Alli Klein: Family of Noise writesPast Times of Punk Rock: My Riot Fest 2012 Weekend

By Alli Klein (CHIRP Radio DJ every Tuesday 6am-9am)

My leg muscles are still burning from all the jumping around and dancing I did over the weekend. I should have stretched. I would have moshed, but as a bespectacled person I’ve learned that lesson before. Punk rock has been a part of me since age fourteen. I have a Germs tattoo on my right forearm. My friends and I would trade rides to the Tinley Park Bowling Alley, our saving grace of the south-west ‘burbs, to see local punk bands and rid ourselves, or maybe revel in, our teenage angst. I don’t know if I’ve ever grown out of that angst actually, because listening to punk, being immersed in it last Saturday and Sunday in beautiful Humboldt Park, those feelings flooded back. In a good way!

Riot Fest 2012 was held here in Chicago this past weekend, the first time it has been set up as a cohesive outdoor festival, complete with carnival rides. In previous years, Riot Fest has been a coordinated weekend, using various venues around the city, like the Double Door, to showcase performances. This time, they fenced off a whole city block of Humboldt Park, from Division and Kedzie to Augusta and Sacramento. I was impressed with the layout, second only in size to Lollapalooza. 4 stages (cleverly named Riot, Roots, Rock, and Rebel), at least 20 different concession options, carnival rides, and carnival games lay amongst the prettiest park in the city, with the added bonus of the iconic Chicago skyline as the backdrop. Riot Fest went big this year, in our city, and four others including Philly, Brooklyn, Toronto, and Dallas.



A great perk of working in radio is access to amazing shows, and thanks to CHIRP I was able to attend with both a press pass and photo pass. This meant for the first three songs of each band (except Iggy & The Stooges- which I’ll get to later) I was in the photo area between the barricade and the stage to capture as best I could, all those rushing feelings, for you fine folks: our listeners, our friends, our fans who couldn’t make it out for the fest.

I skipped out on the opening night, Friday’s show at the Congress Theatre, which featured The Offspring. They put out a new album this year (Days Go By) on Columbia Records in the spring, and I’ve only heard the single a handful of times. Though painfully catchy, there are really only 2 songs from their discography that I enjoy, sorry to say. If this makes me less of a punker for hating on the Offspring, so be it. My night one was instead spent on a date with my lovely boyfriend, eating Mexican food and seeing the mesmerizing film Samsara. By the way, go see it.

Saturday morning, I was booking it down the sidewalk on Division, through the flow of standard ‘insert band name here’ black t-shirted, but colorfully tattooed festival goers, and a young man and his female companion kindly, but exaggeratedly stepped out of the way. “You look like you really want to get there,” he said to me. I told him I was trying to get there in time for the first part of The Adicts set so that I could take pictures. He then proceeded to ask me who I worked for, and of course he was in a band too, and handed me a card to contact him. His lady friend offered me a swig of her whiskey. “It’s clean, I swear! I didn’t spike it with drugs!” I declined with a “That’s too bad!” and hurried along to the press tent to claim my super special wristband.

My biggest complaint was upon being searched. Riot Fest did not let you bring in any water, not even factory sealed like most festivals. I understand it’s a fledgling year for them presenting Riot Fest this way, but c’mon guys! We’re punks. We’re poor. However, most food vendors had $2 water, which is not totally outrageous, as I’ve experienced $4 and $5 water at other festivals, though those are generally the ones that let you bring in 2 of your own. That being said, the weather was absolutely gorgeous all weekend, upper 70s, nice breeze, and no humidity! So keeping people hydrated was not as big of an issue. If only the weather could be like that year round, well, it wouldn’t be Chicago, now would it?

I meandered through the VIP section for a bit, which was mostly just a closed off area with picnic benches and less often used Porta-Potty stations. I raced through the fairly large crowd gathered around the Roots stage, where Cursive was playing one of my favorites, “Sierra.” As much as I would have liked to have watched them, I’ve seen Cursive about 5 times in the past, so I kept running to the Rock stage where one of the highlights of the entire weekend was just starting their set. The Adicts are an English punk band out of Suffolk, who got their start in the ‘80s, and became known for their Clockwork Orange droog style. Singer Keith “Monkey” Warren famously sports white and black face paint, reminiscent of the Joker, while the band wears all white with black bowler hats.


