not such a riotfest

this past saturday i went to 'riotfest' in williamsburgh park, brooklyn. 'riotfest' is, in short, a festival type concert with several bands (7 to be specific for this line up). there was much to be psyched for in this line up, the major draw being two headlining acts, 'the descendants,' and, 'gogol bordello.' it was looking to be a fantastic day/night spent in the ever loving glow of punk rock music.

i got there early. i wanted to catch all the bands. the first band in particular, 'larry and his flask,' were highly recommended to me by a friend. they didn't disappoint. though the crowd was small at this point, they put on a hell of a show. the lead singer at one point said it was early for them (it was about 2pm). they looked, moved, and played music like some rabid party animals. it was a raucous good time, even if it was only 2pm, which is morning time by most punk rock standards i suppose.

at this point the sun was shining and all was beautiful. in between bands i'd try and grab a beer and some shade. my friend matt showed up somewhere around the end of the second band (the menzingers, who play catchy, fast paced, nice guy punk rock). we grabbed a beer and i watched him be popular cuz you can't be at concerts with matt without matt knowing a ton of people.

we then caught, 'the screaming females.' a three piece band that dressed in all black and two of them were dudes. they played some kinda chaotic metal/punk fusion. the singer was an oddly adorable force of rage that projected some kinda intensity that seemed too large for the body it was coming out of. she sporadically ripped leads on her guitar that made the hendrix fan in me scream out loud. it's safe to say i'm stricken by her.

then came, 'the bronx.' they were a hardcore band which is good cuz you can't have a music festival without a good fucking hardcore band. they brought it. and by it i mean not only did they bring awesome hardcore grooves, but they also brought the rain. it seemed almost surreal how the singer bounced around the stage, almost as if he were a hardcore shaman calling on the rain with his dance. they were going hard and the storm clouds started to come in. i stood there grooving to the music getting myself ready for the downpour and mentally preparing myself to rock out in the rain.

and then, 'the bronx,' were done. the rain started. at first the rain was light. me and matt went to go get food at some food stands. as we approached the food stands, the rain started to come down harder. there were three foods stands and two of them were closing up shop. the only stand with the heart to go on was the one selling cod burgers.

we ordered our cod burgers and as we waited for our food to be prepared, an announcement was made from the stage. we were about as far from the stage as you could be so we didn't hear the specifics. but it went something like this:

"we're expecting severe winds....... please make  your way to the exits......" there was a lot i didn't catch in between all that. but what me and matt did catch was the crowd breaking out for the exits immediately. that was it. riotfest was over. we were all sent home. the rain didn't start no more than five minutes earlier and they had already decided to call it off.

i know there were tornado warnings and whatnot and you don't wanna fuck with that kinda thing. still, i was fucking pissed. they only gave it five minutes. they couldn't try and wait it out. maybe tell us something like, "hey, wait around for 30 minutes and we'll make a decision at that time to see how this plays out." it was like some dude behind the scenes couldn't wait to clock out and go home early. this thing is called riotfest! c'mon! we can do this shit in the rain, right? this is punk rock, right? you don't put the word 'riot' in the name of the concert and pussy out over a few minutes of rain.

i was also pissed at how quick the crowd dispersed. where's the anger? where's the rage? where's the riot? i'm not condoning violence.... but there was hardly a 'fuck you' heard from anyone. i didn't hear any real complaining till we were all outside and it was too late. it was like the entire crowd was more than happy to accommodate the request to leave now. fuck that! someone scream. this isn't right. i'm ready to rock out in the rain. why isn't anyone else?

i watched as the crowd dispersed. i waited for my cod burger. security people told us to get out of there. "not without my burger, dude." as soon as i got my burger, we made our way for the exit. i crammed cod burger into my mouth in the pouring rain, as a security guard shouted out, "soggy food's the best!" right then it was. i was starved... and pissed. in my mind i had three more bands to go, and now all i had was this delicious cod burger that is getting soaked in the rain.

as we left, we slowed down and waited for irina who was meeting us there. she didn't get to see any bands. by the time we met up with her, the rain had died down to a drizzle. my cod burger almost outlasted the rain. we stood outside the venue with some of matt's friends and commiserated about what a bunch of bullshit this was, what a bunch of pussies they were for calling the show.

and then we did what any reasonable group of people would do, we went to the nearest bar. luckily our ticket stubs got us in for free at brooklyn bowl. so we sat and drank and ate (i know, i just ate. irina didn't eat though and matt can eat all the time and i ordered a dessert, brownie ala mode). there was a tv near by where we saw they had the usc vs. syracuse college football game on. that was being held at metlife stadium in jersey.... not far away from where we were. they had delayed the game due to severe weather. as we were getting to the bar, they were just starting that game up again. it felt like an insult. like, hey, look, this football game won't be called off... not like riotfest was.

we sat around. we bs'd. we checked in with social networks. and then matt found out that two of the bands we'd yet to see, 'hot water music,' and, 'the descendants,' had set up a free show somewhere in brooklyn. we finished up our grub and drinks and made our way to this club. but by the time we got there, the line was around the corner of the block. it wasn't long till some dude came outside and said, "we're not letting anymore people in. sorry. but now  you're officially standing around for no reason."

it was like the entire line stood in collective disbelief. no one disbanded. everyone stood their ground. where was this attitude at riotfest damn it!? i went to the front of the club to see what the scoop was and it was the same story, place is packed. sorry, but no one else is getting in here tonight.

we had struck up a conversation with the dude in front of us on this line and he told us that jello biafra (of 'dead kennedys' fame) was playing a show at the knitting factory for $15. as soon as we convinced ourselves that waiting on that line any longer was futile, we made our way to the knitting factory.

and that night i saw one of my biggest punk rock heroes. and it was all so accidental. jello biafra and his band, 'the guantanamo school of medicine,' put on a hell of a show. i didn't know what to expect. maybe jello was old and finished. maybe there'd be no, 'dead kennedys,' tunes played. both of these thoughts couldn't have been farther from the truth. jello was a fucking madman on that stage and the set was sprinkled with about six, 'dead kennedys,' songs over all.

riotfest had turned into an odd night. most of the day's happenings somehow revolved around a disappointment. however, i can't say that i was disappointed by the end of the night. it was a fucking good time over all. there was a shit load of live music and beer drinking with friends. and a lot of it felt like an adventure. whether we were getting stuck in the rain or rushing around to make different shows around brooklyn, the pace was hectic and fun. plus, they're gonna refund us our money for riotfest being called off in the middle. looking back on the whole thing now, i suddenly have no complaints.