Show Review: Highlights of Aftershock 2025!

Review by:
Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro and Emily Anderson @emilyphotoadventure

Photos by:
Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro unless otherwise stated

Nearly one year ago, at the very end of Spinning Platters’ Aftershock 2024 review, this question was raised: “West Coast’s Biggest Rock Festival had such a stellar lineup this year, HOW are they possibly going to outdo themselves in 2025?!?!” 

If one hundred people were asked if 2025 was better than 2024, there would undoubtedly be one hundred different answers and opinions. Aftershock 2024 was so exceptionally good and a heavy metal fan’s wet dream – Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Slayer, Pantera, Slipknot, Mastodon, Anthrax, Clutch, Ministry, Body Count and more! Fans of other genres of rock, punk, and loud music were still out in force, as Aftershock 2024 set an attendance record of 40,000 people per day, but may have felt neglected by the sheer amount of metal that closed every night of the festival.

For the 13th annual Aftershock in 2025, promoter Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) altered the overall lineup to cater to the rest of those fans while still appealing to the heavy metal fans, by combining every Warped TourOzzfest and Rockstar Mayhem Festival lineup, put it all in a blender, and poured it in a tall glass of Discovery Park for four days of the best rock, alt-rock, metal, 2000’s nu-metal, hardcore, and pop-punk bands, all in one place at one time in the outskirts of downtown Sacramento!  

Continue reading “Show Review: Highlights of Aftershock 2025!”

April \m/etal show photos + reviews: Obituary, Exodus, Death Angel, and more!

Photo Galleries and Show Reviews by: Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro

Spinning Platters attended, photographed, and reviewed (not all) a dozen \m/etal shows in April! Beginning the last weekend of March and throughout April, San Francisco (and Spinning Platters!) had become very \m/etal!  Just look at the list of 60+ band names on the left column (on mobile, look near the bottom of the page), which does not happen very often around here anymore…

Continue reading “April \m/etal show photos + reviews: Obituary, Exodus, Death Angel, and more!”

Show Review: Megadeth + Lamb of God + Trivium + Hatebreed, Concord Pavilion, 09/02/2021

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro

‘Metal Tour of the Year.’ Quite a bold statement. The concert t-shirts even say it. On September 2, Megadeth, Lamb of God, Trivium, and Hatebreed descended on the sleepy East Bay city of Concord to wreak some havoc and let everyone else know that they intend to hold onto their self-proclaimed tour title!

Photo Gallery: Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival – July 6, 2014

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro

As it has every summer for the past 6 years, the Rockstar Energy Drink MAYHEM Festival rocked Shoreline Amphitheater on July 6, 2014.

While it was nearly impossible to photograph all 18 bands that performed on 4 stages, and due to not yet being able to be in two places at one time, I missed King 810, Texas Hippie Coalition, Miss May I, Veil of Maya, and all of the bands on the Victory Records stage (Wretched, Islander, ErimhaEmmure started the tour on the next show).

Below are photo galleries from Avenged Sevenfold, KoRn, Asking Alexandria, Trivium, Cannibal Corpse, Body Count w/Ice-T, Suicide Silence, Mushroomhead, Darkest Hour, and Upon a Burning Body.

Continue reading “Photo Gallery: Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival — July 6, 2014”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: November 25th-December 1st

Peach Wallpaper is just one of several options this week...
Peach Wallpaper is just one of several options this week...

Happy Thanksgiving from Spinning Platters. I’ve got a lot of things for you to do other than shop this week. Maybe buy some merch for your little cousin? And, seriously, Black Friday may be the best show day in ages. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: November 25th-December 1st”