OzzFest 2000

 

So once again the family packed up and made the trek to witness another
gospel according to the apostle Ozzy.  Myself, one of my older brothers
and his son and another one of my nephews headed out to Nashville's
outdoor amphitheater.  My older brother and myself have witnessed many
Ozzy shows together, including the Blizzard and Diary tours.  This year
would be his son's first Ozzy show.  There was a "Passing it to the next
generation" vibe going on.

We arrived at the stadium around 1:00 PM.  First off, we walked around
the place.  There were the same old booths and merchandise stands.
Great place to pick up a few more wicked skull rings for the kids.  The
2nd stage was going and moshing.  I have no idea who was playing but
they sounded pretty descent.  The area in front of the stage was filled
with a mass of teenage & twenty something's.  I saw several young girls
with enough pieces of metal stuck through their skin to make a Klingon
proud.

Next we wondered down to the pavilion area so us old fuckers could
locate our seats.  I had purchased two pairs of tickets.  One set was
right next to the soundboard and the other was on the 6th row.  There
were a bunch of empty seats down front so all four of us sat on the 6th
row.  The first band we saw here was The Queens of the Stone Age.  They
were kind of groovy and were good for just sitting there with a buzz.
I'm sure the grindcore moshheads were extremely bored with this band.
But my ole cooked brain enjoyed them.  It was a good way to ease into
the day.  And the lead singer / guitarist looked so much like one of my
college roommates it was scary.  Is that you, Craig?

During the Static-X show my brother and I took off for another walk
around.  We checked out another band on the 2nd stage.  Again, I have no
idea who it was but they had a huge crowd moshing in front of
the stage.  It looked like there were more people laying on top of the
crowd than there were people sitting in the pavilion area.  And it was
bloody fucking hot.  They need to have some water cannons on the 2nd stage.
When we got back to the main stage some guys who had the tickets for the
seats we had been sitting in had shown up.  There were plenty of other
empties so we sat in some other seats next to the where my nephews were
sitting.  A few minutes after we sat down one of the dudes that was
sitting where we had been before tapped my brother on the shoulder.  He
handed my brother the sunglasses case that he had left behind.  This was
an expensive set of Harley Davidson shades and the leather case that
held them.  There was also a few things in the case like some money and
stuff.  We were blown away by the honesty of these young Ozzy dudes and
thanked them for being so cool.  It is a good feeling to have this kind
of thing happen.  Especially when you look around at all the whacked out
people in the amphitheater and know that the mediocritants of "normal"
society would consider everyone here as deviants and dregs.  There is a
new hope.

I didn't care much for Tommy Lee's band M.O.M.  Way to much on the rap
side of things.  Incubus was rather boring I thought.  I really liked
Godsmack.  I liked them last year and I really enjoy their CD.  Pantera
was much better than the other times I've seen them.  They rocked hard
and heavy.  And fucking loud too.  Especially from the directly infront
of the PA.

By the time Ozzy came on I had downed so many $7.00 beers that I
honestly have a hard time remembering his set.  As mentioned elsewhere,
he opened with the video bits.  His stage design was the best that I can
recall from any of his tours.  It has that Hell Spawn look.  I wonder if
Todd McFarland was involved with its design?  Very cool.  I remember him
opening with "I Don't Know" and he sounded very good.  I know there have
been complaints about Ozzy playing the same shit.  However, I love that
same old shit.  Mr. Crowley, Flying High Again, Believer, all those BoO
and DoaM songs are very special to me.  I love them dearly.  And I love
Ozzy.  He has been as much a part of my life as anything.  I am grateful
that he has made it so big.  And even more grateful that he is
perpetuating heavy music.  I will always support and follow him.  Ozzy's
water gun technology has had some serious improvements.  He has a lift
chair-water cannon that picks him up above the stage and crowd.  The
water certainly felt good on a hot summer night.

Obviously, this show can't quite compare with last year's Sabbattack.
However, the whole Ozzfest this year was much better than I had
expected.  Ozzy sounded great and I enjoyed most of the bands.
Certainly a great way to spend a day.  I hope to see it again in the
future.