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Sunday at Riot Fest brought the closing ceremonies to one of Chicago’s best independent homegrown events as well as the true end to festival season. Already Riot is thinking of next year with banner ads running all weekend to get fans to sign the petition to bring ABBA to the grounds in 2022 and other promos for the other announced headliners, the original Misfits and My Chemical Romance. If the past four days are any indication, many are already counting down the days until the day Riot returns.

Health

We might never know if Health and Nine Inch Nails had planned to join forces on Sunday at Riot Fest for their collaborative track “Isn’t Everyone,” originally released in May to critical applause. The two acts also previously toured together. But of course NIN canceled its upcoming concert schedule and Riot Fest appearance that was slated for Sunday out of concerns over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake, Health emerged, giving the summer goths in the crowd a hearty dose of the industrial-tinged noise rock that many were still craving. The experimental trio out of L.A. creates a real mood with its voluminous sound, a passive-aggressive mix of frontman Jake Duzsik’s ethereal vocals finding nooks within the brutal beats of drummer BJ Miller and bassist/noise tinkerer John Famiglietti’s feverish assault. In a flash, they can flip the switch from chilling cinematic scenescape to harsh existential dread while always sounding cohesive. They are a prime example of why it’s always good to get to the festival grounds early to catch the rising stars and unexpected gems.

Health performs Sunday at Riot Fest in Douglass Park.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Melkbelly

Chicago’s fuzzy noise rockers Melkbelly took a minute to acknowledge another one of the big gaps on Sunday’s lineup with a tribute to the Pixies (who canceled their appearance a few weeks back), effortlessly covering their song “Gigantic” by bringing on stage a trio of friends only known as Wendy, Linda and Liz to help frontwoman Miranda Winters on the backup vocals. The strong female force was something Winters was quick to point out by the end of the short set as the rockers ripped through “Kissing Under Some Bats” from their April 2020 album “PITH.” Winters introduced the song by dedicating it to the ladies in the crowd or “anyone who wants to play music but is afraid.” Melkbelly — also featuring Bart Winters on guitar, Liam Winters on bass and James Wetzel on drums — upholds the lineage of noise-blaring rock acts from Chicago, showcased well in the performance. The Rebel Stage where they played was a frontrunner for some great local talent over the weekend, and also featured Chicago act Airstream Futures earlier in the day. Though Melkbelly claimed to have “dropped the ball” on merch for the festival, the band members did encourage the crowd to meet them by their van in the alley to pick up T-shirts and copies of the new album, and hopefully people were brave enough to do so.

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Bears quarterback Andy Dalton hurt his left knee while scrambling for 14 yards in the second quarter Sunday at Soldier Field. After returning to play in the next series, Dalton walked to the Bears locker room and was ruled questionable to return.

Rookie Justin Fields took his place for the rest of the game.

Afterward, coach Matt Nagy said he didn’t believe Dalton tore his anterior cruciate ligament, which would have been season-ending.

“They’re looking at that [Monday] and the next couple days,” he said. “But I’m pretty sure we can rule that out.”

Dalton pointed to Fields to enter the game after he scrambled out of bounds along the Bears sideline. When Dalton emerged from the injury tent, he tested his injury on the sideline by jogging and practicing dropbacks. He then decided he could enter the game — and played four plays before the Bears punted.

Dalton was sharp against the Bengals, leading the Bears to a touchdown on their first drive. He completed an 11-yard scoring pass to Allen Robinson to go up 7-0 in the Bears’ home opener; unlike last week, Fields did not play on the first drive.

Dalton went 9-for-10 for 56 yards and scrambled twice for 25 yards against the Bengals, his former team. Dalton spent nine seasons in Cincinnati before joining the Cowboys as a backup last season and signing a $10 million contract with the Bears in March.

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The ovations were enormous, even before the show itself started. Not for 18 months, in this era of COVID havoc, have crowds been able to gather at the Lyric Opera. Their Sept. 17 return at long last, in party mode by the diligently masked thousands, was for Verdi’s supernatural “Macbeth.”

