Riot Fest 2012 recap: Part two

By Gene Wagendorf III

Ferris Wheel | Photo Credit: Gene Wagendorf III

The 2012 incarnation of Riot Fest saved its best for last with an absolutely loaded Sunday lineup. Before I get into who I saw and what I thought, I want to take a moment to say this: do it again. As I mentioned in part one of my recap, I came away from Riot Fest blown away by the execution of the festival. The grounds were clean, the weather excellent, Humboldt Park as beautiful as ever and the sound, for the most part, spot on. Does Chicago have a lot of outdoor music in the summer? Sure. But I welcome the Riot Fest addition with open arms, assuming there are no plans to add an electronic music stage.

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton Heat | Photo Credit: Tara Griffin

While The Reverend and crew have been kicking around for decades (almost three of them, actually), the trio showed no signs of bland maturity or geriatric complacency. Kicking their set off with "Psychobilly Freakout," from 1990's Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em, gave the band the chance to quickly acquaint the unacquainted. The Reverend's big, sizzling guitar shreds skittered across heavy bass and Scott Churilla's slam dance percussion, promptly knocking the hangovers out of the afternoon crowd. The rest of the set was a cohesive blend of slick lounge pop and more rollicking jams. "Drinkin' and Smokin' Cigarettes" offered the crowd a moment of cool respite (as well as an unofficial theme song for the weekend); its elastic jangle met with the click of a hundred Zippos. While I still believe Reverend Horton Heat are best enjoyed in a dark club at a later hour, the group did well out of their comfort zone. The band rode out on "Big Red Rocket of Love," giving festival goers one last helping Jimbo Wallace's punchy bass to boogie on.

Show review: Elvis Costello at the Chicago Theatre, 5/15

Posted by Andrew Hertzberg

The lights flickered. “Nothing like a little pressure,” the gentleman at the urinal next to me quipped as the Chicago Theatre let us know the show was about to start. For such an iconic city venue, I’ve never actually seen live music there before. An interesting show to be my first for sure, with Elvis Costello bringing his Imposters and the Spectacular Spinning Songbook. Essentially, the idea is that audience members get to spin a wheel with 40 songs spanning Elvis’s entire career and he has to play what comes up. This idea was reprised from when he first did it with the Attractions in 1986, and I wondered if this show would fare better than the one this reviewer from back then had witnessed.

Well, unexpectedly the group completely ignored the wheel for the first part of the set. They jumped into classics like "Mystery Dance" and "Radio, Radio." These were played at a 1977 pace, with Costello showing no limiting signs of his 56 years. It took only till the fourth song for the pervasive scent of overly-buttered popcorn to begin being bothersome. Alas, a minor inconvenience, and fortunately, the wheel was about to come into play. 

New releases

Elvis Costello - Secret, Profane and Sugarcane - Costello's new, predominantly-acoustic release is a collaboration with T-Bone Burnett recorded over a three-day session in Nashville. The album is currently streaming on http://www.elviscostello.com/.

Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King - Big Whiskey is the band's seventh studio album and the first since 2005's Stand Up. It also marks the band's first release since last year's death of saxophonist LeRoi Moore.

Rancid - Let the Domiones Fall - The band's seventh full-length includes the first single "Last One to Die" and can be heard in its entirety on their MySpace site.

311 - Uplifter - The band's ninth studio album is their first in four years, and includes bonus tracks and a bonus DVD. It was produced by Bob Rock (Metallica, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe) and includes the single "Hey You."

Jeff Buckley - Grace - Around the World (CD/DVD) - More than a decade after his death, this release pays tribute to Buckley and his acclaimed sole LP Grace with a collection of previously-unreleased live performances. The set is also available in a deluxe edition that includes a documentary DVD.

Chicago artists:

Go Time! - Speak - The band's debut LP is full of "Melodic power pop with hard rocking rave outs." Get it here.

Lily Schaffer - Lemonade - The debut album by the local singer-songwriter is full of clever lyrics and pop hooks reminiscent of Aimee Mann and Liz Phair. Read a full review here and pick it up here.