It was still raining by the time we reached the end of the line but my spirits were still high. I was full from pretzels and Octoberfest beer, so I was feeling quite unbothered. The only thing that I was truly bummed about was that one of the earlier bands cut from the modified lineup was Daisy Grenade. I mean, it would have been our 4th time seeing them in less than a year and a half so it’s not like I had my heart set on this BUT I was truly bummed for the band because they were so stoked to not only be playing Riot Fest but also the same stage that Alanis would be headlining that night. :(

While in line, a guy in front of us turned around and asked who I was looking forward to seeing that day, and then we ended up chatting for the entire time we were in line (maybe 25 minutes? Security is really on point at Riot Fest so that line cruises once gates open). He was probably early 30s and there with his mom who flew in from Southern California for her birthday. She was most anticipating Elvis Costello.

We got on the subject of ICP (I think because he said he wanted to check them out just for curiosity’s sake and I was so excited to get to tell my FAVORITE ICP STORY to strangers in the wild:

 It was during the spring of my senior year of high school, 1997. I was tooling around town with my friends Jon and Justin, killing time before meeting up with the rest of our motley crew later that night.  Justin came to a realization.

“Shit! ICP is playing at Laga tonight. We should go.”

Being a yo-girl at heart, I had no objections to his spontaneous suggestion, until our previous engagements crept into mind.

“But we’re supposed to go over Melissa’s tonight and watch movies with her and Lisa, remember?” A far cry from the havoc we could potentially wreak at a concert, but an obligation nonetheless.

“We’ll just get everyone to meet us at Laga instead.” Jon’s solution seemed so simple, but he was forgetting something very important.

“Lisa’s not going to go for that,” I sighed. The aforementioned Lisa was, and still is, a Christian who just could not get down with the likes of ICP. Becoming a juggalo was not something Jesus would do. (Maybe not her Jesus. My Jesus would have helped pen some of their rhymes.)

 “I have a plan,” Justin said. He dialed Lisa’s number and confidently urged her to put movie night on hold in favor of what could potentially go down in the annals of Very Special High School Moments.

“What is an ICP?” Lisa asked suspiciously.

“They’re a band. It stands for…Intensely Christian…Punks.” Lisa, having a soft spot for non-secular punk bands, called everyone else and informed them of the changed plans.

There were six of us that night, all sardined into Jon’s car. Half of us were giddy to be going to a concert; the other half were giddy because we got away with a lie in order to go to the concert in the first place.

As soon as ICP took the stage, Lisa was chagrinned. “They don’t look like punks…?” she yelled above the crowd of undulating and rioting juggalos. Once they started rapping and she heard their lyrics, she edged back from the stage. Once they started spraying the crowd with Faygo, accompanied by lewd and suggestive gestures, she migrated back some more until a wall prevented her from retreating further. She probably had quite a few dialogues with God that evening.

When the show was over, we all tiptoed over the puddles of Faygo left to coagulate into sugary stains. Lisa, the bottom of her Vans slick with the liquid, slipped and fell down the steps.

Best night ever.

They were both like, “….ha.” A good reminder that my humor is not universal, lol.

Anyway, we made it inside in time for Sincere Engineer and the field was slick with mud as expected, but I was not prepared for the alarming about of earthworms that had risen to the surface. It was actually really sad. :( It was definitely one of the more viral moments of the weekend–I saw so many WTF worm posts on Insta after that.

The grass was still intact in some parts—for now.

Sincere Engineer was fantastic! I actually had them down as an option a few weeks before Riot Fest when I was looking for some local shows to fill the calendar. I don’t remember what we ended up doing instead, but I’m glad that I eventually got to see them here!

Arm’s Length was on the main stage right after, so we tiptoed over there. Honestly, there wasn’t anything that was a MUST SEE for me until Alanis later that night, so we were keeping a slow pace and just trying not to succumb to any mud pits.

Henry said he talked to one of the people at the Goose Island beer garden and she said that the whole area in front of the main stages was a giant lake and that Riot Fest literally had to get people to PUMP THE WATER OUT. So then Henry felt bad for saying WOW IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THEY DID ANYTHING! when apparently it was much worse before they were able to let people in. Good job, Henry.

I sent this picture to my sister and she was like, “Tell Henry while he’s standing there doing nothing to find somewhere for us to go when we hang out next.” LOL.

OH!!! One thing that I need to document is that for the first time ever, Henry opted in for crowd participation during Arm’s Length!!! They asked who was seeing them for the first time and he ACTUALLY PUT A FIST IN THE AIR AND WOO’D.

WHO IS THIS MAN.

After this, we bought Chooch a hat from Local Menace as a gift for coming home to spend time with his sister Penelope while his parents were off being irresponsible Empty Nesters. I was annoyed because I sent him a picture of a certain t-shirt that I thought for sure he would like but his response, “bottom left corner, hat.” Oh. He wears hats now apparently.

THEN IT WAS MEET STOP TIME!! I was NOT leaving Riot Fest without getting vegan food from that stand again. We got the nachos to share this time and when I tell you I am still thinking about those, UGH. The worst part is that this place isn’t a brick-and-mortar restaurant, they only do catering and events like Riot Fest so it’s not like we can roll up next time we’re in Chicago. Honestly though this place was 5 fucking stars. I was watching some surly old guy’s Riot Fest vlog (no, not Henry, some other surly old guy) and he was like, “I’m not vegan but I got a cheesesteak here and it was the best thing I ate all weekend.”

I’M SAYIN’!!!!!

After this, we pretty much just stayed planted at the Rebel Stage for the rest of the day until it was time for Alanis, because this stage was next to the area where they had plastic tiles laid down, and it was also not muddy near the stage (yet).

I was excited to see Pretty Girls Make Graves because there was a moment in my 20s when I really liked them. This was my favorite song of theirs back in the day:

It was their first time at Riot Fest!

Then it was time for Jejune, and as someone who went through a heavy “real” emo phase decades ago, they were a must-see for me. (Jejune is also one of my favorite words, in case you were thinking of making me an embroidery or something.)

I don’t think Henry enjoyed them much, but I did.

Arabelle is iconic.

It was really starting to rain more heavily around this time so Henry had to stuff me in my Grimace poncho.

This is Lorelai was next and I’m going to be real: not for me. This was actually the only dud of the entire weekend and if the park hadn’t been so ripe for mud wrestling, I would have 100% wandered over to a different stage. But we were kind of stuck there since after this was William Shatner’s metal band debut.

I just truly did not rock with this AT ALL. In fact, I was leery of the people around me who were dancing maniacally during their set—what was I missing??? I did not feel inspired to move even my pinky finger. It was so incredibly boring like one long song sung in monotone.

I’m not including a YouTube video. I only promote stuff I can put my seal of approval on and THIS AIN’T IT, BOI.

The sun had gone down at this point and I was freezing. My body actually ached so hard the next day from all the muscle-clenching that I had done all evening, ugh.

Then it was time for William Shatner. It was so funny because during This Is Lorelai, the line of photographers was the longest we had seen all weekend—-everyone was flexing their press pass for this one, lol

After a lengthy intro video by GWAR, William Shatner finally came out with his band, The Fuckers, LOL. It was incredibly ridiculous yet iconic, as you can imagine. One of those things where you HAD to be there.

We stayed for Crazy Train and then “ran” (see also: slurped and sloshed) our way over to the second main stage where Alanis had already started.

We were so far back—intentionally—that we had to rely on the screens to see anything but goddamn did she sound ethereal. I was admittedly not an Alanis fan in the 90s—I was fully in my gangsta rap phase during her rise to fame—but I did grow to really appreciate her music later on in my 20s and she is the reason I fucking despise RYAN REYNOLDS.

I guess I just really didn’t expect to cry at all though so when I legitimately burst into tears during the opening piano notes of Uninvited, I even startled myself. I openly wept through that whole song and it felt so cleansing.

Alanis is so joyful to watch perform and it was inspiring to hear so many people singing along in the cold drizzle, while we were actually sinking in the mud. I’m not kidding—if you stood for more than 30 seconds without shifting from side-to-side, you would start to sink. That mud was like quicksand and it was also very slick in spots so we were seeing people wipe out left and right. I almost did once but thankfully caught myself. I was OK with being wet from rain and muddy to my ankles, but sprawling out in that stinky sludge would have been one of the few things that could have actually ruined my night.

We went to Canada’s Wonderland a few years ago and they were playing this song!! It was super hard to hear where we were standing but my super-sonic hearing picked up on it and I yelled, HARK IS THAT UNINVITED to which Henry and Chooch said variations of HOW CAN YOU HEAR THAT.

And then my babies, Pierce the Veil! They have come so far!! Ten years ago, we saw them on a smaller stage at Riot Fest and now here they are, headlining day three. Incredible. They deserve this!!!

This was BY FAR the farthest I have ever been from the stage at a PTV show but look friends, look at that fucking mud. I found a good spot to stand where no one was too close to us, we were like an island, and it was far enough back that after the show, we wouldn’t have to dredge too far to the exit. Because did I mention how dark it is there at night? It is so hard to navigate even on dry land, now turn it into worm stew. That ARTAX, NOOOOO meme has never gotten more use than it did that day on Riot Fest Threads.

Henry took this, ugh, so gross!!

But yeah, PTV was so great, I just stood there, slowly sinking, crying and singing my favorite parts and smiling and shivering and realizing I couldn’t feel my toes but oh well. I was exactly where I wanted to be. And you know, also, I knew I would see them again in a week so I was making the best of this. I could hear them, I could see them on the screens, and I was just having the best time seeing so many people with their Mexico flags and wedding dresses.

Seeing them at a skate park in Buffalo in 2008 to headlining Riot Fest in 2026 is wild. They deserve this and so much more!

And that’ll do it for Riot Fest 2026! It really awakened something in me and I told Henry that I think I want to commit to going every year like we used to. He looked at me very sternly and said, “OK BUT THEN YOU CAN’T BUY TICKETS FOR ANYTHING ELSE NEXT SEPTEMBER!!!”

I mean, I can’t make that promise this far in advance.

Here’s a little collection of my video clips from day 3!

Sunday morning started out all normal-like. Henry went to Paris Baguette to get us coffee and breakfast pastries, and then we set off for the Riot Fest parking lot. We got there around 10:30 and then started our mile walk to Douglass Park. Literally right as we made it to the block where the line usually forms, we noticed people walking back toward us.

“WHY ARE PEOPLE WALKING THIS WAY??” Henry asked the universe with trepidation. I opened up Instagram and there it was at the top of my feed: GATE OPENING DELAY. The announcement said that due to the overnight rain, they needed to “remediate the moistness” in the park and this because the new slogan for Riot Fest 2026. REMEDIATE THE MOISTNESS. They said that gates had been pushed back to 2PM – this is the exact same thing that happened when we went for one day in 2023 – our friend Vicki had JUST dropped us off after we had breakfast with her, and as she drove away into the horizon, people were doubling back from the gates, acting as Riot Fest Town Criers: “DELAYED GATES! PUSHED BACK TO 2PM!”

