Pete's Log: Riot Fest 2024 Day 2
Entry #2563, (Music)(posted when I was 46 years old.)
Jamie and I had a busy second day of Riot Fest.
We got there about an hour after they opened and started by checking out the Merch. I got a Doom logo Riot Fest hat. We then grabbed a delicious lunch of falafel and empanadas and watched the Dead Milkmen while eating. Their set tied for my second favorite of the day.
We then wandered over to the vendor area while listening to the last couple songs of the Buzzcocks. Then we listened to most of a Sir Chloe set, then a bit of The Dickies. Their lead singer made sure to let us know he is 68 years old and has an enlarged prostate.
Then a bit of The Hives before checking out Riot Land a bit, a new feature they added this year. It was a bit underwhelming but we saw a Delorean (outfitted as a time machine) and some wrestling.
We then stopped by the band merch stand where I tried getting both a Dead Milkmen and a The Warning shirt, but they didn't have anything in my size.
Next we listened to Rival Sons for a bit, they had a fun bluesy vibe. The crowd started really filling in at this point.
Then we caught Sincere Engineer, whom I've been hearing good things about lately, but hadn't listened to yet. They turned out to be my favorite act of the day. Apparently they have a thing where they do a corn dog circle pit. Plenty of fans were ready for it, you can see them holding up corn dogs in this picture:
So after that set, I needed a Sincere Engineer shirt and luckily that was still available in my size.
Then it got to being dinner time so we grabbed a jumbo slice of pizza and split it while watching what the schedule said was Dillinger Four, but at the end of the set they said they were the Brokedowns, but nowhere can I find any info that the Brokedowns played. So who knows.
Next we watched Spoon. I got them mixed up in my head with Sponge, so I thought I was going to know a song, but as it turns out, I really enjoyed Spoon and their set ties with Dead Milkmen as my second favorite.
Next we listened to St. Vincent for a bit. It was an interesting industrial cabaret goth mish mash that grew on me the more we listened to it. They also played an instrument that sounded like a Theremin, but didn't look like one, so I was intrigued.
We then listened to the Descendents set. I knew maybe two songs in the first half, but everything in the second half.
We finished the evening listening to a couple Waxahatchee songs before we had to head out to catch our train home.
Overall very fun, but exhausting. We definitely enjoyed the daylight vibe more than the nighttime vibe. There seemed to be a lot of smoking once it got dark. Our primary non-music entertainment was watching people try to inflate their air loungers. It seemed a popular accessory this year.