Saturday, October 31, 2015

September Mourning, at #Aftershock too... name these musicians!

Emily Lazar (September), vocals, September Mourning
Emily Lazar (September),, September Mourning, Aftershock, 2015
Blending music with a comic book story, September Mourning, on stage at Aftershock, at Gibson Ranch Park, Elverta near Sacramento. I'm trying my best not to compare September with Maria Brink of In This Moment. If you love In This Moment, you'd either love September Mourning, too, or you'll  be tempted to dismiss them as wannabes. Don't do that: take a listen, make up your own mind. They are not the same, and September is not trying to be another Maria.

All the band members have character names: September (vocals), Riven (guitar, Rich Juzwick), Wraith (guitar), Rasper (??), Shadou (bass), Stitch (drums). I'd love to tag the photos with the right character AND musician's names, so if you can help... I know Rich Juzwick from his Gemini Syndrome days, but the band's Facebook only lists character names, Wikipedia doesn't have everyone, and there seems to have been a lot of band member turnover. So please forgive any mistakes, we tried!!!

Take a look at the full September Mourning photo gallery by clicking right here! 

Still more photos to edit from Aftershock: if you want to be notified, follow @alisontoon on Twitter, or like the Toon's Tune/Cameras and Cargos Facebook page. 

Sevendust at #Aftershock, too: more photos!

Lajon Witherspoon, vocals, Sevendust
Lajon Witherspoon, Sevendust, Aftershock, 2015
So very, very good to see Sevendust at Aftershock this year! Don't forget to check out their new album, Kill The Flaw, and see if you can catch them on their latest tour, because you really don't want to miss them. Great band, excellent show, thank you for the music!

For all the photos, click here to jump to the Sevendust photo gallery!

Still many more photos to edit from Aftershock: if you want to be notified, follow @alisontoon on Twitter, or like the Toon's Tune/Cameras and Cargos Facebook page. 

Black Veil Brides at #Aftershock, and why sunglasses are so important at festivals...

Ashley Purdy,  bass, Black Veil Brides
Ashley Purdy, Black Veil Brides, Aftershock, 2015
Not only were these guys really, really entertaining, they also provided me with a mirror on the huge crowd that was Aftershock. Thank you for the music... and the sunglasses!

Take a look at the full Black Veil Brides photo gallery... and see if you can find the shot I'm calling Double Bass.

Still many more photos to edit from Aftershock: if you want to be notified, follow @alisontoon on Twitter, or like the Toon's Tune/Cameras and Cargos Facebook page. 

... and Jane's Addiction photos, too from #Aftershock

Perry Farrell, vocals, Jane's Addiction
Perry Farrell, Jane's Addiction, Aftershock 2015
So many photos to bring to you from last weekend's Aftershock festival in Elverta, near Sacramento. This is Jane's Addiction. Head over to the full Jane's Addiction photo gallery to see the rest!

All I can think this weekend: last weekend was just wonderful. Still can't figure out how we were able to see, and hear, so many great bands over the space of two days.

Jane's Addiction have a few more dates this year, including Ozzfest in Chiba, Japan!

Dave Navarro, guitar, Jane's Addiction
Dave Navarro, Jane's Addiction, Aftershock, 2015
To be notified of updates from all the Aftershock concerts and more, follow @alisontoon on Twitter, or like the Toon's Tune/Cameras and Cargos Facebook page. 


Sleeping With Sirens--photo gallery, and don't miss them on tour!

Kellin Quinn, vocals, Sleeping With Sirens
Kellin Quinn, Sleeping With Sirens, Aftershock, 2015
Just one shot from Sleeping With Sirens' wonderfully-entertaining set at Aftershock last weekend (has it been a week, already???)

To see the rest, click here to hop over to the Sleeping With Sirens photo gallery! Or click on the photo above... it's a magic carpet!

You can catch Sleeping With Sirens as they continue their US tour, and then they head over to Europe and the UK early next year!

To be notified of updates from all the Aftershock concerts and more, follow @alisontoon on Twitter, or like the Toon's Tune/Cameras and Cargos Facebook page. 

Deftones, ginormous home-town crowd at #Aftershock, and a new album coming soon

Chino Moreno, vocals, Deftones
Chino Moreno, Deftones, Aftershock, 2015
Playing to an absolutely-enormous-and-ecstatic hometown crowd at Aftershock last weekend, Deftones were sublime. And the crowd showed just how much this town appreciates them... and are looking forwards to the new album: it's in the works for early 2016, according to an interview by http://www.1051theblaze.com/ conducted at Aftershock!

