Things Got Mighty Weird at Riot Fest 2025

Concert ReviewCommentary
Written By Kim Moenich

John Stamos, (forever Uncle Jesse), playing with The Beach Boys. - Riot Fest, making dreams come true. -photo by kim moenich

Riot Fest, Chicago’s sprawling rock festival, was never on my radar before 2017. That changed the moment my all-time favorite punk band, Jawbreaker, announced their reunion and confirmed that their first major show after a 21-year breakup would take place in Douglass Park.

Without fully understanding what I was getting myself into, I bought tickets immediately. That year’s lineup was absurdly stacked, with too many heavy hitters to list, and despite the punishing September heat and the sheer size of the crowds, I was completely hooked by the end of the weekend.

Riot Fest 2025. photo by kim moenich

And then the 2025 lineup dropped. I had already booked us a few days away in Tuscany that September weekend. It was meant to be a proper break. It was also our anniversary weekend. But after they announced Jawbreaker (yet again), Dance Hall Crashers , Texas Is The Reason, The Beach Boys, Pegboy, The Bouncing Souls, and, of course, my boys Dropkick Murphys, among a ton of others, I canceled my Italy trip and bought tickets to Riot Fest immediately. 

This was also going to be a pretty big deal for me because the kind folks at Riot Fest had granted me permission to bring my camera into the Fest. I did not get an actual photo pit pass, so that meant if I wanted good shots of a band, I was going to have to camp out at the rail all day. But, in all honesty, I would have endured a whole lot of crap to see Weird Al Yankovic!

I’ll put up with a lot for Weird Al, but maybe not that… photo by kim moenich

Other than the opening band, I didn’t really know much about any of the acts playing the Weird stage that day. However, Shonen Knife was one of the bands that I was most psyched to see. Originating in Osaka, Japan, in 1981, this all-female trio has been tearing it up for nearly 50 years. I had the privilege of seeing them a couple of times in the ‘90s, so I knew we were all in for a treat, and they did not disappoint! They rocked just as hard (and looked just as good) now as they did 30 years ago. While it was obvious that Shonen Knife was new to the crowd, they had everyone up on their feet rocking out. It was the perfect start to a crazy weekend! 

While I had heard of MacSabbath over the years, I really didn’t have any idea who, or what, they were, but consider me a convert! Despite the hilarious, fast-food-based parody lyrics, MacSabbath are a quartet of hard-rocking, costumed goofballs with real musical expertise. Their onstage antics keep you visually entranced, while their anti-Monsanto lyrics are actually quite intelligent and entertaining. They definitely got the crowd riled up and ready for the day. 

MacSabbath… photo by kim moenich

The same could be said of the next act, Puddles Pity Party. I had heard of Puddles over the years but had zero clue of what I was getting into when the 6’8” giant white-painted clown took the stage. Michael Geier, aka Puddles the Clown, is a baritone with true singing chops. While his songs are often humorous in topic, they are generally somber in tone. But despite the forced sadness Puddles imparts, his performance was energetic, hilarious, and kept us all at attention. One of the highlights of his act was when Puddles brought the singer from MacSabbath onstage for a duet—absolute shenanigans ensued! Puddles will be opening for Weird Al on the second half of his world tour later this year, and I strongly encourage you to catch them at a venue near you! 

While Weird Al was, without a doubt, the act I was most looking forward to this weekend, I have to admit that I think Sparks stole the show! As a child of the New Wave era, I remembered Sparks from their 1983 hit “Cool Places,” which they performed with my hero, Jane Wiedlin from The Go-Go's. Brothers Ron and Russell Mael had just released their 25th studio album earlier in 2025, prompting them to play some US shows. they’ve been performing together since 1968 (mad!). It truly felt like a privilege to get to see this incredible duo—but that’s what Riot Fest is best at, bringing us the bands that started it all, even if we don’t realize that we needed to see them. While you might think Spark’s blend of synth pop would be a bit out of place amid the heavier punk and rock of the day, Riot Mike is really never wrong, and he hit the mark this time placing them in the lineup. Sparks had the entire crowd transfixed on the stage and cheering on these LA brothers. It was truly the performance of the weekend.

And then it was time. I was trying to suppress my frustration at the husband who had lost my spot earlier in the day when he left for the bathroom while I was waiting on my camera pass. I was not front and center on the rail, like I wanted to be and usually am, but the people around me were aware of my excitement for Weird Al Yankovic and were kind enough to give me and my big ole camera plenty of room.

One of my favorite childhood memories was watching the video for “Living With a Hernia” over and over in my living room. At the end of the video, Al, dressed as James Brown, falls down face first. My youngest sister, whom we loved to torment, was 2.5 years old at the time, and each time that scene would come on, she, too, would fall face first onto the hardwood floor. My middle sister and I thought this was the funniest thing in the world, and so we’d play the video on a loop!

While most festivals only slot an hour for the headliner, Riot Fest says you’re gonna get what you paid for, and Weird Al gave us every minute of the 90-minute time slot he was allotted. Each song required a costume change, from the iconic Michael Jackson red leather jacket for “Fat,” to the full Amish getup for “Polka Face,” to a giant gold chain and a Segway for “White and Nerdy”, Al brought them all. And during the costume changes, we were entertained by clips from his biopic, “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.” It was truly an epic set to behold. While my ‘90’s heart loved “Smells Like Nirvana,” my inner nerd won the night when Weird Al came out dressed like a Jedi for “Yoda.” This was what I had been waiting for! I’m sure I annoyed everyone around me screaming out the lyrics, but I couldn’t help it. Al brought the party, and we were all there for his antics. Thank you, Riot Fest, for always making my dreams come true!

Thanks for the memories, Riot Fest. photo by kim moenich

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Kim Moenich
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