Riot Fest Chicago 2025 Day 3

           Replica of the Back To The Future DeLorean with a parking ticket - probably for exceeding the time limit on the meter...

      Straight outta Indianapolis, The Zero Boys set consisted of their 1982 release Vicious Circle. Lead vocalist Paul Mahern's hair threatened to take over the stage.

                                           A ride on the Hangover...is that an ironic name...

                  ...or is it a name that evokes a sense of exhilaration and trepidation all at once?

                    The early morning revelers milling about. You cannot see my house from here.

     After a couple of decades apart, Dance Hall Crashers reunited in early 2025. They ripped it up on the Roots stage. Elyse Rogers and Karina Denike still going strong over 35 years since their first gig.

       Hanson. Yes, that Hanson. With John Stamos guesting on MMMBop. Technical difficulties delayed the start of their set, but when they were finally able to take the stage, they did not disappoint. See all those kids in the back of the stage? Those are Isaac, Taylor, and Zac's kids. They collectively have 15 children. Seriously.

   British band Idles gave the people what they want, and had Jack White join them for Never Fight A Man With A Perm.

Green Day closed out the night and the festival with a strong set of hits and a few good new tunes. Pretty sure Green Day is the only band I've seen that has won the Grammy for Best Alternative Album (for Dookie) as well as the Grammy for Best Musical Show Album (for the Original Broadway Cast Recording of the stage musical American Idiot).

Riot Fest Chicago 2025 Day 2

 Saturday was family day at Riot Fest...bring the kids, they'll love the music you love, and thank you for it...eventually

Art has always been a part of Riot Fest, and this year the artists represented were top of the class. These two terrific sculptures by Emanuel Zarate were decidedly bright spots on the midway.

                                 Always cool to get the opportunity to watch an artist at work

     Southern California Surf Punk legends Agent Orange performed their 1981 release Living in Darkness on the Rebel stage. That's original (and only constant) member Mike Palm on guitar.

Nostalgic note: I have a love for Agent Orange that goes beyond the pale - for reasons. First off, they play a lot of instrumental Surf music with a Punk edge, and I am a huge fan of both Surf & Punk. Secondly, they toured up and down the west coast constantly for decades and I've been able to enjoy them in concert for over forty years, from California to Alaska. The flyer on the left is from one of my all-time favorite '80's shows (It didn't hurt that it was on my birthday and they were opening for the fabulous Fleshtones). 

    

  Bouncing Souls album play was 2001's How I Spent My Summer Vacation and they tore it up!

     Bouncing Souls are one of my sentimental favs, a reminder of days and friends gone by.                           

Probably the nostalgic/sentimental favorite of the festival: The Beach Boys w/ John Stamos!

Yes, John Stamos, Uncle Jessie his own bad self. Riot Fest had been engaged in a quirky, funny feud with Stamos since jokingly inviting him to play a reunion show with his (fictional) band Jessie and the Rippers (from the show Full House & Fuller House) back in 2013 - an invite he did not respond too, which led to over a decade of nettling and teasing from Riot Fest folks that became part of the festival's quirky personality. 

 

This year however saw the hatchet buried (with conditions that included a John Stamos look-alike concert, Riot Mike getting a Stamos tattoo, and the creation of a Greek-style pizza named after him, the Stamos Supreme, by a Chicago-area restaurant).

BTW, John Stamos has been an honorary Beach Boy for four decades, playing guitar, singing, and drumming (he is seen in the pic above behind the kit for the song Surfin' USA).

This is the Mike Love edition of the Beach Boys, which includes (other than Stamos) keyboardist Bruce Johnston (a Beach Boy since 1965), Love's son Christian on Rhythm guitar and vocals, bass/vocals by Keith Hubacher, John Wedemeyer on lead guitar/vocals, Brian Eichenberger as musical director and additional guitar/vocals, as well as Randy Leago on flute/sax/percussion, Tom Bonhomme additional keyboards/vocals, and Jon Bolton drums/vocals. 

 

There was no direct memorial to Brian Wilson during the show, but the video that played before they took the stage did feature the band's original line-up, and heck, of the 19 songs they played, 15 were written or co-written by Brian, including two of the greatest songs in Rock 'n' Roll history, Wouldn't It Be Nice and Good Vibrations. 

               Jack White's powerful guitar plowing through the White Stripes classic Ball & Biscuit

  Weezer capped off the day with a set entitled Voyage To The Blue Planet that featured the Blue album

     

Riot Fest Chicago 2025 Day 1

Shonen Knife opened the festival with a great set

                                                   Harrison Gordon impressed

                              Then there was this guy...that makes two Goatwhore fans I know

                                                        Puddles was pathetically funny

                                                 Honey Revenge came on loud and strong

                             Camper Van Beethoven...hadn't seen them in awhile, still got it

                     Sparks (The Mael brothers) played like it was 1983...Ronald is 80, Russell is 76

                                                          The Stamos statue...like butta'

Weird Al band members John "Bermuda" Schwartz (drums), Jim "Kimo" West (Guitar), Payton Velligan (she plays guitar but is covering her eyes (I think), and Scheila Gonzales (sax)

                                                                     The man himself 

                   Blink-182 closed out the day, but my phone battery died so, no pics.

  

 

No Brain Use Day

Got no use for thinking today, got no use for thoughts at all. 

Just want to curl up on the sofa and watch game shows all day, maybe even take in one of those shopping channels for awhile.

Just don't make me brain in any way, for any reason. Have no desire for that sort of activity no way, no how.

