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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
From: "Jared Butler" <jargbutl@earthlink.net>
Subject: Nashville Ozzfest
Date: Tue, 1 Jun 1999 15:44:38 -0500
I just got back from the Ozzfest in Nashville this morning, and it was
freakin' AWESOME! The crowd at the First American Music Center was nuts
and I don't think you could have squeezed anyone else in with a crowbar!
Godsmack was great, Slayer was flawless, Rob Zombie was his usual terrific
self, Fear Factory was pretty good, but the highlight of the evening was
definately getting to see my personal gods, Black Sabbath! They played
about 13 or 14 songs, and Tony Iommi did this guitar solo that I swear
sounded like it was from "Dying for Love" off Cross Purposes! Bill Ward
didn't miss a beat and Geezer was flawless. Ozzy really knows how to work
a crowd! There wasn't anything new on the set list, the only surprise was
when they played "After Forever," but I guess they have to play the
favorites. The highlight had to be when they played "Black Sabbath," which
was the scariest version that I have ever heard. This had to be one of the
greatest days of my life. People think Nashville is just a country town,
but 20,000 screaming metal heads would say otherwise.
Remember the Sabbath and keep it black
Jared Butler, the future of public relations
From: "Jared Butler" <jargbutl@earthlink.net>
Subject: Nashville review, 5/31/99
Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1999 19:31:10 -0500
Here's a review of the Nashville Ozzfest. I hope it's not too long and
that you can use it in some way.
After over an hour of battling traffic on Interstate 24 leading into the
First American Music Center just outside of Nashville, five anxious metal
heads arrived at the promised land, Ozzfest '99. By the time we parked,
got the tickets from the will call window, waited in line to be groped by
security and passed through the turnstiles, it was almost 1 p.m. and
Apartment 26 was just finishing their set. I was a little angry, I had
been curious if Biff Butler was as good a musician as his father, but that
was the only disappointment of the day.
After spending $30 on a Last Supper t-shirt, $25 on a Sabbath cap and $6 on
a beer, I made my way to my seat to listen to Slipknot. Slipknot was kind
of a cross between Slayer and the Insane Clown Posse. I wasn't too
impressed with them although I do respect anyone who can come from Iowa and
still be that warped. After that, a couple of us went to see Drain on the
second stage and I was very impressed. These are four chicks that you
won't see at the Lillith Fair. Next came System of a Down on the main
stage and they were pretty good. They kind of had a Rage Against the
Machine vibe to them. After they were through, I waited around to see
Godsmack, and they were awesome. I became a Godsmack fan at that moment.
Primus came next and they were hilarious as always. Slayer blew me away.
I've never really listened to Slayer that much. I have a few of their CDs,
but they're more of a "get drunk and break stuff" band than a "pay
attention to the music" band. After that, I bolted to the second stage to
see Fear Factory and they were wild. They played a cover of Gary Neuman's
"In Cars" and had two topless women on stage with the Fear Factory logo
painted on their chests. Later, two more women came from the crowd and got
naked on stage. It was wild, but while I was listening to Fear Factory,
one of the people I went with was getting Rob Zombie's autograph. (damn the
luck!) Next came the Deftones, but I was never a big Deftones fan so I
spent most of their set in line for another drink. After that, the
anticipation in Nashville grew to a fever pitch. People in the general
admission section (grass seats) started sliding down the wet hills in
droves and security was powerless to stop them. Some girl at the far end
was thrown out for repeatedly taking her clothes off, I honestly thought
there was going to be a riot. However, our attention was diverted when Rob
Zombie finally took the stage, and the crowd went apeshit. Whether you
like his music or not, you have to agree that Zombie is one hell of a
performer. After his set, we wondered how anyone could top him. As the
whir of the war siren filled the amphitheater, our question was soon
answered.
Finally, it was time for the main event! As the siren continued, an
avalanche of people hurried back to their seats. Security, who had been
bastards for most of the day, tried to hide the worried expressions on
their faces. The thought, "this doesn't happen at Reba McEntyre concerts"
undoubtedly crossed their minds. Then, the band appeared and the place
went absolutely apeshit. Finally, I was getting to see my personal gods!
Pictures of Sadam Hussein and Adolph Hitler flooded the video screen as
Ozzy belted out the verse "evil minds that plot destruction." I was
actually surprised that many Nashvillians knew the lyrics to the songs,
virtually everyone was singing along. The setlist, in no particular order
(I was too busy banging my head, singing along and communing with the dark
lords of metal to pay attention to details) went:
War Pigs
N.I.B.
Fairies Wear Boots
Electric Funeral
Sweet Leaf (this one went over really well, since marijuana is
considered a vegetable in Tennessee)
After Forever (fitting, because Nashville is the capital of the Bible Belt)
Into the Void
Iommi solo (which I swear sounded like it came from "Dying for Love" off
Cross Purposes) which led into
Snowblind
Embryo/Children of the Grave
Dirty Women
Black Sabbath (perhaps the creepiest version I ever heard)
Iron Man
and for the encore,
a Supernaut tease leading into Paranoid (which was almost a letdown)
All in all, that was the best concert I had ever been to. The band was
extremely tight. Nobody has a stage presence like Ozzy, his voice didn't
crack once. I was a little disappointed they didn't play anything from
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath or any of the new songs, but I realize that they
have to play the favorites. Bill Ward surprised the hell out of me, he
didn't miss a beat and looked to be in perfect health. When Ozzy
introduced the band, Bill looked like he was the happiest to be there. I
seriously hope that this really isn't their last tour, the band is as good
now as it has ever been. These four were meant to play together. As for
the Nashville crowd, it was the most wild that I had ever seen. People
think that Nashville is just a country town, but if Garth Brooks had showed
up at the First American Music Center he would have undoubtedly gotten his
head bitten off by one of the nearly 20,000 rabid metal heads.
