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THE BAND
- Ozzy Osbourne - Vocals
- Tony Iommi - Guitar
- Geezer Butler - Bass
- Bill Ward - Drums
- Geoff Nicholls - Keyboards
CONCERT PHOTOS
None available - if you have any, let me know.
TOUR REVIEWS & REMARKS
Date: Sat, 19 Jun 1999 18:36:48
From: Patrick Helmes <helmespc@email.uc.edu>
Subject: Ozzy's voice in Columbus
I went to see Sab on Monday in Columbus... Ozzy was doing great.. hell the
whole concert was going just fine... then during Black Sabbath, when Ozzy
screamed "Oh no please God help me" his voice gave out... not knowing what
to do, Ozzy announces: "There's something in the air or something, my
allergies are going nuts, my voice is going out, so we're going to do one
more song.... Paranoid.." So they continued to play Paranoid... Ozzy
sounded passable for the song... but of course they had to skip Iron man
and Children of the Grave... no encore... I was kinda angered that Ozzy
didn't come back out to apologize, but hey... he's 51 and the granddaddy of
heavy metal... just kinda sucked. Oh well... nobody seemed to mind.
Date: 3 Jul 99 18:42:58 EDT
From: Eric Vysther <nightwing85@usa.net>
Subject: Ozzfest - Columbus, Ohio -June 14, 1999
Hey gang;
First off, forgive my lateness in filing this report, a lot has been going
on with me as of late - mixed bag - and I would like to say thanks to all
those long term members of the list who expressed concern at my absence.
Also, a big HELLO to John Mueller and Jack Velut, both of this list.
OK, my impressions of the Ozzfest - well, this was at the Polaris
Ampitheatre again - this is the place where in '97 that infamous riot
happened when Ozzy & Sabbath bailed after a bomb threat. Trust me - I was
there, it was NOT PRETTY.
I spent most of the day hanging out at the main stage or just wandering
around, checking out the various outposts and product stands ($30 for a
t-shirt!?) and eventually gave in and bought the black jersey with the
silver cross logo and silver flames on the sleeves - $45 - OUCH!!!!
What was really funny about all of this were the tattoo/body painting
stands - I am always amazed at the amount of young women who will gladly
strip off their tops and get their breasts laminated for public display.
Not something smart to do at this kind of event, but, oh well....
The weather was obnoxiously hot, the sun almost painfully bright - and we
DON'T have a hole in the ozone???? AND I WAS WEARING SUNGLASSES!
We arrived a bit late and caught the tail end of A System of A Down's
performance - not bad, just nothing remarkable.
The rest of the bands were as follows:
GODSMACK - not bad, actually - they put out a lot of energy and got he
first crowd reaction of the day - the infamous astroturf wars we have all
read about on the OzzFest website. Trust me, it was a SIGHT - like a
dogfight out of STAR WARS or INDEPENDENCE DAY.
PRIMUS were up next, and got a pretty god reaction. Any long term fans of
the band on the list? My friend Don & I noticed that they seem to have a
new drummer in their midst.
SLAYER - man, they just upped and DIED right there. I dunno - I was always
not too keen on them. I mean, their music has not evolved a whole heck of a
lot in the past 15 or so years...the audience just wasn't digging' it. They
played fairly well, although I noticed a LOT of flubs. A shame, really - I
always admired their "stick-to-it-ness" a la AC/DC - refusing to change
their style in the face of current trends. What was really amusing for Don
& I was that after Primus received this huge astroturf background for their
set, no one moved for Slayer. Hmph.
DEFTONES - I saw these guys open for Sabbath in Dayton, Ohio on their
initial REUNION tour and was NOT impressed. They fared a bit better here -
the sound system for them was AWFUL at the Nutter Center this past February
- but I am no fan. Not my cup of tea.
After this, I wandered over to the 2nd stage to check out FEAR FACTORY.
Now, these guys are not my taste, but the energy they put out was
TREMENDOUS - definitely a band for the future.
I could only hack about 2 or 3 songs - like I said, not my taste, but they
sure knew how to work a crowd. A big name in the future, for certain.
Next up was ROB ZOMBIE - this guy knows how to put on a performance. Very
theatrical - though from what Don told me, he had seen his solo tour
earlier and was only using a fraction of his stage set. I dunno, looked
pretty good from where I was sitting, which was the left hand side of the
stage, for those of you who collect such information.
I was a bit surprised that his set was so full of White Zombie material and
not his own - I realize these are crowed pleasers, but if he wants to
establish himself as a solo artist, he had best start playing more of his
own music!
