Halestorm – Image by Chris Gray
The Fun and Crazy People You Meet at a Festival
It’s evitable, months, even years later, you’ll look back at the fun you had this summer at Aftershock. Maybe you’re recalling for friends or coworkers how you sang at the top of your lungs along with your favorite band. Likely, you’ll tell them about some of the characters’ you saw or met during your rock weekend.
That was our story October 11th-13th in Sacramento.
Let’s start with our very favorite Character “Kitty” (Sacramento CA).
Kitty or as we began to refer to her as “Spots” was our favorite bartender at the festival. With So many drink booths there were probably 50 bartenders throughout the weekend. Why Kitty? She was always dancing and singing along with whatever band was rocking the Kolas stage. She made every refill an adventure.
Andrew “Drew” Johnson (Reno, NV). Andrew caught our attention because we saw this guy hobbling around the festival. He had one of those leg support wheeled contraptions. Drew explained he got hurt cliff jumping. He had damaged both his ankles and legs in a missed landing. He and his posse had been to
Aftershock 6 years in a row and wasn’t under any circumstances going to miss this one. A for effort Drew.
Vikings and Scotts. I was surprised that I hadn’t heard kilts were a festival accessory. Over the weekend we saw 10 or 15 guys wondering around in kilts. This group of kilt sporting rockers told us they were Vikings and Scotts. After talking with them I’m pretty sure they just liked running around in kilts.
Jakob “Spiderman” Middleton (Kalamazoo, MI). We saw Spiderman running around Aftershock and we couldn’t resist chatting with the web slinger. He told us he loved coming to the festival and posing for pictures with the fans. Jakob mentioned he had a different Spiderman costume for each day of the festival. Now that’s commitment!
Kevala and Reylon aka “Shoulder Rider.” We enco
untered these two wondering around during one of our refill sessions. They looked like they were having so much fun! Stilt Girl. We never spoke with Stilt Girl, but we learned she was hired to ride stilts all weekend and pour shots in anyone’s mouth brave enough to bend over backwards. To the surprise of most of her guzzlers she slapped your face to make sure you swallowed. That’s what I call “A Shot to the Face.”
Crazy Clothes. The sayings on peoples clothing we’re hilarious. For example “Satan’s Daughter” and “I Suck Blood” We didn’t grab more shots because most of time we were laughing too hard.
Masked People. Crowds stomping around for 3 days start to kick up a lot of dust.
We had been advised to bring a mask but had no idea just how creative people would be with theirs.
This Ain’t Your Mama’s Festival Food
According to Merriam Webster online a foodie is defined as: “a person having an avid interest in the latest food fads.” You wouldn’t normally lump Hard Rock Festivals and foodies in the same conversation. Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) wants to change all that.
DWP known for producing some of the biggest rock scenes in the US including Epicenter in North Carolina and Louder Than Life in Kentucky upped their game this year at Aftershock (Sacramento California October 12th-14th). The festival producers bill their events as “Unique Destination Festivals.” This year’s food and beverage selections prove they mean to highlight the destination in “Destination Festivals.” Organizers managed to create a foodie’s nirvana suitable for almost every culinary palate. Choices ranged from everyday fare like pizza and nachos to a more elevated dishes of Creole (Phat Daddy’s Creole) and Cousin’s Maine Lobster. Other delicious treats included craft burgers (Barretts), barbecue meals from several vendors, and a pile of food covered in bacon by a vendor named simply Bacon Mania. I couldn’t tell you exactly what Bacon Mania was serving up, but I can tell you it was deeelicious!
Other specialty vendors served noodles (Island Noodles), Vietnamese sandwiches (Bangarang Bahn Mi), and gyros (Mount Olympus).
Need something to wash all this good food down? Try a glass of your favorite wine in the Caduceus Wine Garden or have a boutique whiskey experience sampling Slipknot Iowa Whiskey No. 9. Beer and specialty cocktails were available at several convenient drink locations around the park.
Now I know while reading this, you’re thinking to yourself, “I wouldn’t go to a festival just for the food.” I agree. But, based on the time and money you’ll drop attending an event like Aftershock why not satisfy your inner foodie too!
Thorne Schreiber / BackStage360