Chino Moreno, vocals, Deftones
Chino Moreno, Deftones, Aftershock, 2015
Many more photos from Deftones at Aftershock 2015 in the photo gallery. Or click on any photo to be taken there, like magic.

Stephen Carpenter, and Chino Moreno, Deftones
Stephen Carpenter and Chino Moreno, Deftones, Aftershock, 2015
To be notified of updates from all the Aftershock concerts and more, follow @alisontoon on Twitter, or like the Toon's Tune/Cameras and Cargos Facebook page. 


Friday, October 30, 2015

Raveneye opened #Aftershock, last Saturday, and I wish we could do this again tomorrow!

Raveneye
Raveneye, Aftershock, 2015
Opening Aftershock 2015 last weekend with a blast of bluesy-power-rock, Raveneye, the trio from England: Oli Brown's voice and guitar you may have heard before, he's been performing solo for several years (check YouTube); Aaron Spiers on bass, and Kev Hickman on drums. The music is great, the show is fun, and the crowd who had already arrived at the festival were asking for more.

Oli  Brown, guitar and vocals, Raveneye
Oli Brown, Raveneye, Aftershock, 2015
I just knew they'd be good!!!

Raveneye
Oli Brown and Aaron Spiers, Raveneye, Aftershock, 2015
You can find Raveneye's debut EP, Breaking Out, on iTunes and Amazon.

Kev Hickman, drums, Raveneye
Kev Hickman, Raveneye, Aftershock, 2015
(Family and friends in Leicester--Raveneye plays the Musician, January 31st. Be there!)

Raveneye
Raveneye, Aftershock, 2015
More photos from the show in the Raveneye photo gallery.

To be notified of updates from all the Aftershock concerts, follow @alisontoon on Twitter, or like the Toon's Tune/Cameras and Cargos Facebook page.


Oli  Brown, guitar and vocals, Raveneye
Oli Brown, Raveneye, Aftershock, 2015

What a nice surprise: ONE OK ROCK at #Aftershock

Taka, vocals, One OK Rock
Taka, ONE OK ROCK, Aftershock, 2015
Four young men from Japan, Aftershock, and a huge crowd, who, appropriately, went wild. And it was still early in the day, second day of this year's Aftershock festival in Elverta, California, proving once-again how important it is to be there at the beginning of the day, otherwise you're going to miss something magic.

Ryota, bass, One OK Rock
Ryota, ONE OK ROCK, Aftershock, 2015
Well know and playing big venues in Japan for several years, ONE OK ROCK signed a worldwide distribution deal with Warner Bros. in April of this year.

Toru, guitar, One OK Rock
Toru, ONE OK ROCK, Aftershock, 2015
High-speed, energetic, emo-rock-pop-punk-metal, with loads of young fans, this band is going far.

Tomoya, drums, One OK Rock
Tomoya, ONE OK ROCK, Aftershock, 2015
Catch them on tour throughout the USA during November, in Europe in December, and you'll have a ball.

Taka, vocals, One OK Rock
ONE OK ROCK!
Find ONE OK ROCK music here:

iTunes – http://smarturl.it/oneokrockitunes
Amazon – http://smarturl.it/oneokrockamazon

MANY more photos from the show in the ONE OK ROCK photo gallery.

To be notified of updates from all the Aftershock concerts, follow @alisontoon on Twitter, or like the Toon's Tune/Cameras and Cargos Facebook page.
Ryota, bass, One OK Rock
ONE OK ROCK!

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Faith No More... and why camping at festivals is such a good idea

Mike Patton, vocals, Faith No More
Mike Patton, Faith No More, Aftershock 2015
Awakening in the campsite at Aftershock on Sunday morning: so nice to be outside, so ready for the second day of the best music festival in California... and wait, what's that we hear? It's Mike Patton's voice, it's Faith No More, early-morning soundcheck, and we stand on the berm by the entrance to the festival, and listen, entranced. We would never have heard that, had we not been on site and awake. We'd never had heard that, if we'd gone home, or to a hotel, for the night. It's things like this that make investing in a tent, or a camper, a couple of sleeping bags, all worth while. Oh and the metal-themed crazy-golf too, of course ;-)

Roddy Bottom, keys and vocals, Faith No More
Roddy Bottom, Faith No More, Aftershock 2015
(The campsite was a great addition to Aftershock this year. Room for everyone and their tent, or RV/camper. If this had been in Europe, you might have seen converted, retired military vehicles as campers; California, it's pickup trucks with tarps, large Coleman and other brand tents, Jucy campers, and large, luxurious RVs. Whatever your style, camping at Aftershock was handy, fun, brought new friends, and added to the whole weekend experience.)

