[RH Photos] Riot Fest Day 1 Recap
Since the first wave of artists were revealed for this year’s Riot Fest, I knew it was going to be a special affair. With a list of bands consisting of teenage influences to early adult infatuations, Riot Fest 2013 was going to mark my first visit to the Humboldt Park festival in seven years. Many changes to the festival have changed since 2006, such as the inclusion of non-punk rock acts and the move from the Congress Theater to the Humboldt Park grounds. One thing hasn’t changed, though: the promoters’ commitment to bringing together both legendary and up-and-coming bands that appeal to everybody from suburban mall punks to former, middle-aged crust punks.
My weekend began with Dessa of Minneapolis’ Doomtree fame. As the lone hip hop act on my personal lineup, Dessa's set kind of represented a transition from the shows I've been covering for the past year into the types of shows I spent my teenage and early adult years attending. Dessa's set featured a mix of her both rapping and singing, bringing some extra variety and musicianship to her set. At one point, Dessa made the five-foot drop from the stage to the photo pit to get just that much closer to her fans lining the metal barricade.
Next up was Mr. Party himself, Andrew W.K. Like I mentioned in our Riot Fest Preview, I’m not all that familiar with AWK outside of his positive promotion of partying. Sure enough, his set consisted of mostly songs focused on partying. Clad in his now standard all white-ensemble, AWK came out with high energy with a full band and a female backup singer who was just as energetic and fierce as AWK himself. Andrew W.K.’s music isn’t necessarily my cup of tea, but his stage presence made up for the repetitive song themes as he alternated between front stage power stances to mid-stage keys playing.
Speaking of power stances, Screeching Weasel was my third act of the night. Led by long-time front man Ben Weasel, the formerly suburban Chicago band ran the gamut of their near-thirty year backlog of songs. Their set comes with an asterisk, however, as Ben Weasel is the only original member still in the band, falling in line with the ethos of another Chicagoland band, Smashing Pumpkins, where the name and legacy runs through the singer/front man as opposed to the band as a whole. Nevertheless, it was a bucket list check-off to sing along to songs like “Dingbat” and “Hey Suburbia” while Weasel posed in Henry Rollins-esque power stances. No girls were punched during their set, either.
Immediately following was the satirical heavy metal band, GWAR. I went into their set with a clean slate outside of a passing knowledge of their music and live stage antics. Sure enough, fellow photographers lining up to enter the photo pit came prepared with ponchos and camera sleeves for protection from the band’s iconic blood gushing and outlandish science-fiction/horror costumes (highlighted mostly by lead singer Oderus Urungus' codpiece). GWAR's set was a mix of songs and theatrics as they had male slaves roaming the stage, priests' heads split apart, and shit-encrusted assholes penetrated and gushing blood over the front row of revelers.
Finally, I ended my Day 1 with a last-minute decision to check out Sublime with Rome. Running counter to the aforementioned Screeching Weasel, Sublime with Rome features original Sublime bassist, Eric Wilson, and drummer Josh Freese (who replaced original Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh in 2011) with vocalist Rome Ramirez filling in the role of departed singer/guitarist, Bradley Nowell. My relationship with Sublime is conflicting, as their music represented an amalgamation of hip hop and third-wave ska, but also a watered down representation of actual ska filtered through to frat bros and suburban mall punks that would talk down formal ska bands, but praise Sublime. Nevertheless, I can't deny my younger self's love of Sublime. To watch Sublime with Rome, however, left me with mixed emotions. On one hand, it's great to see and hear classic Sublime songs live; at the same time, Rome brought little different to the equation other than the minimally different guitar lick or vocal intonation. Simply put, watching Sublime with Rome was like watching a Sublime karaoke set, albeit with capable musicians.
My photos of the aforementioned bands can be seen below. A full set of photos from Riot Fest Day 1 can be found on my Flickr, as well.
[RH Photos] North Coast Festival 2013 Day 3
Photos By: Bobby Reys
Making it through the entirety of any festival is a workout at the least and a survival game for some, but by the end of my three-day adventure across Union Park I was in need of a pick me up. After taking in the tail end of an inspired performance and North Coast debut for local artist Psalm One, I found just that around two o'clock as the funky vibes of fellow Chicagoans whysowhite took the Coast stage for what may have been the best performance of the day had they not been competing with Wu Tang , Cherub and Gary Clark Jr.
