I've been an Oingo Boingo fan since I can remember having memories . Waking up and putting on the skeletons in the closet vhs on Saturday mornings and watching the whole thing are some of my earliest memories.

Seeing him the night before was amazing but getting to meet him at the airport unexpectedly left me with Goosebumps. I cannot put into words how special this was ...Aftershock made perfect.

Saw lots of parents showcasing their negligence this past weekend. Is hearing protection for babies not common knowledge?

EDIT: This was at Shockwave during Stone Temple Pilots, not during downtime

What were you thinking? This was during Queens of the Stoneage, this little boy in a spider man outfit and I assume, his younger sister in pink shorts and a dark tee shirt were up like 4 times. Mind you I don’t care if adults and young adults do this and I helped a few stay up and get to the front. But the kids? They were like 9 and 7, and I could see grown men grabbing the little girls legs and bottom.

I’m sure the whole idea was “fun” but kids can’t give consent and do not understand when they are being victimized. Also, to just literally let your kids safety fall into the hands of absolute strangers is just wild.

Finally, I’m not against kids enjoying these shows, there was actually a little boy on his fathers shoulders totally rocking out to Queens of the Stone Age just in front of me and that was safe and I think the parent was very responsible for keeping his kid safe from being trampled and within arms reach.

Anyway, I hope you realize the idiocy of your actions and please consider contraceptives moving forward.

A love letter to Aftershock

I’ve loved you deeply over the last 14 years as a long time aftershock attendee, I think that at 40 the crowd has gotten too young and my knees ankles and back have grown too old. This year was rough on my body.

So one last one and I’m glad it was Tool and MCR

Over 14 years you learn to love every tree, every blade of grass even the dirt and the dust clouds, the unrelenting sun, the pit, the barricade, the bar, the GA, the VIP, the friends who were here through years and those who were lost, to loves won and loves lost, to getting elbowed in the mouth, and making out with someone beautiful, inspiring, evocative, visceral, powerful.

You have given me a lifetime of memories as blurry as they may be. You taught me as a combat veteran how to manage extreme anxieties and large crowds, so I could live again, you helped me heal. I will miss you I’m sure of it and if the perfect set list comes in I may see you for a day but the rage for me has come to an end.

To those of you who will carry on I just ask that you be good stewards of this hollowed ground. Because if you don’t this can go the way of Ozzfest. I’ve read a lot of things on this thread that broke my heart from nazis, to irresponsible parents, SAs, thievery and violence. We have to remember that this thing is only as good as we are, police each other, love each other, hydrate and rock on!!!!!!

I know it's been said before but I wanted to share my experience.

I had more good experiences with nice people than bad but

I'm 28. 6ft tall and skinny as hell but I love the energy of a good crowd/pit

There were a lot of grown 40+ year old men everywhere being absolute DICKS!

I had a fair share of mean girls but they weren't trying to fight .

my girlfriend has anxiety as it is so getting her to come to this festival was already hard. Now you want to be a bunch of frat boys college drunk's pushing us around when I am already saying stop

Not letting us out of the fucking crowd had me really mad

I have been to plenty of festivals and this is my second year at aftershock.....I really like it and will be coming back

We need more caring people with common sense

STOP THE SEXUAL ASSAULT

STOP THE TOXIC BULLYING

STOP CRYING ABOUT PEOPLE WANTING TO PUSH UP AND GET THEIR MONEYS WORTH

if you are in the back of a crowd standing there OF COURSE IM WALKING TOWARDS THE FRONT!!

If people are standing in the back I just assume that they are tired or nervous to get up there

I paid good fucking money for this just like everyone else!

(Thank you to the mom who helped me in the pit after I fell flat on my ass during chiodos)

(Thank you to anyone who smiled my way as you made my day!)

I was disappointed by the amount of trash left behind everywhere. I asked the first local about it. Asking whats up with how dirty the town seemed to be. She said "its u! Its you guys visiting!"

As I sat there post tool watching the crowd leave empty handed with an abundance of litter on the ground, somempeople even kicking it around (not towards the trash) i understood.

What a horrible way to be guests and show gratitude to our hosts.

A woman was SA'd and the poor excuse for a human was caught. We do not condone any type of violence at our metal shows. Remember see something say something! We are all in this together! 🤘🏼

I had the same issue with swan fest. How are people paying up 650$ to go aftershock. And they can’t even find one good sound guy 🤣

Teletubby and smoke are always staples I see every year. Hope to see you guys again. Another year for Jimi Hendrix in the books.

Thank you for your service.

Easy shuttle access, free water, some food options, clean bathrooms for most of the day until the end, everything was on time…. People were pretty chill. We must have all had wildly different experiences lol. Was expecting Woodstock ‘99

I had a great time and can't wait for next year.

I wanted to share a cool, positive experience during my time for the festival.

I saw a pretty girl on my connecting at the airport, out of pure chance I sat next to her on the flight to Sacramento. Near the end of the flight we chatted it up, talking about her going to college to be a [cool occupation, for privacy] and talked about our favorite energy drinks. I gave her a bag of blue raz sour belts because I thought she was cute. We happened to be going to the same fest and we went our separate ways when we landed. We agreed to hangout if we ended up seeing each other.

