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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | SEPTEMBER 26, 2021
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Riot Night returns after two-year hiatus BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer
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or the first time since November 2019, the celebrated rock/metal Riot Night returns to Rockbar, Inc. on Oct. 3. Inspired by the iconic Chicago-based music festival Riot Fest and the emergence of Emo Nite – where DJ’s play early 2000’s emo and pop punk music at a club-like setting – event founder Katia Kianpour wanted to create a fun event that celebrated her favorite styles of music. “I’m a huge fan of Warped Tour, Riot Fest in Chicago and then Emo Nite was coming up when I was first thinking of doing something like this in Phoenix, I wanted the music to be a little heavier than Emo Nite,” she said. “I figured since Riot Fest has a lot of different bands, I wanted to combine Emo Nite and Riot Fest and that was where Riot Night came from.” Kianpour had just celebrated the third anniversary of Riot Night in late 2019 and had already planned another show for February 2020.
Riot Night founder Katia Kianpour is excited to have fans return to Rockbar, Inc. on Oct. 2 for a night of loud music and drinks. (Pablo Robles/Progress Staff Photographer)
Unfortunately, that show had to be postponed to March 2020 and then ultimately canceled when mass gatherings were deemed unsafe because of the pandemic. “It was sad when we couldn’t throw Riot Night, but I was more concerned about the music industry as a whole when the pandemic happened,” Kianpour said. Now that she has received the OK to host an event at the Rockbar, Inc., she is excited to celebrate the music she grew
up listening to and introduce others to some big names in that style of music. Riot Night is slated to feature local rockers First and Forever along with popular acts; Cody Quigstad, a guitarist in the Florida-based metal band Wage War; Matty Mullins, the vocalist for the metal band Memphis May Fire; and Craig Owens, the vocalist of the alternative metal bands Chiodos and Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows.
art is constantly evolving. “Although the title didn’t really define a theme, the artists’ works really speak to the idea of constantly evolving – whether it’d be through ideas, social justice or the development of Phoenix,” said Lauren O’Connell, curator of contemporary art for SMoCA. The exhibit features a unique concoction of two-dimensional and 3-D pieces along with innovative light and film pieces. “It’s a very diverse show in terms of material,” O’Connell said. “It’s so important to represent a lot of different ways of
making contemporary art and the many different types of contemporary artists because life is not fun when it is homogeneous,” she added. The large sculptures and bright neon lights will likely catch the attention of the attendees. But some other buzz likely will come from a film created by Sam Frésquez, who places herself over the male love interests in some famous rom-com movies like “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” “Pretty in Pink” and “(500) Days of Summer.” “I love this piece and the way we con-
For some of the artists on the bill, like Quigstad, this will be their first Riot Night experience. “It’s exciting to be in a space where live music is back again and It’ll just be fun to feel the energy of being in a room of people celebrating the music that we grew up on,” said Quigstad, who will be playing a DJ set along with Mullins. Even though this will be his first time, Quigstad will be guided by someone who is not only a veteran of the event but is also his best friend. “Cody is my best friend and we live minutes apart from each other,” Said Mullins. “I thought the only thing that could possibly make Riot Night better is to have him there with me doing a DJ set together.” The two plan to curate a setlist featuring some of the most celebrated songs from artists like Blink-182, Underoath, Hawthorne Heights, My Chemical Romance and Yellowcard. Quigstad also has plans to treat fans to some new song off his bands new album, which will release the day before the show.
see RIOT NIGHT page 27
SMoCA unveils exhibits from young artists, O’Chun BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer
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he Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art has unveiled two new exhibits. The exhibits, titled “Forever Becoming: Phoenix’s Young Artists” and “Mimi O’Chun: It’s All Cake,” explore upcoming local artists and the trends related to the pandemic, respectively. “Forever Becoming” showcases the creativity of the next generation of artists who call Arizona home and display how
nect with it because we’ve seen the movies and know the cast,” O’Connell said. “The way that Sam inserts herself brings a whole new love affair to life.” “The layout is really based on conversations of the works and ways that one can move through the gallery,” she said. “I think that all of these artists are constantly having to re-invent themselves and re-invent their ideas,” she said. “I think that all of these works are a constant evolution and they all are respond-
see ARTISTS page 27
