Well, we did it! Another Ozzfest under our belts. If my calculations are correct that makes 8 years in a row that Kevin (my son) and I have attended the Prince Of Darkness' yearly tour. There was one main difference this year: No Ozzy. System Of A Down headlined the massive summer tour. Which was ok with my son; he's here more for the second stage. And this year I will have to agree with him. The second stage kicked the first stage's ass!

The day started like any other Ozzfest. Kevin would stop by around 8:00 am, hug and kiss his mom and then we would be off to our annual ritual. Kevin was feeling a little rough this morning. He went to see Uncle Ted Nugent the night before in Cleveland at his favorite venue: House Of Blues. He loved the show. Ted has a knack of making everyone have a good time regardless of how they are feeling when they get there. He struts around stage with his coyote tail and loin cloth laying down some of the heaviest licks you'll ever hear from a Les Paul guitar. I must have taught Kevin well because he told me he was the only one in his group that knew the words to every song. I'm so proud! Ted can get political as well. Kevin said he shot an arrow into a cardboard cutout of Osama Bin Laden. You gotta love it. This is what we talked about on the drive up.

We arrived at DTE around 10:00 am. According to our tickets the show started at 9:00. WRONG! We sat in the van and watched as a long line of metalheads stood outside waiting to get in. We also noticed an extreme increase in the number of Sheriffs patroling the parking lots for pre-concert partying. Luckily, Kevin and I decided not to drink a fifth of Jack Daniels before the show (we did it one year and now we have acid relux).

The first thing we noticed when we stepped out of the air-conditioned van was a sweltering wave of hot air. Little did we know was that this would be the coolest part of our day. We took our spot in the queue and as we always do proceeded to make fun of the people around us. There was one dude that had so much sunscreen on he it looked like he was covered in Crisco oil. Kevin's comment was " at least no one will be able to push him down in the mosh pit...they'll slide right off". I had to laugh at that one.

We finally get up to the entrance gates and now it's time for the ole strip tease. "Take everything out of your pockets. Please open your eyeglass case. Can you take your hat off for me?" It took me a good 10 minutes to put myself back together so I could walk toward the stage. Kevin and I walked across the tarmac to listen to the closing songs of A Life Once Lost. As they finished their set, we strolled over to the T-Shirt booth. We always do this to see what shirts they have and to determine how much money we need to put aside so we can get one. I got an Ozzfest shirt while Kevin opted for All That Remains.

We grabbed our first beer around 11:00 am. It went down hard because of the heat. After that we switched to water. No need to get heat exhaustion. We watched the entire second stage acts all afternoon. I could feel the back of my neck starting to sting. I looked at Kevin's arms and they were red as well. We couldn't wait to get out of the sun and into some shade.

We grabbed some pizza and pop and headed to our Pavilion seats. They weren't the greatest, but it was a place to sit down and re-energize. We had shade for about 45 minutes, then the sun came around and was shining right on our seats. We couldn't get away from it. We decided to walk around until the first stage acts got going.

Once the sun went down, our thirst went up. Now we decided it was time for some alcohol. Making up for lost time, we each double fisted and headed for our seats which were now in the shade. We struggled through Avenged Sevenfold and Disturbed (we've seen them so many times). All we cared about was System Of A Down.

We had a nice buzz going when they came out. I told Kevin I thought the lead singer was on heroin because he hardly moved on stage. Regardless, they sounded really good.

All in all it was fun. I just wish it would have been a little cooler. Maybe next year.

SUPERMAN RETURNS

Since it was so hot out yesterday, we decided to see "Superman Returns". I have to tell you it was pretty good. As much as we miss Christopher Reeves, this new kid Brendan Routh does a fairly decent job.

The special effects were definitely an improvement from when Chris wore the cape. The airplane sequence was AWESOME! Not to mention the destruction of Lex Luthor's yacht with Lois Lane on it.

I liked the fact that they used a lot of the dialogue from the first Superman. I believe it was Marlon Brando speaking the lines. The whole movie seemed to pay homage to the preceding Superman movies.

There is a surprise element to this movie which I will keep to myself. I don't want to ruin it for anybody that is planning on seeing the flick.

