Girl at the Rock Shows

I’m currently going on about four hours of sleep, one piece of pizza, and a few too many energy drinks. That’s right– I survived day two of Riot Fest, and honestly, it may have been better than the first. The day flew by, and even though Saturday was definitely the hottest day of the weekend with temperatures soaring to ninety and above, it was a solid day of so much fantastic music, so let’s hop right into it!

My day started with Codefendants. The newly launched project under Fat Mike of NOFX, Codefendants, started my day right with their signature rowdy rock n’ roll brand. Their set, although early in the day, was full of angsty energy that gave me the burst of energy that I so badly needed to jump-start my day.

I was blown away by the energy that I got from Heart Attack Man when I saw them in May back in Minneapolis, so instead of seeking refuge from the sun for a hot minute, I jetted over to catch them. Unfortunately, they did not give me the same amount of energy, but they sounded great. Their pop-punk jams had the entire crowd jumping and singing along in such a beautiful way.

The name of the game for me on Saturday was old-school punk bands that I never thought I would be able to see live, and that started with The Dead Milkmen. The Dead Milkmen have been around since 1983, and although it has been decades, they haven’t lost their hardcore punk edge. My favorite part of this set was when they played their hit “Punk Rock Girl.” Although I love Streetlight Manifesto’s version of this track, it was so cool to see the original band play it and do it so flawlessly.

The Dead Milkmen weren’t the most classic band I saw all day. The Dickies have been around since 1977, and I never thought in a million years that I would be able to see this quintessential punk band live, let alone get some photographs of them. There was something quirky and fun about their set with vocalist Leonard Graves Phillips at the helm. This was one of those sets that, by the time I had to move on, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

I took a break from my deep dive into the old-school punk scene to see The Hives. I mean, how could I not? This band took one of the two main stages with a fierce sense of attitude and energy. Vocalist Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist refused to stay on the stage and in the spotlight as he spent most of the time teasing the audience from the very edge of the stage and speakers, eventually leading to him going right up to the barricade. Although everyone on Saturday was full of life and energy, The Hives really stood out to me as being an explosive and perfect set.

Back to the old-school punk binge I seemed to be on, D.O.A. was next. Known to be one of the founders of hardcore punk and constantly put into circles, including names like Black Flag and Dead Kennedys, D.O.A. is one of those bands that I really haven’t spent much time with in the past, but they had me thinking that they are my new favorite band with what they gave me on Saturday. Again, this band may be old but they were so full of energy and absolutely outplayed some of the younger bands I saw on Saturday.

Speaking of young bands, Sincere Engineer wore their Chicago badge with pride and definitely made the city proud. Although not a new band, this Chicago-based group seems to be hitting super hard right now for a lot of people, including myself. Their raw yet playful set was perfect and had me completely forgetting that my ginger skin was ravished by the blazing hot sun.

Chicago may have Sincere Engineer, but we Minnesotans have Dillinger Four, and, in case you were wondering, D4 made Minneapolis very proud with their quick set on Saturday afternoon. Sure, I knew that the band wouldn’t be able to play all of the songs I wanted, and it wouldn’t have the same feeling as seeing them in their hometown, but they did a great job of getting up there and playing everything they had time for. Bassist Paddy Costello is typically known for long talks about, well, I don’t think I’ve ever been able to follow what he talks about between songs, but the band kept that to a minimum on Saturday as if to make sure they utilized every second of their forty-five minute set to it’s fullest potential.

Although not as old as some of the bands I saw on Saturday, Lagwagon proved to an overflowing audience why their name runs in the same circle as the legends. This 1990-born and California-bred band was full of life and hit the audience with their classic ‘Fat Wreck Chords’ sound with a little extra edge. No matter how many times I see Lagwagon live, it never gets old, with Saturday being no exception.

Descendents is another band that never gets old to see live. They always sound absolutely flawless and it was that mixed with the energy of the excited audience that has me thinking that they will earn a spot in my list of top sets at Riot Fest 2024. With super short songs, the band was able to fit about 413 songs into their hour-long set (their often “simple” songs about everything from coffee cups to how “everything sux” are rarely over a minute or so– you know, classic punk). Although I could have stood there and watched them for another 413 songs, I felt satisfied with everything they gave.

I got emotional as I picked my spot to see the next band. Although I wouldn’t call myself a hardcore fan and definitely take issue with some of the vocalist’s antics, knowing that Saturday would be the second to last chance for me to catch the iconic NOFX live broke my heart. NOFX has been around since 1983 and has been grinding ever since. I’ve caught them a couple of times over the years and always felt that I would get to see them again, but then they announced that 2023 would be their last year as a band. I know it is now 2024, and here I am writing about seeing them, so, sure, they lied a little, but it truly feels like this is the end of the rope for this band based on interviews I have sent with the band. Because of this, it was an emotional experience to see the band take the stage and power through what will probably be the second to last time I ever see them (they are playing again on Sunday night and are definitely on my “need to see” list for the final day of the festival).

Out of all of the amazing songs that the band put into their set, being able to hear “Seeing Double at the Triple Rock” (a song about a venue in Minneapolis that meant the world to me and an entire community but sadly closed a couple of years ago) as I snapped photos of the iconic band was like living in a dream. Although I was bummed that Paddy from Dillinger Four (who is name-dropped in the song) never came out to join the band, it was so cool to hear that song about a little slice of home while being in Chicago.

My night didn’t end with NOFX. Instead of finally taking a breather, having a seat, and eating something for the first time since getting to the festival, I decided to jet over and catch some of Taking Back Sunday. I know that I just blasted this band a couple of months ago for a less-than-flawless performance, but what can I say? They have a spot in my heart because of their nostalgic sound and relatable songs. Vocalist Adam Lazarra still didn’t quite do it for me, but I will say that they sounded a bit better on Saturday than they have in recent history. I don’t think I’m going to start seeing them again every chance I get as I did in the past, but it did give me a little hope that maybe the band will pull it together again.

As I said, it was a bit of a whirlwind of a day that seemed to be over in just the blink of an eye, but it was an absolutely amazing day full of stellar music. I’m not sure what Sunday, the festival’s final day, will hold for me, but I know that, regardless of how exhausted I am, I am super excited to eat up as much music as I possibly can for the third day in a row.