OZZFEST 2005My son and I attended our 5th Ozzfest on August 4th up in Detroit. It has become a yearly ritual in which the testosterone levels are high and the alcohol levels run even higher.
The amazing thing about Ozzfest isn't the fact that it is an all-day show. Oh no. The amazing thing is that I am still able to start drinking around 8:30 in the morning and continue throughout the day and then leave the concert around 11:00 PM, drive an hour and a half to arrive at home around 1:30 in the morning. That's fucking amazing !
And yet I do it because I really enjoy it. I can't think of a better way to spend time with friends and my son. When I'm 80 years old, Kevin and I will reminiesce about the Ozzfest concerts we've been to.
Like the Mastercard commercial...PRICELESS!
We came to Ozzfest with the intention of comparing it to Sounds Of The Underground. http://soundsoftheundergroundtour.com We saw that concert at Freedom Hill in Michigan. It was a new tour that featured the latest bands in hardcore and metal. The headliner was Lamb Of God. That show kicked ass. Although my son and I agreed that it could have been a little louder. We could actually hold a conversation while the bands were playing. That is not supposed to happen at a rock concert...I'm sorry. This venue gave some up-and-coming bands a chance to get some exposure. My favorite band there was Throwdown. They got the crowd to form an extremely large circle pit. It was awesome. They kick ass.
I have never seen Gwar before, but they were extremely entertaining. From the lead singer who had an enormous penis with a pig's head on the end of it, to the gallons of red and green goo they sprayed on everyone in the crowd. And yes some of it came out of the pig head penis. They didn't play a song without hacking some monster or Bush look a like to pieces on stage and then watching as the fake blood spurted from every limb into the crowd. It was fun.
I guess the thing I really like about Ozzfest is the fact that the line-up includes the new hardcore/metal bands like Arch Enemy, Killswitch Engage, Trivium as well as the pioneer bands of metal like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and Judas Priest just to name a few. The crowd is a unique blend of older rockers as well as the young rockers. And a few freaks as well. In fact we saw some dude with his son that couldn't have been more than six or seven (a little TOO young if you ask me). He looked so cute as a cloud of marijuana smoke encircled his little head. My son was a teenager when we saw our first show. Now he's twenty-four and physically intimidating. (21" Biceps for chrissakes!) People would bump into him and immediately apologize. It's hilarious. Take a look.
When I'm feeling adventurous and journey into the pit I just follow the boy and no one gives me any shit. Although lately I've wised up about going into the pit. I'm content to watch the show without my glasses or my nose getting broken. (See...maybe I am growing up). But it wasn't too long ago that we were in the pit up close and personal with the skinheads and neanderthals who had something to prove.
The appreciation of music is a gift I passed on to my son at an early age. When he would wake up in the middle of the night as an infant, I would give him something to drink and then put my stereo headphones on him and watched him drift off to sleep listening to Peter Frampton Comes Alive or Kiss Alive. Those seemed to be his favorites. If he started crying it normally didn't last too long because with the headphones on he couldn't hear himself so he just stopped.
These days it's not much different. I still give him something to drink. Back then it was Tang. Today it's Miller Lite or Rum. Back then he loved music. Today he still loves music...even more than me, I think. His CD collection is astounding. He'll still drift off to sleep, but only after 12 straight hours of loud, chest thumping, ear splitting, double bass pedaling, hardcore/metal/rock and roll. Wouldn't we all?
Sometimes we'll get into discussions about the new music that he listens to. Don't get me wrong. I do like some of the new music. I love the energy and the raw power. But I kid Kevin that "I just don't see any talent there". I would only acknowledge a band's talent level if they have a guitar solo in their songs. A lot of the new music is tuned down chords. This drives him nuts. So whenever one of his new bands breaks out with a guitar solo, he'll turn to me and say, "Hey Dad, there's your guitar solo". It cracks me up when he does that.
At this years Ozzfest, Tony Iommi the lead guitarist for Black Sabbath broke into a fifteen minute guitar solo during the live performance of "Dirty Women". After he was finished, I turned to Kevin and said, "Now that's a guitar solo". He didn't say a word.
Iron Maiden is on this year's line-up. I have to be honest with you...I've never been to an Iron Maiden concert. If you asked me what songs they did I could only think of one and that's "Run To The Hills". Other than that, I couldn't name another song. I gotta tell you Iron Maiden kicks ass. Bruce Dickinson sure knows how to work the crowd and keep them engaged. Here's the ironic thing...Kevin loved them. Usually he kinda makes fun of the older bands, saying how slow it is, shit like that, but he became an Iron Maiden fan that night. I guess I did too.
At the end of the day, Kevin said he liked Sounds Of The Underground tour better, but I'm going to have to disagree and go with Ozzfest. I liked the diverse line-up and the diverse crowd at the show. It isn't the first time we've disagreed...and I'm sure it won't be the last. Rock On !
IRON MAIDEN RULES !
