Riot Fest 2023 got off to a sunny start on Friday, which may be the only rays the crowd will see this weekend if the forecast for Saturday and Sunday holds true.
But on this day, the park was alive with a dose of warm energy to match the sunshine. In many ways, Chicago’s music festival season saves one of the best for last: the indie and community-flavored Riot Fest is the culmination of the season.
The acts were ready to go early in the day and the Riot, Rebel, Roots, Radical and Rise stages were ready to showcase a full range of sounds for Day 1.
Here’s a look at some of Friday’s highlights:
Foo fighters
Every time the Foo Fighters play Chicago, frontman Dave Grohl has a special story he’s eager to tell the assembled masses. It’s the same story, a few extra details are added each time, but it never loses its mood.
“We don’t need to go into it, but I want to let you know that the first time I saw a live band play at Cubby Bear was when I was 13 years old. I say it every time I play here,” Grohl said – again – upon seeing 1983’s Naked Raygun.
“I had never seen a rock ‘n’ roll band on stage. That changed my life forever. So when we play in this city, I always give props, not just to Cubby Bear, not just to Naked Raygun, not just to my cousin Tracy for giving me a ride, but also to the city of Chicago. I don’t think I would do this without you.”
During the band’s headlining set Friday night, Grohl led the Foos into the nostalgic “Times Like These” to drive home the message. Grohl and his colleagues – Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Rami Jaffee and rookie drummer Josh Freese – come alive as they perform long, repetitive versions of song arrangements for “The Pretender” and “My Hero.” . “entertaining ideas and occasional one-offs (like playing the rather obscure “White Limo” that evening).
The band keeps their late comrade, late drummer Taylor Hawkins, in their hearts and vows to play “Aurora,” Hawkins’ favorite song, “every night for the rest of their lives.” —Selena Fragassi
Tegan and Sara
The duo opened with “You Wouldn’t Like Me,” a banger from their 2004 album “So Jealous” that got the audience dancing. This was followed by “I Can’t Grow Up” from 2022’s “Crybaby.”
After an energetic performance of “Where Does the Good Go,” Tegan further endeared the duo to the audience by sharing how she took an architectural boat tour and reflected on staying in Chicago for six months each after collapsing in love with the city.
However, the duo, known for bantering with fans, should have focused more on their music as another between-song story a few minutes later seemed to bore many in attendance. When they returned to making music, the duo continued to present their poppy songs without much deviation from what was heard on their albums. Nevertheless, the audience seemed happy with it and knew why they had come. – Bob Chiarito
Tegan and Sara perform on the first day of Riot Fest at Douglass Park on the Southwest Side.
The breeders
There are seven album performances planned at Riot Fest this year. One of the most anticipated is The Breeders with “Last Splash” to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 90s defining record.
“We’re here to play an album that came out in 1993 from start to finish, even the slow songs that are too weird to play live,” Kim Deal said at the start.
In fact, things got “weird” during the booming “Roi,” which saw bassist Josephine Wiggs and drummer Jim MacPherson swap places. Afterwards, Kim’s twin sister Kelley Deal was able to shine and took over the vocal lead on “I Just Wanna Get Along”.
In order of songs on the album, the smash hit “Cannonball” came second in the performance, before Kim Deal shouted “Viva Mexico” into the microphone in celebration of Mexican Independence Day on Saturday.
The song’s distorted vocal effects were a total throwback, as older Riot fans pulled out their phones to capture the memory. —Selena Fragassi
The Breeders perform on the first day of Riot Fest at Douglass Park on the Southwest Side.
Ani DiFranco
Folk-rocker Ani DiFranco, who thanked her fans for standing by her “throughout the decades,” lifted half of her songs from her 1996 album “Dilate” and 1998’s “Little Plastic Castle.” , which is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
DiFranco, who once described herself as the “patron saint of bisexuality,” delighted her fans, many of them from the LGBTQ+ community, with three songs from “Little Plastic Castle”: “Pixie,” the title track, and “Two Little Girls.”
While she also performed three songs from her breakthrough album Dilate – including “Shameless”, probably the rockiest song of her set; “Napoleon” and “Untouchable Face” – she also mixed “Do or Die” and “Simultaneously” from her 2021 “Revolutionary Love,” her latest release. Performing these more funk-like sounds, DiFranco really shined, showcasing a sultry, almost jazz-like voice. – Bob Chiarito
Ani DiFranco performs on the first day of Riot Fest at Douglass Park on Friday.
The breakers
The band, complemented by vocalist Aimee Interrupter and touring member Billy Kottage on keyboards and trombone, showed the magic behind their longevity in an energetic set filled with anthemic songs that had quite a few in the audience dancing.
The band stormed through old and still good songs like “Take Back The Power” and tracks from their latest album “In The Wild”, which was released in April. There was also a cover of Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy,” which worked surprisingly well as a horn-heavy ska track, before the group ended with a toast to fans “who come to events like Riot Fest and support live music.” “.—Selena Fragassi
The Interrupters perform on the first day of Riot Fest at Douglass Park on Friday. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun Times
Parliament-Funkadelic with George Clinton
George Clinton, 82, was likely the leader of the large crowds of festival-goers who turned out for the lunchtime set on the Rise Stage.
Clinton has been teasing his departure for some time, and the man undoubtedly deserves to retire in the same blaze of glory with which he first appeared.
Parliament-Funkadelic introduced him with House of Pain’s “Jump Around” and reminded the crowd, “For this hour, focus your attention on the man who has been doing this for nearly 70 years.”…There have been many names over the years for him, but for us he’s just our big brother.”
P-Funk formed a unified front to match the level of musicianship that Clinton offers, with noisemakers, body shakers, and an incredible horn and rhythm section that felt like a second line at times. It was still a great celebration of an incredible life. —Selena Fragassi
George Clinton performs with Parliament-Funkadelic on the first day of Riot Fest in Douglass on Friday.
Olivia Jean
After a strong dose of Chicana punk rock from Fea and energy from alt-rockers the Aquadolls, the day began. Olivia Jean took over the Riot Stage with her three-piece backing band for a performance built on raw courage and bootstrap precision.
Hailing from Nashville, where she is part of the Third Man Records empire, Jean lent her set the same retro-analog rock feel the label is known for, with a bit of goth thrown in for good measure, at various points throughout the 30-minute performance -Touch Since her split from the Black Belles, she’s embraced surf rock trademarks, bluesy guitar licks, garage rock venom and even some sludgy riffs on tracks from her three solo albums. Her latest work, “Raving Ghost,” was released in May.
Riot Fest was Jean’s moment to shine, and she did it beautifully without the need for guest stars. —Selena Fragassi
Olivia Jean performs on the first day of Riot Fest at Douglass Park on Friday.