tUnE-yArDs, Vic Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

We arrived towards the beginning of the opening act and slid down to the back right corner of the front section. I counted only 8 people between myself and the stage. I was told that the tUnE-yArDs performance that evening wasn’t quite sold out but very close to it. When we arrived it was crowded but comfortable. However, by the time tUnE-yArDs took the stage, our section was packed –  too crowded for comfort. Though cramped, we stayed in our spot; trying to find a more comfortable one further back we mean we would be very far back.

tUnE-yArDs, a music project of the singer, song-writer, and multi-instrumentalist Merrill Garbus, was another instance of a live performance for which I didn’t know what to expect. While the official band consists of just her and her musical partner, Nate Brenner, the music uses lots of loops and layered sounds. Even though the tUnE-yArDs are a vehicle for her music, her albums involve various session musicians.

To begin the show, Merrill took the stage with her two female back up vocalists, Abigail Nessen-Bengson  and Jo Lampert, to kick off the set with the a capella song, “Rocking Chair.” Afterwards, another pair of musicians joined her including Nate Brenner on bass, percussion, and synthesizer and Dani Markham on percussion and vocals. Merrill had some minor percussion in front of her – a tom-tom, snare, and cymbal – a synthesizer, and lots of pedals for loops. She wasn’t wearing shoes so she could better manipulate the pedals. The two back-up singers (now also dancers) moved a few feet back for the remainder of the show. The stage set up was fairly minimal; there weren’t any lighting effects. Merrill and the back-up singers did do a few choreographed dance moves.

The setlist included only songs from here two most recent of her three albums, w h o k i l l (2011) and Nikki Nack (2014). Merrill is incredibly talented, with a beautiful Afro-Caribbean style voice, even though she’s white. It was also impressive to watch how much she was doing on stage in unison – creating and layering loops, playing instruments, and singing lead vocals.

Setlist:
Rocking Chair
Sink-O
Real Thing
Wait for a Minute
Gangsta
Es-So
Powa
Time of Dark
Stop That Man
Killa
Water Fountain
Bizness
Encore:
Doorstep
Hey Life

BΔSTILLE, Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois

The Aragon Ballroom is a historic venue on the north side of the city, completed in 1926.It was designed in an elaborate Moorish architectural style, with the interior resembling a Spanish village, particularly the balconies. The interior ceiling is even painted to resemble the view of a starry sky from the village courtyard, complete with twinkling lights. The main stage consist of a singular large general admission room with just a few balcony seating areas up top. With a significantly elevated stage, the views from anywhere in the room are quite good. Even though the show was sold out, there was plenty of room. With a capacity of 4,500, it is perhaps the nicest venue of its size I have visited.

Bastille are an English rock band formed in London several years ago and consisting of Dan Smith (lead vocals, keyboards, percussion), Kyle Simmons (keyboards, percussion, bass, backing vocals, synthesizers), Will Farquarson (bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), and Chris Wood (percussion, backing vocals). The band derives its name from Bastille Day – an event celebrated on Smith's birthday, July 14th. So just to be clear – English band, named for a French holiday, playing music in an America venue decorated to look as if it was designed by African conquerors of Spain.

Lead singer Dan Smith did all the speaking for the band but was a bit difficult to understand much of the time. Often, I felt like I was only getting every third word. As they only have one album, Bad Blood (2013), released to date, most if not all the songs were pulled from it. This included bookending the show with two of their biggest hits, “Things We Lose in the Fire” and “Pompeii.” There were a few covers as well, or at least one, “No Angels,” a mixture of the TLC song “No Scrubs” and The xx song, “Angels.” It sounded a bit awkward to me; it just didn’t really work. There were a few other songs that didn’t seem to work so well; these are the difficulties of being a new band playing large venues. People expect a 75 minute show, so you include a few songs that would be cut out if you had more to pull from. The seemingly mostly female crowd was excited but fairly tame. The stage show was well done. It included a large triangle shape on stage with the band. A few fans made corresponding triangle shapes with their fingers. I was a bit confused; I thought that was Alt-J’s signature. I guess Bastille do also use a triangle in their stylized signature.

Setlist:
Things We Lost in the Fire
Weight of Living, Pt. II
Laura Palmer
Laughter Lines
Bad Blood
Blame
Overjoyed
Poet
These Streets
Skulls
The Silence
Oblivion
No Angels
Icarus
The Draw
Flaws
Get Home
Of the Night
Pompeii

Owl John, Bottom Lounge, Chicago, Illinois

Owl John is the assumed moniker of Scott Hutchison, founding member, lead singer, and primary songwriter of the Scottish indie rock band Frightened Rabbit. While Hutchison is the only official member of Owl John, his debut eponymous album under that name includes full instrumentation with participation of several session musicians. So just like with Damien Rice, I didn’t know quite who to expect would be on stage. As with Damien Rice, it was just Hutchison on stage with a guitar. His Chicago show was only one of three shows he would be doing in the US as Owl John while on his way from a European tour to Los Angeles, a city he hates but now calls home after falling for a girl and following her there.

