Will Stamos-Gate finally end? After 12 years of stalking Uncle Jesse, Riot Fest looks to make history Saturday as the Greek god is expected to finally set foot at the festival.
Organizers have upheld their end of the deal, meeting nearly all the demands the actor stipulated a month ago to guarantee his presence — Riot Mike got his tattoo, several local pizzerias have created Greek-style pizzas and on-site, a look-alike contest was held inside RiotLand and there’s some special merch for sale, including some terrifying Stamos masks with hollowed-out eyes.
Stamos is scheduled to take the Riot Stage with The Beach Boys at 6:20 p.m. and, if you’re going, you’ll likely want to go early to snag a spot if the massive crowds seen at “Weird Al” and Blink-182 Friday are any indication of the fandom this year. We are officially on Stamos Watch — stay tuned to the Sun-Times for more.
James
UK band James offered the calm before the storm.
As the Manchester rock vets took the Riot Stage — part of its first U.S. tour in 15 years — large clouds started forming overhead, threatening the festival’s prime-time hour. But the calm was also metaphysical, a beautiful symphonic respite for anyone needing a break from the circle pits and voluminous punk anthems that had been the soundtrack in the preceding hours.
Though the band didn’t perform its landmark 1993 album “Laid” in full as the group did on previous dates this tour, James’ Riot set felt even more groundbreaking and apropos.
“If you don’t know us, we change the set all the time. We like that uncertainty, it seems more human to f— up all the time and get away with it,” singer Tim Booth shared with the crowd.
A defining moment in the set came with “Born of Frustration” (the band’s first big hit in the U.S.) as Booth jumped into the crowd, hitting his mouth to make the organic vocal noises that start the song and inviting the fans circling around him to become part of the intimate communal exchange.
“That woke us up. That’s all we needed, a bit of connection,” Booth declared.
It wasn’t just that he looked like a shaman; his unifying nature also made this set downright spiritual.
Another high point came with James’ 2018 track “Heads,” which became a rally cry of us versus them.
“I’m an American citizen,” Booth shared before making a statement. “And what I see is democracies are not for the people; they’re for the corporations and billionaires. It’s the problem everywhere. This song is a prayer, a harmony for the land of the free.”
With the tribal percussion (amazingly delivered by several-months pregnant drummer Deborah Knox-Hewson) and ominous cello and horns, coupled with Booth’s thrash dancing, it felt like witnessing a spell cast on the world.
The band ended with its most well-known hit “Laid,” inviting guests in the stage wings to come dance on stage but only if they put their phones away and lived in the moment. Everyone happily obliged — not that it was hard to be present with a band like James.
GWAR
GWAR was out for more blood on Saturday, with some new targets making it on the shock rockers’ 2025 hit list as they rained fake blood on the crowd after making their sacrifices.
Not long after plugging in with their 2017 rager “F— This Place,” an “ICE agent” invaded the stage — GWAR’s nemesis Sawborg Destructo apparently got a new gig as an “Intergalactic Citizenship Enforcer” who was ready to deport the band for being “illegal aliens here on Earth without green cards.” An uproarious amount of boos rang out from the crowd, and Destructo didn’t last long.
While GWAR marks 40 years this year, the band’s latest strikes may be some of their most outrageous, particularly given the widely criticized consequences that have befallen other contrarian voices in recent months, weeks and days. Not that GWAR or the band’s fans care.
As a huge swell of people gathered at the Rebel Stage, T-shirts of all political flavors could be seen milling about: “Ctrl alt-right delete,” read one. Another person wore a Bob Vylan T-shirt, making a statement about the UK band that was effectively yanked from festival lineups, had visas revoked and were dropped by their management company after their comments about the IDF during a set at Glastonbury this summer.
It wasn’t all politically motivated, though. GWAR also took aim at a pregnant “Taylor Swift” donning a Travis Kelce jersey (a repeat target from last year), then dedicated a song to John Stamos and another new one, “Lot Lizard” to the “long haul truckers that keep America running.”
Having played Riot Fest nearly every year since the inception, GWAR is the band that keeps on giving.
Feral Tact
If Friday was all about 2000s lore with the Blink-182 and Rilo Kiley nostalgia, Riot Fest traveled back a decade further Saturday with “I Love the ‘90s” vibes.
Gen X has been buzzing about the arrival of John Stamos, and early arrivals put on their best ‘90s-core with T-shirts celebrating Jesse & The Rippers, Weezer’s “Blue Album” and “Boy Meets World’s” Topanga.
Local act Feral Tact also fit the bill as one of the earlier bands to open the day on the Rebel Stage. The duo is a quasi-offshoot of Chicago’s beloved ‘90s punk rockers Sludgeworth. For some background, Feral Tact’s young teen drummer Max McQuaid is the son of Sludgeworth drummer Brian “Vermin” McQuaid (and has sometimes filled in for his dad) while singer Mike Ramsey has worked as Sludgeworth’s guitar tech.
As the story goes, McQuaid and Ramsey used to hole up at Sludgeworth’s rehearsal spot to work on material that begat Feral Tact, officially establishing the band in 2023. While Feral Tact has logged time at venerable punk venues around Chicago like Cobra Lounge and Reggies, performing at Riot was clearly a “pinch me” moment.
“It’s the best f—ing festival in the world,” said McQuaid, giving a shoutout to Riot Mike. “There is some magic to this festival every year and to be part of it is crazy.”
In its 20th anniversary year, Riot Fest has really tapped into and acknowledged its local roots, bringing out some of Chicago’s finest, also including The Effigies, Pegboy, Dehd, Alkaline Trio and Smoking Popes. Though, what was notable about Feral Tact — in addition to its voluminous sound that belies the fact it’s a two-man crew — was its ability to merge veteran punks and a new generation. Not just the band itself but also evident in the circle pit where kids and adults clashed in the best way possible.
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