?The first ever Riptide Fest set a new precedence for festivals in South Florida. The unbelievable December weather combined with an amazing crowd proved to be the perfect concoction for a party that most of us will remember until we start talking about the next one (we all hope!). The 19 band lineÂup was built for everyone: children, teens, music critics, adults, people who still remember the ’80s, and anyone who wanted to just dance on the beach. The festival offered affordable alcohol selections (that tequila/coconut water cocktail was bomb) paired with the tasty food kept a mob of lovely concertÂgoers fueled throughout the two days in the sun. For that, and many other reasons we felt right at home at Riptide and we cannot express how great of a time we had covering, shooting and partying on the beach with Ft. Lauderdaleâs finest.
Prior to our arrival, we had no other expectations than to kick ass and enjoy great music. There was one stage facing east, and just before the sand was the media pit, which was nice because we didnât have to traipse through the sand between each set. Being a two-Âday festival, brand new to the scene of this area of Ft. Lauderdale, and during the same weekend as Art Basel in Miami, we werenât expecting the crowd that had gathered on day one, under an already cloudless, sunÂfilled sky at 11 a.m. I was thinking to myself, âWeâre early, letâs get a good spot (near some shade, please!) for our lowÂlying chairs and see Saint Motel.â There was a bit of a time delay getting in, so we ended up arriving as the first band warmed up the crowd and had well over a thousand people cheering. Forget getting close, this place was packed! And we had ten hours to go, hell. yes. This lineÂup had some big names to draw everyone in, but sometimes itâs the ones in between who capture your heart and attention. Here are some of the highlights of the festival:
DECEMBER 3
DREAMERSÂ: These guys are everywhere right now. Making a ton of noise as a 3-Âpiece band (literally) all over XM and Billboard alternative charts with their single, âSweet Disaster.â Dreamers seem eager to take their massive live performance into 2017. One of my favorite raw sets of the day, Dreamers kind of kicked ass live. You wouldnât know it from their single, but they have quite a grungy sensibility to their live set. Screaming high fretted guitar squealed solos are common place with bombastic drum sounds that bring you back into the ’90s. Dreamers blindsided us with radÂness, elastic energy, and a gigantic sound. Check out their album released this last summer This Album Does Not Exist for jams!
GLASS ANIMALS:Â We here at Shows I Go To have it bad for Glass Animals. The boys from England really know how to make us lose all reasonable sensibility in public settings. This is now the 3rd time Iâve seen these talented fellas and the first since the release of their new album, How To Be A Human Being. While the album itself took some time to grow on me, hearing it live felt like a quick dose to the bloodstream. The body quaking bass and catchy synth hit you right in your dry musical palate with something youâve probably never tasted before (is it “Pork Soda?”). There was an older couple in front of me casually cheifinâ a doobie and making Elaine Bennis proud of her dancing abilities. I couldnât help but ask if this was the first time they had heard of the Glass Animals (amongst other inquiries), to which they replied, âYes, this is the first time weâve seen them, and theyâre groovy man!â Yeah mannnnn! Life was good on the beach, and all of Ft. Lauderdale was consensually covered in peanut butter vibes.
MIIKE SNOW:Â The perfect combination of live production and instrumentation. Miike Snow played the funkiest, most danceable set Iâve ever seen. Andrew Wyattâs stage banter was wonderfully witty. While the 2/3 production section of Miike Snow (Bloodshy and Avant) played it cool draped in their rockÂstar leather/accessories. Besides the drummer who remained in place, the other three members made their way around the stage switching between guitar, bass, piano, and production rigs. While frontman Wyatt played some guitar, he mostly remained behind the piano. A brilliantly seductive live show, Miike Snow tastefully combines the new age of electronic dance music with the roots of alternative rock. 10/10 would recommend.
THE STRUTSÂ: Real freaking rock stars, all you can say. Never holding back, be it their wardrobe, stage antics, or instrumentation; The Struts are the last of a dying breed when it comes to kicking ass and taking names. They must be seen AND heard. Making a name for themselves via their live show (WE CAN CONFIRM THE HYPE IS REAL) The Struts have taken the rock nâ roll world by storm by giving us exactly what we need. Sexy, sultry, fast-paced, in your face, rock. The Struts are going to be around for a while, and deservedly so. They are the perfect festival band, lifting the spirits of a tired sun-soaked crowd by giving their all through every single measure of every song. Rock enthusiasts; The Struts are a must see live, weâre hoping to catch emâ again reviving rock nâ roll in 2017.
ANDREW MCMAHONÂ: First of all, who doesnât love this dude? If youâve seen Dear Jack on Netflix, or are a fan of Something Corporate and Jackâs Mannequin than you wouldâve killed to see this set. Originally an Into the Wilderness set, plans quickly changed as Andrew announced after his first tune that none of the equipment made it to the airport, so all he had was this grand piano. Letâs just say I donât think anyone was upset. Maybe he was? But really, it was okay. So he and his one bandmate necessary to accompany such an acoustic set, performed much more than Into the Wilderness with greats like: âDark Blue,â âI Woke Up in a Car,â and âHoliday from Real.â He spoke of his remission, wife, and child in such a beautiful way that had everyone crying and clapping and hugging. Heâs a pleasure as always, I would never miss a chance to see his show, acoustic or otherwise.