The Bottom Lounge is quite small with standing room for probably only a couple hundred people. A single open space makes every spot in the room a good one. The show, advertised as starting at 8pm, didn’t actually start till 9pm, which was a bit annoying. That meant that after the opening act, Hutchison didn’t take the stage until 10pm. Fortunately, the bar outside the stage provided a large, nice area to kill time.

Upon taking the stage with his guitar, Hutchison quickly proved himself to be a superb entertainer. He was absolutely hilarious with a smartass quip or funny story about everything. Sometimes it was tales of home or touring that he no doubt told a thousand times. Other times, he would just riff on things that audience members yelled out.  In all seriousness, the level of laughter from the audience would be appropriate for a comedy club, not the indie folk set of an artist often known for writing depressing lyrics. Of course, everything was at least 50% funnier and more charming because of his Scottish brogue. Also, I at first forgot that his name was Scott. So when recounting stories in which people were speaking to him, I thought he was implying that they were referring to him by his nationality, as if someone would say to me, “Hey American.” After the concert, Lindsey and I tried to remember as many of his stories and as much of his banter as we could, as follows:

• Can we get the reverb turned up?...I sound like God up here.” [It was then turned up way too high for his next song, but then dialed back a bit]
• “I once played a show with my fly down. Luckily some folks in the front slipped me a note. Now, mind you, it was a note like concrete poetry. They took what should have been one line and turned it into a poem. So they slip this paper on the stage and I'm like, ‘O, a number, that never happens.’ Or if it does, it's 'Scot, call me – Dave' and I'm like ‘Thanks, Dave, but I'll only be calling if I need some plumbing work done.’ So I start reading this note. The first line is just 'Scot' and I'm like, ‘well, that's me, okay, keep reading.’ 'Your fly,' and then I'm like, ‘well, thanks! no one's ever said that to me before.’ But then I notice there's no apostrophe, so I keep reading ‘... is down.’ Well, fuck. So now before the show, I was just in the toilet and before I came out, I double, triple checked everything... [someone yelled, ‘Prove it’]…‘Prove it?! How am I supposed to do that?’… [more inappropriate yelling]…‘People, it’s a Wednesday.’”
• "Yeah, a lot of my songs are depressing. My fans probably worry I’m a complete mess all the time. This one time, we were about to start making a record, and I had just been through a break up. Someone told the manager at the label we were with, and he was so excited, all: ‘Yes, the record is going to be fantastic.’ It was, but we ended up leaving that label, so it didn't work out for him.”“So I moved to LA because I fell in love… [Everyone in audience exclaims ‘awww.’]… Don't worry, I'm still in love. That's all great, but LA is shit. You live there for three days and hate yourself. You all are very lucky you live here. Chicago’s a great city…[Girl in the audience yells out, ‘there are red light cameras here too’]….You have what? Oh, you mean they snap you when you run the lights? Well, is that really so terrible? Is it really infringing on your rights? You can't just hop in your car and run red lights for fun....That lady's never coming to another Frightened Rabbit show.
• “[Mentions something about guys who wear backwards hats] I was playing this one show in Montreal and there were these two guys with backwards hats in the front row screaming the whole show for ‘The Twist.’ I mean, they were going crazy for it. Quite honestly, it was a pleasure to not play it for them. A few of my friends that were in the audience that night and standing by these guys told me after the show that they overheard the guys in backwards hats saying they love the song so much because it was what they were listening to when they crashed their boat. Crashed their boat? Really? Anyone else here crash their boat to a Frightened Rabbit song?
• [Someone shouts after hearing the first chord of a song, recognizing it was the start of a song they wanted to hear] “Oh, is that what you wanted to hear? One chord? A nice F/G? Because I can just do that for the next hour. F/G, F/G... You know when I was a kid, maybe five years old, they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. I picked Eric Clapton. You know his Unplugged show, at the start of every song there's this big applause…every song. And I thought 'man, wouldn't that be great? That's what I want.' Now it happens for me and I realize that it’s really fuckin annoying.”

