Kari pretty much ordered us a set of Riot Fest tickets as soon as she saw this year's line-up. There wasn't many current acts, but it was chock full of bands we would've gone to 10+ years ago if we had money... or knew that we liked going to shows. I'd barely seen any of these people play before, but was definitely into a ton of them at least one point in my life.

After watching Lollapalooza get a bigger and bigger, molly fueled, EDM crowd over the last 10 years, the crowd at Riot Fest was a much welcomed change. Almost everyone there knew how to go to a show and navigate crowds without being a huge dick. Everyone was still partying, dancing, and having a good time, but the vibe, older crowd and smaller fest was just super awesome.

Add all that in with carnival rides, fair food, and beer? It turned out to be a super positive experience.

Here's who we saw...

Friday

• Flogging Molly - Not really as crazy of a live show as I'd hoped, but they still sounded good and were a fun first show to check out.
• Faith No More - This was unexpectedly (and kinda hilariously) cheesy. I mean, they sounded fairly decent when they were playing... but it just seemed like these dudes were trying too hard to say cool things.
• No Doubt - Gwen Stefani was awesome.
• Ice Cube - Sounded unexpectedly good live. Old and new stuff. The crowd was loving it.

Saturday

Started with an awesome brunch with Clint, Jacqui, Harper, Hiromi, and friends at Handlebar.

• Gwar - lol. this band. Especially in broad daylight.
• Millencolin - really made me want to hop on my inline skates and cruise around town with one of their old albums blaring in my headphones
• The Dead Milkmen - I'm glad I saw em, just cause... well, if you like punk music you probably should. I'm still not a super fan of these dudes tho.
• Babes in Toyland - I watched these ... babes while waiting for Pennywise. They were insane.
• Pennywise - Bro Hymn live??? So rad.
• Bootsy Collins' Rubber Band - Funk. So much funk.
• Merle Haggard - was Merle Haggard. Old. Country. Awesome.
• Billy Idol - There was no way I wasn't going to love this show. I mean, White Wedding and Rebel Yell live? Come on.
• System of a Down - I really expected these dudes to be crazier on stage. They sounded ridiculously good live. Like, that live singer actually sings like that... but they just... hung out and played their songs. I suppose their demeanor may have been a little weird after they had to stop playing twice so security could save some dude who was trampled and unconscious in the pit.
• Iggy Pop - Still looks like a piece of rotisserie chicken with weird posture ... and is batshit crazy on stage. So awesome live.

Sunday

Started with another awesome brunch at Bangers and Lace

• De la Soul - A classic. It was great to see these dudes live.
• Less Than Jake - Ska punk while waiting for Yelawolf - not bad.
• Yelawolf - This is my 3rd time seeing this dude live. He keeps looking more and more like a greaser country dude. Still awesome live... but I wish there was more hip-hop in this set.
• Andrew WK - I don't know what this dude's solo shows are like, but when he has his wife and his full "party band" with him, it's just crazy. The entire time he's just going bonkers, encouraging the crowd (like, literally telling them they're doing really good), and having an absolute blast. If you have a chance to see Andrew WK live, just do it.
• Cypress Hill - We watched a good portion of this from the ferris wheel which was awesome. I love B-Real
• Jimmy Cliff - was nice to chill out and listen to while we laid around on the soccer field for a bit
• Snoop Dogg - Started like 30 minutes late... which sucks when you have a 1 hour set... but still, Snoop Dogg
• The Prodigy - Whoa. These dudes are crazy live. The lights, the chaos, so much better than I'd anticipated.

So! That was Riot Fest... Here are the rest of my photos! Also, I need to get a new concert camera ASAP.