David McVicar’s harrowing, witch-ridden production made its debut inside an auditorium that had been magnificently freshened. The hall’s legendary gilding is still intact, of course, but all is soothed by the fresh balm of gently circulating air, plush new seats that are staggered for better sight lines, and serenely smooth, ankle-friendly carpets and aisles. All the better to be scared out of our wits by a brilliant opera of grand proportions.

The company’s new music director, Enrique Mazzola, an Italian opera specialist, was in splendid form at the helm, before an orchestra quite capable of sounding otherworldly or glorious, as needed, despite the long break. And a welcome Lyric Opera familiar, the great Verdi soprano Sondra Radvanovsky — Berwyn-born — went all in as the ambitious wife who seizes on the prophecy that her husband is to become king and goads him into considerable bloody business by way of hurrying things along. Note to would-be kings and queens: When it comes to prophecy, consider the source, and listen better to details.

McVicar’s unsettling new production, his 10th at the Lyric, takes place entirely in a Scottish chapel, a dark space that would normally welcome a devout community, but instead intertwines rapture and horror. Its resident coven of witches delivers a startling prophecy to Macbeth and Banquo, who are friends, both of them successful generals in King Duncan’s army: Macbeth will be king, but Banquo will be the father of kings, the witches say.

Almost immediately, these two become suspicious of each other. Meanwhile, no small detail, King Duncan is still very much alive. The gory events that follow will play out, one by one, in McVicar’s creepy sacred space. These superb rivals — bass-baritone Craig Colclough, in his Lyric Opera debut as stunned Macbeth, and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn, well-known to Lyric audiences, as Macbeth’s now-uneasy rival Banquo — complete the grand trio that will, with Radvanovksy, drive the show into glories of triumph, terror, murder and madness.

The severe and commanding sets, designed by John Macfarlane, include an ominous painted drop that suggests the doom that awaits the gullible protagonists at their end. And the harbingers of Macbeth’s downfall are immediately on display in the strong performances by all three principals. The vocal artistry is top-notch throughout here.

Colclough’s voice is capable of an alarming edge, a mercurial menace that his Macbeth can wield with easy fury. But from the very beginning, we also see him, hear him, lose his grip in what was an impressively relentless and deeply probing characterization. After botching the midnight murder of King Duncan by failing to plant evidence that will finger the servants, and then also turning Banquo’s murder into a very messy business, Macbeth is seen as drunk, tyrannical, abusive, and distracted in the very first minute of the banquet scene. His increasingly strange behavior was unhingement to behold. Van Horn’s Banquo, by contrast, provided the deep weight, the gravitas of a principled man who recognizes the true danger of Macbeth as a ruthless rival; Banquo must attempt the all but impossible protection of his son. Chicago audiences know Van Horn as a former Ryan Center alum. He has matured into a splendid artist.

Christian Van Horn plays Macbeth’s rival Banquo.Ken Howard

As for the dark psychological journey of Radvanovsky’s ambitious Lady Macbeth — alive with an almost sexual thrill in her relish of glory and power in “Vieni t’affretta,” and even more compelling as she falls relentlessly into madness — the grotesque nature of her dreadful circumstance is tragically apparent in the arc and color of each phrase. This was a performance by an artist in command of her full powers. The sleep-walking scene, “Una macchia e qui tuttora!,” when she hallucinates that the blood of their victims won’t come off her hands, was spell-binding.

Through it all, an exceptional chorus of witches, including some children, performed as Verdi’s sinister hags. They added bleak resonance to this evening of great theater.

Before an audience that was genuinely hungry for it, in a newly upgraded magical space, one could not ask for more.

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For the first time in two years, it feels like the Bears are actually headed the right way.

It’s weird for outlook to be so bright after a 20-17 win over the middling Bengals, but it’s all about Justin Fields now. It’s the best thing that could happen to the Bears.

Their offensive line is still a mess, it’s an ongoing fight against time for the defense and it’s hard to trust Matt Nagy. But the Fields adventure is underway.

