Girl at the Rock Shows

Here I am, in Chicago, at an Airbnb located upstairs from a funeral parlor (not kidding, and yes, it’s awesome), looking back on day one of this massive festival. I’m tired. My dogs are a-barking and I’m already working on scheduling an appointment with my chiropractor for the second I get back home in Minneapolis, but if you could see this smile on my face right now, you would know that I am absolutely living my best life. I’m not going to waste a bunch of your time with a long intro here, as I got to see a lot of amazing music and want to tell you all about it, but for my parents and my friends back home, I am still alive and doing great!

I was a bit late getting to the festival on Friday, just because I wanted to share at least one meal with my friends before the weekend’s insanity got into full swing. Because of this, I missed some amazing early-day acts but did make it in time to catch the one and only Puddles Pity Party. Puddles Pity Party (AKA Michael Geier) is a truly exceptional vocalist who dresses as a clown and performs quite depressing covers of hit songs. Think Richard Cheese, but with more of a doom and gloom attitude and more clown make-up. His set was hilarious and absolutely phenomenal as always. The last time I saw Puddles was at the Medina Entertainment Center. I’ll never forget Puddles walking around the room shaking the hands of literally everyone in there. Riot Fest is so much bigger than that event center, yet, right after his set, there Puddles was, taking photos with people who were smart enough to wait for him. This moment and Puddles Pity Party’s set was truly the best way to kick off day one of this festival for me.

After a quick jaunt to one of the other stages, I got to catch Samiam (pronounced Sam-I-am) as they played through their 2000 album ‘Astray.’ Although their set definitely wasn’t as quirky as Puddle Pity Party, it was so great to see this band perform for the first time in a hot minute. They were tight, and their iconic punk sound floated through the air so perfectly.

Up next was a wild card for me. I had never heard of Shudder to Think before, but I found myself at their stage just in time to photograph them, so I went for it. Their sound was unique and leaned into an almost At the Drive-In kind of sound, with unconventional time signatures and dissonant tones. I’m way behind on this, as this band has been around since 1986, but I’m excited to dig into them a bit more when I get home.

Camper Van Beethoven was another wild card for me. Although their name was familiar, I really didn’t know much about their music. They changed things up with a more folksy-inspired sound behind them. Their set felt light and was a perfect breather before I plunged into a much heavier world.

That much heavier world started with catching some of Harm’s Way. This band is a powerhouse to say the least, and although I’ve seen them before, it’s been a hot minute, so I was stoked the second their set started. Vocalist James Pligge not only looks intense, but he also has a very intense aura that is impossible not to be entirely captivated by. Harm’s Way is a Chicago-based band, and you could feel that love throughout their time on stage.

I bounced over to a different stage after a few songs from Harms Way to see Agnostic Front. Something in my gut told me this was a set I couldn’t miss and, per usual, my gut was right. Even though there was a slight delay in Agonistic Front starting their set due to some technical difficulties, they gave the audience their all. Not only did the band sound great, but they were also so full of life, which I wasn’t quite expecting. No offense, but this is an old band dating back to 1980 —they honestly had more energy than some of the younger bands I saw on Friday.

Although I’ll be seeing Rico Nasty in Minneapolis in just a couple of days, I couldn’t resist getting a little taste by catching some of her set on Friday. Bringing rap, one of the two main stages of the festival, Rico Nasty stood out both sonically and with her attitude. She was fierce and unapologetic. When she noticed that there was no pit happening in her audience, she was quick to call it out and tell people that she came here to see a freaking pit. The audience heard her loud and clear, and, although definitely different genre-wise, she had the audience pushing and shoving their way through her powerful set.

I know that a lot has changed with Senses Fail, the next band I caught. At this point, vocalist Buddy Nielsen is the only original member of this band, but truthfully, nothing else has changed with this group, and I love it. The second they started their set, I was transported back to my angsty teenage years (but the good parts of it). Their set was absolutely nostalgic, but it was so well done and so energized that it felt super fresh. The icing on the cake? They played up the whole Ferris Bueller thing (you know, since we are in Chicago) to the point where, at the end of the set, they had an entire marching band on stage with them to give you the feeling of being at a Parade like the one in the movie.

I don’t know how I’ve been on this planet for 36 years and had never heard or seen the band name The Didjits before, but at least I’ve seen the light now. Although a new name and sound to me, I instantly picked up on the fact that this band has been around for decades, and they clearly had this air of importance to them. I don’t mean that in a pompous or cocky way, but more that they just clearly knew what they were doing and played every track with a sense of perfection, but also a sense of fun.

I’m not going to call Alkaline Trio the most disappointing band of the day for me, but their set didn’t hit me like it has in the past. Don’t get me wrong, they were playing all the right songs and hitting all the right notes, but overall, I just felt that their performance was a bit lackluster compared to some of the passionate performances I had seen earlier in the day.

I have had two chances to see Weird Al around the Twin Cities this year. Each time, something came up or I wasn’t approved to cover the show, so I didn’t go. He was like a unicorn that had been eluding me all year, but that changed on Friday. It was mass chaos near the stage he was playing on, which felt a bit funny. I mean, this is a punk Rock kind of festival, but here were hordes of people with their brightest Hawaiian shirts on impatiently waiting for their Lord and savior to take the stage. It sounds dramatic, I know, but that was the feeling in the air as people waited for the accordion man to take the stage. When it happened, the entire atmosphere felt electric. Weird Al and his amazing band powered through song after song, and we watched skit after skit as Weird Al and his band went through numerous outfit changes. It was such a fun moment to see this man perform at Riot Fest, and it will definitely be in my top Riot Fest sets of all time.

Weird Al was the final performer on the “Rise Stage,” which, on Friday, was renamed to be “Weird Al” Yankovic’s Weird World Stage.” Why am I telling you this? Because I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that comedian Emo Phillips had been hosting this stage all day. Although it was just a couple of jokes and banter between each set, I thought this was perfect, and it made me think that every stage of every show should have some kind of host. It just added a little razzle-dazzle to the “downtime” between bands.

Honestly, I could have left after Weird Al and been completely happy and satisfied with my day, but there were still a few stages going on, and who was I to turn away early and miss a band just because I could? I hopped back over to a different stage to see The Pogues perform. Looking back, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this legendary band perform live, so this was absolutely a treat. Their Celtic punk sound has been a significant influence on many of the bands I listen to today, so it was truly a treat to see them in person.

Although The Pogues were the last band I photographed, they were not the last band I saw. Closing out night one of Riot Fest 2025 was the almighty Blink-182. You all know my obsession with this band (or, you could guess it purely based on the name of this blog) so I won’t keep you long as I gush over how amazing this band and how influential they have been on my life but I will say– what a heck of a way to walk out of this first day of Riot Fest 2025– hearing Blink 182 in the air after having seen everyone from The Pogues to Weird Al to Rico Nasty to Agnostic Front. Yeah, you could say Friday was a damn good day, and I can’t wait to see what Saturday brings.

I’m not going to give you my whole run down of counts and what not because, truthfully, I need to get some sleep but I will say that I had a pretty cool celebrity sighting (Thomas Lennon of Reno 911! fame) :

See you again in a few short hours, Riot Fest!