With a name like Riot Fest, wild mosh pits are all but implied. During the second day of the Chicago festival in Humboldt Park, moshers grew so rowdy, six fest-goers were later hospitalized with injuries.
None of those injured were seriously hurt, with the Chicago Fire Department reporting two of the six suffered only minor injuries.
Early reports indicated EMT's were carting off attendees due to drug overdoses though the Sun-Times later said officials couldn't give the exact reason for the ambulance transports.
"The crowd got a little rambunctious, and they weren't able to settle them down. There was a lot of jostling. Some kids got upset. There was some anxiety attacks, a couple of twisted ankles. So, the medical tent was overwhelmed with a large number of very minor injuries at one time," Chicago Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Gibbons told ABC Chicago.
Ten ambulances were called to the scene around 10:45 p.m. as Blink-182 was playing the final set of the day. Security booted photographers from the photo pit after just one song -- typically allowed for the first three -- as fans in the front row tried to scramble over barriers and crowd surf.
At one point near the end of the set, Blink-182 singer Mark Hoppus asked everyone in the front row to take several steps back. "We have some people on the ground," Hoppus said, later chiding the audience:
"If someone falls, help them up. I shouldn't have to tell you that."
People struggled to get cabs and buses after fest-goers teemed out of the massively packed closing set. Tweets from stranded Riot Festers complained of increased prices from car services like Uber as a snarl of ambulances added to the chaos. ABC reports at least 20 additional private ambulances responded as a precaution once the festival first aid tent called in for help.