On September 20^th – 23^rd, in the midst of Chicago, the die-hard punk ridden mosh pit formed in Douglass park, and the Alt kids and Punks from all over the area of Chicagoland swarmed to this opportunity to blend in with the rest of their people. One giant mosh festival, with the gods of punk and indie, Descendents, Pavement, and Beck…

Riot fest was also happening in the same two days as Oktoberfest, so some people, like me, couldn’t attend Riot fest, and with the popularity of Oktoberfest in the town of Berwyn Il, teens had options to have fun, or have a blast, and you can choose which is which.

There was a path to take of either a blessing to see pavement for the first time, or, far away on the small brick sized town of Berwyn, get traumatized by and surviving the cranium shaker. Those who chose Oktoberfest had the experience of a local community gathering to look forward to, with booths, semi suspicious food, and performers of their own! Those who chose the path of a bigger meatier pit of teenagers, they experienced the magic of a big Riot… fest.

Students from Morton that attended Riot Fest, had experienced a blast of a performance from many bands, from The Dead Milkmen, to Beach bunny, to the best band in the world, Pavement, the few mustangs in the pit (along with many other school students) couldn’t contain their riot.

“I lost my phone while crowd-surfing…” Declan Papanicholas said, in the straightest face he’s ever given in a conversation. His phone has escaped his pockets as Descendants played the first Descendents song most heard, “Myage,” in the sea of muddy grass, and he’s never been the same since, thanks to Fest of a Riots. (update: he found his phone now, guys.)

Students at Morton were there to enjoy the pits and the people, and see their favorite artists. “Dude, I went and the mosh pits were insane. I also loved seeing fallout boy,” Said Dakota Lucas, who loved the atmosphere of it all. Even with that said, the atmosphere wasn’t shared by others in this massive arena sized park.

“People don’t know how to mosh and two-step correctly. They’re like babies who don’t know pit etiquette,” said Juan Lopez, who didn’t find much enjoyment in the audience participation. Even with all the riots and fests, some people felt that this year was not as memorable, or that the atmosphere wasn’t all there.

Because of the overstimulating muddy grass and loud bands, and not-so-educated-on-show-etiquette-teens, students attended Oktoberfest, and had the chance to see smaller, yet passionate performances such as High and lonesome, who opened on green day’s basket case and other well-known alternative rock songs, and a band popular amongst a circle of students in Morton, Private Display of Affection.

P.D.A opened with a few covers, one of which being Everlong by Foo Fighters. The curse of foo fighters (Dave Grohl cheating on his wife) did lead to them losing each other in the song, but the show had to go on, and so they did, and after Everlong, they played their hit single, “Dying on the dance floor,” as well as their upcoming single, “In your room.”

alongside the performances, were the rides of a lifetime, including the debut of the legendary, cranium shaker. Many claimed that they experienced the trauma of a lifetime inside of such, and its popularity as a ride comes from the fact that, besides it’s debut, it appears in the Diary of a wimpy kid book Dog Days.

“I really thought I was gonna die. It was terrifying, but I would 100% go on it again. My cranium was shook good,” Said Evie Drenth, who was one of multiple of her group to endure this contraption.

most, if not almost all students from Morton picked the option of a local community gathering, seeing their friends and having a good time. “I thought Oktoberfest was really fun!! I like that Berwyn has it every year because I get to reconnect with people that I might not have seen in a while, and I get to hang out with friends and ride rides! I think it’s a great way to connect the local community because it has activities for all ages, like games, rides, and live music!” said Corabelle Polderman.

Overall, Mustangs had the option of tuning into their favorite bands in a big muddy and sweaty pile of teens and punks, or go on rides and see their smaller beloved humans in their town and eat questionable burgers in that one booth, and potentially get their cranium shook by multiple rides, and judging from the popular vote, it seems like supporting a smaller local community festival feels right to our mustangs.