Chicago Riot Fest, Day Three Humboldt Park Sunday, September 15, 2013 (View the full slideshow.)
The third and final day of Riot Fest was all about The Replacements, rain, and reunions. The 'Mats performed their second show after a 22-year break up Sunday, and it was everything a fan could have hoped for. Original members Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson paired up for a solid 25-song set that represented the band's work well.
Opening with "Takin' A Ride," the crowd responded well, but not in the Blink-182 or Fall Out Boy sense. Fans had a good time and danced, but it wasn't dangerous like the aforementioned headliners. "Color Me Impressed" and "I Will Dare" showed up fairly early, but The Replacements' most beloved material was reserved for the end. The band played a block of songs before its encore that included "Alex Chilton," "Kiss Me On the Bus," and "Left of the Dial," masterfully wrapping up with "Bastards of Young" as the rain came down again.
Fortunately for those of you who didn't go to Riot Fest, Slicing Up Eyeballs posted an audio stream of the band's Toronto set, and the song selection is almost identical.
The Pixies without Kim Deal doesn't seem like The Pixies at all--the band is fundamentally Frank Black and Kim Deal. The Muffs' Kim Shattuck replaced Deal in July, and in theory, a Frank Black and Kim Shattuck collaboration sounds amazing--say, if they wrote new songs together.
I expected the worst, since Deal has such a distinct voice, but Shattuck held her own surprisingly well. She nailed the haunting woo of "Where is My Mind" and sweetly sang Deal's parts in "Here Comes Your Man." The Pixies set had a few surprises, including covers of songs by The Fall and The Jesus and Mary Chain.
The reformed Broadways overlapped with The Pixies' set, resulting in a small, yet mighty crowd for the band's first Chicago show in over a decade. Even though The Broadways share two members with The Lawrence Arms, the setlist was dominated by Dan Hanaway songs, keeping things fresh, particularly during songs like "15 Minutes."
"Rainy Day" may have seemed a little too spot-on, but it was nice to hear after slipping around in the mud all day. Brendan Kelly once again had a zinger after "Everything I Ever Wanted to Know About Genocide, I Learned in the Third Grade," claiming that the song was about Austria, not Australia.
Brand New hasn't regularly toured in awhile--by my count, they haven't performed in Phoenix since the Daisy tour. There were rumors of Brand New playing Deja Entendu in full, but that didn't happen. Opening with "Vices," "Sink," and "Gasoline," it seemed like Brand New was planning on following their Daisy setlist structure, until they shifted to "Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades."
After the tongue-in-cheek "Seventy Times 7," the band changed its tone with a prolonged intro to "Jesus." The rain had just let up and it was starting to get cold, providing the perfect setting for the song. Fans sang along, but quietly, in reverence of the beautiful song. "Limousine" would have also worked well, but "You Won't Know" had a similar effect, just with a bit more screaming.
Replacements Setlist: Takin' a Ride I'm in Trouble Favorite Thing Hangin' Downtown I Don't Know Color Me Impresed Tommy Gets His Tonsil Out Achin' to be Androgynous I Will Dare Love You Till Friday Maybellene Merry Go Round Wake Up Borstal Breakout Little Mascara Left of the Dial Alex Chilton Swingin Party Kiss Me on the Bus Waitress in the Sky Can't Hardly Wait Bastards of Young Encore: Hold my Life IOU
The Pixies Setlist: Big New Prinz Head On Indie Cindy What Goes Boom Bagboy Winterlong Wave of Mutilation Debaser Gouge Away Where is my Mind Caribou I've Been Tired Bone Machine River Euphrates Subbacultcha Distance Equals Rate Times Time Tame Hey Isla de Encanta
The Broadways Setlist: What Happened? 3rd Grade cells The Kitchen Floor Rainy Day Broadway and Briar Natural Disaster We'll Have a Party Police Song Floundering Fuck You Larry Koesche, I Hope You Starve and Die Someday Lake Michigan Under my Belt The Pope of Chili Town Not Necessarily the News It Was Pancho Villa The Nautical Mile 15 Minutes
Brand New Setlist: Vices Sink Gasoline Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades Okay I Believe You, But my Tommy Gun Don't Jaws Theme Swimming The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows Seventy Times 7 Jesus Bought a Bride Play Crack the Sky Degausser You Won't Know
Critic's Notebook: Last Night: Chicago Riot Fest Day 3 Personal Bias: As much as I love The Pixies and The Replacements, my heart is with Brand New. Overheard in the Crowd: Lots of stories about either falling in the mud or seeing it happen. One More Thing: I spent the bulk of this show terrified about getting rain on my camera equipment. It was a bit of a distraction during Saves the Day, but Brand New made everything better.
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