Great show there, we had a couple of Goth kids sitting next to us, and
watching this young girl - 15 tops - going through these "undead" dances
was quite amusing. Especially during "Living Dead Girl" - I could NOT stop
laughing at this sort of display. Rich.
After a half hour stage set change on came the mighty BLACK SABBATH. WOW! I
would love to give a detailed report on the show, but I did not see much of
it 'cos I was too busy headbanging and screaming my head off!
EYYYYEAAAAHHHH!!!!!
The set was pretty much what they have been doing, but I thought they had a
lot more fire than the Dayton show. I mean, "War Pigs", "NIB", etc. had
just so much more FIRE this time. But then again, I wasn't whacked out with
the flu this time.
Tony's solo before "Dirty Women" was the one he was doing on the
DEHUMANIZER tour - Ozzy was standing right next to him, trying to make him
laugh through the whole thing, either that or watching in awe.
During the stage introductions, Ozzy sent the whole thing up by introducing
Bill about ten times - Bill kept going through these contortions and
exaggerated moves trying to throw Ozzy off, but in the end, just gave up.
The sad thing was Ozzy - right during "Sweet Leaf", his voice just crapped
out. He turned ghost white and started shaking later in the set. Finally,
his voice incooperative, he apologized after "Black Sabbath" and they
concluded with "Paranoid" - Ozzy said something about his allergies messing
with him. (????)
I must say though, the "Supernaut" intro to "Paranoid" was MASSIVE - I
would have LOVED to hear them try this one - it was just SO HUGE.
Set list discrepancies: No "Snowblind" - *sigh* -"Dirty Women" instead.
Yuck.
What was really funny about this was Bill started the "Iron Man" drum intro
and Ozzy had to stop him in desperation - his voice was just kaput. Also
amusing was watching Tony run for his wah-wah pedal before the "Supernaut"
intro - he forgot about it and JUST made it their as Bill finished his
hi-hat cymbal intro.
I will add this: even without "Iron Man" and "Children of the Grave", it
was a much more enjoyable set. But, as I said before, I was in better shape
this time.
Also worthy of note - our side of the stage were a LOUD bunch, drowning out
both the center and the right. We were just POUNDING on the seat, screaming
and carrying on. Heeheehee. Ozzy noticed THAT, let me tell ya.
The band in and of itself is TIGHT. Tony, Geezer and Bill - minor flubs
here and there aside, were just RIGHT THERE. Like a well oiled machine.
Awesome.
I truly wonder if this is The End for them. I would suspect more LIVE than
STUDIO, though. Ozzy just can't take the abuse anymore, and it shows.
Great way to end it though, for me, at least....or so I thought. Tickets
are going on sale for Drain STH/Deftones?Black Sabbath in Cincinatti July
10th. Three guesses who'll be there???? First two don't count.
A funny parting item: on our way out of the parking lot, there was a young
lady doing a striptease on the roof of her van and every male in the lot
it seemed was rushing over to throw her money and cat call. I must confess,
I was a bit shocked by that one. What was really funny was that they were
tossing her MONEY! I am just glad she was with friends. I would not put
gang rape past a lot of those seedy characters.
On the other hand, with all her distractions, it sure made getting out of
the parking lot much easier!
Until next time;
God Bless;
Eric Vysther
"The Man In Black - The Guardian of the Night"
Nightwing85@usa.net
From: EricBossk@aol.com
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1999 15:59:11 EDT
Subject: My 0zzfest review, Sabbath on benefit album, additional Sabbath tour
Whutz up fellow Fellow 0zzy/Sabbath luvers? I hope Joe posts my review of
the 0zzfest 99 show on June 14 at the Polaris Ampitheater in Columbus Ohio.
I know this is quite lengthy but worth posting so I hope Joe will post it.
It's very interesting though. I should have sent this in a while ago but
I was too busy or lazy to write it out. Ok, first does anyone know if it's
true that the reason 0zzfest didn't come through Cleveland or Akron this
year was because they couldn't book a venue? I kind of find that hard to
believe. I mean it's 0ZZFEST! All the promoters know it brings in lot's of
$! My friends & I have our own theory about this. We live in Cleveland OH.
We think Sabbath has something agaist Cleveland (seeing as they didn't come
to Cleveland on thier winter tour either!) because they didn't get induced
into the Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame last year when they were nominated.
