I did my best to be excited for the second day of Riot Fest.

On Sunday, September 16, there was certainly a lot to be excited about: the anticipation of seeing Bowling for Soup for the first time since the last Warped Tour, overpriced fair food and the prospect of discovering new bands. If you ask me, that’s one of the perks of attending a festival with a lineup you aren’t entirely familiar with.

Unfortunately, I tend to suffer with seasonal depression on top of my usual depression and the second day of Riot Fest was the definition of dreary. I’d packed my poncho, thankfully, but protection from the rain didn’t make the day any less grey. Much like the day before, I made a beeline to the Radical stage to make sure I got a good spot for Bowling for Soup.

If, like me, you were at the Radicals stage to wait for Bowling for Soup, you were in for a more chaotic start. The first band I caught that gloomy Sunday was Drain, a hardcore punk band from Santa Cruz, California. Their energy was ballistic the moment they hit the stage. Mosh pits opened from frontman Sammy Ciaramitaro’s first roar, and he was beyond ready to leap into the crowd to join them. The most invigorating part of the set occurred during the band’s final song, where they expressed how much more used to playing on stages in clubs and bars than a festival stage. They called for the crowd to treat this show like a down and dirty club show…by challenging us to try and bypass security to join them onstage.

From the moment that last track kicked off, fans launched themselves over the barricade and went head-to-head with security. Most didn’t make it far before being pushed to the ground or led away from the area. Two fans got their hands on the edge of the stage before security grabbed them by their waists and threw them onto the damp grass. By the time the madness came to a close, I was buzzing with adrenaline. I realized it had been way too long since I’d been in a proper hardcore crowd, and it was beyond energizing.

After around a thirty minute gap, a jaunty tune blasted over the speakers. Each stanza was punctuated by five magical words: “here comes Bowling for Soup.” Once the band bounced onstage, they started their set proper with “High School Never Ends.” The band continued to rock the crowd with “Almost” and “Ohio (Come Back to Texas)” before delighting us with “Today is Gonna Be a Great Day,” better known as the theme song for Phineas and Ferb.

As is par for the course, the band was fun and irreverent. Right before the final chorus of “Punk Rock 101,” they paused for a “photo shoot” so attendees could get proper shots of the band. What else were they going to blast over the speakers during this break except “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley? Similarly, there was really no other way to end the set but their seminal classic cover of “1985” by SR-71.

At the end of the set, the band started throwing yellow guitar and green bass picks out to the crowd. I didn’t manage to get a guitar pick, but a bass pick landed on the grass just outside the barricade and got picked up by security personnel. I managed to get the pick by holding out my hand and asking them a polite-girlie question: “Can I have it? Can I have it, please?” I doubt the security guard actually heard me, but it’s nice to think he did. Regardless, the pick immediately got placed into my phone case beside an old Panda Express fortune and a Kpop photo card, where it remains to the publishing date of this article.

Still high from the excitement of the sets and the victory of nabbing a pick, I decided to grab a piece of pizza the size of my head. It was between that and a cheeseburger, as they were comparably priced, but you’ve got to stretch a penny like Mr. Fantastic here. After, I swung by the Romwe experience to recenter myself before charging my phone in the community connection bus. In the bus, a television played Riot Fest promo materials and PSAs from Rocked. Once my phone was charged to a reasonable level, my portable charger died and wouldn’t charge reliably, I went out to wander the grounds.

Admittedly, I don’t have a lot to say about Enter Shikari. I caught their set by passively walking around, but their performance and showmanship were compelling enough to get me to stop by for several minutes. I also happened upon just the right place to get some great shots of the band:

I swung by the Riot stage to catch Head Automatica. Frontman Daryl Palumbo bled charisma, wrapping his unique voice around every syllable of songs like “The Razor” and “Glass Bible.” The only song of theirs I was personally familiar with was “Beating Heart Baby,” which closed their official set. Even with as tired as I was, I can’t say I didn’t have an absolute blast.

Back in 2017, I became a casual listener of Pup while dating someone who was a huge fan of the band. I got a spot in the crowd for a nice hit of nostalgia, but I didn’t end up staying long for Pup. I was starting to feel weighed down by my seasonal depression and probable sleep deprivation, but I enjoyed what I was able to stay for. After only two or three songs, I made my way towards the exit.

To no fault of the fest, the ride back to my hostel was more melancholy than the night prior. Perhaps it was a combination of previously mentioned factors, or perhaps it was the subconscious knowledge I only had one day left in my favorite city. Luckily, the next day’s lineup was more than enough to keep me looking forward to the final day of Riot Fest.