BLACK SABBATH - Jones Beach, NY & Hartford CT

Hilfiger at Jones Beach Ampitheatre, Wantaugh, NY 14.7.04 > 70 mins

THE BAND

Ozzy Osbourne - Vocals
Tony Iommi - Guitar
Geezer Butler - Bass
Bill Ward - Drums
Adam Wakeman - Keyboards
SET LIST

War Pigs
N.I.B.
Fairies Wear Boots
Into the Void
Sweet Leaf
Black Sabbath
Snowblind
Iron Man
Children of the Grave
Paranoid (w/ Sabbath Bloody Sabbath intro)


FAN SUBMITTED TOUR REVIEWS & REMARKS

From: "New York Dave"
Subject: Jones Beach Review
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 12:59:32 -0400

A bunch of bands comprised of spoiled suburban kids got up on stage and pouted and stomped and growled and did their best to be heavy and tough.

Then the sky opened up with a monumental thunderstorm... and Judas Priest took the stage and, much like the rain, washed away everything that had come before. Halford prowled the stage with authority, and I don't think his singing has ever been better. The band was expertly crushing in the way that only comes from playing together for 30 years. Everyone onstage seemed genuinely pleased to be together again after 12 years. Against a backdrop of driving rain and lightning that seemed, at moments, to be synchronized to the music, Priest gave a lesson in showmanship and reminded everyone present that a show is for the benefit of the audience, and putting on a good show takes somewhat more effort than simply venting one's spleen onstage and expecting the world to come and adore the "output."

Funny story: a kid scrambled onstage during the set and, oddly, stage security failed to take notice of him. Halford literally chased the kid off the stage, singing the whole time and not missing a beat. He stalked toward the guy, probably looking quite intimidating in his big suit of metal plates and leather, and the kid literally cowered and crawled off the stage as quickly as he could.

After Priest's set, a big sheer curtain was drawn across the stage. Then the rain turned from steady to pounding, and the ampitheatre was buffeted by high winds that turned umbrellas inside out, caused the stage rigging to sway ominously, and drove most of the audience to seek cover. The sky was lit up with even more lightning, which could be seen to strike some of the areas on the shoreline only a mile or so away. Then the air raid sirens sounded, announcing Black Sabbath. The audience came out of hiding and took their seats.

The four members, standing behind the curtain, were lit low from behind and their fifty-foot silhouettes loomed over the audience. Then the curtain opened and we were all crushed by the heaviest wall of sound I have ever heard at a rock concert. Records and videos do not prepare you for how big this band sounds live. The younger bands, for all their histrionics and stacks of high-gain amps, sounded like buzzing mosquitoes by comparison. Sabbath don't even try to be "tough" or heavy--they come across as down-to-earth, likable blokes--but their sound is inherently tougher and heavier than any wannabe "metal" band could ever hope to achieve. They invented the genre and nobody sounds or will ever sound like them.

Happily, the rain ended shortly after the set began. We had had the foresight to bring along rain gear, so we weren't too badly soaked.

Ward, Butler and Iommi were fantastic. Ozzy's vocal performance was spotty, but he's always been more of a "personality" than a singer, anyway, and you could tell he was doing his best for the audience. His enthusiasm made errors of intonation seem irrelevant. Besides, the main messenger of this music has always been that massive sound, the cohesive whole, rather than individual parts. The members seemed to be having a good time, and the audience responded in kind, even as we were being bludgeoned by the biggest guitar tone on God's green earth.

Class was in session, and the twin-headed Brummie assault showed all the kids how it was done!

REVIEWS FROM ELSEWHERE

From: Newsday.com (originally appeared here)
Subject: Headbangers debate

You know something is brewing in this country when heavy-metal bands start talking about politics.

With a war in Iraq and a presidential election simmering here at home, Ozzfest 2004 turned into something surprising: a political forum. Several artists used their stage time to either support the war or chastise President George W. Bush for starting it. Even festival founder Ozzy Osbourne stepped into the fray, showing a video comparing Bush to Hitler during Black Sabbath's "War Pigs."

Rarely have the lyrical obsessions of heavy metal - power, hatred, nihilism, Armageddon - sounded so relevant. And those themes were used by bands on both sides of the political fence.

Of course, those who craved a day of apolitical, headbanging fun got what they came for, especially when the masked members of Slipknot battered their instruments with baseball bats and the Norwegian band Dimmu Borgir ran through some old-fashioned horror-movie metal. With 20 bands playing for 13 hours, there was a strain of metal to suit nearly any taste.

Hardcore metal ruled the side stage, set up in an area of the amphitheater's main parking lot. Even as opening act Bleeding Through climbed onstage at 9:25 a.m., a time when most people probably were still digesting breakfast, hundreds of fans streamed through the gates.

The stage hosted a marathon of crunching guitars, machine-gun drums and front men with low, demonic voices. God Forbid, Darkest Hour and Unearth stuck to that formula as closely as their names might imply. Headlining act Hatebreed distinguished itself only by leading a gigantic moshing circle 50 feet from the stage. Every Time I Die, an exciting group out of Buffalo, delivered an electrifying set of frenetic, angular hardcore that even had some boogie in it.

