John Difford Mar 19, 2023

Friday:
Briefly saw Taking Back Sunday, saw all of Cloud Nothings, small bits of Alktaline Trio and Portugal. The Man, and was very pleasently surprised by Bleachers. Would enjoy seeing Bleachers again even though they are not my kind of music. The sax does it for me. MCR was the tale of the day. Exactly what I wanted them to be, they absolutely killed it and exuded great music and positive energy. The crowd really sucked though. So many assholes.

Saturday:
Saw Joy Formidable, Front Bottoms, Yungblud, Gogol Bordello, Sunny Day Real Estate, and some of Misfits and Yellowcard (that's what I remember at least). Joy Formidable were solid, Front Bottoms are good as usual, Yungblud was fully not my thing, Gogol was the best of the day (great energy and passion), the rest were fine-slightly unpleasant.

Sunday:
Saw Less than Jake, briefly Coolio (RIP), Pvris, Jimmy Eat World, Alice Glass, Sleater-Kinney, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, NIN. (That's what I remember at least). Alice Glass, Sleater, and Yeah Yeahs were the standouts on this day. So good to see Alice doing well, and I liked hearing some Crystal Castles without the douchebag being involved. Sleater is great live, though Janet was missed. Yeah Yeahs aren't my favorite on record but are very good live. The new songs play well in this setting.

Overall, I would say this festival isn't built for me. Riotfest of a decade ago was more for someone of my taste, but it is always a fun and exhausting experience