Check it out if you can!

BIG BROTHER 7 ALL STARS

Last night I went to my first Big Brother party. I have to tell you it was a lot of fun. It all started by having each of us put in five dollars. Then we drew names of the fourteen houseguests that we would be during the season and who would hopefully win this year's competition. If you drew the first person to be evicted (in this case it was Alison last night) you doubled your money. If you pull the name of the person to win it all, you win the pot. In our game we have twenty-eight people playing, two people per houseguest, so the pot is pretty big.

When the show came on everybody was gathered around the TV set cheering on their potential winning houseguest. Just to let you know, I came close to doubling my money right off the bat...I drew Danielle and she was on the block with Alison. Deana has Kaysar and might very well win the whole thing. It all depends on who from BB6 will be the biggest backstabber. You know they have to be thinking about that. It will happen...it's just a matter of when.

We were the hit of the party because we were the only one's who had signed up for the 24/7 live cam. We were telling everyone things that the prime time show didn't reveal. I thought for sure they would touch on Alison hiding in a pot for two hours to eavesdrop...but they never did. They also never showed the fact that Jase threw one of the POV rings toward Janelle, so she would win the POV. (Remember when she jumped out of the dumpster and then jumped right back in?) that was when Jase threw a ring her way.

The big question last night was about HOH. Will they have only one HOH from now on, or will they randomly select two? And what about America's choice? Will they vote Alison back into the house? That would definitely make it interesting.

Everyone agreed that the BB6 alliance is very strong, but don't count out Dr. Will and Mike Boogie. They realize that to win this game they have to break up that alliance. Right now they are sitting back and watching the other players. They don't want to put targets on their backs just yet. And what about Jase. He seems to be playing both sides of the fence. I think Janelle is beginning to realize this. Whenever she asks him his opinion on something, he always says " I don't know". He lets her become the target and not him. Pretty smart!

Who do you think will win it all? Post a comment and let me know.

GO DANIELLE!

SUMMER CONCERT DATES

Well, sorry I haven't been updating the blog lately...been too busy attending concerts, golf outings, bachelor parties and wedding receptions. All that partying takes it's toll on this 50 year-old body.

Just to recap this summer's events:

June 30th: SLAYER at Tower City Amphitheater in Cleveland with the boy. Awesome venue on the Cuyahoaga River. How can you beat a little South Of Heaven while a cool breeze washes over you from the east. Needless to say, the beer flowed and the heads banged.

July 1st: Get up, slightly hung-over...drive back to Toledo in time to shower, shave ,get dressed and head to my buddy's wedding at OLPH. Leave the wedding. We have 3 hours to kill before the reception. Go home and take a nap...NO WAY. It's off to Dales's Bar and Grille in Maumee for a pre-reception warm-up. The boy sucks down Stella's like there's no tomorrow and I casually sip 4 rum and diet Cokes. (I needed the caffeine). Grab a quick lunch and then head to Gladieux Meadows on Heatherdowns for the reception. Not one to break habits, I continued drinking rum and diet Cokes. Lots of reminiscing about the glory days of High School. Run into schoolmates I haven't seen in years. Brings back memories, Even though I've put on weight, I still look damn good compared to some of my peers. Starting to wind down, leave the reception around 10 o'clock.

July 8th: SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND in Cleveland. This is an all-day concert. Great heavy bands including: Trivium, As I Lay Dying, Terror, Behemoth and of course the crowd favorite...Gwar. Should be a good time.

July 19th: OZZFEST at DTE in Detroit. This has become an annual event for my son and I. People we ask to go have come and gone, but we manage to survive it year in and year out. For us it is a summer ritual. One that we both enjoy. This year's headliner is System Of A Down. Ozzy will only be appearing at certain shows across the country. In fact at one show he will headline the second stage! That's Ozzy for you, always thinking outside the box for ways to entertain his fans.

August: Thinking about going to an Old School concert and taking the boy to see The James Gang. It's good for him to listen to some rock and roll roots. Keeps him honest.

Well that's what's in store in the upcoming weeks

KEEP ON ROCKIN'