LIVE REIVEW + PHOTOS: Mushroomhead in Hampton Beach, NH (10.10.25)
There are live venues, and then there’s Wally’s Bar a place that feels alive in its own right. By the time the house lights dimmed on Friday night, the room was shoulder to shoulder, yet there wasn’t an ounce of hostility. Everyone was smiling, talking, sharing drinks. It felt like a family gathering disguised as a metal show, and in that sense, Wally’s was the perfect place for Mushroomhead to kick off their fall tour.
For me, this wasn’t just another concert. It was a full circle moment. Years ago, when I lived in Las Vegas, one of the very first shows I ever went to with my brothers was Mushroomhead. Seeing them again all these years later older, wiser, but still roaring with the same theatrical fury was something special.
When the band hit the stage, the first song came crashing down with pounding drums, an eruption of light and smoke, and masked figures emerging from the shadows. Vocalist, Steve Rauckhorst, came forward with that signature mix of melody and grit, setting the tone for the night. Then Scott “Skinny” Beck joined in, his guttural vocals cutting through the mix with raw force. By the third track, Jackie LaPonza appeared, draped in black and gold, her soaring voice slicing through the chaos like a spotlight in a storm.
Their rotation on stage was fascinating to watch. One singer would take command, then fade into the background as another stepped up, each bringing their own energy. The crowd fed off it cheering, thrashing, moving as one. Mushroomhead has always been known for their theatrics, and tonight was no exception.
As someone shooting the show for the first time, I was caught off guard by the water drums massive toms rigged with shallow pools of water that exploded upward with every beat. It was mesmerizing and messy all at once. The front row was drenched, and I spent half the night wiping down my lens, but it was worth every drop. The visual impact of those illuminated splashes, synced perfectly to the music, was unlike anything I’d seen before.
The setlist pulled from across their catalog, blending newer songs with classics that lit up the room. “12 Hundred” hit like a freight train, followed by “A Requiem for Tomorrow”, “Fall in Line”, and “Our Apologies”, each one met with fists in the air and roaring approval. When the opening notes of “Sun Doesn’t Rise” hit, the place erupted. It’s one of those songs that defines Mushroomhead’s legacy, and live, it’s still a force of nature. They later closed with “Solitaire/Unraveling” and “The Heresy”, two heavy, haunting numbers that left the crowd buzzing in silence before breaking into cheers.
The connection between band and audience was the real highlight. Twice, the male vocalist dove into the crowd. The first time, he lost his mic mid-jump, but the fans caught it and passed it back instantly. Laughing, he joked about his “butterfingers,” and the crowd howled. Then came the moment that stopped everything, Jackie LaPonza crowd-surfing while standing upright, balancing on fans’ hands as if she were walking on water, still singing flawlessly. It was surreal, almost supernatural.
As the night wound down, Mushroomhead thanked Wally’s and the Hampton crowd for showing up in full force. Twenty years on, Mushroomhead still performs like they have something to prove. They’re not chasing trends or nostalgia they’re keeping the flame alive, loud and proud, for the fans who’ve been there since the beginning. And at a place like Wally’s, that flame burns brighter than ever.
Photos – Mushroomhead at Wally’s in Hampton Beach, NH on October 10th:
