Summer Music Festivals come to a close: Riot Fest 2015

During the summer there are a ton of festivals going on but when the summer comes to a close so do the outdoor festivals. We at The Xtra Mile attended the final music festival of the summer; Toronto Riot Fest 2015. Taking place at Downsview Park on September 19-20 this festival was one to remember.

After buying some band merch and walking around the festival grounds, the first band I decided to check out was Rarity. Having seen them once before when they opened up for Silverstein back in May, I kind of already had an idea of what to expect from their performance. As I headed towards the stage they were already halfway into the first song and had a decent sized crowd around the stage considering they were on the smallest stage of the festival. Compared to the last I saw them I would have to say that this time their performance seemed a lot tighter. After only about four songs the rain began to pour down. Within seconds the rain got so strong that not even a rain poncho couldn’t keep you dry.

We tried to run for cover under a food truck however with the blowing wind and the rain coming down like a strong shower that did not help at all. We then came to conclusion that the only place we would be able to stay dry was inside the port-a-potties. Once my friends and I decided to leave the port-a-potties after about 45mins – an hour it was still raining pretty hard. With the ground all muddy and people slipping and sliding everywhere we made our way to the circus tent to stay dry. Inside this tent was the Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow.

The Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow was a new addition to this years riot fest. This sideshow was actually really good. Featuring preformances from Half Man Short E. Dangerously, Pain Proof Pin Up Tess LaCoil, Sideshow Host/ Stuntman Bryce “The Govna” Graves this show had a ton of crowd participation and intense moments. Looking around the crowd people either had a disgusted, shocked, scared, or happy look on their faces. Some memorable moments include balloon swallowing, having popcorn kernals come out of the hosts eyes, and the half man jumping into a bucket of glass hands first.

Once the rain stopped we decided to take one the muddy grounds to go see a band I have been a fan of since I was younger. Once The Cancer Bats took the stage you could just tell by the pushing and singing that everyone in the crowd was/ has been a fan for a long time. The Cancer Bats played a number of songs including “Hail Destroyer”, “Sabotage”, “Bricks & Mortar” and “Lucifer’s Rocking Chair”. Overall their performance had a ton of energy and were just as good, if not better than the last time I had seen them.

At a festival there are bound to be conflicts in the schedule and when the schedule for Riot Fest 2015 was release I was bummed that Against Me and Thrice were playing at the same time, yet I was relieved that Against Me started before Thrice because then I could watch a bit of both. Against Me opened up with “True Trans Soul Rebel”, followed by “Pints of Guinness Make You Strong”. From what I had seen of the performance, Against Me’s performance was solid. Since I have seen Against Me a few times before and have never seen Thrice I decided to head over to the Riot Stage to see them.

When I approached the stage, the crowd was already quite large. I was eager to see Thrice because this was their first time back in Toronto since their hiatus. As soon as they launched into “Of Dust and Nations” followed by “Silhoutte” I questioned my self as to why I never seen this band live before. From the catchy chorus to the unforgettable riffs it was easy to see why so many people love this band. Thrice played 10 songs including fan favourite “The Artist in the Ambulance”. I am happy I finally got to see Thrice live.

Up next was All Time Low. All Time Low is yet another band on this years line up that I’ve seen multiple times before. I was excited to see them since I haven’t seen them in a while and I was interested to see what songs they would sing and what kind things they would say in-between their songs. While some of it was the funny commentary as I expected, some of the other comments made by the band seemed a little off putting to me. Ever since I’ve been a fan of All Time Low they’re commentary between songs has been a little ‘crude’ however this time while I know they were trying to be funny but it didn’t seem right. The one thing that was kind of weird was when they were like “we haven’t seen any Canadian boobs yet” I understand that the guys in the band are older and some the fans have grown up with them but a lot of their fans are still younger, Probably around the ages of 12-17. When you are that age and telling fans that you haven’t seen any “boobs” yet, a younger fan (15-17) might have the mentality that its okay to do that and flash the band. (THAT IS NOT OKAY) one girl who looked of age actually did get on someones shoulders and flash the band. Other than this specific moment the rest of the set was actually really good. All Time Low played a lot of newer material however that did not stop the crowd from singing along. Near the end of the set they invited some fans on stage to sing along with them which I thought was a fun part of the set. All Time Low closed the set off with “Dear Maria, Count Me In“.

Ever since the announcement that Alexisonfire was going to be on Riot Fest, I had been counting down the days. At 9:40 PM it was finally the time I and A LOT of other people have been waiting for. As Alexisonfire took the stage and launched into accidents the crowd went crazy. Everyone around me seemed just as excited that Alexisonfire was back preforming together. The energy on stage was just as crazy as it was in the crowd. Song after song, Hit song after hit song, the whole crowd sang along. Alexisonfire played songs like “Boiled Frogs, Dogs Blood”, “This Could Be Anywhere In The World” and “Rough Hands” half way into the set Wade Mcneil announce that Alexisonfire was back. After that announcement was made the crowd went WILD. People were screaming, jumping and even crying for joy. This was a great way to end Riot Fest Day 1.

Day 2:

The first act we managed to catch was Tyler The Creator. Tyler is known for his hyper attitude and somewhat dark lyrics. During his set Tyler was extremely hyper, running back and fourth with no means of slowing down. During the first few songs of his set the crowd was still gathering around and people weren’t really jumping around. Tyler did call out the crowd for being “boring” and said that “if he had known the Toronto crowd would be like this he would have stayed back in New York for his tour”. Those words seemed to motivate the crowd because after he said that everyone in the audience went crazy. Tyler The Creator played an hour set which consisted of a number of songs, some of which included. “Deathcamp”, “Domo 23”, and “Tamale”.

We left Tyler the Creator’s set to catch Frank Turner on the Riot Stage. Since I have never seen Frank Turner before I was extremely excited to see what people have been talking about. Everyone I know that has seen him live say that he’s amazing and that you will leave the set a bigger fan than you were before. Turner’s set was a chill sing-a-long, that included songs like “Get Better”, “Four Simple Words” and of course his sit single “Recovery”. Once he was down I do have to say that what people say is true. After that performance I am a much bigger fan than then I was before.

The final band we had decided to check out was Weezer. I have seen Weezer a number of times and every time they are just as good, if not better than the last time I’ve seen them. At this year’s Riot Fest, Weezer played both Day 1 and Day 2. Day 1 they played “Pinkerton” in full and on this day (Day 2) they played the “Blue” album in full. Once they played through the “Blue” album front to back they did end up playing a couple of other hits including “Perfect Situation”, and “Beverly Hills”.

From the crazy down pour of rain, the muddy grounds, sunshine on Day 2, the bands and all their fans Riot Fest 2015 was a blast! Every year Riot Fest in Toronto gets better and better.