The Bears slow-played his development because they were so committed to Andy Dalton as their starter, but now that Dalton is sidelined by a knee injury, Fields is where he should’ve been along. Nagy can now abandon his insufferable quarterback merry-go-round and do what’s best for the Bears’ future.

It might even be what’s best for his own future.

It’s going to be choppy for Fields, but the sooner he get through the typical rookie turbulence, the better off the Bears will be. He hit a few of those snags coming out of halftime with two false starts — he jerked his leg as if to start running before the ball was snapped — and fumble at his own 33-yard line that nearly turned into a scoop-and-score for Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson.

The only thing between nearly and definitely was Fields, who lunged from flat on the ground to slap the ball from Wilson and get the ball back so the Bears could punt it away on fourth down.

Athletic. Smart. Gutsy.

Heroic, even? Sure.

That’s how the play will be remembered despite Fields’ loose handling of the ball being the reason the fumble happened in the first place. That’s how good everything feels for the Bears now that the right guy is playing quarterback.

Soldier Field was booming already with fans returning for the first time since 2019, and Fields cranked up the volume.

Exhilaration surged through the seats as he lofted what would’ve been a 23-yard pass to Darnell Mooney in the third quarter. The roar downshifted into a moan as the ball deflected off Mooney’s hand for an incomplete pass, but the roar was unmistakable. It happened again on an almost 35-yard touchdown heave to Allen Robinson that slipped through his hands.

Few fan bases deserve some excitement as much as this one after sitting through 16-16 over the last two seasons and some of the sleepiest offense in the NFL.

The best news for the Bears and their audience: Fields will only get better.

It’s almost irrelevant that Fields completed just 6 of 13 passes for 60 yards, led the Bears to a paltry pair of field goals in five possessions and nearly threw the game away with an interception in the final minutes.

Riding that out is part of the process with any rookie quarterback, and good for Fields that his defense created a safe space to struggle. Best-case scenario for this season is that Roquan Smith and the defense give him enough margin to make mistakes without blowing a game.

Dalton’s bid to hang on to his career wasn’t thrilling anybody. At best he’d be serviceable as the Bears tried to stay afloat and at worst he’d spiral his way out of the job and leave Fields to inherit a midseason mess.

The Bears have been promising you for two years it’s going to be better. Now it actually will.

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Two men were fatally shot Sunday in West Pullman on the Far South Side, according to Chicago police.

About 1:25 p.m., the men, 33 and 28, were in the 11800 block of South Emerald Avenue, when two people walked up to them and fired shots, police said.

The 28-year-old was struck in the head, and the older man was struck in the head, chest and rear, police said. They were pronounced dead at the scene, but were later taken to Roseland Community Hospital.

They have not yet been identified.

Chicago police continue to investigate.

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The Justin Fields Era started Sunday afternoon.

Time — and medical evaluations — will determine if it continues uninterrupted.

The Bears’ rookie quarterback replaced an injured Andy Dalton in the second quarter Sunday against the Bengals. In front of 60,840 fans at Soldier Field, the Bears rode their defense to a 20-17 win.

The Bears made it look easy — until they didn’t. After their defense landed four-straight takeaways, the Bears gave up a 42-yard touchdown pass to Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Nursing a 10-point lead with 3:50 to play, Fields threw an interception to Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson, who returned the ball 18 yards to the Bears’ 7. The Bengals scored on the next play on a pass to Tee Higgins. Within one minute’s time, they scored 14 points to cut the lead to 20-17.

On third-and-9 with 2:55 to play, though, Fields scrambled left for a 10-yard gain. The Bears ran the clock out.

Fields’ numbers weren’t flashy: he finished 6-for-13 for 60 yards, one interception and a 27.7 passer rating. He ran eight times for 37 yards.

Dalton hurt his left knee in the second quarter when he scrambled for 14 yards and ran out of bounds along the Bears sideline. He tripped and stepped awkwardly.

Fields took over, handing the ball off three times and turning the ball over on downs. Dalton went to the injury tent before returning for a four-play drive in which he was sacked and looked uncomfortable. He then went to the Bears’ locker room.

