Show Review: The. Best. Aftershock. Ever.

Review and All Photos by: Alan Ralph @ARPhotoSF 

For decades, Europe has led the way in the heavy metal and loud rock music festival space. Monsters of Rock (the originator, which started in 1980!), Wacken Open Air, Dynamo Open Air, Hellfest, Graspop, Copenhell, Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, Summer Breeze, Sweden Rock Fest and Download have always dominated the landscape with their amazing lineups year after year. 

United States was never close in offering an equivalent heavy metal experience. Sure, there was Ozzfest and Mayhem Festival, but those have been gone since 2017 and 2015 and Americans have always leaned more towards indie rock music festivals like Lollapalooza, Coachella, Bonaroo, and Outside Lands anyway.

For the last twelve or so years, Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) has been chipping away at the supremacy of the European heavy metal festivals, with Welcome To Rockville, Louder Than LifeSonic Temple, Inkcarceration, Rock on the RangeRocklahoma, Carolina Rebellion, and Northern California’s very own Aftershock Festival. With the best lineup it has ever had, West Coast’s Biggest Rock Festival definitely lived up to its name in 2024!

Continue reading “Show Review: The. Best. Aftershock. Ever.”

Show Review: Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival at Shoreline Amphitheater, 7/1/12

I think these guys may have been part of the Christian organization protesting the show from the parking lot. (All Photos by Alan Ralph)

 

I don’t listen to heavy metal music very often. There are two or three records that I pull out on rare occasion to fill a certain void, but at no time would I consider myself part of the movement. So, when the opportunity fell in my lap to cover Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, I wasn’t entirely sure if I was the right man for the job. But, I do really like Motörhead, and life isn’t about doing the safe thing. So, I decided to throw caution to the wind and see what happens when I spend an entire day absorbed in the metallic crunch of a heavy metal show. I put on my most “metal” of t-shirts, which was, most ironically, a Yelle T-shirt that was all black and had “Dance Or Die” written in bold red.

Continue reading “Show Review: Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival at Shoreline Amphitheater, 7/1/12”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/28/12 – 7/4/12

Appearing at the Mountain Winery on Thursday

Happy Independence Day! That’s why you are getting the rare list where nearly every band is from the US. And the only English band has an umlaut in it’s name.  Alright, enough chatter:

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/28/12 – 7/4/12”

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”