Suicidal Tendencies, The Aces, Cypress Hill, Public Enemy, Drug Church, Souls of Mischief Rule Day One at Riot Fest (FESTIVAL REVIEW)

In a world packed with homogeneous festival lineups, a few still deliver on original billings and relish in delivering worthwhile reunions and staring far away from anything Pop, EDM, or trendy. 

Big blue skies, sunshine (perhaps overly abundant), and borderline sizzling temperatures greeted the masses for the inaugural day of Riot Fest in Chicago’s beautiful Douglas Park on September 20th.. With some bona fide legends from punk, hip-hop, and reggae scheduled to grace various stages throughout the day, Friday promised to be nothing short of legendary in its own right. Here’s a recap of all the action from Day 1:

The Aces

“Do you feel sexy today?”, lead singer/guitarist Cristal Ramirez of The Aces asked a sizable crowd collectively roasting under the searing mid-afternoon sun at Douglas Park. Speaking for myself anyway, the answer was “no, not particularly,” considering the steamy, somewhat rank conditions, although the glossy and occasionally funky vibes emulating from the stage during The Aces couldn’t help but get people swaying, nonetheless. 

The Provo, UT, outfit was in fine form despite the borderline oppressive heat, projecting a decidedly breezy, refreshing vibe that was consistently pretty catchy (in a guilt-free type of way). Props to The Aces for helping make the stifling mid-afternoon heat much more bearable by delivering a delightfully chill and enjoyable set that had most everyone vibing. Even the guy in the Deicide shirt seemed to be digging it (don’t tell him I said that, or he might murder me). Anyway, moving on…

Drug Church

The first rightfully heavy band this reviewer stumbled upon Friday afternoon was Drug Church, who hit the Radicals Stage on the other side of the park around 4:00. Hailing from upstate New York, their sound is pretty abrasive but not overly aggressive, so they strike a nice balance for folks that like their alt-rock spiked with a healthy dose of post-hardcore rawness.  When they weren’t crushing it on stage, lead singer Patrick Kindlon was steadily “preaching” the gospel of looking out for each other (both in life, and in the pit), and delivering “sermons” about the power of individuality and the like. It was fitting for a band with “Church” in their name, but all kidding aside, it was the type of (punk-rock) evangelism we can indeed all get behind. 

Suicidal Tendencies

Suicidal Tendencies have been making a name for themselves (literally/figuratively) for an astounding four decades now. Since the early 80s, they effectively birthed the crossover-thrash genre by combining hardcore punk and metal elements and delivering it with their distinct brand of blistering intensity that would make many of the forefathers of those scenes mentioned above blush. And over 40 years later, they haven’t lost a step in a live setting, as evidenced by their ridiculously raucous late afternoon set at the Rise Stage.

Granted, Mike Muir is the only original band member at this point, but he still manages to bring a level of manic intensity live that is truly impressive to behold. The dude roams the stage like a maniac, clawing at the air, and with his amusingly sadistic smile and unhinged energy, seemed to relish, igniting the pit into a chaotic frenzy throughout their set. And, speaking from experience, the giant circle-pit was fittingly batshit throughout ST’s performance, and if that wasn’t enough, the band orchestrated a giant “psycho wall” (aka the fearsome “wall of death”), you know, just in case we all hadn’t already had our asses kicked enough in the crowd. On top of that, Mr. Muir came down to the front of the crowd at the end of their set just to show us all a little love and keep the fire going.

All-in-all, although Muir isn’t nearly as young as he used to be back when he was delivering epic rants about being “Institutionalized” (which was surprisingly missing from their set), he and ST simply do not fuck around in a live setting, as evidenced by their action-packed set Friday afternoon. Respect to the OGs of crossover-thrash.