So we were in the exact same situation as then, where we were kind of stranded there, not having a back-up plan. So we walked to the nearest train station, took the pink line to actually the SAME neighborhood we went to when this happened in 2023, and found a bar to chill at while it poured down rain outside.

I don’t know if it’s therapy, older age, or just being in a good place right now but I was completely unbothered by this. I just blindly followed Henry without getting all Type A about it and having to be in control, and even though the place we ended up (Vintage) was basically understaffed and out of nearly everything on the menu*,  I was like, “I don’t care, I’m in Chicago, Pierce the Veil is tonight, I’m content.”

*(The first pizza we ordered was out of whatever the main ingredient was, so we opted for just the white pizza and then we saw Reeve leave the bar, cross the street, and enter some Italian market across the street. Then she came back and told us, “OK we’re also out of mozzarella. I even tried to get some over at the market across the street but they’re out too.” WTF? And then she made some disparaging comment about how they’re always out of everything and it’s so annoying. She was so real for that. We ended up getting the pretzel and it was fine, but then when another table ordered it, she said they were out so I guess we got the last one?? THEN it turned into, “WE DON’T HAVE FOOD, JUST DRINKS.” It was actually crazy, especially because it was really starting to fill up for the dumb Bears game. I felt awful for her because this was clearly the manager’s fault, not hers, so I hope she wasn’t getting shit for it!!)

Also? Serving beer in Mason jars is a choice. It was kind of awkward to drink out of without a straw??? I don’t even know what I had—I think it was a Leinenkugel Oktoberfest or something because OFC they didn’t have my first choice, LOL.

At one point, I needed to go to the bathroom and for absolutely no reason, I thought I was supposed to walk through a door that had a huge lock on it. I mean, it opened!

….into some electrical closet.

The actual bathroom was downstairs and down a maze of hallways. So, just as creepy, actually, especially when some random man was sitting inside a photo booth with the curtain pulled open, looking at his phone. Just…a really strange bar basement is all I’m saying.

I came back up to our table and told Henry about the not-bathroom door. Later, he also went to use the bathroom and when he came back, he cried, “WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT WAS THE BATHROOM?” after getting an up-close look at it. I DUNNO, BECAUSE I HAD DOWNED ONE WHOLE ENTIRE BEER AND SAW A DOOR THAT I WANTED TO BE FOR THE BATHROOM?!

After killing as much time as possible (and pretending to tolerate the football game) we asked for our check.

“I’d want the check, too!” Reeve called over her shoulder as she retreated to get our check. It was so funny, she was so cute. I made Henry leave her a big tip and wrote “Reeve out here holding it down!” on the check. I know you guys probably think I’m so bitchy and live for moments when I can Karen-Hulk out, but I am actually the polar opposite and love to leave glowing and positive reviews when it’s deserved! And while that bar itself needs a major upper management adjustment, Reeve was seriously doing the work of 4 people and doing it with such good humor, that someone like me COULD NEVER. I’d have quit within 30 minutes of my shift and that’s being generous.

Waiting for the pink line to take us back to Douglass Park with a shit ton of other Riot Festers. Is that…wait….yes, it is. It’s a picture of HENRY SMILING! I’m not kidding, we sincerely had such a great time the ENTIRE weekend. If we were going to fight at all at Riot Fest, this would have been the day because it was actually so miserable weather-wise but nope. We knew it was going to be gross and wet and muddy but we made the most of it and I think this could be me growing up? A different version of me would have thrown 87 fits before even walking through the gates of Riot Fest that day and probably would have screamed, “JUST FORGET IT LET’S JUST GO HOME” at least 50 times before even leaving the hotel that morning.

Do you know what I think some of it is? The panic of running out of time. I am hyper-aware of being older, of Henry being older, of time passing so quickly, that I am doing extra behavioral maintenance on myself these days. I don’t want to waste even a single minute of any day being a brat. And you know, to a certain extent, we can control our minds and emotions if we try hard enough. It’s exhausting but it can be done! I definitely still let myself have “MOMENTS” but these days I am mostly treating every day like it’s so precious and I just want to make good memories. It is working, as long as I also allow myself to have the REAL MOMENTS too where I am like, “LOOK I FEEL LIKE SHIT AND DON’T WANT TO DO THAT NOW, GET OUT OF MY FACE, I’M HAVING FEELINGS.”

It also helps that Henry seems to actually enjoy doing all of this stuff now where in the past, he would have maybe been more stick-in-the-muddy about it, which is funny to bring mud into it since mud was going to be the strong theme of our third day in Douglass Park, LOL.

On that note! Actual Riot Fest Day 3 recap forthcoming!

(Thank you for letting me psychoanalyze myself at the end here, I sort of spiraled out, oh well, that’s what I do.)

Screenshot

Originally, we had plans to meet up with our new BIGBANG VIP friend Michelle for breakfast, but it was very last minute (we had JUST met her the weekend before, for god’s sake) and she ended up having plans change for her last minute. I was sad but also I knew that it would have been extremely rushed because we would have needed to get to Douglass Park by 11AM. I’m hoping we find ourselves back in Chicago soon with more free time so that we can arrange a proper hangout and not force her to come out on a rainy Saturday morning.

Yes, it was raining. SIGH.

Henry ran out to the nearby Paris Baguette for coffee and breakfast pastries since our lame hotel did not have breakfast (complimentary or otherwise!) and then we set off for the parking lot.

It actually wasn’t raining that much at all by the time we set off for the mile walk to the park. Also, the line wasn’t long at all by the time we got there and the gates opened super soon after that so it was the best of the three days, entering-wise. Honestly, I can’t complain too much because if I remember correctly, we never had any issues or delays getting into the park for Riot Fest. They are EFFICIENT.

We had an hour of free time before the first band went on the Radical Stage (another pick from Henry) so we walked around and looked at the arcade.

They had ICP animatronics, complete with bottles of “Spaygo” lol. I honestly can’t believe ICP is still…a thing.

I only took this picture because some guy was also taking this same picture. We got the Riot Fest Sucks beer and the people working in there were SO NICE. Everyone at Riot Fest is always so nice!!! It’s the most small talk I have probably engaged in all year.

Also, Henry got his Riot Fest hat that he was looking for on Day 1 but “couldn’t find” because he never bothered to ask. I was glad for that saga to have finally ended because I was sick of hearing him cry about it.

My Untappd check-ins were so good while we were at Riot Fest lol. One of the Riot Fest security ladies was standing off to the side and she goes, “Or maybe with you sipping it…” but I was like “nah I just need the beer in this one!”

(As I’m writing this, I’m missing Riot Fest a lot. I didn’t think the magic would still be there but….it was.)

Dark Matter time!!

If you didn’t know this about me, Dark Matter IS MY FAVORITE COFFEE EVER.  I was first introduced to it at our very first Riot Fest in 2014 and have made a point of stopping by their mothership shop nearly every time we have been in town since then, and I love buying bags of it as gifts for friends, too. It’s just REALLY SOLID coffee.

One of the times we were at Riot Fest, I was telling one of the Dark Matter baristas at their booth that it had become one my most anticipated things about going to Riot Fest and they gave me a free t-shirt. I JUST LOVE THIS COMPANY.

You should go get yourself some, I swear you won’t be sorry.

I got the Bad Religion iced coffee and it was EXCEPTIONAL.

One of many obligatory selfies as if everyone isn’t sick of seeing us as it is.

Also, I was wearing my Sound of Animals Fighting shirt that has an umbrella on it but then it stopped raining before the bands even started playing so I was taking credit for reversing the curse. (FORESHADOWING.)

The first band we saw was Aim High, a pop punk band from Chicago. This was Henry’s recommendation and his streak continued because I LOVED THEM and immediately started following them on IG so I won’t miss them if they come to Pittsburgh. I can’t think of a better way to start the day than with a really solid and FUN pop punk band.

I had the best time watching them!

Henry’s Opinion: “Um, I liked them. I would see them again.”

Right after this, Henry wanted to go to the Riot Fest General Store to get aspirin. I started to walk over with him but then I heard the most angelic voice fluttering across the Douglass Park grass, backed by melodic metal. I stopped in my tracks and did the whole “HARK?” thing that I do when something is luring me into the act of imprinting.

“I’m…..going to go over there and see who this is,” I murmured to Henry, not waiting around for his response.

TURNS OUT IT WAS ASAVA KISSING MY EARDRUMS but I did not even check the schedule until afterward because I was so enthralled and couldn’t take my eyes off the stage. I kept making my further up until I was practically at barricade.

Henry managed to find me though — Henry can always find me. He said he figured I was in a zone so he stopped by another vendor to grab another beer first. WE WERE ON VACATION. Also, we share.

Um, but yeah–holy shit. And the way the singer kept gradually unbuttoning and removing layers until he was shirtless by the end and his girlfriend had to come out barreling out from side stage to throw her arms around him in a super possessive “HE’S TAKEN, LADIES” performative showdown. Henry was cracking up.

“I IMPRINTED ON THEM,” I cried to him after their set ended.

“Yeah, I figured,” he muttered.

Henry’s opinion: “Um, I don’t know, they weren’t bad. I guess. Probably won’t listen to them again.”

W O W.

On the second main stage right after this was Yard Act, post-punk from Leeds. It’s weird but I didn’t get a very post-punk vibe from them, though I did think they were alright. We were pretty much just killing time though.

Henry’s Opinion: “When you’re not mad at me, I’ll talk to you,” he said with a sigh and the reason I’m mad is because I was about to buy tickets to see Greet Death on Friday and I didn’t like his noncommittal response to it AND I’M SORRY IF I HAD A FRIEND TO ASK TO GO WITH ME, I WOULD DO SO but no one likes the shit I like HENRY. You are IT.

UGH.

Whatever, after this was the LEGENDS Melt Banana! Bro, IT WAS SO EXCITING TO SEE THEM LIVE! Melt Banana is a Japanese noise rock band  from the early 90s and now that I think back on it, how did I ever first hear of them?? I know it was late 90s. I was influenced by someone, I’m sure.

Henry’s Opinion: “They were interesting. They were good….live.”

(I think this means he won’t be listening to them while busting pallets of Everfresh juice with his careless pallet jack maneuvering.)

Yay, we had some time after Melt Banana and before Angine de Poitrine to get some lunch! We went to Meet Stop, which is a vegan catering company, and decided to go hog wild and split the sampler platter.

HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT.

It was insanely good and I am still talking about it. I talked about it on Tuesday on my call with my dietician and I talked about it yesterday with Wendy. First of all? The cheesesteak was to die for. It tasted just like a real one, I know I’m like 30+ years meatless at this point so what could my basis of comparison possibly be aside from the fact that carnivorous partner was tearing into it like it was shaved fresh from the spit. Henry is the ult judge for good vegan food.

