Aftershock shakes Sacramento

Donning her best platform boots and Gene Simmons’ demon-face paint, Oakland’s Jessica Tarkis was ready to rock and roll all night at the Aftershock Music Festival in Sacramento.

“I’m here to see arguably the greatest band in the world, KISS!” said the 36-year-old rocker.

Tarkis wasn’t alone. Tens of thousands of fans packed in front of the Jack Daniel’s Stage to see the iconic band headline the second day of the Aftershock Music Festival at Discovery Park. Scores of people flocked to the festival, celebrating a decade in existence, to catch acts like Slipknot, Rob Zombie, My Chemical Romance, Muse and dozens of other performances over the four-day festival.

“It feels like we are at Disneyland,” said Mark Overton from North Carolina.

Overton wasn’t thinking Happiest Place on Earth as much as endless lines winding through the park. Some waited for hours to catch a shuttle bus from the Cal Expo, only to be greeted by another long line to get into the festival, buy merchandise, go to the bathroom or buy food.

It is a festival, so crowds are expected, but some felt like they were spending more time in lines than watching the amazing bands hitting the four stages. To the festival’s credit, some of the first-day kinks were streamlined by day two.

Large posters featuring artwork from Aftershock past and present dotted the landscape, mixed with a sprinkling of oversized album covers providing a plethora of selfie opportunities. The giant face of Rob Zombie was one of the popular photo spots for some to update their social media accounts. Zombie took to the Kolas Stage on day one, showing he can still get the Zombie fanatics into a frenzy. Slipknot put the exclamation on Thursday’s shows with a pyro-induced, head-banging spectacle.

By day two, some rockers found their strides as others sought out shade to rest and recover from the previous day. Band after band, the crowds grew larger, along with the demand for the bottles of water passed out by security to the masses standing in the sweltering heat. By 4 p.m. Clutch lead singer Neil Fallon was feeling the heat. With sweat pouring down his face, he thanked the crowd for being troopers for holding down their spots in the blazing sun.

For many, the surprise band of day two was found on the Kolas Stage, where Chris “Motionless” Cerulli and Motionless in White commanded the crowd with an energetic performance that left wave after wave of crowd surfers dumped into the pit area in front of the stage.

As the sun gave way to the night, the sea of dark-colored fan attire in front of the DWP Stage slowly started to transition to white. The change signified one thing. There would be blood — lots of it. The out-of-this-world costumed band GWAR took to the stage with their blood-spewing theatrical antics to promote “The New Dark Ages” album, released earlier this year.

As GWAR dismembered characters on stage, covering the crowd with blood-like goo on the DWP Stage, the Jack Daniel’s Stage was quietly preparing for the KISS Army. Four massive statues — at least 100 feet tall — of the band members were erected at the front of the stage. As the show exploded with the drop of a massive KISS banner, in true rock god fashion, the rockers descended from the heavens on platforms in typical KISS style and in clouds of smoke with fireworks and explosions to perform “Detroit Rock City.”

The experience was sure to be remembered by the massive crowd, witnessing that even though Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are in their 70s, they can still “rock and roll all night and party every day.”

As day two came to a close, some Aftershockers had gotten their fill, while others headed for rest and recovery in preparation for two more days of festival fun featuring bands like My Chemical Romance and Papa Roach on Saturday with the Struts and Muse wrapping things up on Sunday.