Ozzy Osbourne with Rob Zombie

Ozzy Osbourne has been so ubiquitous over the past six or seven years, being carted out and wound up for OzzFest after OzzFest, that it's hard to believe the old guy hasn't done a proper arena tour in ages, but his autumn run through North America is already very well received, and on an uncharacteristically mild evening on the Canadian prairies, the fourth stop of the tour in support of his Black Rain album was no exception, as a sellout crowd of over 12,000 punters gathered at the local hockey barn for a good three and a half hours of extremely well-run metal mayhem.

With shock rocker/movie director/overall renaissance dude Rob Zombie and Los Angeles metalcore upstarts In This Moment sharing the stage, it made for an interesting glimpse of three different generations of metal acts, and there was not a disappointment among them. An opening slot on an arena triple bill is a thankless job, as bands are stuck playing to a half-empty venue, largely consisting of apathetic people, and it was no exception for In This Moment (a band that feeds off mosh pits, performing in front of a seated floor crowd was akin to the proverbial fish out of water), but the energetic five-piece, led by charismatic blonde bombshell Maria Brink, clad in a blue Cinderella dress, no less, actually managed to win over much of the crowd during their all-too brief four song set. Their debut album Beautiful Tragedy is one of the most enjoyable metalcore discs to come out in the last couple years, thanks in large part to Brink's unique combination of piercing, Angela Gossow-style screams and lower-register cleanly sung vocals, and surprisingly, she displayed the very same range she does on record, "Beautiful Tragedy" and "Prayers" full of both visceral power and impassioned melody.

After that good little teaser, though, everyone got a full dose of metal theatrics thanks to Rob Zombie, who rendered the euphoric audience to putty in his hand, thanks to arguably the greatest drum riser ever (a gigantic cartoonish devil's head), loads of fireballs, and video images of everything from cartoons, to classic horror flicks, to Russ Meyer films, to hentai, to The Munsters. Toss in a pair of fantastic go-go dancers, Zombie's manic stage presence, and of course, a mighty impressive back catalogue of tunes, and you've got a killer set bent on giving maximum bang for your buck. And the man and his three-piece band energetically delivered hit after hit, each greeted with massive cheers and sing-alongs: "Superbeast", "Dragula", "American Witch", and "Demon Speeding" all went over huge, as did the older White Zombie nuggets like "More Human Than Human", "Living Dead Girl", and the always great "Thunderkiss '65".

Ozzy's set was the one people were there to see, though, and after a lengthy intro clip of Osbourne poking fun at himself through clever inserts into such films and shows as The Sopranos, Wedding Crashers, and The Office, the familiar strains of "Carmina Burana" kicked in, followed by a surprisingly rambunctious rendition of 2007 single "I Don't Wanna Stop". Flanked by swaggering bassist Blasko and the burly, ever-present guitarist Zakk Wylde, Ozzy, who is 58 going on 80, was spryer than most people expected, and as the night wore on, the more it became apparent that he's still in fine vocal form as well. Never the most flamboyant performer, he depends on the strength of his supporting band, and the foursome (including keyboardist Adam Wakeman and drummer Mike Bordin) sounded air-tight during staples like "Bark at the Moon" and "Crazy Train", as well as rarities like "Fire in the Sky" and "I Don't Wanna Change the World".

The only negative aspect of Ozzy's set was the rather safe length of less than an hour and a half. With merely twelve songs and an interminable guitar solo by Wylde, it's a shame Osbourne didn't dip into his huge body of work for just a few more songs, as "Paranoid" was the only Black Sabbath track to be pulled out. Still, there were plenty of crowd-pleasers, including four from the classic Blizzard of Ozz ("Crazy Train", "Suicide Solution", "Mr. Crowley", and "I Don't Know"). Lighters at concerts are as hammy a cliché as Ozzy's repeated exhortations of, "I can't hear you!", but seeing the entire arena lit up during the rather poignant "Mama, I'm Coming Home" still managed to move this skeptic. The crowd bought into Ozzy's shtick, Ozzy bought into the crowd's, and everyone had a blast, the show capped off with a concussive display of fireworks and flames, sending the folks home with their shoes sticky with beer and who knows what else, ringing ears, and the satisfaction of having gotten their money's worth.

Credit Union Centre
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
October 24, 2007
Photo by Joseph Cultice