But also—those nachos? What in the HELL was in that sauce?? Oh, it was so addictive. The collared greens? Actually delicious (those are hit or miss with me). The Mac & cheese tasted like real fucking cheese—I’m also picky with Mac & cheese. I HATE any version of it that tastes even remotely like Stouffers and also a lot of vegan Mac & cheese really miss the mark. But goddammit, this one actually tasted so thick and savory that it felt SINFUL.

Also, two “chicken” drumsticks which were also good and would have been the stars on a platter of vegan food from most other places, but everything was so god tier on this plate that I keep forgetting we even had them!!

Of course, Meet Stop doesn’t have a brick & mortar restaurant so who knows if we will ever get to indulge in this masterpiece platter again.

Then it was time for Angine de Poitrine! They’re a Canadian rock duo which, on paper, sounds boring. But then you see them…

I don’t have any of my own pictures for some reason (I did take a short video) but here is someone’s video from Riot Fest on YouTube – they were REALLY fun to watch and reminded me a bit of 1970s Euro horror instrumental soundtracks in a way – it’s that gonzo psychedelic sound like a more upbeat Goblin. Imagine a Gallo slasher rampage with all the bright fake blood and bouncing tits and this playing in the background.

Henry’s Opinion: “Uhhhhhh….they were fun to watch, but that was about it.”

OK CAPTAIN CRITICAL.

Immediately after this, we waded our way through the crowd and got a spot at the smaller main stage because Bright Eyes was about to come out. A man in front of me turned around, and you could see the desperate need to talk to a person practically oozing from him pores. “THEY’RE STOPPING EARLY TONIGHT BECAUSE OF STORMS!” he said, showing me Riot Fest’s update on his phone.

“WHAT??” I cried, looking up at the sky would looked FINE TO ME, SIR. But the statement said that in cooperation with the city of Chicago, they had agreed to shut it down early in anticipation of storms moving in later that night. A new schedule was posted (the one at the top of this post) and we could see that all of the headliners had been moved to earlier times so that it would end at 7.

AND BRIGHT EYES HAD BEEN MOVED TO THE LAST SPOT OF THE SMALL STAGE THAT NIGHT. I have NO idea why they didn’t just stay in their original spot—they were supposed to go on pretty much right then??? So instead, there left a big gap of nothingness on that stage and Public Image Ltd was forced to go one earlier than expected on the main stage.

And John Lydon (fka Johnny Rotten!) was PISSED.

He came out in a rage, putting Riot Fest on blast, complaining because none of their stuff was set up yet, and they had to play a truncated set. Plus, he was sick and blowing snotrockets all over the stage.

IT WAS EPIC.

Henry’s Opinion: “Um, I don’t know. They only played 3 songs so I can’t really form an opinion about them.”

Literally trying so hard to pull some actual opinions out of this guy, it’s a struggle.

NEXT WAS SUGAR!!! On the smaller main stage –  we were literally just ping-ponging back and forth between the two big stages most of the day. I was kind of heart-broken though because Thrice was playing during PIL and Sugar and I LOVE THRICE but I have also seen Thrice….way more than thrice (LOL I hate myself) and I had never seen PIL or Sugar AND I LOVE BOB MOULD. I have seen him solo but never with Sugar (I don’t think I have seen Husker Du but my concert memory is getting worse and worse which absolutely pains me).

I loved where we were standing for this — everyone was so chill and the view was perf.

In case you didn’t know, Henry and I have a super favorite song that happens to be a Bob Mould song so it’s always special to see him in any form.

Henry’s Opinion: “I don’t think I have ever listened to Sugar before. I mean, I have heard Bob Mould but—-” and then a bunch of word salad that not even the creamiest of Ranch can make better.

Some local weatherman that everyone seems to know and love made an appearance and I would have been scared if I was him because this was after the Great Shortening of the Band Sets.

VANA was about to play on the Radicals stage so we made our way over there and allowed ourselves to pop a squat for the first time that day.

I saw VANA for the first time last year opening for Honey Revenge and LOVED THEM so I was stoked to get to them again! Not stoked to be standing next to some lame ass bro and his bro-clan who yapped about how they’re Riot Fest pros and know the best spots to stand and then the main Bro was shouting into his watch VANA IS ABOUT TO START. VANA IS ABOUT TO START but he kept saying it like Vanna White instead of Vah-na. Go sit down, asshole.

So we moved closer to the stage.

I just love them. I love when a female singer can come out in a flouncy dress, giggle, and then gutturally scream her face off.

Henry’s opinion: “Um, VANA….VANA. Which one are they? If I can’t remember them then *HAS BIG KNEE SPASM AND CAUSES A SCENE; GIRL BUDDY IS AT THE WINDOW WATCHING LIKE WTF WAS THAT*….don’t write that part.”

We stopped for Gogol Bordello on our way to the main stage. I forgot how fun they are!

Henry’s opinion: “I DIDN’T SEE THEM ENOUGH TO KNOW! They sounded like something that would be fun.” Wow cry about it.

It might be true that we weren’t standing there long, but somehow “dance around the fire” was playing on repeat in my head for a solid week afterward.

Tool time!

We were super far back because the plan was to just watch half of their set and then walk over to watch Nas on the Rebel stage before heading out since all the headlining sets were supposed to end by 7 that night.

My all time favorite Tool song is Sober and I truly don’t give a shit if that is some basic white bitch shit. That cassette LIVED in my Eagle Talon in the late 90s and I would belt that song out while driving alone in the middle of the night, doing double the speed limit down River Road. This was a very specific time in my life and that song brings me back EVERY TIME.

I thought for sure I was going to miss it when we went over to Nas, but I looked at the set list later and saw that they didn’t perform it so that made me feel better!

Also, Maynard was recovering from hip surgery and was supposed to be resting but he told his doctor, “I gotta play Riot Fest, man.” Then Tool’s flight was delayed and when they got there, it was like, “Oh, btw, you guys are going on at 6 now, not 8, and you’re only playing for an hour.” So yeah, lots of annoyed bands (and fans) at Riot Fest that day.

Still, I’m happy that I got to hear some of their set. I love Maynard and all of his bands.

Henry’s opinion: “Mmmmm, not a big fan of Tool.”

Me: “REALLY????”

Henry: “Yeah.”

Learn something new (and dumb) about Henry every day I guess.

Henry says he does like “Sober” though.

He just said he’s not going to go out of his way to listen to it and if anything other than Sober comes on, he’ll turn it.

WOW???

He does like A Perfect Circle though.

Anyway, I took my Tool-hating husband over to the Rise Stage for Nas but the stage was dark. A big crowd was there but there was NO INDICATION that anyone was coming out. It was almost 7PM at that point, when Riot Fest was supposed to be ending due to ALLEGED STORMS, so people started to leave because it seemed pretty clear that Nas was NOT coming out.

I did think it was kind of odd that as we were walking down the street outside of Douglass Park, I could still hear Bad Religion playing on the Rebel Stage but OK….

We got back to the hotel around 8PM and it was POURING down rain but it never actually stormed. We ended up going into Chinatown, got some goods from a bakery, and then some boba at Oriental Tea:

Then we went back to the hotel and actually got some much-needed rest.

The next morning, I was looking at my phone and OH HO HO HO HO HO – Nas ended up coming out AFTER 7 and playing FOR A 90 MINUTES, essentially closing out Riot Fest, who determined that THE STORMS HAD PASSED OVER and decided to let Nas and Bad Religion play longer. But Tool was forced to end at 7 and most people LEFT BECAUSE RIOT FEST DID NOT ANNOUNCE THIS PUBLICLY.

Ugh, I’m annoyed but also not because it really did start POURING, like torrentially, and we would have had a long-ass walk back to the parking lot in that shit.

VIDEO RECAP OF DAY 3:

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Hello. You are now visiting “Second Half” of Riot Fest, Day 1. If you passed by “First Half,” please circle back to the last exit.

Sorry, that was just me trying to be “engaging.”

One of my absolute NON-NEGOTIABLES of this year’s line-up was Tricky. I HAD to see Tricky. It’s been years now but I was quite entrenched in trip hop for a good chunk of time. Did you know that Tricky was one of the pioneers of trip hop?! A legend.

Marta Złakowska is a current touring member, and there was also a man (they took turns singing on songs and it was really enthralling to watch because whoever wasn’t singing would stand facing Tricky and the other singer. Marta was wearing all black and the other guy (I have to search for his name but he reminded me of Leo Woodall) was wearing a loose tuxedo-like outfit without the jacket.

I literally cannot find the name of the other singer. Tricky’s website only mentions Marta, wtf.

Anyway, I don’t know how his live shows used to be but he barely sang at all – he almost whispered along with whichever one was singing at the time and I saw on Reddit that all of his shows on this tour have been that way and some people hate it but some people are like, “What’s the problem?” The music was INTENSE. Imagine being able to create an intimate sex-club kind of vibe when it’s still daylight and you’re playing outside at a giant music festival. Aside from the BIGMOUTH OLD WOMEN BEHIND ME who thought it was OK to stand THAT close to the stage and yap like it was a fucking coffee klatch, I thought this was exceptional and felt like I was really witnessing something legendary from a very specific musical timeline that I may never get to see again.

Henry’s review: “I don’t know. It was not my style.”

BRO WHAT STYLE.

Bayside was playing on the second main stage and I was so happy that we were able to catch most of their set after Tricky because it has been a MINUTE since I’ve seen them. I definitely fell off there for a while but there was a time when it felt like I was seeing Bayside at least once a year, including Anthony Ranieri’s solo run. I didn’t forget about how much I love them though and the way I felt like the softest blanket was wrapped around me during their set…you just don’t “grow out” of certain things.

Henry’s review: “Um. They’re not bad.” I thought there was going to be a “but” but he just drifted off.

Around this time, we decided to break for much-needed food. It would have been around 4PM and we had eaten since that morning at the Mexican cafe. As expected, every damn food line was crazy long EXCEPT for Ralphie’s Donuts, lol. I looked at Henry like, “I could eat a donut…”

Smoke Daddy pictured just for their themed food—I love a creatively relevant food name! However, upon at-home scrutiny, I’m kicking myself for not getting the Disco Tots.

I’m so far up the ass of my journaling era that I decided Henry and I would share the bucket of horchata latte donut holes simply because I wanted to put the cut bucket sticker in my dumb journal—and I HAVEN’T EVEN HAD THE CHANCE (read: energy/motivation) TO DO THAT YET! Anyway, the donuts were good though.

