Festival Recap: Riot Fest Day 2

AWOLNATION

Walking to the Riot Fest grounds on the final day, I immediately noticed how many people were there early. Henry Clay People were playing to the welcoming crowd on the largest of the four stages, but the majority of the crowd was already gathered waiting for Imagine Dragons set.

Imaginedragons

Coming onto the stage a few minutes behind schedule, lead singer Dan Reynolds apologized to the crowd for the slight delay. He also asked the crowd to bare with him and his cold, and the fact they were going to soundcheck as they played since they didn’t have a chance to beforehand. If Reynolds hadn’t mentioned he had a cold, there would be no way anyone would have guessed. If this is how he performed under the weather, I can’t even imagine him at full speed. Giving the crowd all of his energy and feeding off their excitement, this band hands down put on the tightest set of the fest for me. Getting to hear both “Radioactive” and “It’s Time” live only helped to solidify my thoughts on this band when I reviewed their album Night Visions. Reynolds also commented on how amazing the crowd’s energy was for a set an early set. This was an amazing performance to start off the day.

After Imagine Dragons, I had the chance to explore the grounds and take in the sights and people. There were young teenagers who screamed and hollered every time one of the more established bands would comment on having played the Fireside years ago, strange considered they weren’t old enough to remember it. At the other end of the crowd, you had the late-middle aged fans who were finally getting a chance to see all the bands they loved in high school and college play together. I couldn’t help but chuckle as I made my way through the NOFX crowd as I saw mohawk after mohawk followed by a surprising amount of small children all the way to one of the smaller stages to catch AWOLNATION’s set.

AWOLNATION3

The stage itself tucked in one of the corners of the grounds drew a sizeable crowd that anxiously awaited AWOLNATION to take the stage. They played both “It’s Not Your Fault” and “Sail”, two of their more recognizable songs, to the crowds delight. However, it was their overall feel of their whole set that impressed me the most. Their sound was heavier and more intense than I had expected, but it was a very welcome surprise and the crowd seemed to enjoy it as well. Lead singer Aaron Bruno and the rest of the band had huge smiles on their faces throughout the whole set which really showed their enjoyment in playing to this crowd. Their energy was contagious and the crowd just fed off of it.

Photos (c) Daniela Montelongo