While the stories and banter made the evening particularly memorable, I loved the music as well. He played only a three Owl John songs, opting for a setlist heavy on Frightened Rabbit including a song from Sing the Greys (2007), six from The Midnight Organ Fight (2008), a pair from The Winter of Mixed Drinks (2010), and four from Pedestrian Verse (2013). After playing “The Modern Leper,” his first Frightened Rabbit song of the evening, he explained “Ah, you didn’t think I was going to play all new stuff. You think I’m fuckin stupid?” He also claimed, “So I don’t have a setlist, I play whatever you yell out basically. However, after lots of yelling for songs, he admitted, “Ok, one of you yelled the one I wanted to play; the whole thing is kind of a fallacy.” However, not every request was accepted. When someone yelled out “Freebird!,” he quipped, “Did that really just happen?” Someone else responded, "We were all thinking it. “He replied “No, we all were not. I believe you are alone in that, and after this, will be alone for a very long time.” Someone else kept yelling out for the song, “'Keep Yourself Warm.” He explained, “No, I'm not going to play that song now. I play that song and everyone leaves to go cut their wrists. I know you're not all familiar with putting together a setlist, but it's all about pace.” “Keep Yourself Warm” didn’t make it into the setlist that evening. Perhaps his single best comment of the night was when he asked, “How about a request from the people over there who won’t shut the fuck up? Maybe if I play the one song you really want to hear, you'll shut up and then leave and go to some douche bar.”

I had always casually enjoyed Frightened Rabbit, but had listened to them more in depth in anticipation of the show. Hearing it live, even striped down versions, made me appreciate it even more. It also made me want to see a full Frightened Rabbit show immediately. When I got home, I even turned on some more of their music, which is very uncharacteristic of me.

Setlist:

Hate Music

The Modern Leper [Frightened Rabbit song]

State Hospital [Frightened Rabbit song]

Los Angeles, Be Kind

The Oil Slick [Frightened Rabbit song]

Backyard Skulls [Frightened Rabbit song]

The Woodpile [Frightened Rabbit song]

Nothing Like You [Frightened Rabbit song]

Red Hand

Old Old Fashioned [Frightened Rabbit song]

My Backwards Walk [Frightened Rabbit song]

Square 9 [Frightened Rabbit song]

The Twist [Frightened Rabbit song]

The Loneliness and the Scream [Frightened Rabbit song]

Encore:

Floating in the Froth [Frightened Rabbit song]

Poke [Frightened Rabbit song]

Damien Rice, Athenaeum Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice had been quiet for the last eight years. He had not released new material since 2006, and even that was only at the urging of his record label. And while he would do a one off performance in Ireland or the UK, he had not completed a full tour since his last album. So it came as quite a surprise that without much warning, he announced the upcoming release of a new album and accompanying tour which would include a handful of dates in North America.

His venue of choice, the Athenaeum Theatre, is quite small, seating less than a thousand people. While that means that even seats in the back are probably still good, tickets sold out immediately. I, however, was resolved to go, realizing that it could be many more years before he returned to a town in which I lived, if he returned at all. So I went on Craigslist and bought a ticket for four times face value, I believe the highest mark-up that I’ve ever paid for a ticket. It did however provide me with an amazing seat, in the second row of one of the middle sections on the main floor. All the tickets in that section were only available through the fan club presale, so everyone near me was a huge fan – either a member of the fan club or willing to pay a high premium for a ticket. Many drove quite a ways. The guy I bought my ticket from, who was sitting reasonably close to me at the show, drove from Bloomington, Indiana. My seat had a great view of the stage and perfect speaker placement. It was primed to be a wonderful experience.

There was no opener, so Damien took the stage about 7:45. He had a fair amount of equipment on stage with him including a piano. I wasn't sure whether to expect just him on stage or whether there would be any type of band with him. He came on stage and sat down on a stool with his guitar. There was just a single dim light on him, so the stage was very dark. While not showy it was an interesting choice for a performance and fitting for him. I now also better understood why he was playing such a small venue.

He opened with "I Don't Want to Change You" from his new album. After completing it, he told us that he had an ear infection, so it was strange to play music without being able to hear himself. To me, he still sounded great. His voice was still beautiful. Fortunately, his illness didn’t seem to be impacting his vocal chords. However, he was definitely having a bit of trouble on the guitar. However, it sounded fine once he got into the groove of a song. Besides, he’s known for his lyrics and voice, not his technical proficiency on a guitar. He played a couple more songs but frequently commented that he was having trouble. His concerns were met with lots of encouraging shouts from the audience, but perhaps he couldn't hear them. After playing “Volcano,” the song on which he normally closes, he stood up, apologized to everyone but stated that he couldn't continue. Then he left the stage, after playing only five complete songs.

I, along with every other person in the venue, was shocked. For a moment, I just sat there in disbelief. This can’t be happening. Maybe he would come back out? Unfortunately, the only person to return was a theater manager, telling us to go home and that Damien Rice and theatre would figure out how to move forward, be it rescheduling or refunds. It was very disappointing. A girl sitting near me, who had driven from Eastern Indiana, was in tears. I tried to convince her, as well as myself, that five songs were better than nothing. A little group of us gathered ourselves together and headed to Barrelhouse Flats, where we convinced the bar to play some Damien Rice. We had some drinks and made the best of it. The following morning, it was posted on his website that the show would be rescheduled. I suspect it will be in mid- November, as he’ll be returning to North America for a show in New York and Montreal. I just hope that I can make it.

