In all my years covering Riot Fest for this publication, the word nostalgia comes up the most. I remember rallying against it one year, questioning another, to finally somewhat accepting it. But regardless of where you stand on society’s obsession with bygone eras, it makes for an interesting conversation. Especially when talking about music festivals. However, the lack of nostalgia makes this year’s coverage a bit interesting. With headliners My Chemical Romance, Misfits, and Nine Inch Nails, you’re probably already wondering where I’m going with this.
It’s Riot Fest 2022 – Defy the Past and Define The Future.
It’s usually around this part of the article where I would unsympathetically gush about how seeing the bands I grew up with, live on stage. Or how I thought I’d never live to see a particular get back together or play an album in full. While there was plenty of that this year, it was the first time I read acts on the lineup that I had never even heard of! Have I finally outgrown secular music or the festival scene?
In the past, I’ve made pretentious brags about utilizing Riot Fest to see up-and-coming acts. This year they were lost on me.
I had heard of acts like Boston Manor, Sincere Engineer, and Sitting On Stacy but at the risk of sounding rude, I had absolutely no interest in seeing them perform live. But after catching a few of their sets, I was dead wrong. Sitting On Stacy was bright, and cheerful, and reminded me of Lemonheads for some reason. Thankfully, YUNGBLUD wasn’t nearly bad as I was expecting either. While I can’t say I’ll be rushing out to buy one of his records, he did have a commanding stage presence. Especially for such a young artist for the TikTok crowd. Sincere Engineer, on the other hand, blew me away! Even at her most punk/emo, singer Deanna Belos performs with such honesty and transparency, I ended up staying for her full set.
Speaking of showmanship, NYC’s Moon Kissed and OKC’s Mothica both gave Riot Fest 2022’s best dose of pop from both sides of the coin.
Moon Kissed’s infectious electro-pop definitely put a spring in my step, while Mothica proved that pop could be dark and edgy without losing any of its fun. It didn’t hurt that both acts seemed to be truly humbled by playing to the surprisingly large audience they held. One of my biggest surprises came from Poorstacy. Before Riot, I thought Poorstacy was a TikTok rapper but when I stumbled upon their set, it felt more like a combination of Health and Bring Me The Horizon. The same could be said for The Linda Lindas’ set. Make no mistake: The Linda Lindas might be children, but they owned their set. Maybe even more than some of the top-tier acts! Wargasm(UK) and Foxy Shazam’s over-the-top antics turned in a couple of my favorite sets all weekend and both were on the first day.
Despite any act’s penchant for theatrics, there was an underlying theme of safety throughout all 3 days of Riot Fest 2022.
While itching up to the year anniversary of the Astroworld tragedy, staff members and artists alike were going above and beyond to ensure the safety of the crowds. I’d particularly want to give Mom Jeans, Jeff Rosenstock, and Jimmy Eat World special props for this. Even headliners, My Chemical Romance, (who played for a rumored 65k people during their set) took the time to encourage proper etiquette between songs. At one point, their production manager took the band off stage and only agreed to let them back on if the audience took multiple steps back.
On the topic of safety, Riot Fest 2022 was my first live show setting since Riot Fest 2019. I’d be lying if I told you finding my footing was easy.
Seeing some of my favorite live acts like Cloud Nothings, The Descendants, Jawbox, and Bad Religion was like my own personal reward for not yet getting COVID19. Sunny Day Real Estate, Bully, and The Joy Formidable were like sweet little bonuses for maintaining safety while attending.
Some of my personal highlights: Seeing Fear for the third time, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ triumphant return, and the always reputable Lagwagon and Alkaline Trio. Seeing Zola Jesus performing with a live band was like seeing our Crushed Monocle conversation come to fruition. Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg paying tribute to The Ramones. Do I even need to bring up my love of Glenn Danzig and the Misfits? It was also great to see Midtown and Yellowcard reunite as well. Losing my voice singing along to every single Taking Back Sunday song. All standard issue scenarios in a festival setting made it feel like things are closer to normal. Are they? I guess I need a few more COVID tests before calling it a personal win.
I feel like the hot topic (no pun intended) was the aforementioned My Chemical Romance. After announcing their reunion right before the pandemic and canceling last year, their performance was nearly 3 years in the making. Despite being a little older than the target audience during the band’s heyday, they were a band I truly loved. As I got older, my own pretentious snobbery chalked that love as a cringy embarrassment. It almost kept me from enjoying their furious set of angsty goth anthems. Almost being the keyword there. As Gerard Way writhed around on stage dressed like Jackie Onassis playing hits, deep cuts, and even their latest single, I admitted how wrong I was.
It was during the closing set from Nine Inch Nails that something clicked. Beyond grinding guitars, blinding lights, and distorted drums, I came to a realization.
I had completely forgotten why I was ashamed of enjoying My Chemical Romance in the early 2000s. I ignored the irony of Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only, and Doyle Von Frankenstein playing arenas and festivals. Why songs like “Closer” and “Heresy” made me cringe as an adult. I realized that none of these artists were embellishing nostalgia. They were merely celebrating who they were as artists, icons, and vital figures of their fan’s upbringing. Looking around during Misfits, questions of how much Glenn was paid were replaced by debates about whether he was saying “iron lung” or “eye of love”. Thoughts of Reznor being an Academy Award-winning Apple employee reverted back to wondering how much Ministry influenced him.
Most importantly, I didn’t feel like I was too long in the tooth to enjoy My Chemical Romance of any of the current generation’s viral stars.
Whether or not it was 2004 or 2022, they’re gifted artists playing songs defining and defying their generation. Just like Danzig and Reznor, Gerard Way was the voice of a particular time in my life. A time when I was maybe a little too hard on myself for enjoying particular bands. However, that knuckle-headed mentality reared its ugly, unfair head when I saw all the young artists on the lineup poster. Perhaps I was wrong about it though. But you know what? It feels good to be that kind of wrong!
As a man itching close to 40, I finished Riot Fest 2022 with an air of redemption and finality. I am full-on at peace with what I liked as a kid and what I like as an adult. There’s really nothing wrong with still enjoying what you used to enjoy. And there are all sorts of wrongs about writing off artists not meant for me. Knowing this will make the next Riot Fest even better.
So long and goodnight, indeed.
All photography by Kennedy Cottrell. View previous Riot Fest coverage here.Â