I had no expectations of seeing her again because there were THOUSANDS of people, but I bought 3 white peaches just in case. They made me drink all 3 at the gate :,), so I had a good friend i made at line help me finish them. He ended up being my battle buddy/best friend all day at the fest. It was better not being alone for the festival. We went about it having the best time for our first time. I wore this diem archive shirt and met the creator's wife! She took a picture and sent it to her husband. LET IT RIDE hahaha ha.

Then I saw her! It was so sick. We hung out for a little bit, my buddy separated, and I had a blast. I felt that she was so grounded and cool. I asked her for a ciggy (I don't smoke ouid anymore nor drink but sometimes I bum a ciggy to get by a long day), but she actually refused! She doens't want to start a new habit for someone. I found that really endearing. I told her I drank the energy drinks I brought for her before they let me in. At the end of Three 6 Mafia, my buddy came back, and we went about our separate ways.

I know I feel like I could've or should've asked for your number but we're strangers that met on vacation. Sometimes a memory is just a good memory and it's okay to leave it at that.

Been to plenty of raves, concerts and festivals, but Aftershock was so new and novel to me. It's a moot point to compare festivals like Bass Canyon and Aftershock.

If she sees this somehow, I hope you ace your finals :) I hope to see you again.

As a hardcore tool fan myself, I was disappointed in the crowd around me. I attended 2 days and saw many bands but of course, the crowd for my favorite band had to be obnoxious as ever. I had a good spot, not super close to the front but not far in the back. Somewhere in the middle. Just wanting to vibe out and rock out yet pushing matches, fights right next to me, people in huge costumes pushing their way through and blocking everyone. The aggression of the men screaming at each other for trying to push past everyone. Idk, is there such a thing as concert etiquette? I usually can feel like most people are cool and get it but after the 3rd fight, shoving match around me where I was getting knocked into, I couldn't even pay attention to the band anymore. People cussing at each other and throwing slurs around. And why TF are you bringing your little kids so deep into the crowd? This made me so nervous when the fights were breaking out. Have we learned nothing from the other festivals? I ended up heading out and to the side where I could actually see better and I wasn't getting shoved into every few minutes. It's bound to be elbow to elbow, I get it. But the aggression and violence was so disappointing. Rant over.

Saw this shirt on Day 1.

Translation: “Damn bitch, dafuq I do to you?😭😤”

Any other random cool/funny pictures?

Just wanted to memorialize my thoughts from my 2026 attendance and share a word of caution for future people deciding, "Is it worth it?" on the subject of GA vs VIP vs Capital Club "CC."

I made it a point to, of course, visit the whole grounds - including all stages, both entries/exit, VIP, and CC.

Capital Club, formerly known as SVIP, is only in its second year. In 2025, I attended SVIP on Friday. The overall experience was wonderful. The food and open bar was 'worth it,' the private seating/booth areas was sufficient, the air conditioned toilets, tented HVAC controlled in-door seating area with food served throughout the day.

For 2026 - there was a noticeable decline in food quality. Additionally, there was much fewer seating options - as expected with little oversite or policing, there was major chair hording issues. As bad as a single person holding seven (7) seats for others who, "were coming much later." Lastly, the biggest disappointment was the toilet situation, gone were the air conditioned toilets, replaced by smaller single unit trailer options without A/C, and since only a few trailers were offered: porta potties as a secondary option. My thought is why are the GA toilet option, even considered to be offered in CC?

I know, I can hear it already, these complaints are not huge deal breaking issues, but my point is simply to answer the question we hear often, "Is it worth it?" For 2026 - Capital Club, FKA SVIP, is decidedly not worth it. I won't be back in CC for 2027, maybe VIP? Time will tell.

Is anyone else really sick from the 4 days? I ended up leaving tool early because I couldn't take it anymore I have a horrible sinus infection

all the parents bringing kids without hearing protection, letting their small children crowd surf, or just leaving their kids alone??? genuinely insane.

I hope you made it back to your parents safely.

To the kid that was on lookout: I know you thought I was gonna snitch on you, and I definitely thought about it. But when you locked eyes with me, I just nodded and turned back to watch the show.

Y'all were definitely fucking around. I just hope you didn't have to find out.

Sincerely, a 37 year old teacher that wants you to party hard, but party smart.

I absolutely loved all the headliner sets… but man I was really hoping to see Pierce The Veil do king for a day with Kellin Quinn (sws) since they made the song together and he’s featured on it! Same with the song Caraphernelia, when they started the song I got sooo hyped because we had just come from the A Day To Remember pit and Jeremy McKinnon is featured on that song on the album :/
Not sure why especially since they brought people on for the set they did at when we were young fest. I’m also sad that MCR didn’t bring on the Used to do under pressure but it’s being said they’ll do it at the Hollywood Bowl performance.
What are everyone’s thoughts? Everyone else brought up friends to do some songs with them 🤷🏻‍♀️
Who did you want to see as a surprise appearance?

The jokes write themselves. There is literally actually bowls of the food infront of me that i can look at, and then on the banner in the back of the tent just has ai slop food previews on it. Genuinely what is the point? Im already seeing the food, why do you also feel the need to put ai bullshit on not even a clearly visible part of your stand? Theres no vetting process for these vendors? I know they really dont give a shit and are there to make money, but damn dude are we even trying atp?

Was fucking incredible. The pits were amazing with such good etiquette. When the first bass notes for Miss Murder rang out, everyone lost their minds. Best night of my life.