Setlist:
I Don't Want To Change You
Accidental Babies
Then Go [Incomplete]
Delicate
The Greatest Bastard
Volcano
[Show ended early due to illness]

Robert Plant, Riviera Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

A Thursday night at the Riviera Theatre was another opportunity for me to cross a music legend off my bucket list. This time, it would be former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant. We arrived at the venue before the opening act took the stage, securing a spot towards the back of the lowest section. By the time Robert Plant started, this section was extremely crowded. It’s a bit of an annoying aspect of the Riviera. Unlike some other venues, the views and sound from the back of the theatre are vastly inferior to those closest to the stage. Therefore, everyone does whatever they can to get as close as possible. Among the crowd, we noticed many older people in attendance, uncommon for a general admission club show. I was a bit surprised that Robert Plant was playing the Riviera at all. He could have easily played a larger, seated venue like the Chicago Theater. We also noticed that there were many parent/child couples around us.

Robert Plant plays accompanied by his afro-psychedelic-blues band, the Sensational Shape Shifters, which he put together about two years ago. Plant and his new band are fresh off the release of their first collective album, lullaby and...The Ceaseless Roar (2014). The band includes five musicians in addition to Plant, consisting of members of another of his former bands, the Strange Sensation. The band played various stringed and percussion instruments, including a ritti player, the one string African fiddle I recently noticed on stage with Vieux Farka Touré at the Chicago World Music Festival last month. Plant himself didn't play an instrument but gave his band plenty of space to jam and show of their own talents. The band’s sound has a distinctly African influence but also incorporates the blend of rock, folk, and blues that Plant has been cultivating over the previous decade.

The evening’s setlist included about half Led Zeppelin songs and half Plant’s solo songs, plus a few covers. Naturally, the audience was most excited when he played Zeppelin. While getting to hear live versions of classic Zeppelin songs was the highlight, I also enjoyed selections from the new album, especially his closing on “Little Maggie,” a drastic rearrangement of a Stanley Brothers bluegrass song.

Setlist:
No Quarter [Led Zeppelin song]
Poor Howard
Ramble On [Led Zeppelin song]
Turn It Up
Arbaden (Maggie's Babby)
Rainbow
Going to California [Led Zeppelin song]
A Stolen Kiss
What Is and What Should Never Be [Led Zeppelin song]
How Many More Years [Howlin’ Wolf cover]
Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You [Joan Baez cover]
Fixin' to Die [Bukka White cover]
I Just Want to Make Love to You / Whole Lotta Love / Who Do You Love
Encore:
Nobody's Fault but Mine [Blind Willie Johnson cover]
Little Maggie

Kacey Musgraves, Riviera Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

Country star Kacey Musgraves took the stage on a Saturday night at the Riviera Theatre to Ennio Morricone’s theme from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. She was off to a great start as far as I was concerned. Taking the stage with her was a backing band of five guys wearing illuminated mariachi suits, including acoustic and electric guitars, drums, bass, and keyboard to compliment her acoustic guitar. She also switched over to banjo for a few songs. The stage itself was decorated with neon cacti.

Though she has released a total of four studio albums, the first of which when she was just 14 years old, I was only really familiar with her most recent, Same Trailer, Different Park (2013). Fortunately for me, most her set consisted of songs from this most recent album, ten in all. Another four songs came from other albums and a variety of covers, ranging from other country songs (Dolly Parton and Miranda Lambert) to R&B (TLC) and reggae (Bob Marley).

She performed well, without much additional fanfare besides creating some intimate moments with the audience – sitting on the edge of the stage and playful banter with the audience. To close the show, her band crowded around her for an a capella rendition of the Roy Rogers song “Happy Trails.”

Setlist:
Silver Lining
Stupid
Blowin' Smoke
I Miss You
High Time
Here You Come Again [Dolly Parton cover]
The Trailer Song
Keep It to Yourself
Back on the Map
Mama's Broken Heart [Miranda Lambert cover]
No Scrubs [TLC cover]
It Is What It Is
Step Off / 3 Lil' Birds [Bob Marley & the Wailers cover]
Merry Go 'Round
My House
Encore:
Biscuits
Cup of Tea
These Boots Are Made for Walkin' [Nancy Sinatra cover]
Follow Your Arrow
Happy Trails [Roy Rogers cover]

Riot Fest, Humboldt Park, Chicago, Illinois

Saturday

Though it originated ten years ago in more humble beginnings, as a multi-venue series of shows across the Windy City, Riot Fest has evolved into a massive, Friday-Sunday festival. Though the hub of Riot Fest is Chicago in early September, several smaller festivals are also held throughout North America. Humboldt Park, the festival’s home since 2012, is in an urban no man’s land on the west side of the city. As such, it’s a bit of a pain getting there. The park itself is separated by a lake. Other than the entrance, the entire festival was on the north side of that lake. This meant that festival organizers had to squeeze a lot of stages and other activities into the grounds, making it a bit tight. Some stage set ups were a bit awkward, such as the Riot stage, which had at least 40% of the ideal standing area for the audience cut off by an inaccessible baseball field. Most of the stages were set up similar to those of Lollapalooza, with a pair of stage across a field from each other. When the music on one stage ended, it began on the one across the way.

