So apparently it was Ozzy’s birthday. He’s 62. Wow.
Pretty cool, huh? Unfortunately the crowd there seemed to be mostly older too (40s, 50s) and was very lethargic.
Ozzy’s stage presence was awesome, he was constantly full of energy during songs and always had something to say before or after a song. The transformation of him standing slouched between songs versus jumping around during songs was pretty amazing to see.
His voice was pretty good but obviously began to be a bit strained as the night went on. Of note, he was pretty easy to understand while talking. I guess he played the whole mumbling thing up on TV.
He had some kind of foam spraying fire hose with which he punished the front few rows when they lacked proper energy. Then he’d turn the hose on himself and rinse off by sticking his entire head in a bucket.
At one point we sang happy birthday. One of the stage hands kept thinking about smashing Ozzy with the cake, but ultimately he chickened out.
The stage and video production was actually not all that impressive – the drum stand did rise up about 20 feet during a solo and there was pyro a few times, but it was definitely a bit behind the times. LOTS of sound sensitive lights, and not just to the drums – bass and guitar reactive strobes which was pretty cool.
Got to hear the real deal War Pigs (WARNING VERY LOUD):
All my pictures here.
Setlist: