Riot Fest 2019: Day 2 in Review
- Like a cross between a medieval torture scene and something out of Hellraiser.
- The “blood minions” are in thonged loincloths, looks comfortable.
- There’s a stout one with antlers on his back and a tall one with a cage on his head.
- The stout one rips off the tall one’s head. More blood.
“I heard Anthrax for the first time as a little kid, probably around the age of 11. I loved the band so much I even used to write my name in the style of their logo. Teachers and others were not terribly impressed with that. Though I've seen Anthrax more times than I can count, I never got to shoot them until Riot Fest this year, and it was amazing. Probably the best set I've ever seen them play. The little nerdy grade school metalhead in me would’ve never thought about 3 decades later he'd be shooting photos of these dudes, and I like to think he's pretty giddy about that now.”I think that’s part of the magic of festivals like this; so many opportunities to experience moments of musical wish-fulfillment, and the added bonus of witnessing it in others. Tangential thought I jot down while Anthrax muscles through their fan-requested set: “Crowd surfing is an art form that requires collaborative craftsmanship. The surfer must trust the crowd, the crowd must carry the surfer, and this dance is anchored and aided by security; those foreboding, outstretched arms that signify the end of the line, but also chaos completed safely. I think I’ve had too much Red Bull.” And so it’s off to the Radicals stage, that lone patch situated by the midway, which is beginning to light up as darkness descends on Douglas Park. A sizeable crowd is forming, throwing up w’s with their hands and cooing “Wuuuuuu.” Before Wu Tang Clan begins their set, the trailer for the recently premiered Hulu series chronicling the early days of the band plays on the screen behind the stage. It looks like a pretty engaging show, but it’s a strange moment of corporate capitalization of a once counter-culture property. And so it goes. Wu Tang enters, annexing the lip of the stage and launching into a performance of their iconic record 36 Chambers. It’s a hypnotic and commanding set; late-Clan member Old Dirty Bastard’s first born son steps in for his father’s verses. I see Willis Tower slicing upwards from behind the treeline, another full-bellied moon sitting low in the sky. Yellow lights canvass across Wu Tang’s stage and into the audience, smoke pouring in disparate puffs off the throbbing crowd. And as I make my way towards the exit, I glimpse fire dancers lighting up the soft summer night. I think to myself “Chicago. You are a one hell of a mistress.” https://twitter.com/aaroncynic/status/1173097972374081537 All photos by Aaron Cynic
Matthew Nerber
Matthew Nerber is a performer and theater artist in Chicago, and a former literary contributor with the Generation, the University at Buffalo’s longest running alternative newspaper. When not seeing or making theater, Matthew can be found at the Music Box or expanding his classic rock vinyl collection. He is a 2019 Fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.