Jon Hudson, guitar, Faith No More
Jon Hudson, Faith No More, Aftershock, 2015
Watching and listening to Faith No More, final act of the weekend, all I could think was, why the hell haven't I seen these guys live before??? Part rock concert, part garden party, part funk, part metal, part rap, part church... whole, wonderful!

Bill Gould, bass, Faith No More
Bill Gould, Faith No More, Aftershock, 2015
You can dance with 16lb of cameras. We proved it. When can we do it again?

Mike Patton, vocals, Faith No More
Mike Patton, Faith No More, Aftershock, 2015
I love the way Faith No More have embraced the years. Take a look at the video for Sunny Side Up, from the Sol Invictus album, released in May this year.  I hope to see them again, very soon.

More photos from the show in the Faith No More photo gallery.

To be notified of updates from all the Aftershock concerts, follow @alisontoon on Twitter, or like the Toon's Tune/Cameras and Cargos Facebook page.

Mike Patton, vocals, Faith No More
Faith No More, Aftershock, 2015

Bring Me The Horizon at #Aftershock... been waiting a long time to see this!

Oliver Sykes, vocals, Bring Me The Horizon
Oliver Sykes, Bring Me The Horizon, Aftershock, 2015
It's evening. Gibson Ranch Park is full of more people that it's ever seen, ever. This is Aftershock, 2015, Elverta, near Sacramento. Thirty thousand people? More? We're waiting for Bring Me The Horizon; those at the front of the crowd, just behind the barrier, are young, but not the same all-girl crowd that were at the front for Black Veil Brides.

Oliver Sykes, vocals, Bring Me The Horizon
Bring Me The Horizon, Aftershock, 2015
These young men from Sheffield, England--once the heart of England's steel industry, so truly a metal town--are singer Oliver Sykes, drummer Matthew Nicholls, bass player Matt Kean, guitarist Lee Malia, and keyboard player Jordan Fish. They've ruled the world in the UK for several years now, and this year, at last, the US has sat up and taken notice. Or rather, jumped up, because when Oli says "JUMP!!", you jump.

Oli Sykes and Matt Kean, Bring Me The Horizon
Bring Me The Horizon, Aftershock, 2015
Sacramento's Aftershock was jumping on Saturday, and then the band headed straight down to Knotfest to do the same in Southern California on Sunday.

BMTH are now back off to a sold-out tour of the UK and Europe, Australia early next year, then more dates in Europe. Don't you wish you could just pack a bag and go to every show?

New album, That's The Spirit, is out now. Go get yourself a copy. You won't regret it.

Bring Me The Horizon


Other BMTH posts on Toon's Tunes:

- Live at Wembley review
- Sempiternal review

Oli Sykes and Matt Kean, Bring Me The Horizon
Bring Me The Horizon, Aftershock, 2015
Photographing Bring Me The Horizon on Saturday was particularly challenging, given the back-lit stage which looked wonderful from out in the crowd. The results are arty, gritty, Sheffield... a little like the band. Just jump.

Many more photos from the show in the Bring Me The Horizon photo gallery.

To be notified of updates from all the Aftershock concerts, follow @alisontoon on Twitter, or like the Toon's Tune/Cameras and Cargos Facebook page.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Highly Suspect, #Aftershock, and so very, very good. Catch them on tour.

Highly Suspect
Highly Suspect, Aftershock, 2015
One band that was high on my list of performances to see this weekend at Aftershock was Brooklyn-based twin-brothers-plus-best-friend, Highly Suspect. Brothers Ryan and Rich are the powerhouse bass-and-drums, Johnny Stevens the voice and words and guitar. Sort of band you'd want to find playing in your own garage at the end of a tough day, because they'd sure as hell fix it. The day.

