My Chemical Romance welcomes Riot Fest back to “The Black Parade,” Ramones remembered

Photos by Andy Argyrakis

The pandemic may have delayed it from happening, but once My Chemical Romance finally reunited at Riot Fest in Douglass Park, it made not only the last few years, but also the decade-plus since previously coming to Chicago, all but disappear.

Gerard Way and company did drop a fresh track to mark the occasion, “The Foundations Of Decay,” but without a full album to feature, it mostly meant a trip through its theatrical alternative rock annals.

With that in mind, it attracted a crowd so massive that the flamboyant front man regularly told attendees to take several steps back, though luckily, anthems such as “Helena,” “Teenagers,” “Welcome To The Black Parade” and “Famous Last Words” all held up remarkably well, allowing both “The Kids From Yesterday” and those too young to previously see MCR a chance to catch an era-defining act in the midst of a comeback.

Unfortunately, most of the Ramones are gone and dreams of a similar reunion will never come to fruition, but longtime drummer Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg managed to fill the tremendous void with a revitalized retrospective.

Besides pulling material from a 1978-1996 tenure with the punk icons, he liberally examined the formative days, including such genre bedrocks as “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker,” “Teenage Lobotomy,” “I Wanna Be Sedated,” “Rockaway Beach,” “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “Rock ‘N’ Roll High School.”

The Windy City’s own underground heroes, Alkaline Trio, had a hell of a homecoming with an aggressive cross-section dating back to the late 1990s, while the psychedelically-framed Portugal. The Man brought a quirky and experimental essence to the festivities.

Taking Back Sunday’s status as a cornerstone from the post-hardcore period continued to cement itself, while there was no better example of enduring punk than seeing the Descendents, who other than the Ramones, easily pre-dated everyone on the bill.

Fans of rock and rollers Rocket From The Crypt were treated to the entire “Group Sounds” collection, plus there was the last-minute surprise of the always arty Sparta (subbing for Placebo), who sampled a pair of recent projects that broke a 14-year recording absence.

Yet it was Australia’s pop/punk/electronic rocker AViVA who took Riot Fest’s breath away, thanks to a spirited set packed with rebellious charm that really got early comers cranked up for the start of a marathon weekend.

Riot Fest continues at Douglass Park through Sunday, September 18. For additional details, visit RiotFest.org.