Alanis Morissette, Elvis Costello, ICP, William Shatner close a muddy and monstrous Riot Fest

Photos by Andy Argyrakis

Throughout a three-day stretch of nearly 100 acts, Riot Fest always stayed exciting and unpredictable, but it’s final installment may have taken the cake when it came to weirdly endearing randomness, despite Mother Nature not being on it’s side.

For starters, a torrential downpour overnight caused a couple hour delay in the opening of gates, followed by another shift of the schedule and an unfathomable amount of mud reaching plague-like proportions.

That didn’t stop tens of thousands trudging through it to catch a glimpse of pop/rock icon Alanis Morrisette make her debut at the annual Douglass Park event after typically playing more mainstream-minded affairs, who, ironically, did not permit any press photography.

Nevertheless, she was right at home revisiting the angst-fueled glory of the culture-shifting “Jagged Little Pill” masterpiece, including “Hand In My Pocket,” “Head Over Feet,” “You Learn” and “You Oughta Know,” which certainly laid the ground work for countless singer/songwriters of today.

The same could be said about Englishman Elvis Costello’s ongoing influence as the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, backed by The Imposters, traced his early days of “Radio Soul” in the late 1970s, such as “Watching The Detectives” and “Less Than Zero.”

Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope, otherwise known as hardcore hip-hop/horrorcore duo Insane Clown Posse, brought an elaborate spectacle and Faygo soda showers like no other as a field’s worth of Juggalos went bananas over the carnival-like mayhem.

A major reunion was also in the cards when The Format, comprised of future fun. front man Nate Ruess and multi-instrumentalist Sam Means, returned to their indie pop/rock roots of “Interventions + Lullabies” and “Dog Problems,” plus caught fans up to speed on “Boycott Heaven,” nearly erasing the two decades of distance away.

However, the real wildcard was actor/sometimes artist William Shatner radically changed lanes to introduce his heavy metal band The *uckers, brazenly defying 95-years of age by covering Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and sending everyone home wondering exactly what brilliantly bonkers idea Riot Fest will cook up next around a year from now.

For upcoming Riot Fest announcements, visit RiotFest.org.