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Amid Heightened Security, Aftershock Festival Wraps Up

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Just weeks after the outdoor concert and carnage in Las Vegas, a big and loud outdoor concert came off without a hitch this weekend at Sacramento’s Discovery Park.

What happened in Vegas was something clearly on the minds of concert-goers, but this weekend, people from nearly every state and a number of other countries were here. They were safe and they’ll take home good memories of the weekend and Sacramento.

They came by the thousands to Discovery Park, from as close as Modesto and as far away as Moscow. The concert featured what you’d expect from a live heavy metal venue: lots of loud music, dark clothing, body ink, and the occasional aroma of a certain burned weed.

Security, according to promoters, had been increased in recent weeks, and the operation was successful. CBS13 was told a few knives were confiscated, but no guns or other weapons.

Ozzy Osbourne was the headliner tonight and festival closer, but another act got the post-concert buzz:

“We saw 5 Finger Death Punch and they were unbelievable,” said Katie Wallingford.

“I like 5 Finger Death Punch, it’s a lot of energy and the people watching was worth it for sure,” added Shea Westmar, who along with her boyfriend Shawn came all the way from Hawaii.

While she found them fun to watch authorities found them easy to handle.

“Arrests? We didn’t make one arrest yesterday," said Sacramento Police Sergeant Arnel Aquino. “We had a few ejections -- maybe three or four. That’s a really low number considering the number of people here."

An estimated 23,000 people attended per day, each paying north of $80 for a ticket. Beer, wine and cocktails were sold but at a minimum of $8 a pop, no one seemed to be tying one on.

Perhaps because of Ozzy Osbourne, the crowd Sunday night was well behaved, almost mellow.

Judging by the biggest seller at the festival’s general store, metal fans know when to say when. They were in order, earplugs, Advil and sunscreen.

So the sixth year of Aftershock Sacramento is in the books. The crowds have doubled since that 2012 event. Millions of dollars went into the local economy this weekend, and perhaps most importantly, everyone had a safe experience at a big outdoor concert.

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