Words by: Fredric Hall
Photos and additional words by: Meredith Goldberg

For the third and final day of 2019’s Riot Fest festivities, punk sets were, again, on the small side. Still what’s there ain’t too shabby. Against Me! Had an awesome set, playing both “Reinventing Axl Rose” and “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” start-to-finish, while singer Laura Jane Grace was belting out every song with her unique voice that forces you to pay attention. A particular high point was “Osama bin Laden as the Crucified Christ” with its driving, distorted bass line and disturbing lyrics. At one point, someone in the crowd held up a sign saying “You Are My Hero”, a good indicator of the effect the band had on the crowd.

Against Me!

Dave Hause & The Mermaid

Frankie Iero and the Future Violents

Sincere Engineer

Perhaps the most curious event to take place at Riot Fest’s 15th Anniversary staging in Chicago was a Wall of Death during The Village People’s performance of their most famous tune, “YMCA.” The song has long been a staple at basketball games of all levels and in all communities despite its lyrical content often understood to refer to the YMCA as a gay hook up spot in the 1970’s. Yet on Day 3,  fans young, old and looking to represent virtually every demographic at Riot Fest joined in forming the 4 letters in the title. And per an organized Facebook event, many took part in a Wall of Death in the center of crowd. For the uninitiated, a Wall of Death is basically a move within a circle pit where a large group of people back off and then at the same moment run toward each other. The event even took the life of a photographer’s sunglasses (though not the DS photog’s sunglasses, whew).

The Village People

The Village People fans spell out Y.M.C.A.

Patti Smith had her brand of a slow burning performance later on. Now I know the organizers don’t pick out acts all willy-nilly and Patti Smith is a legend in the genre. However, I’m sure there is a good size of the attendees who have no idea who is she and her contributions to the punk genre. And I guess Smith knew this because she really brought it on stage. While not “punk” in regards to modern tastes, there was a energy about it that exuded a punk attitude, even with covers like Jimi Hendrix’s “Are You Experience”(with some “Third Stone of the Sun” thrown towards the end) and Midnight Oil’s “Beds are Burning”. She did close the set with “Gloria” which really brought the crowd to its knees.

Bikini Kill

Finally, we got Riot grrrl pioneers Bikini Kill, the headliners for the final evening of the festival. Though Kathleen Hanna sang most of the set, she did occasionally switch over to bass, while the rest of the band traded instruments for certain songs. Seriously, they did so many times I couldn’t keep up. Declaring “We’re a feminist band. And we’re headlining a festival” they blazed through songs like “Reject All-American” with the abrasiveness and in-you-face attitude that put them on the map for almost thirty years.

Bikini Kill

If you’ve made it this far, so you might have the impression Riot Fest is straying from it’s punk roots. Well, here’s the thing: I get that festivals like Riot Fest have to carter towards different demographics to stay afloat. To me, this year was more of a history lesson. Teenage punks with Op Ivy back patches on their vests now got to hear Patti Smith and Bikini Kill. They also got to see Slayer which is always a treat (and also played right after Rise Against). So, this is a chance to see all kinds of genres. Limiting yourself to one thing is narrow-minded and stupid. In the end we all need to go beyond our boundaries and explore what’s out there.

Ween

Teenage Bottlerocket

Please check out the rest of our images from the final day of Riot Fest 2019 below:

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I Believe in Giants is an easy-core pop punk band out of South Africa established in 2017 by veterans of the South African music scene who collectively (in previous groups) have opened for great acts such as Billy Talent, Underoath, Comeback Kid, Haste The Day, The
Ghost Inside and The Ataris, as well as played every major South African music festival we can think of. It’s the kind of experience that shines brightly in the band’s in-studio precision on the recording of “Rise and Fall”, a song that made it’s debut on their summer of 2018 EP, Sink or Swim, and is currently available on all the usual streaming services.