Most bands at the festival have at least some punk influence, be it punk rock, new wave, hardcore punk, emo, or ska. It’s not a strict requirement. Many lean more towards alternative rock or metal. There is often even hip hop and indie pop thrown in to round out the experience.  Nonetheless, unlike general festivals like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, Riot Fest aims to fill a specific niche. The style of music was also reflected in the attendees. Without a dance tent, there wasn't anywhere for a bunch of college-aged hipsters to congregate. While the weather in mid-September was certainly cooler than at the beginning of August, it was clear that the lack of male tank tops was mostly an aesthetic choice. Even though we saw ample tattoos throughout the grounds, few of them were ironic. There were also many attendees with piercings and non-naturally colored hair. However, the vast majority of people, even if dressed in a slightly alternative manner, could take out the piercing, comb their hair, and put on a suit for their job at a bank come Monday morning.

Based on the daily lineups, we decided to attend only on Saturday and Sunday. Noticing that the north entrance was a mob scene early Saturday afternoon, we walked right through security at the south entrance. When I noticed how lax security was, I immediately regretted not sneaking some booze into the venue. Our opening band of the day, California punk/emo Samiam, was at the Rebel stage. After heavy rains on Friday night, the grounds near the stage were covered in a ridiculous amount of mud. It was a bit disconcerting, as I thought we would spend the whole day trudging through it. Fortunately, we found that the while there was mud throughout the grounds, it was by far at its worst at the Rise and Rebel stages. Unlike the wet muddy puddles at Lollapalooza, the mud at Riot Fest was so thick and viscous that I had to tie my shoes tighter so they wouldn't get sucked off with each step. Despite the weather on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday were perfectly clear, so at least we missed what actually caused the mud.

After Samiam, we headed over to the Roots stage for Tokyo Police Club, a Canadian indie rock band. It was still a bit muddy but not a complete mess. It was the first show of the day that I was looking forward to seeing, and they play a good set.

Tokyo Police Club Setlist:
Argentina (Parts I, II, III)
Nature of the Experiment
Favourite Colour
Toy Guns
Breakneck Speed
Bambi
Hot Tonight
Tunnel Vision
Wait Up (Boots of Danger)
Your English Is Good

It was back to the punk scene, though with a bit more ska flavor, for Streetlight Manifesto on the Rock stage. We started watching from a distance, up on a hill overlooking the stage with a view of the Loop in the background. Even when we moved closer, I wasn't all that engaged, especially when I found an open hammock in the back. I wasn't particularly tired, but I knew I had a long day ahead. I’d now doubt be grateful for any time I could spend off my feet. As previously mentioned, the Rock stage was the most egregious example of the occasional awkwardness of the festival’s set up. A huge section of area in front of the stage was occupied by a baseball field which was closed off for attendees.

Canadian indie rock must have been the theme for the Roots stage that afternoon because after Streetlight Manifesto, we were back for City & Colour. The band, a vehicle for singer-songwriter Dallas Green, was the only acoustic-based band we would see all weekend. As such, the set was more subdued than most of the other bands we saw that weekend. Another good set which was particularly enjoyable because we were fairly close to the stage but still had plenty of space.

City & Colour Setlist:

Of Space and Time
The Lonely Life
The Grand Optimist
As Much as I Ever Could
Comin' Home
Fragile Bird
The Girl
Thirst
The Day We Hit the Coast (Thrush Hermit cover)
Sorrowing Man
Sleeping Sickness
Two Coins

With a bit of a lull in the lineup, we finally took a bit of time to wander the festival grounds, even though we didn't find much interesting to see – other than the people. The festival also has carnival rides. I don’t know why anyone would wait in line for a Ferris wheel at a music festival; there are so many bands to see!

We were back down to the Rock stage for Say Anything. I had heard of them before but can’t say that I was too familiar with their music. However, this was one of the highlights of the weekend for Eric and Benny. The former pushed his way up as close as he could get. The latter and I were back a little further, though still fairly close. The Los Angeles-based emo emo/alternative rockers brought lots of energy, which was met and raised by the crowd. In fact, it the first show of the weekend that I was at where the people surrounding me were completely engrossed in the performance. I didn't even know any songs but still had fun. The lead singer amused me as well. He was very punk but a bit older. So even though he still sported a tight tee and skinny jeans, now they covered up a slight gut. He still hopped around the stage as I imagine he did when he was thirty pounds lighter.

