For those about to rock, we ask that you please take your assigned seating arrangements.
Saw Rob Zombie and Ozzy last night along with obskura and her lovely friend Kat.
The experience was great, but for two things:
-The fucking chairs the Bell centre now sees fit to arrange all over the floor. I knew there was something wrong when my ticket displayed a seat number. Sorry, no mosh pits.
-The brain-dead audience members who rather than making some noise for the band, or at least pumping their fists a little, elected to sit there like retarded...well, zombies and stuff their fat fucking faces full of popcorn tastelessly being sold along with beer up and down the aisles - AISLES, I TELL YOU! - by vendors. I do realize that some people are not rabid fans, or even very big ones, or maybe just curious. But what the hell are you doing on the floor anyway if that's the case?
The sum of both parts made the whole experience feel watered down, and spits in the face of everything a rock concert ought to bloody well be - chaotic and noisy as hell.
Felt sorry for the opening band. Couldn't hear a thing the lass was singing (all the screaming growls will do that, after all).
Zombie is...something to behold in awe live. Before he came out, they played his fake Grindhouse trailer, Nazi Werewolf Women of the SS. Those who had not seen it had a good laugh.
So there's this gigantic demon head on stage, and the band comes out, bassist to the right of it, guitarist (John 5) to the left, drummer on top, at either side of him being two dancers in cages. Giant screens up above, and smaller ones off to each side (displaying everything from classic horror snippets to The Munsters, to clips from Zombie's own flicks to some manner of hentai anime throughout the show). Everyone's wearing glow-in-the dark skeleton outfits. Demon head opens up, blasting fog, and out comes Zombie. Incredible to behold. They did a few tracks off of Educated Horses, a surprising amount off of Sinister Urge, and the big ones from Hellbilly Deluxe (we were apparently the first place to get 'Living Dead Girl' - since they only have three or so dates to go, quite a nice treat). White Zombie fanatics appreciated More Human Than Human (during which a nine-foot version of the statue-robot thing on the back of the Hellbilly cover came out and started dancing) and Thunder Kiss '65, which he wouldn't even get into properly until the audience started making some real noise.
I felt bad for the guy because a lot of people seemed to be holding back for Ozzy. I think he got used to it though. :(
Anyway, after some parodic film snippets depicting Ozzy in various roles which I can't even begin to describe (shitting on an office floor, for example), the Ozzman cameth on, and I must say he looks markedly better than he did when I saw him four years ago - I think being off of meds probably helps. There were of course four or so songs from Black Rain (great album, by the by), and we were of course trated to the big ones - Crazy Train (second song, surprisingly) Bark At The Moon, about half of Blizzard of Ozz, Over The Mountain, Road To Nowhere, and Mama, I'm Coming Home among others. We were treated to Zakk Wylde playing guitar like a maniac for 15 minutes ( John 5 had also done this earlier, but Zakk really showed us how it was done - with his tongue, even) while the rest of the band took a breather.
As ever, the man demands AUDIENCE ENERGY OR ELSE, and my throat was sore for a good while from all my screaming. He rewarded us by closing with Paranoid.
A damn fine show depite the crappy rules and sleeping audience members - who, by the end, weren't even noticeable.
My right ear is still ringing. A sure sign of partial hearing loss and a good time. :)
The experience was great, but for two things:
-The fucking chairs the Bell centre now sees fit to arrange all over the floor. I knew there was something wrong when my ticket displayed a seat number. Sorry, no mosh pits.
-The brain-dead audience members who rather than making some noise for the band, or at least pumping their fists a little, elected to sit there like retarded...well, zombies and stuff their fat fucking faces full of popcorn tastelessly being sold along with beer up and down the aisles - AISLES, I TELL YOU! - by vendors. I do realize that some people are not rabid fans, or even very big ones, or maybe just curious. But what the hell are you doing on the floor anyway if that's the case?
The sum of both parts made the whole experience feel watered down, and spits in the face of everything a rock concert ought to bloody well be - chaotic and noisy as hell.
Felt sorry for the opening band. Couldn't hear a thing the lass was singing (all the screaming growls will do that, after all).
Zombie is...something to behold in awe live. Before he came out, they played his fake Grindhouse trailer, Nazi Werewolf Women of the SS. Those who had not seen it had a good laugh.
So there's this gigantic demon head on stage, and the band comes out, bassist to the right of it, guitarist (John 5) to the left, drummer on top, at either side of him being two dancers in cages. Giant screens up above, and smaller ones off to each side (displaying everything from classic horror snippets to The Munsters, to clips from Zombie's own flicks to some manner of hentai anime throughout the show). Everyone's wearing glow-in-the dark skeleton outfits. Demon head opens up, blasting fog, and out comes Zombie. Incredible to behold. They did a few tracks off of Educated Horses, a surprising amount off of Sinister Urge, and the big ones from Hellbilly Deluxe (we were apparently the first place to get 'Living Dead Girl' - since they only have three or so dates to go, quite a nice treat). White Zombie fanatics appreciated More Human Than Human (during which a nine-foot version of the statue-robot thing on the back of the Hellbilly cover came out and started dancing) and Thunder Kiss '65, which he wouldn't even get into properly until the audience started making some real noise.
I felt bad for the guy because a lot of people seemed to be holding back for Ozzy. I think he got used to it though. :(
Anyway, after some parodic film snippets depicting Ozzy in various roles which I can't even begin to describe (shitting on an office floor, for example), the Ozzman cameth on, and I must say he looks markedly better than he did when I saw him four years ago - I think being off of meds probably helps. There were of course four or so songs from Black Rain (great album, by the by), and we were of course trated to the big ones - Crazy Train (second song, surprisingly) Bark At The Moon, about half of Blizzard of Ozz, Over The Mountain, Road To Nowhere, and Mama, I'm Coming Home among others. We were treated to Zakk Wylde playing guitar like a maniac for 15 minutes ( John 5 had also done this earlier, but Zakk really showed us how it was done - with his tongue, even) while the rest of the band took a breather.
As ever, the man demands AUDIENCE ENERGY OR ELSE, and my throat was sore for a good while from all my screaming. He rewarded us by closing with Paranoid.
A damn fine show depite the crappy rules and sleeping audience members - who, by the end, weren't even noticeable.
My right ear is still ringing. A sure sign of partial hearing loss and a good time. :)