This was the first time sitting all day. Dumb Motion City Soundtrack was playing on the stage closest to us so that was annoying. I don’t like HATE-HATE them, but I also don’t enjoy them and I associate them with my ex-bff’s psycho sister who actually got in a fight with someone in line at King’s Island over them while we were also there and it was frightening because she is the type who could hone in on the closest scrap of trash on the ground and somehow work it into a shiv. Also I think one of their songs was her ringtone at the time. Also x2 I was pregnant while this was happening and didn’t know it and also have an aversion to a very specific type of Mexican soft cheese* that we bought at Jungle Jim’s because I was on a cheese and mustard/condiment kick (see also: IT WAS PREGNANCY CRAVINGS BUT I DIDN’T KNOW IT) which also happened on the same weekend. Aversions all around.

*(I just googled for accuracy since I am your favorite investigative reporter and nothing sounds familiar except for cotija but that apparently is crumbly…maybe me and all of my alter egos are Mandela’ing.)

Not pictured, but after the donuts I knew I was going to get sick if we didn’t get real food too and this was literally the only chance we had before resuming our stage dashing. First we were in line for this place called Uncle Remus’s or something because they had “plant-based” wings, yay. But as we got closer, I saw that there was VERY fine print underneath it that said it was cooked in beef something, and “not vegan.” HONEY THAT’S NOT EVEN VEGETARIAN AT THAT POINT.

I’m not vegan but I do have a line that I won’t cross and plant-based items being cook in animal juice or whatever is definitely that line. We moved down to some other place that had veggie empanadas and yuca fries. It wasn’t anything to write home about (which is clearly why I don’t have a picture and you know me and food fotos!) but it got the job done. I guess. We carried it over to another stage and started to eat under a tree but then Slick Rick was coming on so I left Henry, lol.

SLICK RICK!! Teenage Erin was poppin’ off.

My favorite is Lodi Dodi (obv) but there isn’t a music video for that one.

Henry’s review: “Yeah.”

Me: “Yeah what?”

Henry: “I guess for his age it was good.”

OK.

What?

After this, Henry was like, “You might like Deathbyromy” because for some reason he thought she was affiliated somehow with Tara Yummy, who I do love, but I googled and cannot find any connection. Either way, I’m glad he was mistaken because it got me over to the Radical Stage for her band and it was SO GOOD. Just the perfect amount of neo-gothic sleaze (I made that up) for a Friday evening.

Henry’s review: “Didn’t hate it.”

I wish you would have seen the strange body contortions and thinking faces he pulled for a full 10 seconds just to say he didn’t hate it.

Basically everything we saw on that stage all weekend was fire.

Five Riot Fests later and we still have never ridden any of the rides there. Some might think it’s because we’re smart, but really it’s because Henry is cheap and I have no time.

I caught a little bit of All-American Rejects while Henry was procuring our stuff from that artist we met earlier in the morning.

I was enamored by this balloon maybe because YELLOW BALLOON IS  MY FAVORITE SONG FROM THE SEMINAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MUSIC CLASS RECORD BY THE ILLUSTRIOUS LOLLIWINKS.

(This is a blatant lie, my favorite Lolliwinks song is HANDS UP. Is it a coincidence that BIGBANG also has a song called HANDS UP, or fate??)

While I was standing here alone, some elder-punk came BARRELLING AT ME and screamed something then ran away so fast I had whiplash. I turned around in delayed alarm and he had actually stopped running and was standing there looking at me in this weird “are you coming??” stance. I gave him my best, “huh?” face so he actually came back over and said, “The Sex Pistols are playing over there! The punk band, The Sex Pistols!”

“Oh! Yeah, I’ll be over in a little bit,” I said.

(I mean, that’s kind of true because we did have to walk past that stage to get to the Radical stage for Foxy Shazam, lol.)

hnnngggggghh.

You know I sent this  to Chooch whose response was, “ew don’t send me that.”

Seriously though AAR is just a really comforting, nostalgic band. I remember when Chooch was super little, he used to sing “Gives You Hell” in the car and it was so precious. So yeah, I did not mind standing here while Henry pissed around.

Henry’s review: “Did we see them?”

I mean, I did….

Bro, I used to LOVE Foxy Shazam back in the day! I can remember making mixed CDs for LiveJournal friends and slipping a Foxy jam on there from time to time but I honestly can’t remember if I’ve ever seen them!? They were at Warped Tour once but I don’t think we saw them. Nevertheless, I made sure we saw them at Riot Fest and it WAS SO GOOD. (I think Frankie Witch Fingers was right before this and we caught the tail end of that too.)

I vividly remember saying, “OK we can sit down for this one, I don’t care that much” but then as soon as they came on stage, I popped right up to my feet like a blow-up punching ball in the shape of Fred Flintstone.

Henry’s review: “Yeah I liked them.” And the way he said it WITH NO HESITATION and a slight uptick to his tone makes me know that this is true.

Oh man, there is something so romantic about Riot Fest once the sun goes down…

Moon over the Pixies.

OMG we almost got lost into the Riot Fest void forever right before this because I was like, “Let’s give us this perfectly good spot we have right now and move over to the other side of the stage” I can’t even remember why now?! BUT WE ALMOST PERISHED I SWEAR TO GOD because it was pitch black and we were trying to sidestep people sitting/laying more toward the back and it was just so panic-inducing.

I take back what I said about Riot Fest being romantic at night because it’s actually Hell for people with even the tiniest of speck of anxiety in their system. I think Henry sincerely wanted to kill me, because all that happened was that we ended up going BACK to where we were only it took like 15 minutes and the Pixies were already playing by then.

Henry’s review: “Um I don’t know I’m not a fan of the Pixies, so…..I saw them.”

He answers everything like I have a gun to his head.

Maybe I have a gun to his head.

I feel like everyone knows the Pixies, and we have seen them before, so I will not continue to junk this post up with more videos.

The main stage headliner for Friday night was Twenty One Pilots. I know nothing about them aside from the songs they have on the radio which never really snagged my attention one way or the other. Chooch really liked them back when they were AltPress darlings, I remember that much, because we bought him their first album on vinyl for Christmas that year. Also, I know that one of them is married to Deby Ryan and they live in Columbus or something.

Cool story, Erin.

Henry’s review: “I didn’t pay attention enough to care.”

Oh wait, I have something to add: I recognized two songs I think and also I was scared when the one guy climbed up a scaffolding thingie to a drum set on some platform thing and I was clutching my chest like he was my son. I think I included a clip of that in my Instagram Reel which is POSTED AT THE END SO PLEASE WATCH IT.

Iggy Pop – we did not stay to watch, we were on our way out. GWAR was playing on the Radical stage but I have seen them enough to last a lifetime (once, lol). No hate on them! I love that they beheaded Trump or whatever, but musically it’s not MY CUP OF TEA, as Old Timey Henry would say.

Then we left and finally checked into our hotel (Chicago Loop Hotel) and the front desk people were a little too chill and seemed like maybe they didn’t know the criteria for hospitality services, and also they purposely had the elevators turned off and didn’t tell anyone – no sign or anything – so when Henry went to get our stuff out of the car I took the steps up to the fifth floor and accidentally found the service elevator so that’s what we used all weekend, lol. It was so weird. The whole fucking hotel was so weird. BUT IT WAS CLEAN AND QUIET and that is ALL I care about.

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OK Erin, GET IT TOGETHER. Time to write this damn recap! We did the most on this day so it’s gonna be a two-parter because this bitch is getting tired all over again just from reliving it! (In a good way!)

I will be honest here – I hadn’t really missed Riot Fest since we stopped going. We had gone all three days in 2014, 2015, and 2016. I sold our 2017 3-day passes in order to buy one ticket to see TAEYANG from BIGBANG instead, which was also in Chicago two weekends before Riot Fest and Henry was being Mr. ONE OR THE OTHER!!! And after that, I was so fully submersed in Korean everything that I wasn’t even paying attention to any of the lineups after that.

We did return for one day in 2023 though, because The Cure was headlining the final night and come on. You knew I was going to pony up for that one.

When this year’s lineup was released, I thought it was pretty cool and after we decided to buy the 3-day pass, I started to get more and more stoked for it as the summer went on. But wow, I did NOT expect to be THAT HAPPY to be there again after so long? I’m not kidding, even the 30 minutes we stood in line waiting for the gates to open, I was feeling giddier and giddier. The Riot Fest lady walking back and forth like a prison warden screaming (in a fun way!) about having our tickets ready and bags opened gave me an extra jolt of excitement. I can’t explain it other than to be totally annoying and just default to “IT’S A VIBE” and “IYKYK.”

You know how much I loved Warped Tour (I refuse to shell out for this rebranded money grab bullshit they’ve been doing lately – make it a full summer multi-city tour like the old days OR KISS MY ASS) and this is basically that x3 and on steroids.

Bro, even Henry likes it there!

You know, the world is on fire. Some shitty personal things were going on too. Plus, the every day burdens of being adults. This was our way of checking all that shit at the door and just HAVING FUN. And we absolutely did. It was amazing – we did not argue once. Henry was being the best side-kick ever, keeping track of the schedule, finding me no matter how close to the stage I had wandered (Miss “I Don’t Need to Be Close, I’m Going to Be OK with Standing Way Back”), suggesting different stages to check out when there weren’t any of my must-sees playing at that time. Not to be corny, but Riot Fest weekend really brought us back together when I don’t think we had even realized how much the stress of real life had put a wedge between us.

I guess like how some couples might go to couples spa or therapy, we go to a multi-day music festival that is tough on our middle-aged / senior bodies and somehow still come out smiling.

S T O K E D!

I didn’t get any of these because I don’t drink much at these things (I had like, a beer a day), but if I were to get one, it obviously would have been the Peach the Veil.

One of the best things about getting there when gates open is that it gives you a good hour to walk around, get your bearings, grab merch and peruse the Riot Fest Mall which always has cool AF vendors.

At one of the Riot Fest’s, this artist was also vending and we got a giant cat print for Chooch! It’s still hanging in his room and if he doesn’t take it to back to Philly on his next trip home, then I’m claiming it.

We ended up buying a cool Lost Boys print from an artist in Michigan and I wish I could remember his name — of course Henry already framed it so I can’t check the back. But anyway, this guy was so cool and friendly. We chatted with him for a good while and the reason I was even drawn to his tent was because he had a GIANT Secret of NIMH painting hanging up. I LOVE SECRET OF NIMH. Not enough to spend almost $2000 on that though. I wasn’t there for this part—Henry went back later to collect our purchases because he was nice enough to not only hold the Lost Boys print but also our Riot Fest poster in a tube so Henry bought a capybara print for Chooch as an extra thanks, and that’s when he asked about the price. The guy told him that it had a certificate of authenticity from Warner Bros because they apparently used it for something? I mean, Henry said this guy was totally blitzed at this point of the evening so imagine him slurring this story to Henry who is already hard of hearing and now has to struggle to hear over the All American Rejects playing on the nearby main stage, and now Henry is relaying this story back to me. Lots of missing pieces, methinks.

UPDATE: Henry is here now and he has informed me that the artist’s name is Mark Lone Art.

Then I got Henry to agree to pose for $8 pictures in this old-timey photo booth! Henry was so amenable that weekend.

….except that he did the bare minimum with posing, as usual. Always plating the same face card. Then we literally tumbled out of the doors afterward, it was such a tight squeeze.

Henry is here now and he said, “It was tight and I think my soul is gone.”

Wow, great update.

Then Cardinals started playing on the mainstage so we made our way over. I always love the earlier bands because it’s the closest we’ll ever get to that stage, LOL. I had never heard of them before but they’re a Cork band with a very intense accordion player. I liked them, it was a nice way to ease ourselves into the weekend.

Henry’s review: “I don’t remember them. Let me see the picture.”

*looks at picture*

“I don’t remember.”

Immediately after them on the neighboring stage was Teen Mortgage – a punk rock duo from DC so right away, way more loud and in your face, immediately gave us the good old Free Palestine that is never said enough, IMO.  I was into it but we left during their set because Henry checked the band bios and said he thought I would like a band called Greet Death that was about to start on the smallest stage (the Radical Stage which ended up having some of my favorite bands of the weekend on it!).

Henry’s review: “Not my cup of tea, let’s go with that, let’s make it old.”

We passed the John Stamos butter sculpture on the way there and paid our respects. There was this long-running joke where Riot Fest tried desperately every year to get John Stamos to come to Riot Fest. Riot Fest finally found a loop hole and booked the Beach Boys last year, because John Stamos has been their touring drummer, lol. When I say that I did have some underground FOMO at that, I mean that I was actually kicking myself for not buying the damn tickets when I had the fleeting desire to.

He did have a list of demands, though, and they were all met: he wanted festival founder “Riot Mike” to get a John Stamos tattoo, a Greece-themed pizza from a local pizza shop, and a lookalike contest to be held. All demands were met before he took the stage and they seemed pretty reasonable, all things considered.

OB-TO THE-SESSED with GREET DEATH. Henry really knows me best of all because he read that description and thought, “Yeah, she will like this.” And he did too! He actually said numerous times over the weekend that they were his favorite.

Oh, who are they? A shoegaze / indie rock band from Michigan, that’s who! Oh, this is going on the “driving to the haunted house” playlist FOR SURE.

Henry, IMMEDIATELY just said, “I liked them.” (No seriously he really did.)

From there, we ran back over to the smaller main stage just in time to catch some of Fleshwater – the singer was rocking a Wish-era Cure shirt that told me ALL I needed to know. (That means I LOVED THEM, duh.)

Henry: “Mm, no.”

A really solid nu-gaze band from Boston, we love to see (hear) it. Henry said he didn’t like them very much but “wasn’t surprised” that I did, lol.

Violet Grohl was next on the main stage but Henry goes, and I thought it was so funny coming from him, “I don’t want to watch her. Nepo baby,” and suggested that we go over to the Rebel Stage for the first time that day to see Radio Free Alice, and that was the right choice.

But first Henry to do some HEAVY POINTING – you know I sent this picture straight to Chooch, who is the biggest STOP POINTING!!! advocate around. We have seen Henry nearly clothesline people with his arm because HE NEVER CHECKS THE SPACE AROUND HIM before aggressively throwing fingers.

I loved the nostalgic sound, like it was 2005 again. Australian indie rock, I guess? I heard that they are extremely pretentious and I can definitely see that! This is something that I enjoyed in a festival setting, getting warmed up for the day, an Aussie amuse bouche. But I don’t see myself going to see them on a headlining tour unless, like, Greet Death is the opener or smth.

Henry: “Um, I did like them. Weren’t they British? Yeah, Australian.”

Great review.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? I know,  you didn’t watch the video, it’s fine!

Bro, 3OH!3 for the nostalgia, let’s gooooo.

I forgot they have that hand sign.

I DIDN’T KNOW JESS BOWEN FROM THE SUMMER SET PLAYS DRUMS FOR THEM! I was so excited to text Chooch because The Summer Set was his shit for a while and Jess was so cute with him when he met them as a kid at Warped Tour.

“She drums for everyone lol” was his response. Ugh, he’s so annoying.

Henry: “They were entertaining as they always are.”

Anyway, they’re always fun to watch but also it’s funny that our standards are so low that this stuff ever became popular, kind of you know what I’m saying? LOL.

OK let’s end here because that’s where I ended my “part 1” Instagram reel (as follows!!):

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(LOL at the 2 likes, what a shocker.)

Henry’s recap of the first half of the day: “It was not raining. It was nice.”

We left our hotel (this weird-ass Wyndham that we stay at sometimes in South Bend when we don’t feel like driving straight through to Chicago—it’s so strange, just this big maze of hallways which the child in me LOVES and has a sports bar attached to it that had a legit bar fight spilling out into the parking lot when we arrived late Friday night) around 7:30AM on Friday morning. I feel like I was in a bitchy mood because NOTHING I BROUGHT WITH ME LOOKED RIGHT ON ME, I HAVE NO CLOTHES, I’M FAT, KILL ME, ETC. Typical “Erin in the AM” behavior. Henry used that time to dutifully slip away to fetch me coffee which definitely helped.

Did I mention that Chooch came home from Philly to hang out with our cat Penelope while we were away? Well, he did. And it was much appreciated and one less thing to stress out over except now we had the added misery of him texting us his demands the whole time we were gone. “I need money. I need food. I need clothes.”

We arrived at the Riot Fest parking lot around 9ish I guess (time goes back an hour between South Bend and Chicago). It sucked that we had to go straight there since it was way too early to check into our hotel, but IT IS WHAT IT IS. It gave us an opportunity to stop somewhere for a light breakfast on the 1.1 mile (Henry kept telling me the exact distance so when I’m in a memory facility as a senior, you can ask me “how far of a walk was it to Riot Fest 2026” and I hope this isn’t something that pushes better memories out of my head. Like, I can’t remember marrying Henry but I vividly remember the entire 1.1 mile trudge to Riot Fest and back, under piss-scented train trestles and past the small church catering a full spread of Black people cook-out staples to the Riot Fest crowd, including BANANA PUDDING.)

(NO, WE NEVER STOPPED TO GET ANY BUT I WANTED TO!!! Unfortunately, by the end of Riot Fest each day, we were just on a mission to get back to the parking lot. But I do regret it now. Those people were so damn nice.)

Originally, we were going to find a cafe and just get a pastry or whatever but then we found La Catedral which we thought was a cafe at first but ended up being a full-fledged Mexican restaurant. If there is one thing I learned from one of the earlier Riot Fests we went to is that you should never write off Mexican breakfast so we leaned into it.

I’d say the place 75% full of early Riot Fest attendees like us so it just felt super alive in there. I loved it.

Henry got a horchata latte which was so good but not as good as my cup of classic hot, black Mexican coffee. IT WAS SO SATISFYING.

(LOL THIS JUST IN: When we were there that day, I said, “I like it here because it reminds me of the place we had breakfast that one time we were here for Riot Fest” and then as I was googling this place to find a website, I realized THAT IS BECAUSE IT’S THE SAME PLACE, BUT A DIFFERENT LOCATION. It’s all coming together now. This time we were at the North Lawndale location and last time, it was the Little Village one. The Little Village one was definitely more aesthetic but they both had great food!)

We both had the breakfast croissant which was essentially what you’re imagining but then add pickled jalapenos. It was so good and the perfect sized meal that didn’t feel like a brick in my stomach. I did NOT want to waltz into Douglas Park with a stomachache, thank you. I barely can tolerate PEEING in a porta john. (This is actually, for me, the only downside to Riot Fest is that there is no way around having to use porta johns and I absolutely hate that so much. Thankfully, I managed to get by with only doing it once per day and it wasn’t bad either of those times.)

And then it was time to walk the rest of the way to the park and get in line!

I’m still on a major high from this past weekend (weather issues aside, it was pretty close to perfection and super bonding for Henry and me) and have so much to share music-wise! But right now I have to leave for the Black Queen show at SideQuest! THE BLACK QUEEN TWICE IN 6 MTHS, LET’S GO.

Sunday was off to a great start until we got to the park and Riot Fest put out an update that there was a gate opening delay—2PM instead of 11AM ugh. I’ll get into those deets when I do a proper update but it was annoying since we parked 1.1 miles away and couldn’t leave and come back, so we had to take the train to…somewhere. Anywhere. To kill time.

View from the pink line.

Now it was starting to rain. AND BASICALLY IT NEVER STOPPED.

Here we are off the train and I had no idea where we were going but Henry evidently did? He was taking us to the same bar we went to the last time we were at Riot Fest when there was THE SAME DELAY – literally 11am opening moved to 2pm. This was in 2023, also day 3. Boy, we have the best luck!

But yeah, I was like, “No, we’re not going to the same place, dum dum.” So we went across the street to some bar called Vintage instead.

The girl in the shorts back there was our server, Reeve, and she was HOLDING IT DOWN. Loved her.

Henry got some IPA and I liked the glass it came in.

Me looking cooked while posing with Henry’s beer. Legit was so exhausted but having the best time somehow???

Back at Douglass Park, in line!

Arm’s Length while we could stand without sinking.

They were hanging these out for free and were really refreshing! I loved the nectarine taste.

Had to get some Dark Matter because I was dragging.

Pretty Girls Make Graves while eating vegan nachos from Meet Stop (I REALLY miss those nachos).

It was raining very steadily and my Charmera is not about that soggy life.

So, Jejune was my last Charmera snap of Riot Fest. You held in there so strong, little buddy!

About to leave our Backrooms hotel after three glorious days at Riot Fest:

OK maybe yesterday was more muddy than glorious but it was a memorable end to a really excellent weekend and Henry and I actually didn’t argue at all can you believe it?! He was so accommodating!

We had to stop at Paris Baguette on the way out for breakfast foods because that place has been fueling us in the AM everyday this weekend.

I’m sad that it’s over but also so exhausted and we have to do this again on Saturday to a lesser extent at Four Chord. Plus a show in between now and then at Sidequest so Henry is internally fuming over this – he has been dreading September for a while now but we’re almost at the finish line!

Also, last night I wanted to read a little when we got back and there was an Alanis reference after we just saw her so I was excited about that – I love when relevant things show up in the books I’m reading, like a sign!

OK signing off. Bye, Chicago!

Here is a collection of Riot Fest Day 2 Kodak snaps all up in your face. Today is the last day and I’m hoping I finally catch another Charmera user in the act!

Saturday morning arrival! I love being at Riot Fest before the masses get there later!

Henry’s first pick of the day was Aim High on the Radical Stage. “You’ll like them,” he said, reading their description on his phone with his glasses raised up like he was reading the warning label on a prescription bottle and not a pop-punk band’s bio. Anyway, they’re a local Chicago band and he was right—they were fantastic and the perfect start to another Riot day. I hope they come to Pittsburgh because I would definitely go see them again!