Leading twins Charles and Davis Haines kept the crowd moving in the neon pants while Nick McMillan MC'd and danced his way into oblivion, sending the steadily-building crowd dancing well after the set ended in the early September heat. Next, it was off to Danny Brown, who performed on a similarly-placed stage to where Lil B performed a month earlier at Pitchfork Festival. It was a similar experience with the sea of fans bopping up and down to the squeaky vibe of Brown's vocals. It was Danny Brown as you would expect him although without his pants down onstage.
From there, a bit too worn on the EDM tip I took in Rebelution, who's jammy, soulful rock tunes were the perfect break from the scattering computers sounds of the DJs that dominated Day 2. Gary Clark Jr, festival king himself, picked up where Rebelution left off, keeping the easy, cool sounds coming, eventually handing the baton to Cherub whose falsetto 80's-inspired electro-pop kept listeners moving and criss-crossing their library.
All in all, though, the festival ended as it began. As headliners Wu Tang Clan and Lotus took the stage, drops of rain could be felt and a general groan could be felt across the park. Wu Tang ran through the classics with Cappadonna, U-God and RZA setting the pace for the rest of the present members while Lotus' Miller brothers gave the Last Stand Stage crowd all they could in a limited set. They played the hits, and got off the stage-twenty minutes early. I'm suggesting bubbles over music festivals in Chicago moving forward.
[RH Photos] North Coast Music Festival 2013 Day 2
Photography by Geoff Henao
Day Two of North Coast Music Festival in Union Park went off much smoother than the 2013 debut a day earlier. With the sun finally shining down and the heat pounding festival-goers, things got off to a fast start. Chicago's own Porn and Chicken got things going with their 2:30 set at the Last Stand Stage, picking up where frat-dance kings Milk n' Cookies warmed up the stage earlier.
After floating through the following sets and checking out a truly inspired set from Conspirator, I found myself torn between the silky smooth tones of Aloe Blacc, the rough-edged hip hop of Flatbush Zombies and the endearing DJ sounds of Thibault. I ended up making the rounds to each briefly, unfortunately missing most of Flatbush due to simply not being able to navigate the festival properly. Between Bondax, Gramatik, Future Rock and the smattering of EDM/Dance acts on the Tent Stage, the Saturday afternoon air was soon completely inundated with the glitchy sound of digital music. Being a big fan of both Gramatik and Bondax, it was disappointing that organizers pushed so many similar acts together and brought about memories of monotonous EDM festivals of earlier months.
Emerging from the dense electronic jungle, Nas took the North Stage to close it out for the day. The New York MC showed precisely why he is one of the most decorated hip-hop acts in the history of the genre, filling his hour-long set with tracks from his entire discography. Dipping back to Illmatic for timeless hit ("The World is Yours", "Life's a Bitch", "Memory Lane") and peppering more recent work from several albums (God's Son, Stillmatic, Life is Good), Nasir Jones put on a show that won't soon be forgotten at North Coast.
EDM made it's way back to the stage in two forms to close out Saturday, with Big Gigantic and Afrojack bringing up the rear as the day's headliners. Jeremy Salken and Dominic Lalli continued their string of impressive Chicago shows by performing their instrumental take on the genre that includes live drums and saxophone, drawing one of the biggest crowds of the weekend. A meet and greet organized through Thissongissick.com kept the pair standing stage-side for hours. For his part, Afrojack held things down, giving fans a grittier dance experience from the other side of the festival grounds and closing out what was easily the biggest day at North Coast for anyone trying to dance.
[RH Photos] North Coast Music Festival 2013 Day 1
Photos by RaRa Photography
Weather doesn't seem to like Chicago festivals much, and the latest edition of North Coast at Union Park was no exception. The festival got off to a familiar beginning as those in attendance were evacuated from the park within hours of arriving due to a storm that quickly swept through the area. As memories of Bjork getting cut short weeks earlier at Pitchfork Festival danced in everyone's heads, careful planning by organizers REACT Presents and 1833 got North Coast going again before 8 o'clock and sent hundreds dashing across baseball fields and basketball courts to catch RL Grime who restarted the party and essentially re-opened the festival for the weekend.
The soggy crowd bounced between the remaining acts. AlunaGeorge made their US festival debut, playing on the main stage with an electrifying outfit. With only 30 minutes left, they rocked the stage with a graceful performance. The festival continued on with other acts from Laid back Luke, Mac Miller, and Passion Pit who gathered a crowd to the furthest point of the park.
Despite Passion Pit's equipment being severely damaged by the storm they did not disappoint the crowd by canceling, instead playing a DJ set to the enjoyment of a positive and responsive crowd. Mac Miller, performing on the North Stage, put on an inspired performance while playing a variety of his increasingly extensive library as he touched on content from 2009's KIDS to this year's Watching Movies With The Sound Off to a young, raucous crowd.