Well, We have simething to say to Sabbath. Those guys shouldn't punish us
fans just because they didn't get inducted. If us fans had our way Sabbath
would have been inducted when the Rock Hall first opened. Sabbath has a
huge fan base here in Cleveland. There were about 1400 people at the music
store in Mentor OH when Sabbath came there on 0ct. 22 of last year on their
promo/autograph tour for the Reunion album. I was not there Goddammit!!!
We ain't not sure who gets to vote on who gets inducted into the Rock Hall
but We say this! 1000 curses on You all for not inducting Sabbath into the
Rock Hall. You may be the reason they didn't come to Cleveland! You are
stupid idiots for not recognizing true talent (Sabbath's talent) when it
comes to deciding who should be in the Rock Hall! I am sure all of You
out there agree with me on this. Ok now for my 0zzfest reveiw. My Aunt
Mary, who is about 35, took my best friend Dan & I to 0zzfest on July 14.
We left here about 10:00 A.M. & drove 2 hours from Cleveland to Columbus.
By the time we were actually inside the venue it was almost 1:00 P.M. in
the afternoon. Here are the bands we missed on account of being late -
Drain STH (dammit! I really wanted to see them!), Apartment 26 ( heard they
sucked but wanted to see them for myself), & Static X ( wanted to see them
too!). My Aunt drops me & Dan off cuz she isn't really a Metal fan of this
"new metal" crap (neither are Dan or I & we are both 16!) & was gonna come
in later just to see Zombie & Sabbath. We got a hotel in Columbus cuz we
knew we'd be too tired to drive back to Cleveland after this Religious
Event! So, that's where she went after she dropped me & Dan off.
Anyways, Dan & I finally get into the venue. We went around & looked at
the merchandise. I played on of those games that costs $5 & if You when
You get a Sabbath T-shirt. Of course I didn't win, seeing how thise games
are probably rigged, but still got some CD & cassette samplers, which was
cool. I went to a T-Shirt stand & bought the Black Sabbath shattered
T-Shirt for $20. Then we went to our seats which were in Section G, Row W.
They were actually good seats! I thought they would suck! They were the
best seats I've actually ever had at a concert where You actually have
seats. So, Puya was playing on the main stage. Why they were on the main
stage that day when they were billed as a second stage I don't know. We
thought they really sucked! They are creative though. Half of the lyrics
are sung in spanish & the way they mix traditional Central/South American
Music with Hard Rock. But their sound is just too much in the Korn/L
Bizkit genre for Our taste. They definetley had no buisness playing
0zzfest & are definetley are not worthy to play on the mainstage! After
watching them for about 5 minutes, we went to see who was playing on the
2nd stage at the time. It was Pushmonkey. We thought they were just ok.
They aren't really Me our Dan's cup of tea. I liked the trumpet that the
singer played in some of the songs though. We watched them for about 20
minutes & then headed back to our seats at the main stage. System of a
Down was just getting started. I saw these guys at 0zzfest last year. I
guess I thought they were alrite both times I saw them. I don't know what
the big deal with these guys are. They just sound like they are in the
korn/ L bizkit genre & they have very little or no originality to offer. We
were NOT impressed. These guys also had no buisness playing on the main
stage. They are barely even worthy to play 0zzfest & should have been on
the second stage. At about System's 2nd to last song or so we headed over
ot the 2nd stage again. Pushmoney was still playing. They played about 5
more minutes. Then they were done. We headed back to the mainstage where
Godsmack would soon be playing. I couldn't wait! I had heard a lot of good
things about these guys & heard a lot of their stuff on the radio. We were
looking forward to seeing these guys. They put on an excellant performance
indeed! I heard some place that they do a cover of the Wizard, by Sabbath
of course, but they didn't do that cover, or any covers. Does anyone know
if they really do a cover of the Wizard? That was my only disappointment
about Godsmack. When they were done we headed backover to the 2nd stage
where Flash Point was playing. They were just doing thier last song, which
they announced would ba a Misfits cover. Dan & I both got instantly
excited becuz both of us are big fans of the Danzig era of the Misfits.
The song was indeed from the Danzig era & was well done. Then, Dan sat
down in our seats. I went off to find a progran guide. they were giving
them out by the enrances earlier. I didn't get one though. They were out
of them. But as I was walking back to my seat I saw a line of people lined
up in front of a table with a race car behind it & an Ibanez sign up above
it. There were 2 men sitting on the other side of the table. I think to
myself isn't that Dino Cazares & Christain 0lde Wolbers from Fear Factory?