Excuse me sir, I heard Asana start playing from clear across the field while Henry was going into the Riot Fest General Store to get a package of Tylenol ($6 for two pills LOL that’ll teach him to leave his stash in the console of the car) and I yelled, “I’LL BE AT THE MAIN STAGE.” I figured I would just linger toward the back so Henry could find me but this band was DRAWING ME TO THEM LIKE A MOTH TO A FLAME THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE THAT I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONFIDENTLY USE THIS PHRASE. So Henry ended up having to search for me near the front of the crowd LOL.

BUT DID I JUST IMPRINT ON THIS MAN OR WHAT.

JFC.

The Yard Act was next on the Roots Stage. Very British and high energy!

Ew.

Excuse me MELT BANANA.

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD!

SUGAR!!!!!!

I LOVE YOU BOB MOULD.

Preparing for Vana!

Vana! Also want to add that some guy not only took a picture using some old ass digital camera BUT ALSO USED HIS NINTENDO SWITCH!!!! Truly around my people.

I think this was Gogol Bordello.

Ew Part 2

This was Henry trying to take a selfie with the Charmera.

I’m pretty sure he was saying, “WHICH BUTTON DO I PUSH?” here.

I took it back and actually got a semi-decent selfie. It’s tough to figure out where to aim the Charmera!!

Waiting for Nas who was 40 minutes late and Riot Fest was supposed to end at 7PM that day per an ordinance from the City because of impending storms so most people left only to find out that Nas eventually came out and Riot Fest let him play UGH we literally left at like 6:55.

Then we went to Chinatown in a torrential downpour for night snacks. We went to a bakery and then to this tea place called….China Tea, I think. Not very original but our teas were good! I got a milk tea with boba and cheese foam and Henry got a mango latte that he put lychee chunks in because he puts that in everything no matter what and it doesn’t always work but he won’t accept that he makes poor combination choices.

P.S. This is also how I learned that Phoenix Cookies have chicken in them, WARNING TO MY FELLOW VEGHEADS OUT THERE. I chewed chicken and then cried about it so you don’t have to.

Bro, I’m in the hotel right now after day 2 officially ended and my body is like “Knock knock you old bitch, give us a fucking rest” but I have so much adrenaline! So I transferred all of my Charmera pics onto my laptop and I will now spam the Internet with poor-quality digicam pics from the first day and let me just tell you that I have been with my people for sure because I watched some lady probably around my age come up to the barricade, pull out a full size Polaroid, snap a picture with that, and then pulled out some other new trendy analog camera that I get ads for all of the time on Instagram. Then today, some guy (in his twenties) take a picture with his Nintendo Switch then pulled out some tiny digital camera and also took a picture with that.

I felt so at home!

OK, here we go.

Had breakfast at La Catedral with basically a room full of other Riot Fest early birds. It was on the way to the Douglas Park from the parking lot we had a parking pass for and we had some time to kill so we got a delicious egg and cheese croissant.

I had super good Mexican coffee and Henry had a horchata latte. This place was really good. Mexican restaurants have such good breakfasts!

“Take a picture of me with my coffee.”

Mt first picture upon entering the Riot Fest grounds! We were there in 2023 but only for one day. It felt good to be back. 2023 felt weird being at Riot Fest after taking such a long break but this time, I felt that same old exhilaration when we made it through security. LET’S GOOOOO. (Also, Riot Fest staff has some amazing staff and that always helps.)

I KNOW THAT’S RIGHT.

We were in the Riot Mall area browsing when Cardinals went on, first band of the day on the main stage. I liked them!  (I will say more words about these things when I do a true Riot Fest recap.)

Greet Death on the Radical Stage which always ends up hosting the bands that end up being my faves.

“Take a picture of me with Soul Glo in the back so that I can look at it later and hate it.”

Fleshwater was SO GOOD, SUCH MY STYLE. The singer was a Cure shirt (Wish album art).

We skipped Violet Grohl (Henry was like, “I don’t want to see that nepo baby” LOL ok since when does he have these kinds of opinions??) so we went to see Radio Free Alice instead. It was the right choice.

STOP IT. WE SAW TRICKY YESTERDAY. THAT REALL HAPPENED.

All the food lines were too long at the time we decided to eat (at the universal time for dinner so le duh it was a madhouse over there in Food Alley) but the line for Ralph’s Donuts wasn’t long at all, so donuts for dinner! (We did end up getting empanadas and yuca fries later.)

We did NOT get this donut because it was giant-sized but I had to take a picture because it was adorable. We got a bucket of horchata latte donut holes. Horchata has been the theme of the weekend. Every food vendor there was offering horchata-something and I’m here for it because horchata is great.

Henry was like, “Let’s go see deathbyromy” I wonder why but seriously, they were so good and I was like, “OK Henry you’re on a roll with these picks!” I was trying to be less militant about drilling down a festival schedule so I went into this loosely, having a few must-see bands on the list but not investigating and researching the rest like I usually do. I’m old and kind of busy now. So Henry was checking out band descriptions on his phone and he would say things, “Go to the Radical stage, you’ll like this next band” and he was ALWAYS RIGHT. Can he maybe apply this to other areas of life?!?!?

Eh, they can’t all be perfecto.

Five Riot Fest, zero rides on the ferris wheel.

What? It’s Foxy Shazam, you can’t tell?

Well, I guess that was all for Friday. This wasn’t the end of the night but pretty close. I think we still had the Pixies and (some of) Twenty One Pilots after Foxy Shazam.

(OMG I just realized I get to use my Riot Fest blog category again!!!)

Guess what? To the shock and awe of absolutely no one, Henry caved and agreed to go see The Home Team in Columbus with me! I know what you’re thinking: “Erin go by yourself you’re a big girl” or “Erin just ask a friend.”

Well, I don’t want to drive at night because I have the eyes of an octogenarian looking through a kaleidoscope.

And…who would say yes to that, LOL.

But I kept pouting and begging and finally Henry was like, “Oh for god’s sake, fine.”

Here is why he was really horrified when I first asked, may I present to you a very professional calendar page of our concerts this September:

I know, it doesn’t look all that bad! Like, there are so many empty boxes with no obligations! But the reason Henry is proactively exhausted is because three of those are out of town, one is a three day festival, and one is a one day festival (it’s actually two days but I spared him and only bought tickets for one day, I am the most considerate!).

9/11: BIGBANG in New Jersey! (I’m the most amped for this one CLEARLY)

9/16: The Home Team in Columbus (a week night, no less!)

9/18-9/20: Riot Fest in Chicago (+ driving Thursday and Monday)

9/24: The Black Queen (in Pgh, calm down Henry!)

9/26: Four Chord (also in Pgh but it’s all day long and he’s annoyed about that)

So basically what this calendar is telling me is that I need to fill it up with more local shows, probably ones I’ll be attending alone!

Oh and at some point we have to go to Philly to help Chooch move into his new apartment.

I’m so excited for Riot Fest and also Four Chord to a lesser extent but I will tell you one thing: nothing has ever been able to fill the void left in my heart by Warped Tour. Oh I know “it still happens!” blah blah. But that is NOT Warped Tour. Not the one I used to know and love.  When we were out over the weekend, I got REALLY sentimental and choked up talking about how it just hasn’t been the same since Warped Tour as AN ACTUAL SUMMER TOURING FESTIVAL hung up the towel. I never had a bad experience at Warped Tour. We never fought at Warped Tour. It was always the best day of the year for me, 100% my Christmas in July. I would go to bed on Warped Tour Eve so fucking giddy and barely able to sleep, then wake up positively rearin’ to go.

I just know that if I went to one of these “new” Warped Tours, it would break my heart. I mean, Hoobastank was at the one this year, and that feels wrong on so many levels.

But anyway, The Home Team reminds me of the stuff I used to go so fucking apeshit over at Warped Tour. It makes me feel kind of young again and excited, GENUINELY EXCITED, for a non-Kpop concert. And I think Henry gets that, because he knows me better than anyone.

OK I have to go. because I’m genuinely crying again, thinking about Warped Tour and how special it was to me. (You know, in case some stranger just came here after thinking to themselves, “I wonder if that Oh Honestly bitch I used to hate read ever grew up” and then landed on this post, the answer is NO, SHE HAS NOT. Emotionally still 15, block me.)

a/k/a Erin’s Redemption Era

Me, before Riot Fest: We don’t even have to be near the stage. We can just stay way back on the fringe, sit down and relax, etc.

Also me, 30 minutes the Cure’s set: *TRUDGING THROUGH THE MUD AND CROWD WITH ARMS AKIMBO, ELBOW-JABBING THROUGH HORDES OF PEOPLE, TRYING TO GET AS CLOSE TO THE STAGE AS COMFORTABLY POSSIBLE*

We ended up decently close, on the right side, surrounded by a pretty good cluster of Cure fans. It was 10000x better than the crowd at the Blossom Music Center, I will tell you that much right now. I really liked the older couple next to us – the woman was so short, I felt awful for her. There was a very tall guy, like Corey-height if not taller, with his friends in front of her and he was trying so hard to duck out of her way. She was like, “Listen, I’m short – I’m not going to be able to see no matter what! You’re fine!” and for a split second I considered trying to be like her, not giving a shit about seeing, just enjoying the music, etc etc but then they came on stage and I was on my tip toes, craning my neck, bobbing and weaving. It’s so futile, lol. I could actually see, mostly, but also the screens at Riot Fest are EXCELSIOR, way better than the ones that they have at most of those dumb ampitheaters, so it was almost impossible to not see.

The Mars Volta finishing up on the other stage. I think they had everyone in a trance by the end. I haven’t listened to them in YEARS, probably actually since their first album, and I know I saw them at least once back then, maybe twice, so the nostalgia was there for me. Not so much for Henry though. He was acting like his ears were bleeding.

And then magic happened for the next 2.5 hours. You guys. YOU GUYS. It was so nice to just enjoy the concert and not wonder if SOMEONE was going to ask me SOMETHING, etc. etc.  And I think Henry can also attest that the night was a lot more fun for him too, not having any expectations. When they performed “From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea,” Henry grabbed my hand and pulled it into the air and I was like “YOU’RE SO DUMB I HATE YOU” but on the inside I was like *rainbows and grilled cheese*.

I love this aerial shot so much, credit to Riot Fest, obviously. I left my drone at home.

This was 100% worth coming to Riot Fest. I love the Cure so much, and I guess Henry is up there too, just not as high. And not as unconditionally.