Souls of Mischief

Speaking of OGs, one of Oakland, CA’s most renowned hip-hop acts took to the adjacent Radicals Stage immediately following Suicidal Tendencies’ performance. Indeed, the mighty Souls of Mischief crew were celebrating three decades since the release of their classic album 93 ‘til Infinity, and they were repping 1993 very hard during their performance (they even led the crowd in a chant of Queen Latifah’s “U.N.I.T.Y.”). As you might expect, they made us wait until the end of their set before delivering the legendary title track from that album above, which still stands as one of the greatest West Coast hip-hop songs of all time. Overall, the group delivered a distinctly 1993-esque performance, which was cool. However, this reviewer spent most of their set from the outskirts, standing in line to almost buy a $30 turkey leg (holy in-fucking-flation Batman)! I ended up getting a $18 (somewhat underwhelming) pork kabob, so not exactly “winning”, but hey, $12 richer nonetheless! Moving on…

Cypress Hill

Out of all the legendary LA gangsta-rap groups that emerged in the early 90s, Cypress Hill is practically the only one still standing and, apparently, still going strong, as their ridiculously fun set Friday evening at the Rise stage emphatically demonstrated. Indeed, witnessing Cypress Hill’s set from the front of the stage was a thoroughly entertaining experience, as B Real and Sen Dog delivered all the group’s classic songs in emphatic fashion, which had the crowd at large bouncing along to the infectious rhythm and beats of the music. It was like a giant (smoke-saturated) party, with most everyone grinning ear-to-ear and rapping back choice lines from classic tracks like “Hand on the Pump”, “Illusions”, and of course “Insane in the Brain”.

The energy was consistently high (no pun intended) throughout their set, but it picked up the back half of their set thank to the 1-2-3 punch of “Ain’t Going Out Like That” (which almost spurred up a moshpit), “How I Could Just Kill A Man” and those above “Insane in the Brain” (shoutout to the horse sample)! For the finale, B Real requested everyone crouch down the ground, and surprisingly launched into brief cover of House of Pain’s “Jump Around”. The crowd happily obliged and did just that, which helped put the proverbial exclamation mark on what was probably the highlight of Day 1 for this reviewer.

Public Enemy

And that highlight mark was really saying something, considering one of the most legendary and influential hip-hop groups of all-time immediately took to the adjacent Radicals stage after Cypress Hill’s set. And that group was none other than Public Enemy, who, of course, needs no introduction, had long ago cemented their status in the upper echelon of hip-hop history with their revolutionary albums that made a huge cultural impact in the late 80s and early ’90s.

It’s not every day you get to see living legends performing live and in person, so it was a real treat to see the original hard rhymer Chuck D (who still commands the mic with authority) and the always entertaining Flavor Flav (who’s clock necklace was quite reasonably sized that night) deliver the group’s classic jams resoundingly. Indeed, the group brought the noise with powerful performances of songs like “911 is a Joke”, “Welcome to the Terradome”, and, of course, “Fight the Power” (which closed their set). Long live Public Enemy, who have been speaking truth to power for nearly 40 years now, and despite their song to the contrary, this reviewer was “believing the hype” after their resounding set. Respect.

The Marley Brothers

Who doesn’t like Bob Marley? Even if you don’t particularly care for reggae music, you can’t dispute the man’s legacy, which has only grown in stature over the years. Indeed, with a new movie about his life hitting the big screen earlier this year (“One Love”), it feels like his popularity has hit new heights lately, which no doubt added to the allure of seeing The Marley Brothers’ closing set at the Rise stage Friday night. The core of the group consists of Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-Mani, and Damian, who have all helped carry on their father’s legacy in some form or fashion over the past several decades, but witnessing them all united on stage (along with at least 10+ other backing musicians) was very cool to see.

Throughout the night, they delivered very polished and immaculate versions of some of Bob Marley’s greatest hits, like “Get Up, Stand Up” and “I Shot the Sheriff”, just to name a few. They also mixed in a fair amount of their material to boot, which complimented the classics quite nicely. All in all, The Marley Brothers did a more than serviceable job (the performance felt legitimately soulful) honoring their father’s legacy and helping to keep the torch for reggae music burning bright for a new generation of fans in the process. A refreshingly chill way to end what had been a very hot and action-packed Day 1 of Riot Fest.