It was indeed them! I go to the back of the line & wait 15 minutes. Then I
met these 2 fine men. They signed my Demanufacture CD booklet & one of
free posters that they had for people. They were really cool dudes! Fear
Factory is one band that sure appreciates it's fans! I go back to our
seats where my budy Dan is. Primus is playing. Dan & I aren't really
paying much attention to Primus. They are a talented band but not our cup
of tea. we look back behind us to the lawn seat sections & see stuff being
thrown through the air by a few people back there. About 8 minutes later,
us & everyone else sitting in the E, F, G, & H sections find out what it is
being thrown through the air. It's the sod from the greass of the lawn
area. People on the lawn are tearing it from the ground & throwing it at
us, the people in the arena seats. Now alot of people are throwing the
sod, including me & Dan. We get up out of our seats & go into the isle
ways & start throwing the sod back towards the lawn. Dan & I didn't get hit
once by the incoming sod. It's like a friggin' battlefield! But it was
fun. it's w/ out a doubt the most fan Dan & I have ever had at a concert
at a time when we weren't paying any attention to the band playing. The
sod throwing continues right through the end of Primus' set. Then right
after Primus leaves the stage, that English roadie announcer dude who
announces the bands & stuff comes out saying that Polaris is threatening to
stop the concert unless the sod throwing stops, saying, "Unless You
stop, they probably won't have an 0zzfest here next year. If You want to
carry on, then carry on. But if you want to carry on rocking, stop
throwing the sod. By the way, let's hear it for Slayer, cuz they are up
next." Almost everyone stopped the sod throwing immediately & cheered for
Slayer, me & Dan included. ( I really don't think they would have stopped
the show on account of the sod throwing seeing as there was a riot here 2
years ago when 0zzy couldn't sing. I don't think they would have risked
another one.) Then he said, "Now let's hear it for BLACK SABBATH!" The
crowd cheered again, twice as loud as before. Dan & I headed over to the
2nd stage where Hed (pe) was playing. I have to say, these guys were
pretty good. They were the best band we had seen that day so far except
for Godsmack. We caught about the last 15 minutes of Hed
(pe)'s set before heading back over to the mainstage ts see Slayer, one of
my favorite bands. Here is their set list. These are the songs they did
but the order of the middle songs might be off a little. Slayer came out &
broke into "Reign In Blood". Without a pause between songs they
immediately did "War Ensemble". Then, they introduced themselves & said
how glad they were to be playing 0zzfest & all. Then Tom Araya introduced
their next song. A new song entitled "Bitter Peace" off their latset album
"Diabolus En Musica". Then they did "Dead Skin Mask" & another new sing
called "Stain Of Mind". They the did crowd favorites "Mandatory Suicide" &
"Chemical Warefare". They ended with 2 more crowd favorites "South Of
Heaven" & Angel Of Death". The whole time I was standing up, headbanging &
singing/screaming the lyrics to all the songs! I had big expectations for
Slayer & they well surpassed them! They were KICK ASS from start to
finish! It was pretty much a non stop set of the finest Death/Speed/Thrash
Metal ever! They were just incredible live, the performance was much
better than I expected! Dan, who isn't a huge Slayer fan like myself,
although he does have their new album, agreed with me that they kicked ass
& are much better live then on CD! Now, Slayer was FOR SURE the best band
We'd seen so far that day. We quickly headed over to the 2nd stage where
Fear Factory was just into their first song. Fear Factory was also kick
ass form start to finish. They did material form all 3 albums from as well
as a cover of Pantera's walk. Dan, who is hardly a Faer Factory fan agreed
with me that they kicked ass! At this point Dan & I were both worn out &
both needed food we headed back over to our seats by the mainstage where
the Deftones had started playing. I was exausted from the day's events, as
was Dan. We sat doen & just watched the Deftones. They were pretty good.
Deftones are one of the few "new metal bands" Dan & I actually like. The
singer actually sings & doesn't rap. After they were done playing my Aunt
Mary, who had just arrived, came & sat down by Dan & I & asked us if we
were hungry. We both answered YES! at the same time. There were 2
McDonalds' in the venue & she went to get food for all of us. When she
came back to our seats with the food Rob Zombie was playing & the sod wars
had begun again. This time however it was not fun. It was so brutal &
intense that Dan & I had to spend about half of Zombie's set dodging
incoming sod. This time we rarely threw back. Rob Zombie told the crowd
to start throwing sod & a few idiots listened to him & before we knew it
the place was a warzone. After my Aunt Mary got hit by about 10 pieces of
sod she left. She missed Sabbath. ( I went to 0zzfest last year at the
Akron Rubber Bowl on July 14 & they didn't sell alcohol. People had fun w/
out acting like total idiots. This 0zzfest they sold alcohol. I think
that contributed to the sod throwing. You give people beer, they act like
assholes. A lot of people think that due to the sod throwing they won't
have 0zzfest at Polaris next year. I say they should indeed have an
0zzfest there next year! They can use the $ the made from their alcohol
sales to fix the lawn & not sell any alcohol at next year's 0zzfest. Why
acn't they they think of something like this? it's quite simple really!)