***SET LIST***

1. Alone
2. Pictures of You
3. High
4. Lovesong
5. And Nothing Is Forever
6. Cold
7. Burn
8. Fascination Street
9. A Night Like This
10. Push
11. In Between Days
12. Just Like Heaven
13. At Night
14. Play For Today
15. A Forest
16. Shake Dog Shake
17. FTEOTDGS
18. Endsong

ENCORE:

19. Lullaby
20. The Walk
21. Friday I’m In Love
22. Close To Me
23. Why Can’t I Be You?
24. Boys Don’t Cry
25. 10:15 Saturday Night
26. Killing An Arab

And Dumb Henry bought me this beautiful poster to add to the collection!

It’s already frame and on the wall going up the steps, right next to the one of the entire Riot Fest lineup <3.

Incredible night. The weather was wonderful. The Cure was perfection as usual. (They are physically unable to put on a bad performance, I swear to god.) The company was….eh. Decent. The only annoying part was waiting for Henry to pee afterward and then the stressful process of catching the train back to the hotel, which actually wasn’t that bad except that I got stuck talking to some guy about my posters and he was definitely one of those guys who asks you questions about music just so he can not listen to your response because you’re a dumb dumb silly goose girl and then before you even finish he’s already on his mansplainin’ podium. He wasn’t THAT bad, just moderately annoying and I was fucking tired and didn’t want to exert energy needed to form sentences.  I was actually kind of praying that he would try to throw down some Cure facts on me just so I could take him to school but he eventually set his sights on the guy behind me who was wearing a band shirt that he could relate to, I don’t know what was going on, I was trying not to fall asleep while standing erect.

There was a line going down the sidewalk just to get INTO the train station thing and by the time our group was the next to get herded through, there was a public transit worker guy who was trying to usher everyone down as far as they could go by hollering, AND IT WAS REALLY COMPLICATED SO YOU HAD TO REALLY PAY ATTENTION, “Everyone keep walking down the track as far as you can go!”

But….they didn’t go as far as they could go. They just…stopped halfway. So, then the train came and everyone just stood there, and Henry and I were like, “Um, we’re going ALL THE WAY DOWN, peace out motherfuckers” and that is how Henry and I got to snag a completely empty car and secure any fucking seat we wanted, while all the other cars were packed to the gills with Riot Festers who were too dumb to FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. Jesus Christ. And people have the nerve to say that Kpop stans are dumb. Mmm.

I’ll end this with one of my favorite Cure songs of all time. When I first moved into this dumb house in the fall of 1999, I used to watch the music video for Fascination Street over and over and over and over and over and…..ugh.

OK now I’m crying. Goodbye.

When we last left off, I think I was telling you, Sir Blog, about our breakfast with my work pal, Vicki. God, that was a good time!! After breakfast, she was kind enough to drop us off at Douglass Park. It was around 11:30 at that point and the gates were supposed to open at 11. We said our sad goodbyes to Vicki and skipped across the street to the end of the line (well, I skipped; Henry stalked). As soon as we had claimed our spot in line (which wasn’t even that long), a couple walking past in the opposite direction began announcing to everyone in line that gate-opening was delayed until AT LEAST 2pm due to the downpour that had been happening all through the night and most of the morning. While it wasn’t raining anymore and the sun was blissfully shining, I can only imagine the park grounds were pretty saturated. And it’s already bad enough that the Douglass Park community really, vehemently does not want Riot Fest taking over the park every year, so I can imagine the powers-that-be behind the festival want to do everything within their power to ensure that the grounds don’t get absolutely obliterated like with what happened at the old location, Humboldt Park, in 2014. Phew, that was BAD. That was the last time Riot Fest was ever held there because they kicked out hard on their asses by THAT community.

So…

That left us with a lot of time, and very little to do. I didn’t want to text Vicki and be like, “Come back and hang out with some more, come pay attention to me, come babysit me” because what if she had shit to do!? I didn’t want her to feel obligated. So, we found a cafe that was “right around the block” according to Henry but was actually pretty far away and then by the time we got there, it was like a ton of Riot Festers had the same idea, so the line was practically out the door AND there was nowhere to sit.

We ended up getting on the train thing and going back to the section of town where we had breakfast. We found a sports bar that was crowded but slightly less crowded than all of the other ones on that block and sat down to have a BEER while people were screaming about football. Mm. My favorite environment.

I don’t even remember the name of the bar, it was very standard. And everything was FINE until HENRY told me what beer to order (something called Gumballhead or something) and it was fucking disgusting. Even Henry was not hitting it off with this beer. “I’M SORRY, BUT THIS TASTES LIKE AN IPA, NOT A WHEAT BEER.”

Whatever that means.

It was supposed to have a “lemony finish.” Oh, they got that right. Because that shit tasted like I just licked a table polished with Lemon Pledge, honey.

I am gagging in hindsight.

DUDE. LOL – so I took a break to walk to Dunkin’ with Henry because I wanted to spy (or, if you’re a Pittsburgher, “neb”) on the work that is going on next door — the still-vacant unit that I am lowkey panicking about because I want it to stay vacant forever. The front door was open so I wanted to, you know, casually gawk and see what’s going on but I all I saw the was DIARRHEA wall color, which is….well, somehow less ugly than the color that was over there when Blake lived there. Some disgusting sea moss or something – it made me so uncomfortable. I hated going over there.

Anyway, were was I! Yeah, so we were walking to Dunkin’ but then stopped at the BEER STORE first because I am still desperate for the Jelly Donut bullshit, and well well well, look what I found stinkin’ up the place:

P-U.

Back to Riot Fest day. I kept checking Instagram and it appeared that they were definitely going to open the gates at 2PM, so we left the bar around 1:00ish I think. My original plan was actually to just go there around 2:00 anyway, because I didn’t care about many of the earlier bands until 2pm. So, I wasn’t very broken up about this to be honest. I do feel bad for the people who were upset to see their favorite bands get cut from the schedule though :(

The line to get in wrapped around the block quite a bit and Henry had me panicking, thinking it was going to take over an hour to get in. It didn’t take an hour. I would say maybe 30 minutes because the Riot Fest staff was basically like FUCK IT and started waving people through without even searching most bags. Only one of our tickets was scanned. The guy was like, “It’s cool, I scanned one, just go ‘head in.”

Um. OK. If this wasn’t AMERICA, I wouldn’t have so felt so clenched about this, but spoiler aleart: It turned out to be fine.

The only downside is that we completely missed Thursday, who went on promptly at 2pm but we could hear them on the other side of the fence, at least. I’ve seen them a bunch of times over the years so I wasn’t too sad about it but I would have liked to have been inside to support them.

THAT’S JUST THE MOM IN ME.

So surreal being at Riot Fest again after…how many years ago 2016 was. Most of the ground was dry but there was DEFINITELY some swampy areas and we came out of their with mud-spatter all over our legs. I’m glad I brought my plain black Vans!

My one main takeaway is that even though we hadn’t been there in so long, and even though I haven’t been in this SCENE for just as long, it was like everything was frozen in time. You could really say that the Riot Fest scene is timeless, and that’s not really bad. It’s nostalgic and comforting.

Henry felt neither nostalgia nor comfort.

I had to laugh though because really THE ONE BAND that I wanted to see that day aside from The Cure was the recently-reunited Balance and Composure. You might remember how deep my love was for them before I turned the way of South Korea. Actually, 2016 might have been the last time I saw them, now that I think about it. Their set started at 2:55PM and Henry conveniently was in line to buy the Cure’s Riot Fest tour poster, so once again I found myself alone in front of the scene, crying to B&C. Some things really DON’T change!! But before they came on, I got to hear the end of Cult’s set on one of the main stages. They ended with “Do You Know What I Mean” and it brought back memories of the Early Years at the law firm when this song was an inside joke for Kaitlin and me. That seems like an entire lifetime ago! God, Riot Fest was really doing it to me.

FML.

Oh! I almost forgot. For some inexplicable reason,  I packed my old Hotel Books t-shirt which I haven’t worn in years. I didn’t really think much of until that morning when I put it on. I laughingly said, “God, I hope no one wants to talk to me about Hotel Books because I literally can’t remember a single thing about them aside from that I liked them a lot for a minute!”

I’m not kidding, as soon as I staked out my spot at the stage before B&C started, some guy leaned over and said to me, “I like your shirt!”

“Thanks!” I said, like I fucking made it in my t-shirt factory. And then I got real fidgety, my eyes practically screaming, “IMPOSTER! IMPOSTER! SHE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW THIS BAND!”

All I remember is going to see them at some defunct club on the Southside, getting kind of drunk, and hugging the singer/spoken-worder at the end of the night.

I really did like Hotel Books back then though!! I actually put them on in the car on the way home the next day and my chest got real warm like I just did a shot of Robitussin (Janna’s drug of choice) and I thought to myself, “Oh yeah. There it is.”

But FUCK MY LIFE, Balance and Composure still REALLY do it for me. Like, really really.

After this, I found Henry standing a safe distance away from the crowd. The next band I wanted to see was also on the same stage, but we had about 30-45 minutes to kill so we walked around, checked out The Bronx briefly (we’ve seen them numerous times over the years but it was like a homecoming hearing them live again, if only for a few minutes). Then we went and got some free samples of FUNNY WATER which was fine but I wasn’t ready to commit to a full can of it.

Henry kept asking me who were seeing next and I was like YOU WILL SEE and OH JUST WAIT so he was getting really paranoid, like it was going to be some fucked Jonny Craig side project revival bullshit set.

It was just LS Dunes, but it was funny to me because it’s the latest Anthony Green side project and literally every time we go to Riot Fest, Anthony is there in one form or another. Can you believe we (“we” lol) have been supporting him and all of his projects since 2004?? Staring with Saosin, but really getting in deep with Circa Survive in 2005. I had to actually google to see when it was that we saw Circa for the first time, and it was July 2005 at the Grog Shop, right before I got pregnant, and Anthony signed my Circa CD outside the venue. Say Anything was headlining and I didn’t like them (still don’t) so we must have ducked out before they came on and Anthony was just chilling on a wall outside, with a few fan boys jawing his ear off.

And now it’s 2023, he’s a dad of 3, been in and out of recovery, but continued to be obscenely prolific in the scene. Henry actually recognized his voice, but not his face. I mean, face it – we’re all ageing! It’s just so much more surreal when we see it happen to bands that we have been fans of for decades.

Anyway, LS Dunes – amazing. Frank Iero – amazing. Anthon Green – fucking ICONIC.

I really didn’t take many pictures. We were mostly there for The Cure and I felt pretty distracted all day because of that anticipation.

I got this crunchie vegan person bowl for dinner because my body was CRAVING vegetables. It was…ok. $18 worth of ok. :/

Meanwhile, Henry went off on his own, leaving me to eat alone under a tree a bowl of stuff that tasted like said tree, and came back with a vegan mac n’ cheesesteak. I was jel at first but after stealing a few bites, my final assessment was that eh, didn’t really like it that much.

I also was trying to keep myself from getting sick. I didn’t want to be standing for three hours at the main stage with a bloated stomach. You know?!

LOL JK I still felt like shit!!

