Riot Fest – Day 2
After a markedly warm day 1 of Riot Fest that featured a heavy dose of oddball bands and general weirdness, day 2 proved to be the perfect antidote. Not only was the weather slightly cooler (though still quite balmy), with occasional rain showers (that felt more refreshing than pesky most of the time), but the bands on tap Saturday had a decidedly more visceral feel on the whole. As an added bonus, practically all those bands happened to OGs from their respective scenes, which only accentuated the appreciation and enjoyment as each one ripped through their own distinctive sets. Here’s a recap of all the action from a killer Day 2 of Riot Fest:
Agent Orange
“It’s not quite dark yet, but it’s dark enough for ‘Living in Darkness””. Those words uttered from the Rebel Stage by lead singer/guitarist Mike Palm of the legendary punk band Agent Orange were true on multiple fronts. Indeed, not only was the sky overcast, but the band was performing their classic debut album Living in Darkness in its entirety to an impressively large crowd that gathered to take in their early-afternoon set. Granted, there were a couple of other bands playing around Douglas Park as well (some of which were on larger stages), but judging from the size of the crowd taking in Agent Orange’s performance, it seemed apparent they were the primary draw of the hour. And with good reason, of course, considering their pioneering role in establishing the surf and skate punk genre in SoCal back in the early 80s. And although it’s been more than four decades now since they first burst onto the scene, they still managed to deliver a delightfully frenetic performance that showed zero indications they’d lost a step. Pretty rad way to kick off day 2 of Riot Fest, with the OGs of OC surf-punk. Respect.
Helmet
Speaking of OGs, across Douglas Park at the Radical Stage, another (somewhat unheralded) band that was highly influential to its respective genre was gearing up to deliver a killer set of their own. Talking about alt-metal veterans Helmet of course, who were performing their 1994 album Betty in its entirety. While it’s debatable if Betty is the best album in the band’s catalog (1992’s Meantime would get this writer’s vote), it certainly was their most popular, considering it arrived around the peak of the 90s alt-rock boom. It also happens to pack one hell of a punch in a live setting, as the thick, down-tuned, heavily groovy riffs of opener “Wilma’s Rainbow” emphatically demonstrated. The rightfully stoked crowd responded by opening up a jovially bruising pit that stayed consistently active as the band plowed their way through Betty in earnest. But the main highlights for yours truly came towards the end of their set, as Helmet treated the crowd to a few classics from Meantime, including the 1-2-3 punch of “Give It”, “Unsung”, and “In the Meantime” to close out what was overall a rock-solid set from one of the OGs of alternative-metal.
Gwar
At an event with a lineup as stacked as Riot Fest, scheduling conflicts are bound to occasionally occur. Such was the case for this reviewer, as theatrical gore-metal titans Gwar started their performance across Douglas Park at the Rebel stage while Helmet were doing their thing at the Radicals Stage. By the time yours truly made it over to Gwar, they were heading into the home stretch of their characteristically messy and occasionally offensive setlist. The “carnage” they had wrought was evident by the plethora of (fake) blood soaked fans near the front of the stage, but they had still saved a few antics for those late arriving Helmet fans like myself, which included an epic onstage battle with a giant dinosaur, in which one of the band members “lost an arm”, resulting in more projectile fake-blood splattering onto the delighted crowd. But perhaps most noteworthy, they brought out “John Stamos” (i.e. a guy with a cheap cut-out Stamos mask) on stage and apparently “murdered” him live in front of the entire audience. As someone who was holding out hope that Mr. Stamos might actually show up this year, suffice to say this was not the outcome this writer, and presumably the majority of fans in attendance, were hoping for…
The Beach Boys
All kidding aside, Gwar’s faux slaying of the legendary and highly coveted famous actor/musician got this reviewer thinking: would the real John Stamos actually show up in person this year? With The Beach Boys gearing up to hit the Roots stage for their early evening set, and considering his history with the band, one couldn’t help but wonder if this could finally be the year that all of Riot Fest’s playfully obsessive trolling might finally bear some (Stamos) fruit. Suffice to say the anticipation in the air was more than palpable as the legendary Beach Boys took to the stage promptly for their 6:20 set.
And then: it happened.
