The once-mighty Ozzfest returned to the East Coast for the first time since 2007 on Saturday, bringing ten straight hours of heavy metal headlined by Mötley Crüe and the legendary Ozzy Osbourne himself into the Comcast Theater in Hartford, CT.
For years, the annual Ozzfest was the pinnacle of heavy metal summer fun, dozens of bands filling multiple stages for the hoards of metalheads which would flood amphitheaters around the country. But recessions and poor ticket sales, as well as competing metal festivals in Mayhem and Crüefest, made the massive tour increasingly impractical for bands and organizers, and after 2007’s free shows and 2008’s single Dallas show, fans assumed Ozzy’s namesake summer jaunt was permanently laid to rest.
But Ozzfeszt 2010 roared into the otherwise quiet city of Hartford on Saturday, drawing thousands of metal fans with an eclectic but bold-faced lineup including Mötley Crüe, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, and Ozzfest stalwarts Black Label Society. The festival is only scheduled for six U.S. cities this summer, in addition to several overseas dates, but fans entering the Comcast Theater would never have thought it to be a stripped-down show. The Monster Energy Drink-sponsored second stage kicked off at 12:45 p.m., and the heavy metal mayhem and fierce debauchery began instantly.
Mosh pits swarmed up against the stage during sets by Skeletonwitch, Saviours, and Kataclysm, although Goatwhore was forced to skip their set due to bassist James Harvey’s injury. A freak show tent behind the crowd drew people with fire jugglers and a full-bodied tattooed catman, while attendees drank free energy drinks at the Monster tent. A body painting booth was the highlight of the Village of the Damned, slowly but surely releasing painted topless girls back into the crowd, where they gamely posed for pictures with excited men and other scantily clad women.
A heavy police presence was felt throughout the Comcast amphitheater, an odd juxtaposition against booths selling marijuana paraphernalia and a vagina-themed clothing line. The front-line security forces were surprisingly pleasant, however, laughing and joking as they grabbed crowdsurfers coming over the barricades and handing dropped guitar picks to lucky fans in the front rows. The day’s weather was a perfect 75 degrees, warm enough for T-shirts and bikini tops, yet cool enough to prevent most fans from overheating while packed under the overcast skies of the second stage.
The crowd grew increasingly larger as the day went on, with Texas metallers Drowning Pool generating a massive mosh pit during hit song Bodies. The group also covered Pantera’s breakout classic Cowboys from Hell – watch my video of the song at the bottom of the page.
In a bizarre take on the sanctity of marriage, a local couple chose to take advantage of the Ozzfest ‘Unholy Matrimony’ package, getting married on stage in front of several thousand sweaty, bloodied heavy metal fans, and vowing to only raise their children on heavy metal, as well as to consummate their marriage while listening to a Black Label Society song.
Zakk Wylde, in his first year outside of Ozzy’s personal band, led the Black Label Society set for the biggest crowd of the day so far, strutting about the stage as he shredded through an endless solo. Giant black beach balls were released into the crowd during Fire It Up, only to be battered around by the moshing masses in the thralls of heavy metal ecstasy.
Once BLS finished their set, a mass migration to the main pavilion began. Thousands of metalheads climbed a steep set of stairs to the back lawn of the Comcast Theater, which still bore the damage done during Lamb of God’s set at last month’s Mayhem Festival. Most of the seats beneath the massive amphitheater’s roof were filled, and tired fans stretched out on the lawn, relieved to be off their feet after hours of standing at the second stage. Meanwhile, this Examiner headed to the tour buses to speak with JD from Black Label Society, and Ryan and CJ from Drowning Pool -- check back soon to watch the interviews!
Nonpoint, Devildriver, and Rob Halford opened the night’s main stage, playing to a fierce moshpit right up against the stage. Fans screamed out for Breaking the Law and Living After Midnight, but their pleas were ignored as the Judas Priest frontman ripped through a set comprised strictly of his solo material. Nonetheless, the famously bald-plated musician put on an impressive performance, hitting high notes that would be impressive for a man even half his age.
