Riot Fest day 2, while rainy, might be one of the most varied lineups ever for a festival.
Kicking the day off at different side stages was old school punk rock act Total Chaos whipping up early mosh pits and hot new up and comer Taylor Acorn giving early morning sing alongs. Both drastically different music but both gained large early morning crowds that were hyped to see each artists.
One of the most chaotic sets of the weekend though were California hardcore heavyweights Drain. Within seconds of starting their set frontman Sammy Ciaramitaro was already off stage and into the crowd. Their set consisted of nonstop crowd surfing and moshing including the final song where he challenged people to get on stage and grab the mic, which resulted in a free for all as security did their best to keep everyone safe.
The oddest set of the weekend though goes to Corey Feldman. While an incredibly nice guy off stage, on stage his set was a mystery. The large crowd was hyped for the set and gave him more energy than expected but the former actor brought his best wannabe Michael Jackson type set. While he may have been happy to be there and gave it his all between the late start, him losing it at his band 5 seconds in, and various missteps it made it quite the talked about set.
Riot Fest did feature its far amount of hip hop inspired acts though with two names taking wildly different approach to it. Death Grips hit the stage for a mid day set that was all chaos. The 3 piece experimental hip hop group consisting of Ride, Zach Hill, and Andy Morin graced Chicago again after quite some time. Shortly after them though were hyperpop hip hop inspired duo 100 Gecs. Returning to Chicago for the 3rd time in roughly a year, with a bigger crowd each time, the duo had possibly the most minimal stage show of the fest. No backdrop, some basic darker lights, and just a trash can with their mixer on it. The two though commanded the crowd that were rabid there to see them.
It wouldn’t be Riot Fest without that insane headliner though and taking over the smallest side stage to a massive crowd was the legendary Insane Clown Posse. Making their Riot Fest debut and playing their only non Juggalo owned event of the year, the legendary rap duo make the evening their own. With an hour set that got off to a late start, the clowns busted through a greatest hit set, to a cheering fanbase. Now it wouldn’t be an ICP show without Faygo and there was plenty of it. They made it rain to no end with Faygo no matter if you were on the barricade or 200 feet from stage. Let’s just hope it’s not the last time Riot Fest has them back.