Say Anything Setlist:
Six Six Six
Spidersong
Burn a Miracle
Baby Girl, I'm a Blur
Judas Decapitation
Surgically Removing the Tracking Device
The Writhing South
Cemetery
Every Man Has a Molly
This Is Fucking Ecstasy
Belt

We next made our first stop at the Rise stage for The Get up Kids, more emo punk that would be another weekend highlight for Benny and Eric. I was never more than a casual fan over the years, but was at least familiar with their music. However, The Get Up Kids were one of ten bands which agreed to play one of their seminal albums in its entirety. Though certainly not the first time I've heard a band do this, it was a nice perk of Riot Fest to get to hear so many at once, especially for a guy like me who still prefers to listen to albums all the way through. It was also helpful in preparing for their set, as I could become quite familiar with their defining sophomore album, Something to Write Home About (1999) in anticipation of hearing it. I also found that I really enjoyed it in its own right. It is a bit strange to hear albums performed live though, and I know it must be even stranger for artists to play. The design of a track list is different from that of a concert setlist. Sometimes a song that sounds great in the studio doesn't translate well to a live performance, or the mood and flow that works well on your home stereo creates a buzzkill in the middle of a live set. In this case, the lead singer accidentally skipped “My Apology,” so had to go back to it and play after “I'm a Loner Dottie, a Rebel.” Nonetheless, I appreciate the attempt. However, it generally works well for the band as well. The Get Up Kids aren't a band well known for just a handful of singles. While there are no doubt some fan favorites, there was no mass exodus after any of them. People wanted to stay and hear every song of that album. They had enough time at the end for an extra three songs as well.

The Get Up Kids Setlist:
Holiday
Action & Action
Valentine
Red Letter Day
Out of Reach
Ten Minutes
The Company Dime
I'm a Loner Dottie, a Rebel
My Apology
Long Goodnight
Close to Home
I'll Catch You
Coming Clean
Shorty
Don't Hate Me

We caught a bit of another Canadian indie rock band, Metric, this time across the way at the Riot stage before turning left for the Flaming Lips on the Root Stage. It was at least my third or fourth time seeing the Flaming Lips, so I knew what to expect for their grand spectacle of a show. However like the band themselves, I wasn't expecting that as their first song, “The Abandoned Hospital Ship,” built up to its initial crescendo, the combination of sound, light, and confetti would overload the stage’s circuits, plunging it into silence and darkness. No lights, no music, no jumbotron screen, just an initial burst of confetti still floating to the ground. While I was worried they wouldn't be able to continue, it only took about 15 minutes for them to figure out everything and get the show rolling again. The remainder of their set was their typical fare. I didn't stick around the entire time, instead opting to walk over to the Riot stage for The National, though I could at least hear the rest of Flaming Lips set from a distance and even see frontman Wayne Coyne get into his giant plastic bubble.

Flaming Lips Setlist:
The Abandoned Hospital Ship
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1
The Golden Path (Chemical Brothers cover)
Race for the Prize
Vein of Stars
The W.A.N.D.
A Spoonful Weighs a Ton
Do You Realize??
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (Beatles cover)

Over at the Riot stage, things weren't going any better. However, this time it was because The National were late to take the stage. Apparently, they were in route from a show at the Ottawa Folk Festival the previous night and had some flight delays. In other words, Blame Canada. I can only imagine the series of heart attacks festival organizers were having a short while ago when the lights went out at the Flaming Lips. Would they get things up and running again? Would The National show up? After a 25 minutes delay, The National did show up, giving the Flaming Lips a bit of extra time to finish their set. Matt Berninger apologized for their tardiness, and the band launched into a great, if short, 12 song set. We were standing fairly close, though not as close as the last time that I saw them at the Chicago Theatre. If we were standing behind the parents of anyone famous, I wasn't specifically aware.

The National Setlist:

Don't Swallow the Cap
I Should Live in Salt
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Sea of Love
Afraid of Everyone
I Need My Girl
This Is the Last Time
England
Graceless
Fake Empire
Mr. November
Terrible Love

Sunday

We arrived at a similar time on Sunday afternoon, pleased to find that even the Rebel and Rise stages had dried off significantly since the previous day. The sludge-like mud that covered the field had hardened into packed clay. We started our day with the Front Bottoms, an indie rock band that has been around for a few years but a recent discovery for me due to their album, Talon of the Hawk (2013). I was the only one familiar with the band, so while we didn't bother to get to close to the stage, everyone agreed it was a good way to kick off the day. Though they played a short set, it did include their biggest hit, “Au Revoir (Adios).” Lead singer Brian Sella challenged himself to chug a beer on stage towards the end; I’m sure no one doubted his ability to do so.