Mötley Crüe, billed as co-headliners of Ozzfest 2010, were given a full hour for their set, perhaps in deference to the past two years’ headlining Crüefest summer tours of their own. Blasts of flame and pyrotechnics lit up the stage as Vince Neil began the night with Kickstart My Heart, and the entire night’s set would prove to be a fairly spectacular display of showmanship. The band ran through classic Crüe fare such as Shout at the Devil and Looks that Kill, and the night sky lit up from thousands of lighters during power ballad Home Sweet Home. Like Halford, Vince Neil’s voice was surprisingly strong and in tune on the 20-year-old songs. A cover of the Beatles’ Helter Skelter was only a bonus on top of the already well-chosen setlist which also included Crüe classics Dr. Feelgood and Girls, Girls, Girls.
But when all was said and done, after eight straight hours of screaming death growls and bone-crunching mosh pits, it was time for the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness to take the stage. A hysterical video preceded the set, digitally placing Ozzy into recent pop culture scenes such as Avatar, Twilight, and even the Jersey Shore. The chants of “Ozzy! Ozzy!” grew louder and louder until suddenly, the man credited with inventing heavy metal was standing on the stage, draped in a long leather coat and demanding the crowd scream for him.
As the frontman of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne’s first record came out 40 years ago, and Saturday night’s show was a testament to the endurance of both the singer and music. Fans visibly near retirement age cheered just as loudly as the tweens well below the voting age, as mothers smiled proudly watching their small children waddle around the lawn, waving and dancing to the classic metal songs.
Ozzy picked a crowd-pleasing setlist, filled with solo hits such as Bark at the Moon, Suicide Solution, and an epic Mr. Crowley, next to Sabbath classics such as Fairies Wear Boots and a particularly intense Into The Void. While he occasionally slipped out of key, the aging vocalist sounded as good as ever, and never lost his robust energy, spraying the crowd with a fire hose during instrumental parts of songs, and regularly screaming for everyone to sing along.
The night would also be a proving grounds for Ozzy’s new guitarist, Gus G, handpicked to replace longtime axeman and Black Label Society frontman Zakk Wylde. The long-haired, chain-swinging, movement-leading Wylde has a fiercely dedicated following, and many in the crowd were skeptical about any replacement. The relatively unknown Gus ably nailed all the complex solos, garnering respect from the crowd, but halfway through the show, Ozzy left the stage, and gave Gus his chance to truly shine. The guitarist seized the moment, ripping up and down the fretboard in a mindblowing range of scales and tapped notes, bending strings and sweep-picking with all the power, intensity, and bravado of his predecessor. Drummer Tommy Clufetos soon joined him, and the duo jammed through a long-winded, immensely enjoyable rendition of Sabbath instrumental Rat Salad.
With his new guitarist officially approved by the crowd, Ozzy returned to play fan favorite Crazy Train, bringing out 10-year-old Japanese guitar prodigy Yuto Miyazawa to play the song’s famous riffs. The audience roared with approval as the child flawlessly shredded through the timeless Randy Rhodes solo as well, hitting notes on a guitar taller than himself in what will surely go down as classic Ozzfest insanity.
Eventually, though, the night had to end, and Ozzy closed the show with ballad Mama I’m Coming Home, and Sabbath staple Paranoid. Fans filtering out of the lawn and seats wearily stepped through puddles of beer and around immobile bodies, trudging like soldiers returning from the front, but with smiles on their faces and alcohol in their bloodstreams.
With the Mayhem and Uproar Festivals claiming many Ozzfest regulars such as Disturbed, Lamb of God, Korn, and others, there were doubts about this year’s lineup, which lacked some of the metal A-listers of the past. But Ozzy, Motley Crue, and every other band on the tour clearly gave their all and produced a spectacular day of rock n’ roll excess. From freak shows to mosh pits, Ozzfest 2010 was a trip to heavy metal fantasy land, and if his new record and band are any indication, Ozzy Osbourne and his Ozzfest will just keep getting better with age. Read more about Saturday's Ozzfest at NY Concert Examiner Lorraine Schwartz's review here.
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