By Gene Wagendorf III
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| Riot Fest| Photo Credit: Gene Wagendorf III |
Riot Fest returned to Humboldt Park for its second year as a big, outdoor music festival last weekend, offering willing Chicagoans a chance to celebrate punk and its various subgenres. The promoters again did an admirable job of mixing in non-punk bands again, this year inviting acts like The Pixies, Saul Williams, Public Enemy, Violent Femmes and DeVotchka to jam between the carnival rides and funnel cake. 2013 also saw the festival stretch to a third day, as opposed to last year's Friday kickoff show at the (shudder) Congress Theater. Here are some highlights, followed by a Day One Sensory Recap. Enjoy!
Saul Williams
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| Saul Williams | Photo Credit: David Shuey |
Acclaimed New York slam poet-turned-rapper
Saul Williams kicked the festival off on Friday in the strangest of ways: by not playing music. Williams approached the microphone armed only with a book, and promptly launched into a psychedelic lyric poem that served as both a dark critique of mainstream society and a passionate, inspiring call-to-arms. His ability to turn words on their side and pull new meaning from seemingly every day language has long been a strength, especially when those words are aimed squarely and challenging his audiences acceptance of subjects like tradition and history. The line
let you children name themselves served as Williams' crescendo; a wave of epiphany sizzling through the crowd.
After a pause and raucous burst of applause, Saul launched back into verse. The realization that there would be no music, no slam infused-punk or glam rap, divided the crowd. While some wandered off in search of a band on another stage, as many seemed to cram closer, digesting every syllable offered in ravenous fashion. Williams switched between reading from his books and spitting from memory, while moving between his trademark slam frenzy and even more impressive moments of rapping against a suggested beat. That last feat might have been the most astounding musical performance of the weekend, as Saul managed to roll and flutter his words against deliberate silences, seducing his audience into bobbing and grooving to the anti-percussion. The subjects touched on during the performance were typically Saul- race, class, politics, freedom- and were all explored with mystical intensity. Ending on one of his most famous pieces, "Sha-Clack-Clack," Williams showed his mastery of rhythm, onomatopoeia and pizzazz. The poem was a dramatic conclusion to a set that, while far from punk sonically, was as close to that movement's ideological roots as anything all weekend.
Smoking Popes
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| The Smoking Popes| Photo Credit: Gene Wagendorf III |
Chicago scene veterans Smoking Popes played one of Riot Fest's most personally nostalgic sets for me; the band popped up on just about every mix tape I made every high school girlfriend. Their set of uplifting pop punk was a perfect balance of newer material and classic tunes, delivered flawlessy by a band that's become synonymous with consistency. Singer Josh Caterer's voice carried its usual mix of sincerity and desperation, while his band sounded tight and energized. Smoking Popes rarely disappoint live, and while it'd be impossible to suggest they stole the show, few Riot Fest moments felt as plainly pleasant as watching the band surge through songs like "I Know You Love Me" and "Need You Around."
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