Riot Fest 2012 – Offspring – Neon Trees – Pegboys – Dead Sara – at Congress Theater – Chicago, IL

Summer was still going strong when I left LA on September 14th, but Autumn was in full force when I landed in Chicago later that afternoon. After a madcap rush from O'Hare, to the hotel, I arrived at The Congress Theatre just in time to catch Riot Fest 2012's openers Dead Sara. The quartet (hailing from our very own Los Angeles) opened the feston a high note, making it hard for every band that followed to live up to the expectation that they set. But every subsequent band did.


Lead singer, Emily Armstrong, is one of the best vocalists out in the music scene right now. Her growly, bluesy, emotional, and hard-hitting vocals are reminiscent of Joplin and Slick; combined with the riffs from guitarist Siouxsie Medley, this band reaches out and grabs you by the throat. During one of the first songs, some guy yelled at Armstrong (trying to pick her up? trying to be cute?) and she responded with, "I see we have the first drunk of the night, nice!" The song that followed was full of middle-fingers from Armstrong, an inhuman speed on the frets from Medley, and I was hooked. They closed out the set with their radio hit "Weatherman", with Armstrong standing on the amp and leaping back to the stage. Dead Sara puts on a solid, energetic show and if you have an opportunity to see them live, don't pass up the chance.

You can find them here: www.facebook.com/deadsara


Pegboy was up next. By this time, The Congress was almost full, and the Chicago band brought the punk. Larry Damore (vocals) stumbled onto the stage and unleashed aggressive lyrics. Towards the beginning, he fell (and continued to sing!) and then did much of the set pacing across the stage and crouching at the edge of it. The crowd's energy just shot through the roof and a pit broke out (of which Damore decided to join in--still singing). This was my first exposure to Pegboy and I was bowled over by their tunes and lyrics. The set included "Fingers", "Strong Reaction", "Revolver", and "Hardlight".

You can find them here: www.facebook.com/pages/PEGBOY/30647061682

After Pegboy's set, the air in The Congress was humid and filled with anticipation. The night was proving to be a fantastic line-up and expectations were high. And then ... Neon Trees came on. If you turn on KROQ at any given time, you'll probably tune into the station playing "Everybody Talks".

The crowd? They were underwhelmed and not amused. I think that Teenage Bottlerocket would have been a better fit, with Neon Trees playing during the festival instead. During the first couple of songs, there were murmurs of of dissent and some booing. Tyler Glenn took it all in stride and just amped up his performance. By the end of their set, I think the crowd was won over (a little bit). Even though their synth-heavy, top-40, glam-pop sound was seemingly out of place with this line-up, Neon Trees put on an energetic, and highly entertaining show, playing their radio hits "1983" and "Everybody Talks". Admittedly, I preferred their cover of "Mommy's Little Monster".

You can find them here: www.facebook.com/neon.trees

Finally, it was time for the band everyone had come to see--The Offspring. The Orange County guys still deliver, even after 30 years. Dexter Holland's vocals have only matured and grown better with age and the band's playing was tight. Growing up in Huntington Beach, I came of age listening to this band and had never seen them live until a couple of weeks ago at SSMF.

The show here at Riot Fest? Blew that show out of the fucking water. As soon as the opening notes of "Hurting as One" started, the fans in the crowd went nutso. It was wall-to-wall moshing, pitting, and screaming! As evidenced by the set-list below, The Offspring stuck to their older songs, with only a smattering of tracks off their new album, "Days Go By".

All in all, the opening night was the perfect launch to Riot Fest--the show was full of energy, rawness, and fucking amazing bands. The bar was set very high, and the rest of the weekend lived up to it.

You can find The Offspring here (and in Los Angeles on October 5th): www.facebook.com/Offspring

Setlist:
Hurting as One - All I Want - Come Out and Play - Days Go By - Have You Ever - Staring at the Sun - Turning Into You - Bad Habit - Gotta Get Away - OC Guns - Gone Away - Kristy, Are You - Doing Okay? - Why Don’t You Get a Job? - Dividing by Zero - Slim Pickens Does the Right Thing and Rides the Bomb to Hell - You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid - Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) -The Kids Aren’t Alright

Encore:
Americana - (Can’t Get My) Head Around You - Self Esteem

 

                             More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Anni Thyme-
Big Wheel Staff Journalist

 

 

 

 

Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews

 

Send your comments to the editor HERE