Random Tidbits:

Best non-band T-shirts spotted: 

• Unsolved Mysteries
• Richard Pryor
• Todd Flanders (with “Fuck Tha Police” caption)

Number of (glorious) butter John Stamos sculptures spotted: 1

Cypress Hill

Out of all the legendary LA gangsta-rap groups that emerged in the early 90s, Cypress Hill is practically the only one still standing and, apparently, still going strong, as their ridiculously fun set Friday evening at the Rise stage emphatically demonstrated. Indeed, witnessing Cypress Hill’s set from the front of the stage was a thoroughly entertaining experience, as B Real and Sen Dog delivered all the group’s classic songs in emphatic fashion, which had the crowd at large bouncing along to the infectious rhythm and beats of the music. It was like a giant (smoke-saturated) party, with most everyone grinning ear-to-ear and rapping back choice lines from classic tracks like “Hand on the Pump”, “Illusions”, and of course “Insane in the Brain”.

The energy was consistently high (no pun intended) throughout their set, but it picked up the back half of their set thank to the 1-2-3 punch of “Ain’t Going Out Like That” (which almost spurred up a moshpit), “How I Could Just Kill A Man” and those above “Insane in the Brain” (shoutout to the horse sample)! For the finale, B Real requested everyone crouch down the ground, and surprisingly launched into brief cover of House of Pain’s “Jump Around”. The crowd happily obliged and did just that, which helped put the proverbial exclamation mark on what was probably the highlight of Day 1 for this reviewer.

Public Enemy

And that’s saying something, considering one of the most legendary and influential hip-hop groups of all time immediately took to the adjacent Radicals stage after Cypress Hill’s set. And that group was none other than Public Enemy, who, of course, needs no introduction, had long ago cemented their status in the upper echelon of hip-hop history with their revolutionary albums that made a huge cultural impact in the late 80s and early ’90s. It’s not every day you get to see living legends performing live and in person, so it was a real treat to see the original hard rhymer Chuck D (who still commands the mic with authority). The always entertaining Flavor Flav (who’s clock necklace was quite reasonably sized that night) deliver the group’s classic jams resoundingly.

Indeed, the group brought the noise with powerful performances of songs like “911 is a Joke”, “Welcome to the Terradome”, and, of course, “Fight the Power” (which closed their set). Long live Public Enemy, who have been speaking truth to power for nearly 40 years now, and despite their song to the contrary, this reviewer was “believing the hype” after their resounding set. Respect.

The Marley Brothers

Who doesn’t like Bob Marley? Even if you don’t particularly care for reggae music, you can’t dispute the man’s legacy, which has only grown in stature over the years. Indeed, with a new movie about his life hitting the big screen earlier this year (“One Love”), it feels like his popularity has hit new heights lately, which no doubt added to the allure of seeing The Marley Brothers’ closing set at the Rise stage Friday night. The core of the group consists of Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-Mani, and Damian, who have all helped carry on their father’s legacy in some form or fashion over the past several decades, but witnessing them all united on stage (along with at least 10+ other backing musicians) was very cool to see. Throughout the night, they delivered very polished and immaculate versions of some of Bob Marley’s greatest hits, like “Get Up, Stand Up” and “I Shot the Sheriff”, just to name a few. They also mixed in a fair amount of their own material, which complimented the classics quite nicely.

All in all, The Marley Brothers did a more than serviceable job (the performance felt legitimately soulful) honoring their father’s legacy and helping to keep the torch for reggae music burning bright for a new generation of fans in the process. A refreshingly chill way to end what had been a very hot and action-packed Day 1 of Riot Fest.

Random Tidbits:

Best non-band T-shirts spotted: 

• Unsolved Mysteries
• Richard Pryor
• Todd Flanders (with “Fuck Tha Police” caption)

Number of (glorious) butter John Stamos sculptures spotted: 1