Today I Believe In Giants is premiering that track in nostalgic cinematic glory. Stream the video for “Rise and Fall” below. [Read more…]

Earlier this year, New Jersey’s Sammy Kay launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to support his fourth studio album, civil/WAR. If you contributed to that, you probably got your vinyl in the mail already. If you didn’t contribute to it, today is your day! civil/WAR is officially released into the wild! You can stream it below, or head here to purchase your own digital copy. Still want a hard copy of your own? The good folks at Say-10 Records have got them here. Oh, and if you’re in the Jersey area, go to Sammy’s record release show tomorrow night at Crossroads in Garwood with the inimitable John Moreland!

civil/WAR is Sammy Kay’s first full-length since his untitled came out back in 2017 on Stomp Records.

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Loud, fast, riff driven rock and roll is coming at you in the form of Crossed Keys new Saviors EP releasing October 4 on Hell Minded Records. Of course, we’ve got it at Dying Scene a full day early. Stream Crossed Keys – Saviors below.

Crossed Keys is a powerhouse five-piece comprised of Philadelphia scene veterans, and each member has a slew of parenthetical defunct bands following his name in the press kit. As well to boast, Kid Dynamite founding member and drummer for Good Riddance during the early-2000s era, Dave Wagunshutz is beating the skins. Far from being lost on the rest of us, that dedication to punk craft and expertise is brilliantly cultivated in the seven tracks that make up the Saviors EP where: “These walls are closing in, like virtue mixed with sin. I swear one day this shit is gonna kill me.”

From the band:

From the wistfulness of ‘Times of Grace’ recalling shared times in basements and firehalls to the frustration of inaction voiced in the title track, ‘Saviors’ is seven tales of gratefulness for all of those moments and people in our lives that led us to this point.

Previously, Crossed Keys has provided tri-state support for some rad ass bands such as H2O, Dave Hause & The Mermaid, The Lillingtons, Good Riddance, Shades Apart, and Strike Anywhere. With the release of Saviors which easily arraigns familiar personage amongst the all-time great albums that sometimes nag at us like unexpected creepers, I’d say the tri-state area is due to round up some support of their own, vis-a-vis. You know, A Flight and A Crash was like that – where I didn’t realize it was my favorite album until after I’d listened to it once a week for at least a couple of years or so.  Pre-orders for Saviors are available here, with blue swirl or black vinyl options and a record release pressing exclusively available at the release show Oct. 12 at Creep Records Store in Philadelphia. Cassettes are being released as well, with an added live-set bonus on side B.

Enjoy the premiere – and be sure and check if Crossed Keys will be swinging through your town sometime soon!

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Head’s up, Aussies…Get Dead are coming your way!

The Bay Area homies kick things off THIS FRIDAY – OCTOBER 4th – in Brisbane and will head across the country for eight shows, wrapping things up on October 9th in Bendigo. Check out the full itinerary below!

Get Dead have also been hard at work on new material of late. Here’s an update: “After a killer recording experience with Fatty and engineer Chris Dugan at NuTone studios, we are finally done tracking our new album – 12 dance-heavy heaters you can cut a rug to! We’re in the mixing process so stay tuned for a release date. This week we head down to give the fine folks of Australia the business! See you in the bush, mate!”

Get Dead’s last album, Honesty Lives Elsewhere, was released on Fat Wreck Chords back in 2016, and is still a personal favorite of yours truly.

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Lost Music Collective is a brand new independent label focusing primarily on pop punk music. The new label is set to have releases this year from Rival Town, Yearbooks, Goalkeeper, and Chase Your Words. Lost Music Collective comes from the minds of Vinnie Fiorello (Less Than Jake) and Erick Droegmoeller (Word Is Bond, Inc.). The label will be releasing it’s debut record with Canadian pop punk band Rival Town’s album ‘Useless Hand’ on October 4th.

Vinnie Fiorello retired from touring with Less Than Jake in 2018. Check out Rival Town’s video for ‘Castaways’ below.

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It’s been over twelve years since The Ataris delivered a studio album of new material. Their last effort was ‘Welcome To The Night’ in 2007 which saw a reinvention of their sound with a more indie-rock approach. In recent times long term fans have seen the band change members numerous times and release several singles, compilations and live recordings. The latest edition to The Ataris discography is not a new studio album, but a collection of stripped-down acoustic versions of songs from across their career. ‘Hang Your Head In Hope’ is out now digitally via Kung Fu Records.

If you are still a fan of Kris Roe and co., check out the track listing and video for ‘In This Diary’ below.

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