Riot Fest Denver 2014 Day 3 Concert Photos

Finally! My recap and photos from Riot Fest 2014 Denver Day 3. The problem with a music festival that has so many kick-ass artists is that it takes forEVER to get through your photos. But these pics were hopefully were worth the wait – because our final day at Sports Authority Field was soaked in rain. Especially later in the evening, the photos look like I took acid, or at the very least, that my camera did.

Riot Fest 2014 / Denver / Day Three (Sunday):

In The Valley Below • The Dendrites • In the Whale • Brick And Mortar • The Epilogues • The Menzingers • Sole & DJ Pain 1 • Passafire • Bob Mould • Bouncing Souls • The Unlikely Candidates • Touche Amore • Violent Femmes • Radkey • 3OH3 • Me First and the Gimme Gimmes • Cerebral Ballzy • Manchester Orchestra • The Expendables • Dropkick Murphys • Wounds • Sublime With Rome • TV On The Radio • The Picturebooks • Rise Against • The National • Wu Tang Clan

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In The Whale

It was another day where local bands kicked it off, and both Nate and Eric are good friends and great musicians. Check out my street interview with them, their site where they list past and future tours (2014 has been a phenomenal year for them) and just basically go see them live whenever you can.

The Epilogues

More local Denver dudes, The Epilogues are part of Illegal Pete’s record label Greater Than Collective. I have seen these guys play more times than I can count but I am pretty sure this was the first time I actually photographed them. They are seriously good live – a great mix of rock and indie alternative, with a teensy pit of pop thrown in there too (although don’t tell them I said that).

The Menzingers

This band was another casualty of trying to get across Mile High Stadium and not quite making it in time. I photographed the last song, and they sounded great.

Bob Mould

As in, THAT Bob Mould… Hüsker Dü. Sugar. Solo stuff. Sometimes I really turn into fan girl when shooting shows and this day was one of them. As a side note, Bob and his band sounded great. Liiiiiike, really really good.

The Unlikely Candidates

Remember when I went to the Firefly music festival with Lumia? One of the bands I got to meet in person there was TUC. At Riot Fest, I was in the press area and they ran over to say hi. Later, while they were playing, Kyle Morris *literally* ran me over as he leaped off the stage to sing with fans. (He apologized later, and no worries – it’s part of the deal, right?).

Point being… nice guys, great band, no bruises.

Violent Femmes

I have to say I was a bit disoriented by Gordan Gano’s sideboob, but hey… You go, Gordon Gano. You are in the motherfucking Violent Femmes and you can do whatever the hell you want. I mean, my sister and I used to rewind the tape over and over to learn those naughty words in “Add It Up,” so it was a real privilege to photograph you and your nipples at Riot Fest. P.S. Brian Ritchie is an adorable ham.

Me First & The Gimme Gimmes

Apparently I was making up for not getting many photos of Fat Mike’s other band NOFX by shooting about a million of Me First and The Gimme Gimmes. I was also happy to see the signature Hawaiian shirts in full effect, but more importantly – all of them were kicking. total. ass.

Manchester Orchestra

This band is a bit more mellow than most of the Riot Fest lineup. I was excited to see them because I especially like their song “Simple Math” – which builds very slowly and I wanted to see how that would translate to a festival like this. Generally, I thought Manchester Orchestra was solid. Not bad, not stellar. Solid.

Dropkick Murphys

Another band I have always wanted to photograph, having heard over and over how good they are. I can now fully back up that claim. Talented, energetic, fun, and LOUD. Also: not afraid to get wet, because this is when the rain started in earnest.

TV On The Radio

Have you heard these guys latest album, Seeds? It is among my favorites of the year. Their performance at Riot Fest was definitely among my favorites of the festival. TVOTR are incredibly diverse musically – plus way fun to dance to, especially in the pouring rain. (Which many of the crazy effects on the photos can be attributed to.)

Rise Against

HA HA HA! You thought it was raining earlier? Rise Against schooled the world in a class called “how to perform in a torrential downpour.” Every single member of this band ripped that stage apart.

Wu-Tang Clan

Oh, you thought we were done? One more. Wu Tang were more subdued than I expected, but frankly – by this time we were all really wet and cold. I think it was the general mood of the crowd to just stand there and shiver. (And I hear The National threw a hissy fit about it, so I am glad I chose Wu-Tang Clan, who were still awesome, despite the rain). Taking photos in the rain with a huge smoke machine, however, did prove to be really difficult. But hey. How many people can say they were sprayed in champagne at Riot Fest?

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And there we have it. All my photos from Riot Fest 2014.

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Riot Fest already had a holiday presale for Chicago 2015 that sold out like lightning. They are also instituting a “Karma Cash” program there that I think is fantastic. I look forward to hearing about Denver 2015 and pretty much planning our Fall around it, as we have for the past two years.

Be sure to follow Riot Fest on Twitter and Facebook now for the latest info.

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And here are my photos from:

Day One
Day Two
All Riot Fest Photos (Flickr Set)

Many thanks to Riot Fest and the Denver music community for all the fun!

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Note: Tickets were provided by Riot Fest but all photos and words are mine.