Category: Live Reviews
Tags: Gus G, ozzy osbourne

Near the finale of Get Him To The Greek (this Summer’s funniest movie), Sean “P. Diddy” Combs explains that English rock stars never die and that “fucking Ozzy Osbourne ‘s gonna outlive Miley Cyrus!”.

He may have a point.

Last time I had the chance to see Ozzy on stage was back in 1997, when Black Sabbath reunited for two epochal concerts at the Birmingham N.E.C. It was one of the best gigs I ‘ve ever seen and he was at top form, but that was a long time ago. Anyone who has seen MTV’s The Osbournes knows what I mean. Regardless of whether you find that show a hilarious sideshow or a desecration of an icon, one thing is for sure: In the past decade and a half, Ozzy has looked like a fucking zombie. Domestic bliss or not, he seems barely coherent- shaking and mumbling through every public appearance. Could this guy pull off a European tour?

I needn’t have worried.

The Terra Vibe theme park was damp from a heavy downpour earlier in the day. As night fell, the sky remained overcast with grey clouds and everyone wondered whether we would get drenched during the concert and whether the organisers would pull the plug on the show (like they did last year when it rained). Thank God (or Lucifer- this IS Ozzy we ‘re talking about after all), that didn’t happen. Perhaps DiDi Music finally got tired of people spitting in disgust every time they referred to them and their concert- organising skillz.

POEM were the support act and they did well. The crowd dug them and they played well. I am not a fan so there isn’t much to say, but they rose to the occasion and proved they deserve a career beyond Greece.

And then, without much delay, it was time for Ozzy. Coming on stage to the strains of Carl Orff’ s O Fortuna, he screamed hello and blasted through Bark At The Moon before we even knew what hit us. Everyone went understandably crazy. Let Me Hear You Scream from the new (mediocre) album goes by and then we lose it again with Mr. Crowley and I Don’t Know. The band seems to enjoy themselves as much as the crowd and Gus G. got a hero’s reception and seemed to relish the chance to play those iconic riffs. He is more of a euro metal shredder kind of guy than Zack Wilde was- and I prefer Wilde’s southern biker groovy tone, but the songs sound fantastic anyway and his style fits the 80s material perfectly. The man is a poser (hair flowing in front of the fans and everything) but his playing is so sharp that it more than justifies the histrionics.

And Ozzy was simply a dream come true once again. The change from inarticulate shambler to rock god had to be seen to be believed. His voice was in great shape and he seemed as enthousiastic as a child to be on the stage. He hosed the front rows with foam, threw water over himself and screamed his head off. He owned the crowd and when he said he loves us, we believed him. And yeah, I know how much of a cliche this is, but you had to be there.

And the playlist was awesome. We got plenty of the hits and several Sabbath tracks (played with the help of an extra Gibson- slinging guitarist for the rhythm parts), but we also heard songs that I never thought I ‘d hear live. Killer Of Giants! Fire In The Sky (most people think No Rest For The Wicked is rubbish but I love that record)! And of course, he returned for an encore with the crowd pleasers (No More Tears, Mama I ‘M Coming Home, Paranoid, etc.).

Conclusion? I ‘d go see Ozzy again whenever I got the chance and there is only a handfull of acts that I could say that about. May he live long and tour again and again.

(-Dimitris Kontogiannis-)

About the Author: CnB