Monkey – The Adicts

It was almost hard to remember to take the pictures I was there for, as I stood in awe, chanting the lyrics to “Viva La Revolution” and “Chinese Takeaway” and “Number.” Monkey addressed the crowd several times, once stating “We normally blast the crowd with glitter and confetti, but the city won’t let us! We’ll just have to double up for the after party!” and people cheered. They mentioned their new record, appropriately titled All The Young Droogs is coming out this year on DC-Jam, and played a cut called “Give It To Me.” Sounded promising and left me wanting more. Exiting the photo pit, I saw the first of many cool T-shirts I would experience all weekend; this one featured a silhouette of Tom Waits and read WWTWD? [what would Tom Waits do?]


The Adicts

Still coming off the high of the perfect band to start my weekend, I ran into Brent Zmrhal of Chicago’s own Mickey, Slushy, and employee of Crown Tap Room. Always fun to see people you know from current local bands/venues appreciating their influences.



Shortly after The Adicts ended, I found my boyfriend and together we ventured to get a good spot for Gwar. By that I mean an out of danger zone, because Gwar is famous for spraying the crowd with various colored (and staining) liquids. Then I thought about what the Adicts said, about not being allowed by the city to spray the crowd with their glitter, so I figured maybe they told Gwar the same thing. The answer was no, no they didn’t tell Gwar that. Or maybe they did, but Gwar didn’t listen. There were people walking around the rest of the fest for two days dyed red and blue. Gwar’s music doesn’t do it for me, but I’ve always wanted to see their show for the spectacle of it ever since I saw the scene in Empire Records. The costumes are out of this world, and so are the props. There is nothing like Gwar’s live show. Do people actually listen to their records in the comfort of their own home? I think you have to experience the ripping apart and chewing of bloody fetus props and blow job giving decapitating monsters in person to truly grasp their genius.





It wasn’t until I got into the photo pit and saw the professionals with plastic covering their camera equipment that I became glad to be a petite girl who could hide from the, let’s call it monster splooge. There was a small area under the stage I could fit myself to avoid the mess. After the Gwar set, we decided to explore the grounds. It was very hard to not spend money on the carnival games. I wanted to win my boyfriend a stuffed stoned penguin. Yes, you read that right. Plush prizes galore! Penguins and monkeys sporting Rasta caps and dreads, and glazed high eyes. We decided we weren’t coordinated enough to try our hand at that, and decided to get some food and watch the Lucha Libre wrestling before heading to the next performance. This guy won.




Andrew W.K.

I was pumped to PARTY HARD so close to the party man himself, Andrew W.K. This man was born to entertain, but perhaps has slowed down his party a bit since his debut I Get Wet in 2001, because he now has a hype woman to help him party. This girl whose hair rivals Andrew’s in both length and flow, donned a leather leotard and fishnets, and must have had Barbie blank lady parts because I don’t know how her entire vagina was not exposed seeing how tight that outfit was.


Andrew W.K. and band


Dan Hanaway – Slapstick

A big highlight of Saturday’s portion of the fest was the reunion of Elgin, IL ska punkers, Slapstick. I am new to the world of Slapstick, but my boyfriend is a longtime fan and had been playing the record for me for weeks leading up to Riot Fest to get me familiarized. Think Operation Ivy meets Reel Big Fish meets The Broadways. This band would now considered to be somewhat of a super group if they had instead formed after the bands they filtered out to after Slapstick disbanded, featuring The Lawrence Arms’ Brendan Kelly on vocals, Dan Andriano of Alkaline Trio on bass. The slurred banter of Brendan Kelly was almost as enjoyable as the music itself. He referred to the Ferris Wheel as “that circle thingy” and encouraged riders to make out, wave to him, and hoped “someone was at least getting a BJ up there.”


Dan Andriano – Slapstick

To say his drunken state was very entertaining would be an understatement. He was wearing pink checkered sun glasses and told us “I got these just for this f*cking show!” and threw them out to the crowd. He ran over to Dan Andriano during a song to kiss him on the cheek, solicited their illegally image stolen Boba Fett adorned t-shirts they made just for Riotfest, and kept referencing how old they were and how old the crowd probably was. Brendan said they disbanded when he was 18, played their last show when he was 19, and is now 36. Age hasn’t stopped Slapstick from putting on a hell of a show.


Brendan Kelly – Slapstick

Dropkick Murphys played next, but I’d seen them play at Warped Tour a few years back and my boyfriend does not care for them, so we stayed pretty far away from that stage to stick around and get a good spot for the Descendents. All the Dropkick songs sounded the same from afar, until they played that one song from the movie The Departed [“I’m Shipping Up To Boston”]. They also did a pretty good cover of AC/DC’s “TNT.” Then, The Descendents took the stage and churned out tune after tune of what they’re famous for. These guys are pioneers of what is now modern day pop punk, skate punk, melodic hardcore, you name it.


The Descendents

Singer Milo Aukerman reminded me quite a bit of the way Henry Rollins performs, although maybe a bit more subdued. His silvering hair shows his age, but not his voice. That guy still has it, and so does drummer Bill Stevenson. I can’t believe how fast these guys can still play, after forming in 1978. We decided to ride the ferris wheel towards the end of their set to finish out our night. It was amazing watching the Descendents , seeing the entire park from high above the festival grounds and the skyline lit up behind us. Both of us are not fans of Rise Against, though we appreciate their place in the local Chicago punk scene, and decided to end our night early so that we’d be fresh and ready to do it all again on Sunday.


Sunday began with a ravenous breakfast at The Flying Saucer, which was just down the street from the fest in Humboldt Park, on California and Haddon. Great food, can’t wait to go back for more. Entering the festival again this time, I checked in back at the press tend, only to be told that they were not letting everyone get photo passes for Iggy & The Stooges set, and that I would be contacted during the day if I was to be one of these special people to acquire the proper laminate. I wasn’t too thrilled with that, but I understand. They were the biggest draw for the weekend and with the unpredictability of Iggy’s performance, it makes sense. I tried not to let that bring me down, and headed over to the Roots stage to see The Promise Ring.


The Promise Ring

I liked the Promise Ring, but I did not love them. Their songs are good, and they’re hugely influential in the Emo movement, but their performance lacked physical movement, and honestly it was a little bit boring. I was more enthused when I saw a mystery person creeping on the side of the stage. It was none other than Mike Yannich, aka Mikey Erg (ex-The Ergs!, The Unlovables, For Science, Dirt Bike Annie, countless others…). The Ergs! out of South Amboy, New Jersey have played previous Riot Fest years in Chicago and are probably my 2nd favorite punk band of all time so this was super exciting to me. Here he is watching the Promise Ring intently.

Mikey Erg


Built To Spill

Built To Spill was next on our list of must sees. They rock pretty hard, for being from a boring place like Boise, Idaho. With seven albums under their belt, their most recent being 2009’s There Is No Enemy, these guys have quite a bit of songs to fill their set. They are also not newcomers to the festival setting, having toured with Lollapalooza in 1995. The crowd during their set, and actually most of the day on Sunday had an older demographic.

NOFX is a pretty big deal. And they were a pretty big reason to buy a ticket to Riotfest this year. Fat Mike, lead singer and bassist of NOFX, owns one of the biggest punk labels, Fat Wreck Chords. They had the loudest set of the entire festival, which is sort of unfortunate since it seemed like both Elvis Costello and Iggy & The Stooges were not loud enough. I couldn’t see just how big the circle pit was for NOFX, but if the crowd surfing was any indication, it must have been gigantic. Fat Mike was having trouble with his voice during “Franco Un-American” and kept pointing it out the rest of their set. They really did have the most movement of any band, and from the crowd.

Fat Mike – NOFX

We met up with our old neighbor Ben and headed over to get close for the Jesus and Mary Chain, from Scotland. I’m ashamed to say I’ve really only heard their album Psychocandy a few times and am truly unfamiliar with their songs, and I’m probably really lacking when it comes to knowing much about shoegaze in general, but let me tell you, I got schooled. I was thoroughly impressed with how well Jim Reid’s voice has stood the test of time. After splitting up in 1999, and then reforming in 2007, it was clear that people just aren’t over Jesus & Mary Chain. This was the entire reason my boyfriend decided to buy his ticket for Riotfest this year, just to catch them. They delivered great song choices in their shorter set, including “Head On,” which you might know from the Pixies cover version.


Jesus & Mary Chain

I literally sprinted over to see Elvis Costello and the Imposters. I heard the first few chords of “Lipstick Vogue,” and I lost it. I did not care that I lost my boyfriend and my neighbor. You know those screaming Beatles fans, or the girls who break down and cry for ’90s boy bands? That is how I felt when I was standing in the photography pit, five feet from Elvis Costello. Tears were welling up in my eyes. The photo area was the fullest it had been all weekend, and I had to crawl my way over to take pictures. One of the security guards tapped me and said “THAT’S IT” almost as soon as I got in there, and I looked at him and said “You’re kidding me! I just got in!” I thought my moment was over before it began. But I think he meant the small crowd of fans who got to be in there, because he saw my wristband and took back what he said and I was overjoyed to have more time. The keyboard and organ set up was fantastic, and even included a theramin! Elvis made some great song choices for this festival, including “Radio Radio,” “Less Than Zero” which included some crowd call and response Hey!s, “(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea,” the reggae-tinged “Watching The Detectives,” “(The Angels Want To Wear My) Red Shoes” where Elvis used sirens from a bull horn he pulled out, “Clubland,” “Pump It Up” and topping it off with “(What’s So Funny About) Peace Love and Understanding.” Elvis really showcased what an amazing, but understated guitarist he really is. Their performance was the tightest of all the performances that weekend. The only way I would have been happier was if he had played “Alison,” being that it is my name and everyone sings it to me, but I know that would have slowed the pace of the set and honestly it really felt perfect as is.


Elvis Costello

There was no time to regain my composure after Elvis. I had to run over to the Riot stage to get in the photo line for Alkaline Trio. Hailing from McHenry IL, these guys are about as local as they come and Chicago sure takes pride in these boys. The only album of theirs I ever owned was Goddamnit but true die hard Alkaline Trio fans were there waiting as early as the gates opened. Matt Skiba adorned white rimmed sunglasses and black golf cap to match his white button down and black tie. I loved the color of his mint green guitar. It is no surprise that Chicago loves this band as much as Alkaline Trio love Chicago.


Matt Skiba – Alkaline Trio

After Alklaline Trio, it was time to get some more food. The best deal was probably the Homemade Pizza Co.’s $4 slice of pizza, which meant I was also able to splurge and get a roasted ear of corn. Here I am with my neighbor Ben chowing down on that corn.


Alli Klein and Ben Johnson

We had to eat fast because next up was one of my all-time favorite live bands, Gogol Bordello. I have seen Gogol Bordello close to ten times in concert and they never disappoint. Riotfest 2012 was no exception. Although the song choices, for me, were not quite up to par with the other times I’ve seen them play, it was still a lot of fun and it was my neighbor, Ben’s first time seeing them so I was glad to share the experience with him. Gogol Bordello deem themselves as “Gypsy Punk” and have members from all over the world, including the Ukrain, Russia, Israel, China, Ethiopia, Ecuador, and the US. They are based out of New York but are constantly touring the world and are big on the festival circuit.


Eugene Hutz & Yuri Lemeshev – Gogol Bordello

Front man Eugene Hutz is a ball of energy from beginning to end. The majority of the songs they played were from their latest record, 2010’s Transcontinental Hustle, including “My Compenjera,” “Immigraniada (We Comin’ Rougher),” and “Break The Spell” which was brought full circle toward the end of their set with the crowd chanting the words “Break the spell.” They also performed their most well-known hit, “Start Wearing Purple.” Gogol Bordello combines traditional gypsy music with punk and folk and even some Spanish flamenco. If you weren’t compelled to dance during their set, you must be dead inside. I think the only thing better than their songs, might have to be the borderline creepy faces made by violinist Sergey Ryabtsev and accodian player Yuri Lemeshev.


Sergey Ryabtsev – Gogol Bordello

Gogol Bordello was a perfect appetizer for what was to come next. On the main Riot stage, the most legendary band of the weekend was about to begin. Unfortunately, the way they had things set up, most of us with the photo passes were not allowed in without a special lanyard pass. I tried anyway, but was turned away. So the pictures that follow will not be as clear, but hey, I was in the presence of Iggy Pop and his Stooges and all was well with the world. If you think that Gogol Bordello has astounding energy, than Iggy Pop must be from a whole other realm. At 65, Iggy is still every bit as monstrous on stage as he ever was. He is in what looks like top physical condition, and he’d have to be for the way he performs. The man does not slow down for a second. He eats up the attention, too. As he is known to do, he invited the crowd to “BUMRUSH THE STAAAAAGE!” Afterwhich Iggy joked around saying “You know, we take guys, too” in reference to the majority of females who had come up to shake it along with the icon. A friend of mine lost her phone while crowd surfing. People were going nuts. The song choices were perfect, including “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” “1970,” “Search and Destroy,” “Raw Power, “Gimme Danger” among others. They encored with the solo Iggy track, “The Passenger.” The Stooges were the perfect close to the perfect festival weekend.


Iggy Pop

I don’t know how Riot Fest will top themselves in 2013, but they have said that from now on the festival will continue to be held outdoors.