Weezer (photo by Jesse Valenciana)

Best Performances:

Hands down the best performance for me was the Misfits (part 3 of Danzig Legacy) playing “Bullet.” Amazing. From hearing the back story of how the Misfits were forbidden to step foot in Dallasto the entire crowd singing along, the energy couldn’t be matched at any other moment throughout the festival. The dynamic between the band and their crowd completely makes or breaks a show.

That being said, the Weezer show that ended the weekend was pretty good. The unfortunate death of Weezer’s ex-bass player, Mikey Welsh, [who had traveled to Chicagofor Riot Fest and was found unresponsive in his hotel room on Saturday afternoon] seemed to create a whole different dynamic between fan and band. There was a closeness and sympathetic feeling that captured the Congress Theater. You could feel a collective heart break as Rivers Cuomo dedicated the show to Welsh. I was 5 feet away from him in the photo pit, so I could see the full emotion in his face. It’s surreal seeing an iconic artist/performer look so human. My heart went out to him.
Worst Performances:

The Social Distortion show was by far one of the worst performances I have ever sat through. I felt like those old-timey cartoons that turn into actual ‘suckers’ as they’re getting duped by their nemesis. The show was like having dinner with an old ex: the idea seems like a good one at first because the bad memories are hidden by the good memories and tucked away, but the longer it goes the more you realize how badly it sucks because it’s not what it once and it never will be. Social D, please stay home, don’t tour because I will convince myself that you’re still good and I will go see you (and your back-up singers) only to be hugely disappointed.

Most memorable Music and Non-Music Moment:

My most memorable music moment was just being a Misfits fan amongst a sea of them, singing along to every line and watching as my friends did the same. Although Danzig’s “people” didn’t allow photography, I didn’t need a camera to capture a moment that perfect.

Overall Thoughts:

Overall, I thought Riot Fest was a bit long but went well and the line-up was strong. As much as people wanted to slam Riot Fest for bringing on Weezer, I see it as a smart move. Weezer has a sizable draw and aside from Danzig Legacy, I haven’t seen the Congress Theater that packed. You need the occasional big name to keep an event like this alive, going strong and being a legitimate music fest that doesn’t have ‘ollapalooza’ in it’s name.
Prediction for RF 2012:

I predict that Riot Fest adds a few more cities (New York and L.A. being the obvious choices), but it would be cool to throw in Austin or Seattle since they both have very active and vibrant music scenes. Musically, it’s not hard to find some old bands dying for a reunion or some young, hungry bands ready to show the world what they’ve got. I wanna see some Jawbreaker, Operation Ivy, Girls Vs. Boys, Black Flag (No Rollins though) and Green Day play all of Kerplunk.