2025 Riot Fest Mohawks Best-In-Show

The Mid Afternoon Flower Break

 

Sara & Sarah & Their Husband Dan

  He was packing for his thrice-a-month three day visit to the Northeast region locations when his wife walked in and announced that their son Lenny, the oldest of their four children, had told her just before he left for school that morning that he had been invited to join a traveling theater troupe for the summer.

   He looked up and after a brief pause asked her, "Do you think he's ready to spend three months on the road doing summer stock?"

   She neither shook nor nodded her head, simply replying, "I don't know - He's following his dream just as we've always encouraged him to do - we can't say no now, can we?"

   "I'll think about it when I'm in Pittsburgh, I've got too much on my mind right now. My Uber should be here in a few minutes and I still have to get the stupid app to pull up my confirmed reservation on the phone. I'll only be gone three days Sara, he knows I like to think things through. Can you let him know we'll have an answer for him when I get back?"

   "Okay, but he sounded like it wasn't asking for permission, just telling me as a courtesy."

   "He's still under 18 Sara and will still need our permission. Just tell him it's a matter we have to seriously think about for a few days - he's a smart kid, he'll understand."

   As he finished speaking his phone started vibrating and he saw that his driver had arrived. He zipped up his small case and picked it up from the bed. "I have to jet Hon, I'll text you when I arrive in Pittsburgh."

   "Okay, don't forget this time, you know I worry."

   "Promise I won't, tell the kids we will go out to Baratta's when I get back."

   Dan made his way down the front stairs and out to the waiting car where the driver stood by the open trunk. With one deft move the casually dressed young woman took the case from him and placed it inside and closed the trunk as Dan slid into the back seat. 

   Almost four hours later Dan was standing outside the Landside Terminal with the  carry-on at his feet, patiently waiting for his ride. The flight had been uneventful as usual, and he had spent most of it in casual conversation with the woman in the seat next to him, a widowed grandmother going to see her grandchildren in Canonsburg.  

   He felt relaxed, comfortable, and happy to be where he was. An older model dark burgundy Chevrolet Yukon soon pulled up directly in front of him. The front passenger side window rolled down and from the driver's side a woman called out, "Put your bag in the rear seat, I have groceries in the back." Dan did as instructed and then took the front passenger's seat."

   "Hi Babe, miss me?" the woman behind the wheel stated as she leaned toward him for a kiss. Once the quick kiss was shared Dan replied, "Of course, always do" as he locked the seat belt in place."

   The woman put the SUV in gear and signaled to merge into the left lane marked with a large "Exit" sign. "The kids are excited to see you Dan, especially Gleason - she can't wait to read to you from her new favorite book - she is turning into quite the little scholar."

   Dan smiled as he adjusted the temp for his side of the vehicle. "Just like her mother I imagine - smart as a whip and a joy to be around."

   "Why thank you Mr. Garver, from both of us. Going to be a fun weekend!"

    "Yes it will Sarah, yes it will - and a nice recharge for me before I have to go back to the grind in Des Moines on Monday.

    Stating that reminded Dan he needed to text Sara he had arrived safely in Pittsburgh and he pulled out his phone to do so. Sarah turned her head as he did so and Dan quipped, "Gotta remind Sean to check my front porch on Saturday, expected a delivery from Amazon that didn't make it by this morning and Porch Pirates have become the scourge of Des Moines lately." 

   Sarah nodded her head in agreement, saying, "Yep, a couple of the neighbors have been victimised here, too. The holidays bring 'em out like ants to a picnic."

   The couple continued to share small talk as Sarah drove southeast on the 30, and Dan relished the half-hour of stress-free, uninterrupted conversation, a very welcome respite from the stressful surreptitiousness of their weekday conversations. 

   Two young children ran excitedly out of the front door when Sarah pulled into the driveway. Big beaming smiles greeted their father as Dan stepped out of the vehicle. 

   "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" They both exclaimed as Dan bent down to receive them into his wide-open arms. "Come here you two munchkins!" Dan shouted in reply, grasping them tightly as they filled his arms. 

   The excitement, joy, and energy of that greeting seemed to last the entire three days of his stay. Each morning he and Sarah were awakened by Gleason and Blaine jumping onto their bed and bouncing around the both of them until they got out of bed and allowed the two to lead them downstairs in order to get breakfast going. And each morning he swore to himself he wouldn't trade anything in the world for that experience.

   However, each day he also was reminded of his other obligation by either a text or a voicemail from Sara or one of the four children he shared with her. They all knew by now that he was always dreadfully busy when he was away and learned not to expect immediate responses, if a response at all, yet they all persisted in the odd text message and/or voicemail regardless.

   Over the years he had only received one message that was of a serious enough urgency that he had to reply with haste, but as luck would have it he was out of the house at the hardware store when he had to return that message with an actual phone call, and it required not much more than twenty minutes of his time to resolve the small crisis.

   The morning of the last day went just like all the mornings all the last days had gone over the past few years. The kids begged him to stay at least one more day, and Sarah again broached the subject of him quitting the job in Des Moines and finding a job in Pittsburgh so he could be with his family full time.

   Dan was an expert at deflecting the questions Sarah asked and had long ago let her know he was only going to leave the company when his retirement was fully vested and they would be financially secure.

 Sarah, who had chosen to be a stay at home Mom at least until Blaine was a senior in high school, begrudgingly accepted the situation, and had long ago realised that her relationship with Dan was far better than what most of her friends had with their husbands - distance, she repeated to herself as if it were a mantra, does indeed make the heart grow fonder.

     As Dan packed up his suitcase for the trip back to Des Moines it occurred to him that he had not thought of an answer to the Lenny situation that Sara had gifted him with just before he had left for Pittsburgh. "Damn," he muttered under his breath, "why does life have to be so complicated?"