Johnny Stevens, vocals and guitar, Highly Suspect
Johnny Stevens, Highly Suspect, Aftershock 2015
I was not disappointed. And they have new fans here in Sacramento. Huge crowd watching their show, one o'clock on Sunday, heat of the day, Aftershock.

Rich Meyer, bass, Highly Suspect
Rich Meyer, Highly Suspect, Aftershock, 2015
Gritty, bluesy, hard rock, with an emotional intensity in the lyrics. Just listen. Just watch their videos, if you were not there to see them. They rock. They are going places, and they are taking us with them.

Ryan Meyer, drums, Highly Suspect
Ryan Meyer, Highly Suspect, Aftershock, 2015
Johnny Steven's voice is something special. Sort of voice that you hear a Highly Suspect song on your car's random satellite radio stream, you pull over and Shazam it to find out who the heck this band is.
Rich Meyer and Johnny Stevens, Highly Suspect
Highly Suspect, Aftershock, 2015
The live show lives up to the recordings. You need to hear these guys. Seriously. Their current tour continues through until the end of November. Catch them if you can.

Only complaint? The set wasn't long enough... next time, next time!

Many more photos from the show in the Highly Suspect photo gallery.

To be notified of updates from all the Aftershock concerts, follow @alisontoon on Twitter, or like the Toon's Tune/Cameras and Cargos Facebook page

Johnny Stevens, vocals and guitar, Highly Suspect
Johnny Stevens, Highly Suspect, Aftershock 2015

Slipknot, and welcome to my nightmare... at #Aftershock

Slipknot
Slipknot, Aftershock, 2015
Earlier in the day, we'd watched Corey Taylor signing stuff for an anaconda-long line of fans: a face, a book, arms, a pillow, t-shirts, a couple of necks, two or three face masks, an artificial leg, and probably a million printed photos, which ran out before the end of the very-long snake did, and then he was signing tickets and laminates and whatever the fan had handy. And being so friendly, kind, and genuine to each and every person who arrived before him at the table in Crazy Dave's Music Experience tent at Aftershock in Elverta, California. There were a lot of happy faces!

A few hours later, and this happens:

Corey Taylor, vocals, Slipknot
Corey Taylor, Slipknot, Aftershock 2015

Corey Taylor, vocals, Slipknot

Slipknot, live, are made of nightmares. From Corey's torn-and-repaired face to the manic clown and Mr Long Nose spinning round and round at their high-rise drumkits, to the nippy masked-and-beaked guy who runs around and jumps up when least expected, to the guy-at-the-back with long spikes all over his head, to everything about the visual Slipknot show: welcome to your nightmare, far more than anything Alice ever did.

Slipknot
Slipknot, Aftershock, 2015
And, of course, the music. That's scary too. But we love it.

Slipknot
Slipknot, Aftershock, 2015
What a way to finish the first day of this year's Aftershock!!!

Slipknot
Slipknot, Aftershock, 2015
(Next year: Stone Sour too please?)

Many more photos from the show in the Slipknot photo gallery.

To be notified of updates from all the Aftershock concerts, follow @alisontoon on Twitter, or like the Toon's Tune/Cameras and Cargos Facebook page.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

All Time Low at #Aftershock festival this weekend: review and a million or so photos, almost

All Time Low
All Time Low, Aftershock, 2015
Alex Gaskarth, vocals and guitar, and Jack Barakat, guitar, All Time Low
All Time Low, Aftershock, 2015
This pop-punk band from close to Baltimore have been together since 2003, have found success all around the world and frequently tour Australia and the UK, At Monster Energy Aftershock festival in Elverta, near Sacramento, California this weekend it was screamingly obvious that their main fan-base is young women... and so girls, these photos are for you.
Alex Gaskarth, guitar, vocals, All Time Low
Alex Gaskarth, All Time Low
Energetic, fun, and the crowd went wild.

Rian Dawson, drums, All Time Low
Rian Dawson, All Time Low
Many more photos, including Jack Barakat's venture into the crowd, are in the photo gallery. Click this link or on one of the photos to be magically transported there!

Jack Barakat, guitar, All Time Low
Jack Barakat, All Time Low
Zack Merrick, bass, All Time Low
Zack Merrick, All Time Low
To be notified of updates from all the Aftershock concerts, follow @alisontoon on Twitter, or like the Toon's Tune/Cameras and Cargos Facebook page.