Our third day of coverage at the Aftershock in Sacramento, California, took place last Saturday, the 8th. And by now, if you've read about the first and second days , you already know: it was hot.
I didn't want to repeat myself here, and I don't know what could be done differently, but the artists scheduled for the first shows, shortly after noon, suffer from the sun, as do the heroic fans who arrive early to check out the performances.
It was in this setting that we saw Lilith Czar , the new artistic persona of the singer formerly known as Juliet Simms . A powerful voice, sensuality, and a touch of mysticism, which I can't help but imagine, would be much more interesting at night, with a beautiful light show. The hot day, however, didn't hinder the artist's message of female empowerment: "If it's a man's world, I want to be king," in her words.
What we witnessed next was, for me personally, the best thing of the day. Airbourne is an Australian hard rock band with a vibe (and I say this as a compliment) very much like AC/DC , overflowing with energy on stage and, unlike what I mentioned about the previous artist, I think they work well in any weather. In a way, the sweat even adds to the experience, and the vocalist Joel O'Keeffe , charisma in rocker form, who enters the stage shirtless and with his pants in tatters, knows this well. By the second song, the frontman got off the stage and climbed onto the shoulders of one of the security guards who carried him to the audience where, while continuing to play the guitar with his left hand, he smashed a can of beer by repeatedly hitting it on his head with his right hand. There's no way not to win over the crowd by giving them a good jet of beer under that kind of sun. We also had the pleasure of chatting with Joel in the press area after the show. Very humble and a good guy.
Unfortunately, for me at least, after Airbourne things went downhill for the rest of the day. No, there wasn't any tragedy or embarrassment on any of the stages. This is just an observation from the point of view of someone who isn't a big fan of any of the artists who came after.
My honorable mentions go to the British artist Yungblud , whom we had already seen at Riot Fest in Chicago, and to the American band Halestorm , whom we saw at Louder Than Life in Louisville. Regarding the former, it's impressive how much this guy runs around the stage and makes faces. A real treat for photographers, as I could attest from the photos my colleague/brother took. As for Halestorm, my highlight goes to frontwoman Lzzy Hale , who has all the energy of an "old-school" rock star, unafraid to belt out high notes and unleash powerful guitar solos. Admirable stage presence and audience engagement in both honorable mentions.
Papa Roach , a local band, played possibly their biggest "home" crowd ever, and you could see there were a lot of fans singing along, in what was their return show to Aftershock , after performing at the second edition way back in 2013. It might just be my grumpy side talking, but I was a little bothered by the number of people trying to get to the front without much consideration for others. Several times, groups of five or six people lined up, bumping into me and others without even a measly "excuse me" to soften the blow. Maybe it was because of the long wait locals had to see the band again at the festival, or maybe it's a Californian cultural thing, I really don't know. I didn't get this impression at other festivals here, and the Papa Roach show was where I noticed this somewhat clueless crowd the most.
The night ended with My Chemical Romance , whom we had also seen at Louder Than Life . They were another act that fans had been eagerly awaiting, as the band, which had split up in 2013 and reunited in 2019, had this reunion and several shows hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic, and only this year managed to truly resume everything. An inspired performance from the band and vocalist Gerard Way , who this time didn't take to the stage with the "old lady" look we saw in Louisville.
That's it. Tomorrow is the closing of the Festival and I'll tell you what happened! Don't forget to check out the coverage of the first day, with Slipknot , and the second day, closed by Kiss .
See the gallery below, courtesy of our contributor Rafael Beck, featuring the best moments from the third day of Aftershock 2022.
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