The surprise act of the day was certainly Chicago's own ProbCause, whose 7 o'clock Tent Stage performance was pushed back, putting him onstage at the same time as Mac and Paper Diamond, who put on a live performance himself. Despite beginning the set with a sparse crowd, Prob faced the adversity head on and rocked the crowd like he was on the main stage, attracting fans old and new. Later, I headed to the Bottom Lounge where he joined fellow North Coast performer Psalm One onstage for the Just Blaze after show.
Day 1 of North Coast may have been set back by the sudden storm, but delivered to everyone who came out. North Coast handled the situation gracefully with a fast and easy path back into the festival and a safe end to it all. -
[RH Photos] America's Most Wanted Music Festival in Austin
Photography by: Virgil Solis
I have to admit that I was pretty excited to hit up the America's Most Wanted Music Festival because I had never seen any of the artists on the bill. Whenever 2 Chainz, T.I., and Lil Wayne are on the same lineup, you know you're going to have a good time and few ratchet moments. The first person up to kick off the night was producer/rapper Hitboy who hit the stage with a lot of energy. His set was very short and probably maxed out at 10 minutes long, but he did what he had to do and that was to hype of the crowd. He dug into his catalog of songs he produced and had the crowd jumping and reciting the lyrics when performed both "Clique" and "Ni**as in Paris;" after he was done 2 Chainz was up.
As you've come to expect from 2 Chainz, he came out on stage with leather shorts, and of course, his gold chains. From the start, he had the crowd going and the majority of the crowd knew every lyric. From "Started From The Trap" to "U.O.E.N.O." and even "Beez in the Trap," the crowd knew everything. There were so many hits that he played that I can list, but it would be too many to mention. Of course, my favorite song was "Spend It," and I kept hoping that T.I. would jump on stage and spit his verse, but no such luck. He would go on to mention that his new album would be dropping September 1oth and closed out his set with "No Lie," paving the way for T.I.
I admit that I was really looking forward to see the king of the south because I have been a fan of his for a long time... well at least before all the legal problems. From the start, he came out on stage with a lot of energy accompanied by two hype men and a full live band in the back, which I didn't expect. He had a pretty cool backdrop as well, and the stage resembled a house from the movie ATL, giving us a performance that seemed like he was just rhyming in front of his crib. He kicked it off with "Down Low" and just going hit after hit after hit. I was pumped, and the crowd was too; everyone was having a great time, even the 40 year olds next to me were diggin' the performance. Even with the controversy surrounding the song "Blurred Lines," he performed the song, but unfortunatetly none of the models from the video showed up on stage. T.I. didn't forget that he was in Texas and brought out Houston native and Screwed Up Click member Trae Tha Truth out to perform with him. The venue turned up at that very moment. T.I. played a couple more songs and eventually closed out his set with "What You Know," and if that would've been the end of the show, I think everyone would have been satisfied, but we still the headliner Lil Wayne up next.
Now I've been listening to Lil Wayne for as long as I can remember and never seen him live, and I was interested in seeing him on stage for the first time since his big health scare. When the curtains opened, all you could hear was the sound of guitars going off, and it felt like you were at a rock concert rather the a rap concert. In true Weezy fashion, he came out on stage accompanied by skaters who would spend the entire time doing tricks on the ramps that were on stage. Now Weezy had a very long set, and it was hard to believe how many hits that he has in his catalog. I was pumped and the was crowd definitely into his performance. With the way he was commanding the stage, it looked like the health issues didn't slow him down one bit. He had fireworks going off all through the performance, and he had back up dancers doing what they do best. He had the crowd in the palm of his hands, and everyone was completely out of control when he brought out 2 Chainz for "Bandz A Make Her Dance" and other songs the two are featured on. The only time the night slowed down was when Wayne went and did a quick costume change. When he finally came back, he had a skateboard and started going towards the ramp, and I admit I was wondering if he was going to fall, but he didn't. Then he went on to continue the show and had some ladies come up on stage who may or may not have been strippers, but we'll never know. The night continued with hit after hit, and he brought out T.I. to do some songs with him, and you know Birdman had to make an appearance with "Stay Fly," which was pretty awesome. It was good to see Lil Wayne perform and see him not miss a step. Everyone there had a great time, and Lil Wayne clearly had no worries that night.