Like a mythological Greek god riding in on a bolt of glorious lightning, out trotted the dashing 80s sitcom star, strapped with his guitar in hand, as he and the supporting cast of Beach Boys (fronted by 84-year-old Mike Love) kicked off what could only be described as a magically surreal set with “Do It Again”. Indeed, Stamos himself has described The Beach Boys as “heart music”, and that was an apt description for the joyful harmonies and melodies that he and The Boys rained down on the gleeful masses during their often-endearing set. And the man of the hour, Mr. Stamos, was in fine form throughout their performance, seamlessly alternating between singing, guitar, and drumming duties with his trademark cool Hollywood swagger that was truly impressive to behold.
Overall, for all the absurd and hilarious hype around getting John Stamos to Riot Fest over the years, just having him show up and wave to the crowd would have been miraculous just in and of itself. But having him show up and turn in the rousing performance he did with The Beach Boys was, well, in a word: magical. Cheers to Riot Fest for their hilarious persistence, and of course to Stamos for being a good sport and finally showing up this year! Here’s hoping there will be more Stamos appearances at Riot Fest in the years to come.
Jack White
There are very few people who could possibly follow the epicness of John Stamos finally appearing at Riot Fest, but if there was one man who was up to the task, it would be the one and only Mr. Jack White. Obviously, this is a dude who needs no introduction, having long cemented his legacy as one of the most singular musicians of the 21st century by way of his legendary OG band The White Stripes. But his solo output has often been equally impressive, particularly on his most recent album, the positively shit-hot No Name. Since that album dropped last year, Mr. White has been on an absolute tear, delivering absolutely smoldering performances to scores of delighted fans around the world.
And on Saturday night, the scores of fans in attendance at Riot Fest were the next fortunate victims of his raw and visceral sonic badassery, as he turned in a simmering set chock full of down and dirty blues riffs, searing solos, and enough swagger to make John Stamos himself blush. While it’s possible there may be better guitarists out there from a technicality perspective, you would be very hard-pressed to find a guitar player who plays with as much raw soul and passion as Jack White, as the man routinely generates sounds from his instrument that feel like a mini-sonic exorcism at times. It takes a special type of musician to do that, to be able to conjure up that type of inexplicable rock and roll magic, and Mr. White consistently delivered the goods on that front in emphatic fashion Saturday night.
Suffice to say highlights were aplenty, but performances of “Black Math” (which felt almost sinisterly heavy live), and the searing (not to mention topical/timely) “Icky Thump” particularly stood out. And although “Seven Nation Army” has been played to death over the past couple of decades, there is something truly special about experiencing that jam in a live setting. The song has only grown in stature as the years have gone on, haven taken on a life of its own at sporting events around the world for example, and that chanting was in full effect as Jack delivered a rousing performance of the song to close out his set. It was a fittingly epic way to end what was a hands-down epic performance. Respect!
The Damned
After witnessing alt-metal OGs, gore-metal OGs, surf-rock OGs, famous 80s sitcom OGs, and the OG of Y2K indie/garage-rock, it was time to see one of the OGs of, well, punk rock itself. Talking about The Damned of course, whose seminal album Damned Damned Damned was the first full-length album released by a UK punk group way back in 1977. And although this writer was mildly exhausted by all the killer sets from highly influential originators on display throughout Douglas Park Saturday, I was damned (pardon the pun) sure not going to pass up an opportunity to witness a set from the legends of UK punk. Granted,
The Damned have been around for a while, and are probably equally synonymous with the UK goth scene as much as their earlier punky days, but whatever the case, legends are legends, and the opportunity to witness them close out the Rebel stage Saturday night was simply too good to pass up. And as expected, they delivered the goods. Iconic lead singer David Vanian was in particularly fine form, taking the stage in his trademark long black coat and gloves to match, along with his patented pizzazz as he and the band delivered an energetic set of classics. “Love Song” kicked off their performance in rousing fashion, before the band indulged in some of their more gothy 80s material, which encompassed the middle portion of their set. But the latter third of their performance was arguably the best, as Vanian dedicated “Fan Club” to their original guitarist Brian James, who passed away earlier this year. “Neat Neat Neat” and “New Rose” were probably the most fun live, although their closer “Smash It Up” might have been the overall highlight, putting the proverbial exclamation mark on what was a decidedly killer performance. All in all, a fitting way to end a day chock full of legendary visceral originators from highly acclaimed scenes.