Anyways, when the sod was flying at high speeds in many directions at once
the bouncers & securuty guards had really shocked looks on thier faces like
they had never had seen anything like it before. After the riot 2 years
ago & the sod throwing having occurred at both previous 0zzfest's there ( I
had people confirm that) You'd think the Polaris staff would be used to it.
I mean they had news cameras on us & everything. I am positive we made the
evening news, but ty the time Dan, Mary, & I got back to the hotel the
evening news was long over. Oh well. I can't feally give a good review
of Rob Zombie becuz For half of his set Dan & I were busy dodging incoming
sod while trying to eat our McDonald's food at the same time. I do
remember him doing "Super Beast", as well as some good old White Zombie
songs. i also remember the half naked, very hot looking dancing girls who
were on stage for most of his set. After Zombie left the stage the sod
throwing stopped thank God! A lot of people were glad for that! We saw
the techs setting up Sabbath's gear & got real excited! We knew who was
comming on next! About 20 minutes later, at about 9:00 P.M. steam filled
the stage, & we heard the war sirens, then Sabbath & ripped into WAR PIGS!
Here is my review of Sabbath. Again, the song order in the middle might be
off a bit. So as best as I can remember, here is Sabbath's set list:
WAR PIGS
N.I.B.
FAIRIES WEAR B00TS
AFTER FOREVER
SWEET LEAF
A guitar solo by Tony Iommi. It was very good, but I didn't reconize it.
0zzy was worshiping Iommi during it. It was funny.
INT0 THE VOID
ELECTRIC FUNERAL
DIRTY W0MEN
BLACK SABBATH
PARAN0ID
0verall I thought they put on a KICKASS performance. 0zzy's voice was much
better than last year's 0zzfest! I know You are probably thinking why the
set list seemed short. Well, Dan says about half way through the set
0zzy's voice started to crack. I read from someone else on this list that
0zzy's voice cacked when in the song "Black Sabbath" - "0h no! Please God
help Me!" If his voice cracked at all I still think his singing was better
than at last year's 0zzfest & didn't noticed any problems with 0zzy's voice
or any of the band members for that matter! Their performance was
flawless! After the 2nd or 3rd song 0zzy introduced the rest of the band
members. When he got to Bill Ward he said: "On drums, Mr.Bill Ward!!! I
said Mr.Bill Ward!!!" 0zzy said this about 10 times. The whole band was
right on the mark. 0zzy was his usual self doing leep frog jumps & running
around on stage like a 20 year old! He demanded we go crazy & we obeyed!
He soaked the people in the first 10 rows with buckets of water. Everyone
else in the first 35 rows got soaked by the giant hoses at the top of the
stage that shot water down on the crowd. Dan & I, who were about 50 rows
back were dry. At 0zzfest last year me & my friend got soaked! We stood on
our chairs (to see better of course!) the entire time Sabbath played,
moving our hands from side to side & clapping our hands above our heads
when 0zzy commanded us to. The whole crowd also thrust their Anarchy &
Devil horn fists into the air quire a bit. 0zzy only said the F word about
15 times during the performance though. It was about 50 times or so last
year. I was really surprised they didn't do "Snowblind", "Children Of The
Grave", & especially "Iron Man". If this will be hte only time I ever see
Sabbath then they way outlived my expectations. Bill looked better than
ever. His heart attack hasn't slowed him or his drumming down one bit!
Geezer was headbanging the whole time & played his Bass at lightning speed.
Tony was amazing as was 0zzy. they hit every note,chord, & beat perfect!
Lastly, does anyone know if that Kosovo benefit album with the Psycho Man
remiz is out yet? Has anyone heard it? I also heard that Black Sabbath
will be comming to Cleveland Some time before year's end with Drain STH &
possibly another band, maybe Pantera opening. I hope this is true!!!
Joe, do You or does any one out there have any info on this what so ever?
If so You must please Email Me! I heard this from a reliable but not
official source.
[ Ed Note: This was cool to read, but hard - there was no paragraph breaks
here. Folks, for these giant posts, please try and use
paragraphs. ]
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