[RH Photos] Under The Influence Tour w/ A$AP Rocky and Wiz Khalifa in Austin
Photos by Virgil Solis
The Under The Influence Tour had a pretty impressive line up of some up and comers in the game, including the likes of Joey Badass, Smoke DZA, and Trinidad James, but it was B.o.B., A$AP Rocky, and Wiz Khalifa that would go ahead and close out the night. B.o.B. was the first of the three to take the stage and set the tone for the rest of the night. At the time of his performance, many had still not yet arrived as people were still continuing to fill up the venue. As he played through his set, more and more people started to get into the performance, and once his twerk team got on stage, the audience really go into it. He played some of this popular songs, but it was "Nothing on You" where the crowd got excited, and you could hear them recite every lyric throughout the venue. What I thought was pretty cool was when he stopped in the middle of his performance to take a big group picture of the crowd for his Instagram, which you can see here.
Next up would be A$AP Rocky, who I came to see since it had been a little over a year since I saw him perform live. He came out with a lot of energy during his set, and people were really pumped to see him, but it wasn't until A$AP brought out B Real from Cypress Hill when the crowd really flipped out. Together, they performed the cult classic "How I Could Just Kill A Man," and from there on, he had the entire venue in the palm of his hand. It was really cool to see B Real come out, and it was something that neither I or the crowd could have expected. I'm stoked I got to see the two on stage together. It was also dope to see A$AP come out with a live band and not simply just a DJ and a hype man; the band added to the whole experience. He ended the night with his more popular songs, like one of my favorites, "Peso," as well as "Goldie," and finally closed it out with "F**ckin' Problems." All in all, I really digged A$AP's performance, and I could tell the audience did too.
Last up was the headliner of the Tour, Wiz Khalifa, and you could just see by the look of the crowd that the majority of them were there to see him. I did see a lot of A$AP fans, but the Wiz fans clearly outnumbered them, judging from all the band tees. When Wiz took to the stage, the crowd really got into it, and it seemed the crowd got larger. Wiz really got into his performance from the get-go, and when he performed "The Thrill," the crowd was really behind him, reciting literally every word to the point where I couldn't even make out his voice. The same could be said when he came on stage for "Work Hard Play Hard," and for a lack of a better word, he did come out hard. Like A$AP before him, he also had a live band, and there's just something about listening to that track with real instruments that made it one of the better songs of the night. I give it up to Wiz - he put on a good performance and played for almost an hour and a half. One reason for it being that long, though, was that he had like three to four costume changes throughout his set. By the end of the night, Austin had a great night of music, and the Under The Influence Tour gave them their money's worth.
[RH Photos] The Space Migration Tour in Austin
Photos by: Virgil Solis
After dropping his second full length album Watching TV with the Sound Off, Mac Miller hit the road with Chicago's Chance the Rapper and kicking off his Space Migration Tour at a sold out show at Emo's in Austin, TX. Having just missed Chance's come up in Chicago, I was really looking forward to seeing his live show for the first time. Acid Rap by far is one of this year's best projects put out and a mixtape I've listened to non-stop since it dropped. Chance came out with a fury, and the audience sang along and cheered for him, returning the same energy back in the process. He performed some crowd favorites like "Pusha Man," "Juice," and some classics from his first mixtape, #10Day.
After a quick set change, Mac was ready to hit the stage. The all ages crowd was so hyped from Chance's set that they were hungry for Mac. Miller came out in a floral print fit and rocked the crowd from the get-go. You can see why both of these acts are on the road together as they have loyal fan bases that know the words to all of their music. After an hour or so, Mac was still going strong with no signs of letting up. I was at hand with Bobby Reys and shot some photos of the two which you can see below.
[RH Photos] Spring Awakening Day 3
Sunday signaled the end of this year's Spring Awakening. Taking the stage to close out the weekend full of beats, babes, and booties were Krewella, Trentino, Porter Robinson, the Porn and Chicken crew, headliner Calvin Harris, and scores of others. Chicago Bulls guard/forward Jimmy Butler was also in attendance to introduce Krewella to the stage. Joining me on Sunday was also Chicago hip hop music video extraordinaire and my LOD compatriot, Bryan "FragDFilms" Lamb. It was sweaty, it was loud, and it was fun; thanks to everybody that allowed us to take their photos over the weekend, thanks to React Presents for putting together a great lineup of artists, and thanks to Chicago for not raining that much this weekend.
Some of my photos from Spring Awakening Day 3 are below, while the rest of the day's photos can be found here. Photos are © Geoff Henao (final four photos are © Alex Lapenia).