Lacuna Coil, from Milan, struck a different chord, playing gothic rock with fading choruses and clear, sustained vocals from Cristina Scabbia. (Has Evanescence been listening to their albums, or vice-versa?) The female singer Otep - who fronts the band of the same name - tried to beat the men at their own game, making guttural barfing noises like the best of them.

As an introduction to the anti-Bush song "Warhead," Otep played a sour version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the singer used profanity when she referred to the president. Later, Lamb Of God vocalist Randy Blythe wore a T-shirt sporting Bush's face with a red line through it. Blythe also dedicated a song to him: "As the Palaces Burn."

On the main stage, the older bands generally swung right. Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society sent a message of support for American troops, along with a threat to Iraq: "You wanna run some planes into the --- World Trade Center and the --- Pentagon? You will die like the --- rest." (Perhaps Wylde hasn't read the 9/11 commission's report.)

Phil Anselmo, the former Pantera front man and now leader of Superjoint Ritual, screamed his way through "Personal Insult," which includes the lines, "A holy war you will get/you can get/jihad is a joke."

After the punishing attack of Slayer, the audience seemed ready for Judas Priest's refreshingly old-fashioned sound. The reunited band - with original members Rob Halford, bassist Ian Hill, guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing, plus longtime drummer Scott Travis - ran through classics such as "Electric Eye," "Metal Gods" and "Hell Bent for Leather." Halford's high, demonic voice was in fine form, especially on a fierce rendition of "Painkiller."

But the crowd poured most of its love on Black Sabbath (also reunited, with Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward and bassist Terence "Geezer" Butler). Though Osbourne was clearly frail - he hopped rather than ran around the stage - his voice was strong and his ability to charm a crowd was undimmed. On the song "Black Sabbath," he cackled evilly - and merrily, too. By the closing song, "Paranoid," in which Iommi's guitar soared and growled marvelously, politics seemed to be happily forgotten.



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Meadows Music Theatre, Hartford CT 10.7.04 > 48 mins

THE BAND

Ozzy Osbourne - Vocals
Tony Iommi - Guitar
Geezer Butler - Bass
Bill Ward - Drums
Adam Wakeman - Keyboards
SET LIST

War Pigs
N.I.B.
Fairies Wear Boots
Into the Void
Sweet Leaf
Black Sabbath
Snowblind
Iron Man
Children of the Grave
Paranoid (w/ Sabbath Bloody Sabbath intro)




FAN SUBMITTED TOUR REVIEWS & REMARKS

From: Tony DeCecco
Subject: review for 7/10
Date: Mon, Jul 12, 2004

Me and 5 of my friends went to Ozzfest at the CTNOW.com center.....GREAT SHOW.

The venue is quiet horrible, actually....it's no PNC Art Center, that's for sure.....we were in the front Orchestra about 10 feet from center stage.

We got there at 6PM, and tailgated in the parking lot until 7:15. We were only there for Priest and Sabbath. Both played for 75 minutes.

Priest was in there early 1980's form....great stuff. 2 classic tracks...Victim of Changes and Beyond the Realms of Death really got the more experienced Priest fans going. Halford looked good and sang a great show. I was worried that his voice and the way Priest sounded would overshadow Sabbath...but not true.

When Sabbath came on ...the sound was phenomenal and Ozzy's voice was great. They played the same stuff the did back in 2001, but that's OK...it was all in tune, sharp, and the Sabs looked like they were having a great time. Best part was the Iommi guitar work at the end of the song Black Sabbath....they really extended the ending quiet a bit and Tony showed why he was voted best Heavy Metal guitarist.

With these 2 metal heavyweights playing back to back at the same venue, this was definitely the best concert I've ever been too...


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From: Chris Soricelli
Subject: Hartford Review
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 22:23:04 -0400

I was at the Hartford Ct show last night (1st on the Ozzfest tour). The show was awesome. I saw the band on the 2001 Ozzfest ad wasn't as impressed as I was this time around. The sound was amazing - you could hear every note perfectly clearly that Toni Iommi played. They didn't play anything out of the ordinary (last time I saw them they played "The Wizard"), but they absolutely rocked. Ozzy was kind of hit or miss on hitting some of the notes, as usual, but what was surprising was that he had a lot of the higher parts and the screaming perfect.

Anyway, thanks again for keeping the site going...

Chris


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From: Rob P
Subject: Ozzfest 2004
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2004 23:11:02 -0400

being an obsessive black sabbath fan ( all era's but ozzy's especially) i must say that saturday nights show in hartford, ct was phenomenal. starting out before a lick of music was played ozzy teased the crowd by screaming his trademark " make some fucking noise" into the mic followed by " i can't fucking hear you" and then " louder ,louder". while a medley of sabbath hits were played as an intro u could see the silhouettes of geezer (stage left) tony ( stage right ) and of course the madman himself in the middle dancing around as though he was 18 years old again.

