Mixing Pop With Politics -or- This Fest Ain't No Riot

Aside from the Democrats taking the House and potentially taking the Senate, which ultimately means that the center which poses as the left might have to actually grow a spine and take some sort of a stand now that they have control. Call me cynical, but I can only assume that they will drop the ball, much like they did after taking control of the House and the Senate after the Watergate scandal. Let's keep these slimey fucks accountable, ok?

This Ain't Riot, it's a Shopping Mall
When I heard that the people who put together Riot Fest every year were doing it again, I cringed, rolled my eyes and pretty much assumed that it was going to be a collection of washed up has beens, legendary bands fronted by movie stars and other bullshit of that sort. Shortly after, they announced that Naked Raygun, the Bollweevils and the Blue Meanies were going to be playing this show as well as 7 Seconds, Youth Brigade and the Effigies. "Man, what a collection of incredible bands," I thought. I never got to see Naked Raygun the first time around for various reason, so this was a big deal to me. The Bollweevils and Blue Meanies were old favorites of mine, so I thought that it would definitely be worth the pre-sale cost of 14.50 or whatever. What shocked the shit out of me was when I saw the local support they put on this show. The stand outs were I Attack and the Gravetones, but where were bands like No Slogan, Canadian Rifle, Shot Baker, Functional Blackouts, Busy Signals and other genuinely awesome punk bands? Instead, there was Fear City, the Massacres, Audio Violence (who are punk by label and not by any action or connection to actual DIY culture), Secret Agent Bill and Deals Gone Bad. The latter two are staples of the Chicago scene and for the most part make sense, but where is the real Chicago punk scene? One band? Come on. If you want to really show the lineage between what's going on now and what was going on ten and twenty years ago, you're not going to find that connection in bands like the Massacres and Audio Violence. Maybe these bands are all onto something that I'm missing. Maybe they felt that playing shows with beer and mainstream radio sponsorships, barricades, thug security guards and big, dumb light shows aren't punk? I think I'm right in this notion. Smoke machines, barricades, dancing lights and twenty feet between band and audience is by no means punk rock. At all. Granted, I can understand why the credible bands on this show played it, because it was a really good line up. If I were in any of those bands and you said "we've got Naked Raygun, 7 Seconds and Youth Brigade playing a show together," they'd have me at Raygun. Of course, I'd take it all with a grain of salt, which I'm sure most of the bands did. Back to my point. There's nothing punk rock about backstage passes. Separating the audience from the music like that is creating a fourth wall and in turn inventing the illusion of the rock star. Punk was never meant to be "the rock star." Some people might argue, but remember, Billy Joe Armstrong drives a BMW now. If that doesn't yell "sell out," I don't know what does.
All this being said, let me give a one by one run down of the show.
I opted to show up late, in order to miss the first handful of bands, but unfortunately, I missed the Gravetones and I Attack. I caught the tale end of Secret Agent Bill's set, which consisted of their ska song and some other song. I went for a walk after they were done in order to find a tasty beverage that wouldn't cost me five dollars. In the process, I ran into an old friend of mine, who filled me in on the opening bands. I don't feel like I missed too much, aside from the two bands I wanted to see.
We returned in time to catch the very end of Deals Gone Bad's set, but really, if you've seen them once, you've pretty much got the idea. They're a fun band to see if you don't see them often, but I do, so I wasn't horribly heart broken about missing them.
Following DGB was everyone's favorite Christian right wing, pro-war, pro-Bush administration Celtic punk band, Flatfoot 56. Assuming I didn't know anything about them, I probably would have thought their set was fun, but instead I laughed at the irony of their cover of the Ramones classic, "Commando." I think the irony of a pro-war band covering an anti-war song was pretty much lost on them. The highlight of their set was probably after they talked up their cover of "Amazing Grace," getting booed by over half the audience for giving the "big ups" to Jesus. Sorry guys, my other Jesus is a Camaro. It's also pretty cute that they have a credit card machine at their merch table. Up the punks indeed.
Up next was the Effigies, who played a lot of new songs and not enough old songs, but for the most part were an enjoyable set. No complaints here.
Following the Effigies were the Toasters, who as usual put on a phenomenal show. Unfortunately, with the giant mote full of gorillas, the kids couldn't get up on stage and dance like at normal Toasters shows.
Up next was the Business, whom I've never been a fan of. I sat it out and watched them play. I'm assuming it was a good set, judging by the crowd reaction.
Following the Business came the band I was waiting for, Youth Brigade. I absolutely love this band and they were pretty much the icing on the cake for this show. They got off to a rocky start due to a shitty monitor mix, but once that was sorted out, they pretty much brought it. I have a feeling that was the first time a lot of these kids had heard Youth Brigade, so it was quite the experience for them. They had a lot of good stuff to say between songs, taking shots at organized religion, the Bush administration and encouraged people to go out and vote.
Following them was Mustard Plug, who in all honesty I could go another ten years without seeing them and they'd probably be playing the same set they played in 1996.
7 Seconds were up next and this is where the thug bouncers were showing their colors. One of them ejected my friend Kyle for having X's on his hands. He's straight edge, but apparently that made little difference, since the security thugs X up people who are kicked out. This was bullshit. I also saw one of the security guards dropped a crowd surfer without making sure they were OK. 7 Seconds played really well and pulled out all the classics. I just think that some of these bands should really speak up when bullshit goes on with security.
The Bollweevils played a set that was pretty much on par with their past shows. Unfortunately, the disconnect with the audience really sucked a lot of energy out of their set. The kids seemed to like it though.
The Blue Meanies were fun, but seemed to sort of "phone it in," which is unfortunate. During their set, Billy Spunk threw his megaphone into the crowd and the thugs pretty much beat up the kid who caught it in order to take it from him. Fucking fascists.
Finally, the moment I'd been waiting for since 1992. Naked Raygun took the stage. Forget the fact that they were somewhat low energy (Jeff Pezatti was sick), forget the fact that the dip shit security kept blocking my view, forget the fact that they didn't play a lot of the songs I wanted to hear and forget the fact that Bill Stevens isn't half the guitarist that John Haggerty is. I saw Naked Raygun and it was good. If they play another show, I probably won't be forgiving, but if they do another show, it probably won't be at the Congress theater.
All in all, if I were to apply the name of this blog to Riot Fest, it would probably read "Not Punks, but Profits." Making money off of punk rock is big business these days and somehow the Riot Fest people have found an excellent way to exploit it. What I find unfortunate is exactly what my friend Kyle said about that night. Most of the kids who go to Riot Fest think that this is what going to shows is supposed to be like and that this is what punk rock is. That's why they don't understand small DIY spaces or think they can get involved with punk beyond buying into the consumerism of it all. Remember, in the words of Fugazi, "It's not what they're sellin', it's what you're buyin'." You don't have to give anyone your money, or your parents money. Think before you spend your cash. This will probably be the only Riot Fest I ever go to. Regardless of whether or not they can pull off an Articles of Faith reunion next year. These people don't deserve my money and they sure as hell don't deserve yours. Instead of supporting mainstream outlets for music, support DIY venues. Here's some links:
http://www.soutkorerecords.com
http://www.chicagohardcore.net
http://myspace.com/chicagopunkshows

All of these links have lists of shows going on around town. If you don't recognize a band, go to the show anyway, because you might see you new favorite band and meet some awesome people. Trust me. It's easier than ever to get involved, so instead of reading this blog, or crossing your fingers for another Adicts show, go get involved in the real punk rock scene.