Front Bottoms Setlist:

Skeleton

Flashlight

Au Revoir (Adios)

The Beers

Backflip

Swimming Pool

Maps

Twin Size Mattress

Afterwards, we stayed for The Hold Steady, a band that I had seen before with the same group of friends at a festival a few years ago. Even though I had liked a few of their albums, and we were quite close to the stage, I was a bit disappointed with their last performance. Though my expectations were lower,  I enjoyed them much more this time. It seemed like a more excited crowd, and the band brought more energy. I’m not sure that I liked it enough to seek out one of their club shows, but another good set for early in the day.

The Hold Steady Setlist:

I Hope This Whole Thing Didn't Frighten You

Stuck Between Stations

The Swish

Sequestered in Memphis

You Can Make Him Like You

Constructive Summer

Hot Soft Light

Spinners

Chips Ahoy!

Your Little Hoodrat Friend

Southtown Girls

Stay Positive

We again stuck around, turning to the left for hard rocker Andrew WK on the Rise stage. I didn't realize it until I checked the setlist following the show, but his set was another full album. It was his debut, I Get Wet (2001), which is also the only album of his that I've heard –apparently not that extensively. Andrew WK easily wins the award for hardest rocking act of the festival. He’s a bit of a caricature: a bit gruff and aloof; Keith Richards without the flamboyance or swagger. His opening songs, “Interlude (It's Not a Show, It's a Party” is perfectly named. His “party” was even complete with suggestively dancing girls. One voluptuous girl in particular spent equal time proving backing vocals and shaking her ass. He’s both the life of the party and a complete tool all at the same time. It’s hard to tell to what degree his whole image is all tongue in cheek. Does he take himself seriously or is it all a joke?

Andrew WK Setlist:

Interlude (It's Not a Show, It's a Party)

I Get Wet

It's Time to Party

Party Hard

Girls Own Love

Ready to Die

Take It Off

I Love NYC

She Is Beautiful

Party Till You Puke

Fun Night

Got to Do It

I Get Wet

Don't Stop Living in the Red

Following Andrew WK, I listened to some Motion City Soundtrack from a distance. While the fun power pop sounded like something I could have gotten a bit more into, I was quite content to take a trip to the bathroom and relax underneath the shade of a tree while my friends got a bit closer. We next migrated over to the Riot stage for indie pop sisters Tegan & Sara. It was very crowded; I had no idea that they were so popular. I always thought of them as a band that everyone likes but no one loves. However, clearly this was a narrow view. Even where I was standing at the back of the field, people surrounding me were belting out every single lyric. The sisters discussed their punk roots and played a mix of old and new songs.

Tegan & Sara Setlist:

Goodbye, Goodbye

I'm Not Your Hero

Back In Your Head

The Con

Walking With a Ghost

Living Room

How Come You Don't Want Me

Shock to Your System

Drove Me Wild

Closer

We turned towards the Roots stage for another packed set, Dropkick Murphys. Even though I typically reserve listening to the Celtic punk rockers on or around St. Paddy’s Day, they weren't completely out of place with the rest of the punk rock scene happening around them. From a distance, I could see their high energy on stage, but the acoustics were a bit off with way too much bass. With the massive crowd, it wasn't worth squeezing any closer, especially since I really only wanted to hear a single song, “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” which entered the pop culture zeitgeist after being featured in the Martin Scorsese film, “The Departed.”  Dropkick Murphys did seem like it would have been a really fun show on a smaller stage with a lot of Guinness or Jameson in your system.

Dropkick Murphys Setlist:

The Boys Are Back

Citizen C.I.A.

Prisoner's Song

Going Out in Style

Blood and Whiskey

Cruel

The Walking Dead

Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya

Vengeance (Nipple Erectors cover)

Rose Tattoo

Out of Our Heads

I'm Shipping Up to Boston

Takin' Care of Business (Bachman-Turner Overdrive cover)

We're an American Band (Grand Funk Railroad cover)

After a quick bite of food, we were back at the Riot stage for Patti Smith, sometimes known as the "Godmother of Punk.” Upon the release of her debut album, Horses (1975), her fusion of rock and poetry became highly influence in the early punk movement. We only caught a bit of her set, but I was happy that it included “Because the Night” the often-covered song that she wrote with Bruce Springsteen. Unfortunately, many of those cover versions are better than hers. At 67, her voice isn't nearly what it used to be. Nonetheless, it was a nice treat to hear a few songs from an iconic musician.