Jared Butler
Remember the Sabbath and keep it black
Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1999 08:52:00 -0500
From: Ned Flanders <nedflanders@home.com>
Subject: Nashville-A-Go-Go
My brother and I arrived around 12:30 and walked up to the 2nd stage to
catch Drain STH. Check them out if you get there early enough. Four very
attractive women kicking out some pretty good tunes. The 2nd stage crowd
was going crazy at this point with moshing and surfing. I'm not quit into
that stuff but I did help support several of the surfers while protecting
my self from kicks to the head.
Next we went down to the main stage area to check out our seats. System of
a Down was playing. They were OK. They have a little of that RAP quality
to their stuff that I really do not care for. Godsmack was good but I
can't honestly remember much about their show.
We spent the next couple of hours walking around, drinking and talking to
friends we ran into. The Never Never land area was basically the same as
previous years. The only thing that really disappointed me was that a lot
of the Sabbath merchandise was exactly the same as from the Reunion tour
this past Winter. They were selling the exact same Green Reunion shirt
that I bought the Dayton show. It even had the same tour schedule on the
back. So the current Ozzfest shows weren't listed on it. And this shirt
that I thought was going to be little unique at this show was being bought
and worn by a bunch of people. The program was also the same. Maybe
they're just trying to get rid of some left overs at these early shows?
Please let me know if they start selling an actual '99 Ozzfest program at
any of the future shows.
We got back to the main stage just as Primus was finishing. I've never
been able to get into them. I walked out when they played at Lollapalooza
a few years ago because I really didn't care for them. But one of the guys
I was sitting with watched their whole set and said he liked them. So I
guess if you like them then they put on a good show. I'll try harder next
time.
Slayer was pretty good. I don't have any of their CD's. I think I have an
old album in the closet though? They were pretty much what I expected.
Deftones were kind of boring.
Rob Zombie kicked ass. I once saw White Zombie several years ago. I
remember thinking back then that they were pretty good for the first 15
minutes but then that disco-rythm beat starts to get really repetitive and
annoying. This Ozzfest show was a hell of a lot better. The shorter set
list my of had something to do with that. He really had the crowd going.
F-F-Fire FIRE.... Yeah!
Then the Hollowed gathering of forces that bind that which we know as
"Heavy Music" assembled before our eyes. As the lights went down the air
raid sirens started warning us of the onslaught to come. "Generals
gathered in their masses.." Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill. The Sab four.
The masters of reality. The reason we're here. My favorite band.
We had seats in the middle section that were a little more that 3/4's up.
From our position the band sounded great. This was my 15th time seeing
Ozzy and he sounded really good this night. I really never noticed his
voice cracking during any part of the show. The band was really tight.
Geezer kicked the night into gear with a killer intro to N.I.B. His name
was Lucifer and I took his hand! Fairies Wear Boots is one of my favorite
tracks and they really did it justice. Bill really shined during the
beginning of this song. All night for that matter. There appeared to be a
lot of improvement in his playing since the February Dayton show and
especially the Reunion CD, Birmingham shows. We all love you Bill!
I am not quite sure about the exact running order of the middle part of the
set list. I think it was after After Forever that Tony did a short solo
with Ozzy standing next to him. Ozzy was praising him and getting the
crowd to scream for Tony. I believe that led into Snowblind and then Dirty
Women. Actually, DW is one of my favorite tracks. Sorry Raddion. That
song really gets me going and kicks my ass. I don't understand why some
people don't like it? Everyone around us seemed to enjoy it. Ozzy asked
if anyone still smoked dope. And seeing as how Marijuana is one of the
major food groups in Tennessee, he got a more than enthusiastic response.
Sweetleaf, oh yea baby...
Ironman and Children of the Grave got really good response from the crowd.
The Supernaut tease was just that. A major TEASE! Aside from that, I
really liked how they remained true to the original songs.
Then they went into Paranoid and I knew it was almost over. It seems as
though these four guys were made to play together. It is inconceivable
that this tour will be the end of this. I suspect that the impact that
they will make on the people who witness this tour will not remain dormant.
People that never really paid attention to the Sabs before will BE made
aware of what laid the foundation of all modern heavy music. The demand
will be there in the future for these guys to perform live. There really
is something special and magic about them.
All this was my own opinion, of course.
I'm a little foggy on the order of the setlist during the middle of the
show.
War Pigs
NIB (slightly extended Geezer intro)
Fairies Wear Boots
Electric Funeral
After Forever
Short solo from Tony
Snowblind
Dirty Women
Sweet Leaf
Into the Void
Black Sabbath
Iron Man
Children of the Grave
Supernaut (snippet)
Paranoid
I also have a copy of the review from the local paper here:
http://members.home.net/nedflanders/OzzFest99.html
Rock on Sabbarinos,
Ned "Zombie Dancer" Flanders
--
http://members.home.net/nedflanders/
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