Chicago – M.U.D. That’s what day two of Riot Fest was all about. Lots and lots and lots ‘o mud! Another morning of pouring rain left Douglas Park even squishier and dirtier than before. Everywhere you turned people could be seen slipping and sliding from stage to stage, to see and hear a myriad of great new bands. Plenty of die hard fans showed up for Billy Idol, Rancid, and Iggy Pop, but between the seasoned veterans were plenty of sets by new bands. Here are a few that stood out to us:

FIDLAR

Oh, the crazy guys of FIDLAR! It’s never a dull day when these four are in town. And as Elvis promised in our interview, the foursome brought a surprise, but it wasn’t The Orwells, as many anticipated. It was Mr. R. Kelly. Make that R. Kelly One and R. Kelly Two. The guys came out on stage to R. Kelly’s “Ignition,” greeted by two mannequins dressed as the Chicago R&B star. Brandon Schwartzel put his arm around one, smiled, and glared at the crowd. Fans went nuts! So did FIDLAR, in response. The guys thrashed and jumped around stage, playing a mix of old songs, like “No Waves,” and new stuff, from Too. Despite having just released their sophomore album, fans seemed to know all the new material word for word. Kids sang along to “Leave Me Alone” and surfed the crowd. When Zac had a guitar malfunction, the band played on while he jumped off the Riot Stage and surfed the crowd, and as rumor has it, getting a smack in the eye by security, in the process. (He was spied rubbing sharpie on his face, so not sure how much truth there is to that black eye talk.) Soon enough, his guitar was back. He joked it wouldn’t be a FIDLAR show without something going wrong, but the rest of the set was smooth sailing. Fan after fan sailed the sea of hands up front. Further back fists pumped to the beat of Max Kuehn’s drums. Before leaving Riot Fest with one of the best sets of the day, Schwartzel said, “I’d like to thank Chicago’s own R. Kelly for joining us onstage, and the Allegra hotel for this robe I stole!” He then began strumming the chords to “Cocaine,” while jumping up and down in his “new” leopard print robe.

Meat Wave

Later in the afternoon, Chicago’s very own Meat Wave shook things up at the Revolt Stage. The local legends packed the sunny, bee filled green with plenty of friends and fans, including Devin McKnight of Speedy Ortiz, who headlined the very same stage the night before. Frontman Chris Sutter spotted plenty of friends, including a loud and excited man up front, named Nick, who he introduced to the crowd. The guys got on with it, and as promised, played new songs off their soon to be released sophomore album Delusion Moon, including the title track and “Sinkhole,” which Sutter told us is based on the true story of a boy in Indiana who found himself caught in a sand dune. (Stay tuned for the interview!) With each song, the mosh pit grew wilder and wilder. Here and there a crowd surfer braved the storm, but there was no braving rumpus that erupted when Meat Wave broke into “Brother.” The fan favorite was a perfect end to their set.

Chef’Special

Okay yes, Dutch rockers Chef’Special performed on day one of Riot Fest, but we made the epic mistake of not including these guys yesterday. To make up for our gaffe, we’re including them now because Chef’Special had one of the funnest sets on Friday, over at at the Revolt Stage. This five-piece – made up of singer Joshua Nolet, guitarist Guido Joseph, bassist Jan Derks, keyboardist Wouter Heeren, and drummer Wouter Jerry Prudon – mix rock, reggae and ska, blues, jazz, hip hop, and EDM to make catchy songs like “Peculiar” and “Shot In The Dark.” Frontman Nolet walked all over the speakers, through the pit, and along the barricade, making for a real connection with fans. During “Biggest Monkey,” fans propped him up when he leaned over the barricade. High above fans’ heads, he screamed, “You’re all big monkeys today, give it up for yourselves!” Later he jumped into the crowd and formed a dance circle. Everyone up front got low, bouncing around. Girls pulled out their phones to catch the action. Smiles and laughter spread and more and more people began to shake their booties. ​​​​​​After catching the attention of Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots, Fueled By Ramen signed Chef’Special, so expect to see and hear plenty more of Chef’Special in the near future. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if we see Chef’Special join Twenty One Pilots on tour this fall!

There’s one more day of Riot Fest. Stay tuned for our #SundayFunday coverage!

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Sarah Hess

At the age of six, Sarah Hess discovered True Blue by Madonna. This resulted in her spending hours in front of the bathroom mirror with a hairbrush microphone, belting out "La Isla Bonita" off key. Her love for music only intensified over the years thanks to her parents; her mother exposed Sarah to The Jackson Five and had her hustling to the Bee Gees, while her father would play her albums like 'Pet Sounds' and 'Some Girls' from start to finish, during which he'd lecture on and on about the history of rock & roll. Sarah would eventually stumble upon rap and hip-hop, then punk and alternative, and fall madly in love with Jeff Buckley and film photography.

After attending The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Sarah went on to study education at Dominican University, earning a degree in history. When not teaching, writing, or taking in a show, she is most likely to be found with a camera to her eye or hanging out in a darkroom.


You can follow Sarah Hess on twitter at @Sarahhasanh and view her music photography on her website: smhimaging.com.

Latest posts by Sarah Hess (see all)

• The Wild Feathers Check One Off The Bucket List - July 31, 2017
• RY X Captivates Chicago - October 24, 2016
• Four New Bands at Day Three of Riot Fest - September 20, 2016

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