It’s not often that we leave the breezy confines of the San Francisco Bay Area, but on occasion, we like to venture outside of our comfort zone, and the annual Fall festival in Sacramento known as Aftershock is one huge reason to do so. They definitely didn’t hold back on the lineup this year, and it looks like a great opportunity to go and show off all the black t-shirts that we’ve collected over the past year of catching up on live events. Like any other music festival with multiple stages and dozens of bands, Aftershock doesn’t happen without a bit of scheduling conflicts that will make it impossible to try to decide which barricade to consider posting up on. Fear not though, as Spinning Platters will attempt to breakdown any major conflicts and present reasonably valid reasons to choose one band over another throughout the four-day weekend.
The start of the festival Thursday seems to hum along fairly smoothly until the late afternoon hits, and then… wow, 00’s metal legends Killswitch Engage or daredevil art rock troupe Cherry Bombs, whose fearless and dynamic performances feature dance, fire, aerial, grinding, stilt walking, and so much more. Since we missed Burning Man last month, and that this could possibly be the weirdest performance of the entire weekend (sorry GWAR), we’ll have to get back to that metalcore karate-kicking, picking-up-change mosh pit another time.
The other, more difficult match-up features Slipknot, one of the most brutal bands to reach arena-level stature, and Bad Religion, one of the most enduring bands of the punk era. Slipknot put on a massive show, one of the most dynamic that will happen throughout this weekend; however, the sociopolitical climate is pretty shit right now, and We’re Only Gonna Die For Our Arrogance and Fuck Armageddon, This Is Hell both tidy up the world right now nicely. Even though one of Slipknot’s most popular songs is People=Shit, Bad Religion seems like the way to go here.
Friday is full of no-brainers, if you’re an old guy like me, that is. Obviously, I’m picking the harmonica-fueled hard rock of Clutch, 90’s alternative radio stars Helmet, noted cameraphobe Danzig, and who can forget all the hits from Twitch Band Winner! Conflicts really don’t get tough until the end of the night, when the biggest decision of all decisions over the entire weekend has to be made: Lamb of God vs. GWAR. Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe is possibly the coolest person on the whole Aftershock lineup. Who can forget when he led a kazoo army to drown out the Westboro Baptist Church or obliterated Pharrell Williams’ Something in the Water festival with Bad Brains? However, the chances of a giant toilet spewing liquids on the crowd during a Lamb of God set are pretty slim, so we’ll see you at GWAR!
Saturday presents itself with nearly no conflicts throughout the entire day and night! If 00’s Warped Tour is your thing, there’s plenty to see – Thursday, Thrice, Beartooth, Enter Shikari, and A Day To Remember. If punk rap is your thing, than the one-two punch of Ho99o9 and City Morgue is something not to be missed. In fact, while spending all that time at the smaller Coors Light stage this afternoon, make sure to arrive early and not miss Australian punk rock / 60s garage punk / 70s new wave punk band The Chats, who possibly traveled the longest distance to be here and be heard!
More complicated is the 8:20p slot, where there are two bands that are WAY better than the history books have given them credit for — hometown heroes Papa Roach or The Distillers, a band that spent too much time in the shadow of both Rancid and Queens of the Stone Age. Nothing will ever eclipse seeing Papa Roach in a Shakey’s Pizza in LA, but since The Distillers reformed a few years ago after a 13 year absence, there’s no telling how long that will last, so see them before you won’t be able to again.
After three full days of music, don’t forget that there’s one more day to go! The Warning, which features three sisters from Mexico, kick off the day fairly early. They are amazing, and it’s unfair that any band has to follow them, so don’t let the Saturday night hangover ruin dampen your spirits and get back to Discovery Park right away. The Struts are a rare glam throwback act that doesn’t view glam rock as a joke, and singer Luke Spiller can do an impressive Freddie Mercury. The Interrupters really don’t make sense on this bill, but sometimes you need a little ska. The real question now is: how do you end four straight days of guitar goodness? It ends with one final major conflict — the hyper-pretentious prog rock of Muse vs. the clever lyricist (and apparently not a bad chef either) Action Bronson. Although Muse is a replacement for the Foo Fighters, who tragically lost their drummer recently, we can never pass up a chance to repost one of the greatest music videos in hip hop, and therefore also must see this live and in-person!
Feel free to take Monday, October 10 off of work to recover. After four glorious days of loud guitars, punk rap, punk rock, metalcore, ska, and more loud guitars, you won’t be able to hear your coworkers anyway!
