagles Dare
Die, Die My Darling
Come Back
We Are 138

Yellowcard Set List
Ocean Avenue
Way Away
Breathing
Ocean Avenue
Empty Apartment
Life of a Salesman
Only One
Miles Apart
Twentythree
View from Heaven
Inside Out
Believe
One Year, Six Months
Back Home

Encore:
With You Around
Awakening
Light Up The Sky
Lights and Sounds
Ocean Avenue (Reprise of the last chorus)