#the national – @chaunceyandchumleysdad on Tumblr

RIOT FEST Day 2 bands I saw:

The Orwells (photo 1) Riot Stage 12:50-1:30 – Great set by our home town garage rockers! Enthusiastic fans and plenty of crowd surfing.
Tokyo Police Club - Roots Stage 1:30-2:15 – did not specifically see this band but they were playing while I was waiting to see the Dandy Warhols. I liked their music and plan to check out their recordings.
Dandy Warhols (photo 2) - Riot Stage 2:15 – 3:00 – My favorites! 6th time I’ve seen them and enjoyed seeing them outdoors on a beautiful late summer/fall day.
City and Colour – Roots State 3:00-3:45 – I just started listen to this guy/band and like them. Only stayed for about 15 minutes of their set because I was getting hungry and went to search for food.
Jesssica Hernandez and The Deltas (photo 3) – Revolt Stage 4:00-4:30 – new-ish band with some good tunes. Jessica, you have a great voice and it should be the focus of your band’s sound. Not the overwhelming reverberated bass. Turn it the fuck down!
The Afghan Whigs - Roots Stage 4:30 – 5:15 – excellent driving set by the seminal alternative rockers.
Paul Weller (photo 4) – Riot Stage 5:15-6:00 – nice set by the former Jam and Style Council front man.
Nostalghia – Revolt Stage 6:00-6:30 – caught about half of their set and liked what I heard.
Skaters (photo 5) – Revolt Stage 7:00-7:30 – Good rockin’ set! They finished with a great cover of the Violent Femmes song Kiss Off.
The Flaming Lips – Roots Stage 7:45-9:00 – Fun set with a tremendous light show and theatrics. Got to play an extended set because The National were late in arriving.
The National – Riot Stage 9:00-10:00 – I like The National’s albums but I was a bit suspect of seeing them live because their music is rather mellow. While their performance was far from rockin’, they sounded good and enjoyed them nonetheless.
Highlight of the day: Hanging with my friends the Farrell clan during The Dandy Warhols. Also, weather-wise, it was a beautiful sunny day.
Low-light of the day: the mud caused by yesterday’s rain. (Conditions improved a bit as the day went on but the area around the Roots and Riot stages was still pretty bad.)
CTA fuck up of the day: well, there really was not one because I found a better way to go. I exited the Blue Line and Western Ave. and walked south on Western to North Ave. and the west to Humboldt Park. Total of about a mile to North Ave. entrance. Did the same route in reverse on the way home. Note to self: CTA trains are good. CTA busses are bad.
Favorite quotes of the day: The Flaming Lips were performing their first song and just as they got to the point where the song moves into a more dramatic and up-tempo pace, the electricity failed and the stage went dark. The mushrooms and rainbow were left wondering what to do. It took just a few minutes to get things back up and running. The Lips restarted the song and when they reached the part where the lights had gone out, Wayne Coyne had a moment of trepidation and uttered, “Fuck, here we go!” I also had a laugh when he restarted the song Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots because he did not think the crowd gave an enthusiastic “Chop Chop” after the line, “She’s a black belt in karate.” When The National finally took the stage, about 15 or 20 minutes later than scheduled, lead singer Matt Berninger said, “Sorry were late. We were busy answering emails!”
Bad value of the day: paying $9.00 for pork chop sandwich (which was actually pretty tasty) and continuing to pay $7.00 for beers.
Good value of the day: smuggling in 16 ounces of Jack Daniels. (I upped the ante today.)

#riot fest #chicago #humboldt park #the orwells #the dandy warhols #city and colour #jessica hernandez #the afghan whigs #paul weller #nostalghia #skaters #the flaming lips #the national