We returned to the Rebel stage for Chicagoland natives Cheap Trick, though the main purpose was really to secure a spot for Weezer, who would be closing the festival on that stage a bit later. Cheap Trick played their album Heaven Tonight (1978), which I again didn't realize until after the fact, though I did recognize several of the songs including “Surrender.” Interestingly, it also includes a cover itself, “California Man” by 60s English band, The Move. The hard rock band is mostly thought of as a collaboration between Robin Zander (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Rick Nielsen (lead guitar, backing vocals), though Tom Petersson (bass, backing vocals) is a founding member of the band and has been involved with all but a few years’ worth of the their forty year history. Daxx Nielsen, Rick’s son, took over for Bun E Carlos several years ago on drums. Before the sun set over the crowd, I noticed that most attendees were a bit older than most of the sets over the course of the weekend. I don’t think they ever picked up a whole lot of fans in my age cohort. In fact, I was the only one of my friends that had even heard of them. Robin Zander was wearing what appeared to be a navy admiral’s uniform. Rick Nielsen didn't have nearly as many necks on his guitar as I was expecting.

Cheap Trick Setlist:

Surrender

On Top of the World

California Man (The Move cover)

High Roller

Auf Wiedersehen

Takin' Me Back

On the Radio

Heaven Tonight

Stiff Competition

How Are You?

Oh Claire

I Want You to Want Me

After Cheap Trick had wrapped up their set, we turned slightly to the left to see Primus, hoping we’d be able to enjoy some of their music from a distance. We also noticed they brought giant inflatable astronauts with them on stage. What I heard sounded quite good even if I was only moderately engaged among the chatter of those around me. Primus was definitely something I would have like to see up close at some point. While they didn't play the South Park theme song, they did play “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver.”

With a good spot secured, we turned our attention back towards the Rebel stage for alternative rock, power pop band, Weezer, who had a significant influence on me as a young music lover. Their set would include the entirety of their debut album, Weezer (1994), generally known as The Blue Album and perhaps my single favorite album of all time. As Primus was wrapping up their set, frontman Rivers Cuomo took a few last minutes sound checking guitars. He wore a mask to draw less attention to himself. The backdrop for the show started as a banner from their new album, Everything Will Be Alright in the End (2014). The band took the stage with Rivers announcing that the band was taking the audience for a trip in a time machine, heading back to where it all started. Weezer kicked off the evening in the current year with the lead single, “Back to the Shack,” from their most recent album. It was by far the most appropriate song on which to open. With lyrics like, “Sorry guys I didn't realize that I needed you so much, I thought I'd get a new audience, I forgot that disco sucks, ” it’s a nod to fans to of their original material who have griped about their more recent work, me included. The band continued taking us back through time, with Rivers announcing cuts from of the various Weezer albums back through the years – “Pork and Beans” from The Red Album (2008), “Perfect Situation” and “Beverly Hills” from Make Believe (2005), and “Island in the Sun” and “Hash Pipe” from The Green Album (2001). Eventually, we arrived at “El Scorcho” from Pinkerton (1996).

Every person in earshot knew what was coming next, though they teased it out a bit more with a short set break. During the break, the Everything Will Be Alright in the End backdrop came down with The Blue Album’s cover hoisted in its place. However, perhaps because original bassist Matt Sharp is no longer with the band, the banner was a modified version that didn’t include a photo of the band. Retaking the stage, Weezer immediately launched into “My Name is Jonas,” the opening track from the iconic album. The crowd went wild. There was a bit of moshing, mostly a single group of guys situated near us. Note:  If you look around and notice that you and your friends have created a mosh pit that everyone else around you is trying to avoid, then everyone hates you. However, it would have taken much more than a few rambunctious youngsters to put a damper on the experience of seeing a complete rendition of the The Blue Album. The entire time I was torn between not wanting it to end but thoroughly anticipating the next song, especially the epic closing track, “Only in Dreams.” The building crescendo of the ballad is the perfect end to an album, a set, and a weekend of music. The entire weekend was worth that second Weezer set.

Weezer Setlist:

First Set: Time Machine (The Hits)

Back to the Shack

Pork and Beans

Perfect Situation

Beverly Hills

Island in the Sun

Hash Pipe

El Scorcho

Second Set: Blue Album (1994)

My Name Is Jonas

No One Else

The World Has Turned and Left Me Here

Buddy Holly

Undone - The Sweater Song

Surf Wax America

Say It Ain't So

In the Garage

Holiday

Only in Dreams

Fully satisfied, we followed the crowd onto the streets of Chicago. The previous night, we were lucky enough to have Lindsey pick us up outside the venue. Being late on a Sunday, Lindsey was already asleep at home, so we had to arrange our own transportation home. This was the point for which Riot Fest’s choice of venue at the isolated Humboldt Park was quite frustrating. Without an L station close-by, thousands of people were all trying to secure a bus, taxi, Uber, or Lyft. Thus, we had to walk quite a ways to get a bus, then a taxi home. Overall, well worth it though.