Black Sabbath Online: Concert Reviews

I got my tickets early for the Black Sabbath show, scoring the floor seats. I had mixed feelings about how the show would unfold. I was thrilled to see Geezer, Tony, Bill, and Ozzy, but had mixed thoughts on how I thought Ozzy would perform. I saw him in 1986 (when Metallica W/Cliff Burton opened), and he looked really bad. How is he going to look and perform 13 years later?

I did not see the first band, but I did see Godsmack. They are good at what they do; simple, straightforward metal. I thought they performed well, and they did their job: they got the crowd ready for Sabbath.

Sabbath came on, and much to my surprise, Ozzy was on! He looked better than he did 13 years before, and other than a minor slip here or there, he was spot on. Of course, the rest of the boys were just tight as hell. Hearing N.I.B., the first song I ever picked out on the bass, was my highlight. I thought the song selection was excellent. I can do without Iron Man, but live, it's still kicking. Fairies Wear Boots was another highlight, with Geezer's bass work some of my favorite of all time. It was just awesome to finally see Geezer, Tony, and Bill. It was a great show, and I hope they come back to Greenville, SC some day.

From: "Mark Cloer" <kiss_rocks@hotmail.com>
Subject: Sabbath in S.C.
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 20:55:55 PDT

I said I was not going to do this but I'm doing it anyway. Several issues
back I stated I was going to the Aug. 8th show in Greenville S.C. and
judging from some of the reviews I'd read, I was expecting Ozzy at his
worst. I'm pleased to say Ozzy was near perfect on 8-8-1999. I expected him
to come on stage in a wheelchair but he came bounding on stage with the
vitality of a early '70s Ozzy. He did mix up his lines on "NIB" and he
couldn't quite hit the high notes on "Sweet Leaf" but other than that he
did fine and his voice held up throughout the show. It's obvious Ozzy has
bad nights as well as good ones and I guess I was lucky enough to see him
on a good night. Overall, I'd give him an A and that's a supreme compliment
from me since I'm Tony Martin's #1 fan! I'd still have rather have seen TM
{if for no other reason to get some different tunes} but Ozzy gave us his
all and he actually seemed as fit as he did the last time I saw him in '96.
Iommi was flawless and Bill & Geez played great as well. They all seemed in
great spirits and appeared to be having a ball. Oh yeah, I counted 29
confirmed "fucks" from Ozzy but may have missed a few amidst the noise.

While driving home from the show a local radio station started taking
calls. One idiot came on and said "I just left the "OZZY" show...." That
REALLY pissed me off! What a disrespectful and ignorant bastard!

On the last list someone asked what the STH in Drain STH stood for. It
stands for Stockholm {where they're from}. The story I read was that there
was another band going by "Drain" so they added the STH to differentiate
them from the other band. I must say I've never cared for chick bands but
those girls can rock! The Go-Gos they are NOT! Aside from a great
performance, 3 of the 4 are very good looking. I know Iommi is supposedly
engaged to Maria {singer} but I would marry the drummer! Martina, if you
read this you have an open proposal from ME! Drain impressed me more on
August 8th than Godsmack did. Godsmack was ok but they sounded like a bunch
of Metallica wanna-bes and there was little diversity in their songs.

Peace out