Fields was uneven in the first extended playing time of his career — which is to be expected from a rookie — but the Bears rode a dominant defensive showing to the win. The Fields-led offense produced only two fourth-quarter field goals, though he wasn’t helped when Allen Robinson dropped what would have been a fourth-quarter touchdown.

Dalton watched the second half from the sideline in uniform. It’s unclear how much time he could miss, but it’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever start again for the Bears. Even if he sits out for a few weeks, would the Bears want to stall Fields’ development by sitting him back down?

If the Bears defense plays the way it did for most of Sunday, though, the Bears will happily deal with Fields’ growing pains.

The defense pitched a first-half shutout. After giving up a field goal in the third quarter, the Bears ended four-straight Bengals drives with takeaways.

They didn’t give up their first points until midway through the third quarter, when Kevin McPherson made a 53-yard field goal to make the score 7-3. That they got any points at all was a testament to the Bears’ stupidity. On third-and-16 from the Bengals’ 29, Burrow scrambled left and ran harmlessly out of bounds — and into the Bears sideline — for no gain. Outside linebacker Robert Quinn bumped him two steps after he ran out of bounds. Rather than punting, the Bengals had 15 yards and a first down.

The Bears got their first takeaway of the season late in the third quarter, when safety Eddie Jackson forced a Tee Higgins fumble on a 14-yard completion. The ball bounced into Tashaun Gipson’s arms and he returned it 13 yards. After a disjointed drive — Fields was twice called for a false start but showed his promise when he zipped a pass to Darnell Mooney for 21 yards — the Bears had first-and-goal at the 8. David Montgomery ran for a loss of three, Fields scrambled for six yards and then the rookie quarterback flinched before the snap for the false start flag. On third-and-goal from the 10, he threw incomplete to Allen Robinson. Cairo Santos kicked a 28-yard field goal to go up 10-3 eight seconds into the fourth quarter.

The second takeaway came less than five minutes later, when linebacker Roquan Smith picked Burrow on third-and-3 and returned it 53 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown. That sealed the game with 10:55 to play.

The Bears forced a takeaway on their third consecutive drive when cornerback Jaylon Johnson picked Burrow two plays later, giving them the ball at the Bengals 36. The fourth takeaway came when nose tackle Angelo Blackson caught a pass tipped by linebacker Alec Ogletree and returned it to the Bengals’ 9.

Fields’ best play of the game came midway through the third quarter. He fumbled when he was sacked on third down. Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson ran to scoop up the ball at the Bears’ 33 and could have returned it all the way for a touchdown. But Wilson whiffed on the scoop and Fields Army-crawled to the ball and covered it up.

Dalton marched the Bears to a touchdown on the first drive of the game, earning some goodwill from a fan base eager to cheer Fields in the home opener. Dalton converted three third downs in the first drive. The last one was a touchdown — on third-and-5, he found Robinson for a 11-yard score.

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The schedule has led to covering way too many CCL/ESCC games and not enough of the rest of the area. That always makes rankings harder, when all you have to judge on is scores and not actually seeing teams.

That will start to change here in Week 5. I’m planning to cover Neuqua Valley at Naperville Central on Friday and Cary-Grove at Prairie Ridge on Saturday.

Several big names dropped out this week after losing. Wheaton Warrenville South, Homewood-Flossmoor, Barrington and St. Charles North are all gone for now.

Palatine returns after knocking off Maine South. Prairie Ridge is back on the eve of the big showdown with Cary-Grove and Crete-Monee and Glenbard North make their season debuts.

Week 5’s Super 25

With record and last week’s ranking

1. Loyola (4-0) 1

Friday at Fenwick

2. Mount Carmel (4-0) 6

Friday at St. Ignatius

3. Brother Rice (3-1) 3

Friday at De La Salle

4. Joliet Catholic (4-0) 5

Friday vs. No. 25 Crete-Monee

5. Naperville Central (3-1) 8

Friday at No. 7 Neuqua Valley

6. Marist (3-1) 4

Friday at Marmion

7. Neuqua Valley (4-0) 11

Friday vs. No. 5 Naperville Central

8. Glenbard West (4-0) 9

Friday at Addison Trail

9. Lincoln-Way East (3-1) 10

Friday at No. 17 Bolingbrook

10. Cary-Grove (4-0) 12

Saturday vs. No. 23 Prairie Ridge

11. Maine South (3-1) 2

Friday at Glenbrook North

12. Warren (3-1) 7

Friday vs. Stevenson

13. Batavia (4-0) 13

Friday vs. No. 24 Glenbard North

14. Wheaton North (3-1) 14

Friday vs. Lake Park

15. St. Rita (2-2) 15

Friday vs. St. Patrick

16. Hersey (4-0) 16

Friday at Elk Grove

17. Bolingbrook (4-0) 17

Friday vs. No. 9 Lincoln-Way East

18. Lockport (4-0) 20

Friday at Sandburg

19. Oswego East (4-0) 19

Friday at West Aurora

20. Lemont (4-0) 21

Friday vs. TF North

21. Hinsdale Central (3-1) 25

Friday at Oak Park

22. Palatine (2-2) NR

Friday at Schaumburg

23. Prairie Ridge (4-0) NR

Saturday at Cary-Grove

24. Glenbard North (4-0) NR

Friday at No. 13 Batavia

25. Crete-Monee (3-1) NR

Friday at No. 4 Joliet Catholic

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Brother Rice lost on Friday, but the Crusaders didn’t disappoint any neutral observers.

Marist’s 28-16 loss at home to a young Mount Carmel team definitely presents some questions about the RedHawks as a legitimate state title contender. That isn’t the case with Brother Rice’s Week 4 defeat.

Crusaders quarterback Jack Lausch was electric. The senior was 16-for-25 passing for 292 yards, rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns and just had the look of a talented leader that is going to do what it takes to win.

Brother Rice nearly got the ball back with a minute left and a chance to win. It feels like Lausch would have found a way to get the Crusaders in the end zone.

Providence transfer Aaron Vaughn was very solid as well with 15 carries for 83 yards.

There are clearly some defensive issues to work out. But facing Loyola was a big jump in quality from Brother Rice’s first three opponents. The Crusaders will be a much more experienced bunch when they head to Mount Carmel for a showdown Week 6.

Palatine shocks Maine South

Palatine was ranked No. 18 in the preseason, but a lot of that was based on Iowa-bound receiver Jake Bostick, who is out injured.

The Pirates showed they are still a major threat by knocking off Maine South 20-19 on Friday. Junior quarterback Grant Dersnah connected with junior Nate Branch on a 24-yard touchdown pass to put Palatine ahead and senior Kam Lewis sealed the win with an interception.

Fox Valley fun

The big match up in the northwest suburbs is on Saturday. Undefeated Cary-Grove hosts undefeated Prairie Ridge.

The Trojans scored on their first seven possessions against McHenry in Week 4. Here’s a wild stat: senior running back Drew Magel has 252 yards and five touchdowns on just seven carries in the last two games.

Prairie Ridge squeaked by Jacobs last week. The Wolves defense stopped Jacobs on a two-point conversion to seal the win in the final minutes.

Someone please fix this

Around 5,000 fans crammed into Memorial Stadium in Joliet on Friday to watch Joliet Catholic host Providence. There was tailgating and just a generally great high school football atmosphere.

That’s a rivalry game that needs to happen every single year. It’s been six years since the teams met up.

There’s a similar issue going on here in Chicago. St. Patrick and Notre Dame haven’t played each other since 2019. The teams don’t have a game scheduled this season.

All four of these teams are in the massive CCL/ESCC conference. Those are two rivalries that need to be played every single season. It’s important for high school football.

The Notre Dame-St. Patrick football game is annually the most-read football game story on the Sun-Times’ website. It doesn’t matter if the teams are ranked or what their records are. It’s a game that matters to the community.

Joliet Catholic-Providence is just as important Will County. The CCL/ESCC needs to figure this out.

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