I really do need to start this out by asking Riot Fest to forgive me for my stupidity. For as much as I talk about how much I love the Fest both on this very site as well as in my everyday life, in reality I'm a semi-recent

As someone whose college years spanned 2001-2005, I have been absolutely feasting over the last few years when it comes to tours. With my generation finally breaking into the coveted 40+ demographic, all of the sudden Super Bowl halftime shows and classic rock stations and network television commercials cater to

"This is actually our first show ever, so thanks for taking a chance on an unknown band." Normally, a lead singer making a true statement like that would not expect a solid chuckle from a sold-out audience. They also wouldn't expect the audience to sing along

I'm not even that old and there are absolutely concerts I barely remember attending. Sure, everything from two drink minimums to late start times can contribute to the loss of those memories (or if the band is bad enough, prevented them from being formed in the first place)

We're all best friends here, right? I can bare my soul to you all without judgement? I'm a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to festivals. For all the raving I do about Riot Fest (all of it deserved), I've only been

At this point, you might as well inject all Riot Fest-related things directly into my veins. When I'm not covering one of the awesome shows that they put on in Chicago, I'm constantly seeing acts who I was first exposed to through attending over the last

Emo music and nostalgia are so intertwined that they might as well go on a co-headlining tour. Remember the gross creature that Jeff Goldblum turned into at the end of The Fly? That's nostalgia and emo music. And it makes sense. Emo music has long touched on all

I'll be the first to admit I wasn't the biggest Militarie Gun fan when they first popped up on my radar. But both the universe and my awful eating habits seemed to have other plans. The first time I heard Militarie Gun was last year at

When you're a band that's been mostly defined by a single song, I imagine it's something of a double edged sword. Take Living Colour for example. The New York City quartet (outside of a 5 year break in the late 90's) has