Almost forgot to take a selfie. Yikes. Who am I.

Then Finch came on and can you believe it was the first time seeing them??!! I was obsessed with them in 2003? 2004? I just remember going on weekend drives with Henry and fucking blasting them and Thrice.

Henry stalking me. Lol I was sitting in the gross grass because MY STOMACH HURT from that stupid bowl.

The last band to play on this same stage, the only stage we were at all day which is insane because all of my past Riot Fests consisted of me SPRINTING from stage to stage, was the Used. Ugh. It was fine. I didn’t cry. But I also didn’t feel great in the heart.

“Now, which one dated Kelly Osbourne?” asked some guy behind us. “Oh the singer?”

Wow. That was a blast from the past lol.

I miss screaming-Bert. I get that he can’t scream anymore but man, I will never forget seeing them at X Fest on a tiny stage and seeing him puking all over the stage from intensity of his screams.

Those were the days, man.

I felt really fucking old at Riot Fest. Not because everyone was young, but because of all of these bands from my way-back years. I couldn’t handle it. It was a lot.

I’ll end this here. The Cure deserve their own post <3

Good morning. It’s 10:04am and we just left Super H-Mart. I wanted to get a head start on alcohol for the Xmas party that I decided to have because it’s not actually a Xmas party but possibly A HOLIDAY THAT I INVENTED??!!

It’s hard to get good soju flavors in Pgh and makgeolli is non-existent.

Anyway!! Riot Fest was…surreal. It definitely didn’t give me as many feels overall as it has in the past so I guess I am firmly rooted in K-Town at this point. Obviously the bands still did it for me but as far as Riot Fest itself goes, eh. I was content with just doing the one day as opposed to all three that’s for sure. My body hates me enough for just the one day.

Aside from the Cure though, the best part of yesterday was seeing VICKI from our Chicago office!!! She’s part of my old group in the department and I have only gotten to see her once when she and another lady from Chicago came to our Pgh office for a few days. I LOVED hanging out with her then so I was determined to see her this weekend. I’m so happy she made time for us!!

We took the train in from where we were staying outside of the city. Henry the PubTrans expert was like WE NEED TO TRANSFER TO THE PINK LINE and when I told Vicki of these alleged plans, she said NO. DO THIS INSTEAD and told us to transfer to the ORANGE line and then she picked us up at whatever stop she told us to get off on and it was so easy – thanks Vicki! This is why we come to her at work with the hard questions haha.

Anyway, she took us to this breakfast place called STAX and poor Henry just sat there shoveling food into his mouth while Vicki and I chatted like long lost army friends. Actually this was preferable to Henry haha.

I changed my mind four times but then I saw LEMON LAVENDER pancakes and was like “gimme those NOW.”

As soon as we sat though, I took off my jacket and said VERY SERIOUSLY, “Vicki I have to tell you something that no one knows at work.”

I could sense Henry rolling his eyes because he knew what it was going to be, but Vicki was on HIGH ALERT and said, “oh my god what is it, Erin?”

Like I’m about to announce to her my pending resignation, but instead it was, “I think I may have invented a new holiday.”

“Oh Erin!” she said, letting out a deep breath and I’m over here like, what? This is a big deal worthy of a suspenseful announcement.

Anyway, she seemed skeptical but I will still invite her to the party because it will probably be worth traveling for.

(Future Henry reading this: *frowning, head shake*)

The only downside is that now that Vicki met Henry, she said she feels like she is going to side with Glenn more in group chat!!!!

Then she was kind enough to drop us off at Riot Fest afterward! What a great start to the day. It was definitely go downhill from there for a bit but then the Great Start made a comeback.

We’ll discuss separately.

It’s 10:58am and we’re in Indiana now if you were wondering.

1:33pm (the time went ahead an hour at some point here in Indiana): just ate a lunch of Kimbap and gyeongdan from Hmart in the parking lot of 7-11. I need to go back to Korea ASAP.

Now let’s look at some pictures from our Saturday ‘date’ night in Chicago (I guess it was like a date??? We held hands for like a minute):

I was wearing my Parker’s Maple Barn tshirt and it made me miss Alyson so much!

Anyway, after we ate at Chicago Diner (see previous post!) we went to Millennium Park – apparently Mexican Independence was being celebrated and the excitement was contagious!! A continuous parade of cars waving giant Mexican flags were cruising around in controlled chaos. I loved it. As someone who doesn’t really have a heritage, I’m always so interested in seeing other people celebrate their culture and history.

2:21pm: we were just a rest stop in Indiana. When I came out of the bathroom, I found Henry in line at 7-11 waiting to pay for an energy bar. Then he gets out of line, right, and comes over to me like some fucking Kevin Costner hero type and asks, “did you want something?”

Ok first of all, don’t act like a GALLANT GENTLEMAN when you were already in line to check out in the first place without a second thought about me! It was only because he saw me walk in and remembered that I existed!!!

More Chicago pictures:

I truly enjoyed walking around by the water! I think the ONE BEER I had at dinner was tampering my mood swings and making me an agreeable cutie sweetie.

I just typed that without thinking so I guess my subconscious assessment of myself is pretty generous.

There was a pretty decent public restroom along the River walk. Pittsburgh would never.

We stopped at a bar along the River walk and got another drink. I got a cider. I need you to know that this was two hours after I had a beer at dinner, and I was maybe a few more sips away from coming home with a public intoxication souvenir on my record. I was really trying to join a flash mob or facilitate a coups of some sort by the time we got up to continue walking.

I wanted Henry to take a picture of my nails but he took this in such a way that I look like I’m sniffing my fingertips?! So I made him take another but I wanted to try and cross my eyes in it:

“Were my eyes crossed??!!” I cried after he took this.

“Um, no,” Henry said, turning his phone to me so I could see.

“Oh shit OK HEAR ME OUT that’s because I was looking to the side to see if I could see myself crossing my eyes,” I said and Henry was like, “omg.”

I was definitely cut off after that. I just don’t drink very often so when I do, I’m a disaster waiting to happen. We were walking way too close to the river, if you know what I mean.

Then we walked to Firecakes, a donut place we’ve been to before while visiting Chicago. What a concept: a donut shop that’s opened until 11pm. Another thing that Pgh would never. Here you’re lucky if any bakery is opened until 2 and even then god speed if you go there hoping for a full selection lol.

Anyway, it’s a very small storefront and I was trying to get a picture when some douchebag walked in along with his brigade of dick-friends and sucked all the air out of the space with their aggressive brand of toxic masculinity. As we were about to leave, the caboose of the cocktrain opened the door, which I stupidly thought was a gesture of chivalry, but instead he leaned out the door and called out to his BUDDY, “Hey Rob you want a donut??” Rob said no and then the asshole LET THE DOOR CLOSE ON ME.

“WOW! What a DOUCHEBAG!” I cried. “He totally let the door close on me! I should have stepped on his fucking Peter Pan shoes.”

He was already inside Firecakes but ROB WAS STILL STANDING THERE so I made sure he heard. Report back to your little buddy, brosef!

“Peter Pan shoes?” Henry repeated.

Yeah, you know. Those dicky leather dress shoes that are elongated and come to a point?! That’s what he was wearing. What a yuppie.

Henry got a chocolate covered banana cake donut which was basically just a donut with thin chocolate banana slices on top. I was like, “ugh you chose poorly” but then I tasted it and it was wettest-in-the-best-way donut I have ever had. So moist and delicious! I couldn’t believe it. Mine was just ok in comparison – a pistachio old fashioned which I had the last time but there was nothing else that stood out to me.

Anyway, I liked Henry’s idiot donut so much that I was just talking about it again this morning. You know what it tasted like??? Those hostess powered donuts without the powder and if they were made with better ingredients and you got to eat them that day.

But yeah, Firecakes. Try it sometime but don’t be a Peter Pan-Dick and shut the door on people, ok?

5:12pm: Holy shit this drive is boring. 1:49 left.

I’m still really giddy about this new holiday. Should I trademark it??!! I don’t want to say too much about it yet because ONE OF YOU PEOPLE MIGHT STEAL IT.

I wish I had counted how many times Henry has called me a dick this weekend. I’m starting to get a complex.

Lol @ “starting.”

I’m posting this now. Maybe I’ll be back later to say more. Who can be sure.

Hello from Chicago! Hey. Does anyone really call it Chi-town? I was going to but then felt fraudulent because I don’t live here, like why don’t I just get the area code tattooed on my neck next, you know?

Fun fact: the first time I was in Chicago was in 2014 and I was like, “Wow…why are there so many flags of the TOMS logo?” Henry was like, “that is the flag of Chicago, numb nuts.”

Except he probably didn’t actually call me numb nuts because our life isn’t a military themed sitcom from the 60s.

What is the point of this…oh yeah. We’re in Chicago! I came out of Riot Fest retirement in order to see my beloved Cure tomorrow night. Weird not going to all three days of Riot but…this isn’t my lifestyle anymore. I literally can’t fathom doing the full 3 days anymore :|

Henry and I left around 8am and got in around 3pm. Chooch opted out. He has a life outside of my madcap schemes these days.

The ride was pretty uneventful. I made Henry tell me the answers to things like, “when did you first know you liked me” and “was I just your only option at the time?”

We went to one rest area and there was an amish couple and their child outside of the bathroom but then when I came out, there were about 20 of them and I freaked out and whispered, “they multiplied” to Henry but he was too busy looking for off-brand Chex Mix.

After we checked in to our hotel and I got super sentimental because it’s across from the arena where we saw NCT Dream, we got on the metro thing and went to dinner at Chicago Diner, finally!!

Planes flying over the metro station.

Actually getting along a little bit.

I had a Founder’s Nitro Rubaeus (? That’s what it says on the sign) Raspberry Ale and it’s good!

Actually, it’s what Henry ordered and I traded my Buckledown Pillow Party pale ale for it when he wasn’t looking. 😀

LOL my face looks like a puffalump or whatever those creep dolls from the early 80s where called.

This country fried steak is a National Treasure. (No. That is not Henry’s nickname.)

(It’s Country Fried Hank.)

I’m not kidding though, this was so good, Seitan’s Realm tier good. I have wanted to go to this place for years and it did NOT disappoint!!

LOL:

Mine was an Asian chicken sandwich with orange glaze and it was fire ( sorry Diners, Dumpsters and Dildos was on before we left the hotel and I felt a Lilliputian Guy Fieri was riding bareback on mh shoulder for a while there).

Ok yeah, real great experience. Excellent service. Our server Jose was extremely personable and laid back but not inattentive. Just a really good vibe. Highly recommend!

Then we popped into a shop next door and I almost threw up my meal when I saw this bullshit:

Fuck you, Ryan Reynolds!!!

Ok, we did other DATE NIGHT IN THE CITY bullshit (I mean sort of, we are Erin and Henry, please remember). I’m ready to crash for the night so this will be a story for another day I guess.