By Christopher David<\/p>\n
After some degree of uncertainty and much media drama, Riot Fest 2022 kicked off in Douglas Park on Friday with a solid lineup of bands on the rise, along with about ten thousand more people than usual due to a certain emo band\u2019s return to the stage.<\/p>\n
Manchester\u2019s Pale Waves brought energy and killer hooks to the first set of the day, and their bright sound complemented some of the best weather one could hope for.\u00a0 Vocalist\/guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie\u2019s style called to mind the \u201890s U.K. scene (think of a more punk-pop version of Elastica), and opening tune \u201cLies\u201d from 2022\u2019s Unwanted <\/em>is a summer banger if ever there was one.<\/p>\n Speaking of punk-pop, San Diego\u2019s Sitting On Stacy proclaimed the genre alive and well during one of the best and most jubilant sets of the day.\u00a0 Certain bands just bring rock-star energy, it\u2019s not something you can fake\u2014and the California trio has it in spades.\u00a0 Vocalist\/guitarist Hoyt Yeatman brought headliner vibes to the band\u2019s catalog of ska-tinged pop tunes, and there was even a shoutout to the \u2018dads\u2019 in the crowd as the band played a quick and on-point medley of Black Sabbath and Motorhead tunes.<\/p>\n Who is L.S. Dunes?<\/em> teased a Riot promo last week, and Friday\u2019s set answered the question with a crunchy set of straight-forward rock from five veterans.\u00a0 Comprised of Anthony Green (Circa Survive), Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance), Travis Stever, (Coheed And Cambria), Tim Payne (Thursday) and Tucker Rule (Thursday), Dunes\u2019 raging new single \u201cPermanent Rebellion\u201d was just one of numerous thrashy highlights in a set that could have been higher up the bill, showcasing airtight arrangements and Green\u2019s uniquely androgynous vocal style.\u00a0 But hey – it was their first show, after all, and with an album on the horizon this November, maybe a return set in 2023?<\/p>\n As a rock\u2014and particularly a glam<\/em> rock fan\u2014it can often feel hopeless, as those who can really pull off the classic glam rock sound with the right amount of hooks and swagger are few and far between.\u00a0 That said, count Foxy Shazam among them.\u00a0 Vocalist\/Tazmanian Devil Eric Nally is an absolute dynamo onstage, and his vocals call to mind Freddie Mercury without irony\u2014Nally\u2019s vocal range and delivery fits in perfectly with the band\u2019s stomping, singalong approach to melody.\u00a0 Opener \u201cUnstoppable\u201d and deeper catalog cuts like \u201cBombs Away\u201d and \u201cKillin\u2019 It\u201d sound as fresh as ever.\u00a0 Curiously, the band only dipped into their 2022 album The Heart Behead You<\/em> for one tune, but their fans didn\u2019t seem to mind\u2014Foxy Shazam are one of Riot\u2019s biggest wins in recent years.<\/p>\n Algiers brought a unique, spellbinding set to the Rebel stage (which is having a serious moment this year), and their blend of styles really defies any kind of reasonable categorization – a rock\/post-punk amalgamation of electronic and jazz-tinged sounds led by frontman Franklin James Fisher.\u00a0 While their set would have brought more atmosphere later in the day, it was an exciting break from the norm.\u00a0 El Paso duo Sparta had the tough job of filling a spot that was supposed to have been occupied by the almighty Placebo, but vocalist\/guitarist Jim Ward led the band through an outstanding set of intensely emotional, guitar-heavy rock that called to mind the best bands of the emo era.<\/p>\n But if there was a band that could have been more at home at Riot Fest than Cleveland post-punkers Cloud Nothings, I don\u2019t know who it is, and I don\u2019t even care.\u00a0 Lead vocalist\/guitarist Dylan Baldi\u2019s discography is deep enough at this point to fill two headlining sets, and as such, there wasn\u2019t going to be enough time in their evening set for everything their rabid fanbase wanted to hear, but opener \u201cPattern Walks\u201d was a hell of a start, and the band\u2019s recent releases are a bit more on the lighter side as it is\u2014this set was all about bombast, and if drummer Jaysosn Gerycz isn\u2019t the most criminally underrated drummer out there, their set at Riot had to remedy that at least a bit.\u00a0 One of the single best rock bands currently alive and kicking in the indie rock scene, the Nothings\u2019 set was a triumphant reminder of why Riot continues to be the best party on the planet, year after year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Christopher David After some degree of uncertainty and much media drama, Riot Fest 2022 kicked off in Douglas Park on Friday with a solid lineup of bands on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,41,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-news","category-features","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}