The sights and sounds of Riot Fest’s first day
Punk poet Patti Smith says she’s ‘grateful’ to be back as music festival returns to Douglass Park
Just a month after her Out of Space performance in Evanston, Patti Smith returned to Chicago on Thursday. Smith’s prior visit to Riot Fest was on the festival’s final day in 2019. Following last year’s pandemic shutdown, Smith celebrated the reopening with a performance at the festival’s “preview party” at Douglass Park.
The punk poet laureate gave a master class in emotive original work and soulful interpretation.
“Happy Mexican Independence Day,” said Smith in celebratory voice as she took the stage in black jacket, vest and sunglasses while facing the setting sun behind the crowd. “Another strike against colonialism,” she added as her veteran band began to play “People Have the Power.” The passionate rallying cry made Smith’s populist politics clear.
Smith dedicated the reggae-pop pulse of her song “Redondo Beach” to Morrissey, the evening’s headliner and former vocalist of The Smiths, who has covered it. When introducing “Grateful,” Smith expressed her own cautious relief at being back on the job. “We are so grateful to play,” she said. “We are still in the center of a global pandemic, and don’t forget it. Take care of yourselves.”
A fan near the front waved a battered copy of Smith’s debut LP “Horses,” hoping for an autograph. “Oh, right,” said Smith. “I’ve been out of job so f- - -ing long I can’t wait to come off the stage and sign something.” Sarcasm notwithstanding, Smith signed the album to cheers from the crowd.
“Free Money” expressed a devoted couple’s desperate dream to escape poverty, decorated with a spine-tingling guitar solo by longtime sideman Lenny Kaye. The romantic obsession of “Dancing Barefoot” began with simmering intensity that grew to fever pitch. Smith and Kaye danced together while Smith’s son Jackson played an electrifying solo of his own. “Oh God, I fell for you,” repeated Smith as the song reached its peak.
The singer dedicated the sensual “Because the Night” to her late husband Fred “Sonic” Smith, and the next song included another dedication. “I was 15 or 16 when I had a giant crush on the guy who wrote this song,” Smith said. The band then performed Bob Dylan’s “One Too Many Mornings.”
The show closed with a riveting medley of “Land” and the Them song “Gloria,” shaping the narrative as a call to serve Mother Nature. Smith fused the passion, power and showmanship of Van Morrison and Mick Jagger with her own poetic spirit, building from a low rumble to hurricane force.
It has been 732 days since Riot Fest packed the stages and carnival attractions following the 2019 event in Douglass Park. It would have been difficult to arrange a better day for an outdoor event to return, with clear blue skies and temperatures dipping into the upper 70s by early evening.
Looking ahead to the rest of the fest, the lineup boasts Slipknot, Gwar, the Smashing Pumpkins, Living Colour and Run the Jewels among others.
There are plenty of COVID-19 safety protocols in place for the festival including hand sanitizing and handwashing stations throughout the park, and an onsite COVID vaccination station (courtesy of St. Anthony Hospital; Pfizer and J&J vaccines only). In addition, all attendees must show proof of a full vax or negative COVID test results (the latter within 48 hours of entry date) accompanied by a valid, government-issued photo ID to gain entry each day.