ROBERT DELONG:Â After the end of the first night, I dubbed Robert as the real MVP of the day. As we photographers made our way back to the pit to prepare for his set, we see a lighting rig lowered all the way down, low enough to reach. A crew member doing a sort of tightrope performance across the top to fix the issue as the ?crowd was cheering, while we were wary for a few moments. We made jokes about waivers, and not standing directly under it when shooting, and who would get hit first due to being the tallest. Little did we know this was going to be the first setback for Robert DeLong. Fresh off the plane, heâd come out to his rig set up for him and nothing, and I mean nothing, would turn on or function. At one point there were five guys surround him as he kept throwing up his hands in frustration saying, âThis is fucked, nothing is working.â I was sure heâd walk off the stage in some childish tantrum, but man was I wrong!
His set was delayed almost 45 minutes, and we watched semiÂpatiently as they struggled with âturning it off and onâ and Iâm sure many more complicated DJ things than that. He must have made something work, because he began to mess around with some beats, added some layers, began singing, and then made a beat on some sort of synth pad (forgive me, I donât know the lingo) and then it glitched and wouldnât stop. The song moved on, rhythm changing, but that one stuck beat persisted on begging to be heard until he looked off stage and threw his hands up again. He killed the rig, and then walked upstage to mess with some equipment mumbling something about âequipment these days, right?â So he explains how heâs never done an acoustic set for any more than 20 people, and there were thousands there that night. He grabs a guitar and IT DOESNâT WORK. At this point, I felt bad for the dude. But then, something clicked on, and he played several songs in a manner in which theyâd maybe never been heard, and I loved it. I loved everything about him after that; I was instantly a fan. He showed up, and he performed. NO MATTER WHAT. Thatâs a true artist. He didnât throw a hissy fit, and he didnât drop out like Good Charlotte (inside joke, sort of). Cheers to you, Mr. DeLong. Please come back soon!
AWOLNATIONÂ: The headliners of day one, and one of the most anticipated bands to see at Riptide (for good reason). Megalithic Symphony, anyone? That explains their live sound. Epic and massive, the crunching and smashing of invisible monoliths on stage backed by sawtooth synthesizers that make your chest vibrate. You canât watch cell phone videos of âSAIL,â because they wonât do it justice. At one point Aaron Bruno told the crowd that for the holiday season he was going to gift us with a drum solo. The drummer killed it, and then Aaron himself got behind the kit as I shouted out loud, âOF COURSE.â As if I should be shocked or something. (I have a thing for drummers.) But thatâs beside the point. This was during âWoman Womanâ and after heâd already exclaimed to all the âbeautiful ladies in the crowdâ that âwhen AWOLNATION is playing, every day is National Womanâs Day!â. They played so many good songs like, âBurn it Downâ, âNot Your Faultâ, âPeopleâ and âKOOKSEVERYWHERE!,â which ended the evening perfectly. We danced, sang along, and forgot weâd burned in the sun for hours. Prepping us to do it all again the next day, 80’s style.
DECEMBER 4
?Let me just say, there were multiple times throughout the day that I looked at my sister and said, âTHATâS WHO SINGS THIS SONG?!â Donât get me wrong, I love the ’80s, but when you grow up being born near the end of them, you wind up with a catalog of music in your head of which you know all the words, but the memory of who sang or wrote them is a little vague. So when A Flock of Seagulls began to sing, âAnd I ran, I ran so far away …â or when The Fixx started to play âOne Thing Leads to Anotherâ well, you get my point, right?
EARTH, WIND, & FIREÂ: Holy. Shit. My life had not prepared me for what I was about to witness. So much talent on one stage at one time, and so many classic songs. Three original members, with about 100 other ON POINT musicians danced around the stage wildly, never missing a beat. Philip Bailey at one point was honest enough to say their time was limited and went to the crowd for requests. He laughed and responded to someoneâs request with, âWell, of course, we are gonna play âSeptember.ââ I thought people were gonna lose their minds. In fact, they have so many hits and had a limited set time (as every band did, about an hour or even less at times) that near the end of the set they just played a medley and it was unbelievable. LEGENDS. Some of the guys now have sons who make up the band, and you would know after one song that that shit runs in the family. EWF, we are not worthy.
THE BÂ52sÂ: The band, less Keith Strickland, was just so much fun to watch. Of course, we all know âLove Shackâ but there were so many more songs they played that are equally danceable for our new wave loving little hearts. Fred Schneider was hilarious on stage — as usual I am assuming. He played the kazoo, among other funky instruments that looked like childrenâs toys. Their outfits were retro, Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson were FIERCE. You would never know this band has been around for close to 40 years. Everyone song was upbeat, energetic and just freaking fun! It was a throwback to good times, and we left wanting more.
Riptide was made up of an eclectic mix of bands, and if this inaugural lineÂup is indicative of next yearâs, then start to plan your trip NOW, you donât want to be left out! Hereâs to getting SHARKWRECKED in 2017!
Riptide Music Festival Live Review by Sean Gray & Jenn Ross.
Riptide Music Festival Live Photos by Jenn Ross.
Check out our South Florida SIGT Website!
⌠SHOWS TO GO TO âŒ
Please support our friends who support us! Tell them Shows I Go To sends love! đ
- The Commission Beer Chamber
- Kingfish Records (Clearwater)
- Nora's Sugar Shack!
- Park Ave CDs
- Montgomery Drive Presents
- RT-Art Printing
- The Mary Jane 'High-Quality' Art Gallery
- The Owl's Attic Vintage Shop
- Broken Strings Brewery
- American Combat Club
- Lazy Moon Pizza
- Ten10 Brewing
- Leguminati
- Mutiny Ocala
- The Tipsy Skipper
- Conrad's Beer Shanty
- AKT Shirt Printing
- Smartpunk Records & Shop
- No Clubs Presents
- DaddyKool Records
- Galactic G Skateshop