Downsview Park was the venue for Riot Fest Sept. 19 and Sept. 20. Established in Chicago in 2005, Riot Fest and Exposition focused on sharing the best of “punk, rock, alternative, metal, and hip-hop” as their website suggests. It’s an outlet where incredibly different sounds all come together and the audience reaps the visceral outcome (be it to their taste or not). Day one included rock and post-hardcore heavyweights as Motörhead, Weezer, and Alexisonfire.
The afternoon was kicked-off by The OBGMs who, while they may have been previously undiscovered by some of the audience, brought such infectious energy it would have taken contentious effort not to get caught up. That energy was challenged soon after as an aggressive rain storm forced GWAR, clad in monster outfits directly from a child’s nightmare, to cancel their performance due to equipment issues (but not before gracing the audience with a theatrical sword fight and dousing them in fake blood). The vitality quickly returned as the weather cleared and Echo & The Bunnymen, Thrice, and Coheed and Cambria each successively took turns sharing their unique sounds and rebellious personalities.
“This is a great bill to be on,” shared front-person Rhiannon “Ritzy” Bryan of Welsh alternative rock band The Joy Formidable, whose own sound crosses genre boundaries: from indie rock to dream pop. “It feels like it’s the best of up and coming new stuff, alongside some really kind of classic acts I grew up listening to.”
Motörhead fans were wildly excited and equally relieved when the eerily green flood lights filled the stage and the English rockers started to play. There was concern they’d be the second upset of the day as recent performances have been called off due to concerns over lead vocalist Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister’s health. The only thing capable of bringing as many hand-horns to the sky was an announcement made by headliners Alexisonfire during their set that what has been a four-year hiatus is officially coming to an end with the band officially reuniting. After teasing audiences with hints to the fact throughout their reunion tour, vocalist/guitarist Wade MacNeil waiting until being home in Ontario to put rumors to rest when mid set he exclaimed, “We promise to never leave you again…Alexisonfire is officially back.”
The variety show of sounds continued day two with all-star hip-hop acts including Tyler the Creator, Atmosphere, The Prodigy and the East Coast outfit, Wu-Tang Clan. Tyler the Creator, in no way similar to his music videos, came out with the highest energy of the weekend almost constantly jumping around and refusing to start until the audience would do the same. That was paired with pushing free expression to its limits as he rapped the same violent lyrics that have seen him banned from performing in Australia (according to The CBC, July 28, 2015). In stark contrast Atmosphere performed an astonishing 60-minute set, during which time rapper “Slug” (Sean Daley) used breaking up an audience fight to transition into songs about love and persuaded the audience of dust-covered strangers to hold hands.
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The Ontarion publishes independent, student-produced news, opinion, and commentary for University of Guelph students so that they can make informed decisions in their lives. To do this, The Ontarion provides learning opportunities and training in journalism, media production, leadership, board governance, and other aspects of nonprofit news.
The Ontarion is the University of Guelph’s independent student newspaper. It began in 1951 as part of the Ontario Agricultural College and then began to represent the entire University of Guelph once it amalgamated in 1964. The Ontarion incorporated in May 1970 as The Ontarion, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation registered with the province of Ontario.