This year alone there are seven album plays scheduled, one of the most anticipated being The Breeders offering “Last Splash” to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the ‘90s-defining disc (so much so that even alternative era contemporaries like Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon were seen watching from the stage wings during the band’s Friday afternoon set).
“We are here to play an album that came out in 1993, from beginning to end, even the slow songs that are too weird to play live,” said Kim Deal to start things off. “You’re lucky enough to hear them today.”
Sure enough, things “got weird” on the droney “Roi” in which bassist Josephine Wiggs and drummer Jim MacPherson switched places; following it, Kim’s twin, Kelley Deal, got her moment to shine, taking vocal lead on “I Just Wanna Get Along.” [Chicago Sun Times]
The 2023 edition of Riot Fest kicked off on Friday (9/15) at Chicago’s Douglass Park. The Breeders (who will play shows supporting Olivia Rodrigo in 2024) played their classic 1993 album Last Splash in full from beginning to end, followed by a couple of songs from their most recent album, 2018’s All Nerve, and “Iris” from their 1990 debut LP Pod.
Quicksand (playing their 1993 debut LP Slip) and Braid (playing their third album, 1998’s Frame & Canvas) also did full album plays on Friday, and also performing were Foo Fighters, Turnstile, The Interrupters, Kim Gordon, Code Orange, Yard Act, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Origami Angel, Pinkshift, and more. See pictures from day one by James Richards IV below.
Riot Fest continues through Sunday; find set times HERE.
