It's been a few weeks but I would like to say that I really enjoyed River Riot this year. It wasn't as hot as it had been in weeks prior, but it was hot enough. Sheesh!
I went with my girl Audrey Kay to the festivities. We arrived just prior to Paper Tongues taking the stage. What a fun band they are. They did great and you could tell they were in such good spirits and completely loving what they were doing. I really liked their song "Ride to California". This usually isn't my cup-o-tea musically, but it got me groovin'.
We were melting and found solace in some shade while Spose and Flobots played. We were chatting it up, so I quite honestly didn't pay attention to their sets.
Emphatic performed around 4:45pm. Their set consisted mostly of new material that will be coming out on their first major label record due to be released this fall. I have to say that it was really weird to see the new members of the band on stage for the first time (on drums and rhythm guitar). The Emphatic members have all been good acquaintances of mine for some time now, so this feeling is to be expected. For me, this will take some getting used to. The new guys held their own, but it was just...well...weird. That said, it was a great set and seeing as they had the longest line ever for fans to meet them -- it's safe to say they came and conquered.
We wandered around during Cage the Elephant and watched a bit of Blue October.
THEN IT WAS WEEZER TIME!
I have been a fan of this band since high school. I remember having MTV on and watching the "Undone - The Sweater Song" and "Buddy Holly" videos (when MTV actually played music videos). I have continued to love the material they have released, so I was really looking forward to seeing them perform.
Right before taking the stage Rivers Cuomo climbed one of the biggest ladders I have ever seen to add an 'S' to the 89.7 The River banner that hung stage left.
Once on stage, the energy did not stop until their set was finished. It was one of the most fun experiences I have had at a live show. Rivers brought beach balls for us to toss around in the crowd and proceeded to bring two interesting fellows from the crowd on stage. One in a head-to-toe (face included) blue lycra suit and another in a chicken suit. Too funny!
The band took us through their catalog of hits including: "Hash Pipe," "Say It Ain't So," "Island in the Sun," "Beverly Hills," "Buddy Holly," "Undone - The Sweater Song," "Pork and Beans," "My Name is Jonas" and so many, many more. It was a damn blast start-to-finish.
Stone Temple Pilots were next. We had inched our way closer and closer to the front of the stage and had a great spot to watch this set. STP holds a dear place in my 90s alternative music loving heart, so I was pretty stoked to be seeing them. There isn't much to say other than they didn't disappoint. They played great, sounded stellar, had an excellent stage set-up with their massive screen of light bulbs that flashed in sync with the songs. It was also sweet to see Josh Freese (drummer extraordinaire: Weezer, Devo, NIN, APC, The Vandals) come out and take over the drums for a song. Just simply excellent.
I was a bit wilted towards the end. It had been a long day. Audrey and I exited the hot and sweaty crowd about 2/3 into the set to enjoy the rest of their performance as well as what became a cool night with a beautiful breeze.
We took off on our merry little way right before the encore to beat the traffic rush.
Great bands.
Great friends.
Great day.
The end.