when the curtains came down a sonic explosion occured. the sirens for war pigs started and of course the original black sabbath started a night of incredible music.....again. followed by N.I.B. ( which kinda surprised this particular fan) , fairies wear boots and into the void ( always a favorite of mine ) the band was tight , strong and ozzy appeared to be enjoying himself more than i have ever seen him in years. he definitely has a love for performing with black sabbath, especially his closest friend bill ward, which he made sure this hartford crowd knew who was behind the kit by repeatedly screaming his name while introducing the gezzer , bill and tony.

a definite standout was during sweet leaf when the giant video screen, which definitely helped showcase both geezer and tony during their playing and especially tony's solo's, something you don't see alot of bands or crews doing these days. the numbers 4:19 appeared while sweet leafs intro was played and slowly the numbers turned to 4:20 ( a lil hip hop influence on the masters of metal and reality) while smoke swirled around the screen and the stage was bathed in green light. you gotta love this band!!!!!

during the song black sabbath the boys from outside birmingham proved how much less is more. the dramatic usage of a few chords and notes was incredible and still as haunting as ever, especially with the classic line of " satan's sitting there he's smiling" as the video screen gave a great close up of the madman himself as his wicked, evil cackle i'm sure sent lil children to bed with nightmares or love of the dark presence that is black sabbath. finishing their incredible set with snowblind, ironman, children of the grave and paranoid (with the intro of sabbath bloody sabbath being used to tease those of us who know almost every song these dark masters) it definitely shows that black sabbath not only can still rock as well as any of these new kiddies out on the market, but if they felt like it could still continue to tour after ozzfest as well as release new material.

this was my first time seeing the original black sabbath together and i know it was the best show i've ever seen. even after an amazing set my the newly reformed judas priest, black sabbath still proved to be the masters of metal.

rob pella


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From: Mike Maitino
Subject: oz-fest review
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2004 22:14:00 -0400

Had a great time at OZFEST in hartford, Conn. Drove 3 hours from upstate NY.

Slipnot was an excellent hard cord rap up of the "day show" and Judas Preist and Slayer rocked on into the night.

The place was roaring all day. Despite the heat, dust, high prices and very long day it was an unforgetable event in my life. I never dreamed i hear Paranoid or War Pigs played in concert by the origionals. When you lived through this event it is impossible and unfair to describe the awesome memories I will charish.

The only sour note of the entire event the politics thrown in during "War Pigs". I am a huge proud American and I feel great honor having George Bush President and it was very disappointing to see him portrayed in such a degrading manner and compared to Hitler. I don't care what Ozzy or Black Sabbaths' opinion of the USA's politcal role in the world, but it just didn't "fit" 'at the concert. The concert is an escape from the stresses of life and I pray they would remove that video from the show.

Thank you,

Mike Maitino
Ozzy and Sabbath fan for 20 years


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REVIEWS FROM ELSEWHERE

[ Additional reviews available here on sabbathlive.com ]

Ozzy Reunites with Sabbath
by Philip D'Amour (this review originally appeared online here)

HARTFORD - "I'm baaack," announced Ozzy Osbourne much like he had in years past, but this time the Ozzman brought along some old friends.

Ozzy Osbourne reunited with his groundbreaking metal band Black Sabbath for a downright old school Ozzfest 2004 which also featured other nostalgic metal acts like Judas Priest and Slayer as well as newer acts like Slipknot, Superjoint Ritual and Black Label Society.

But the real news was Osbourne's return to Sabbath. The unofficial king of metal once again found himself singing with Sabbath's original lineup: drummer Bill Ward, bassist "Geezer" Butler and guitarist Tony Iommi.

As a group, Black Sabbath created, or at least defined, popular heavy metal music. And so Saturday night found them defining this year's kickoff of Ozzfest at the CTNOW Meadows Music Center before a thoroughly sold-out crowd of dedicated metal heads.

Sabbath opened its 60-minute set with its 1971 metal masterpiece "War Pigs" from the classic album "Paranoid." "War Pigs" sounded as pertinent and vital Saturday as it had over 30 years ago thanks in part to the giant screen behind the band that projected images of war and less than subtle images of our current president, George W. Bush (including a shot of him wearing a superimposed red clown nose).

"I didn't die Christmas" said Osbourne, referring to his near-fatal ATV accident this past winter, "and I'm not dying now - I've got too much rocking to do!"

With that Osbourne and his band reached even further back for the satanic "N.I.B" from their self-titled 1970 record debut. The band continued to please with classic favorites during its eight-song set including "Fairies Wear Boots" also from "Paranoid" as well as "Into the Void" and "Sweet Leaf," both from 1971's highly influential "Master of Reality."

Though Osbourne's voice has never been brilliant, it sounded a bit weak, but not as weak as one might have thought not that long after such a serious accident. What's more, Iommi's guitar playing was as strong and riff-filled as always, providing just the right amount of oomph to Sabbath's vintage material.

Other highlights included the band's epic namesake "Black Sabbath" and the slightly more forgettable tune "Snowblind" from the 1972 album "Black Sabbath, Vol. 4." However, it was the natural set-closer "Iron Man" that truly stole the show.

Though its place at the end of the set was predictable, it was nonetheless enjoyable. Fans reveled to see metal's first great bands perform one of metal's most enduring songs.

Still, Sabbath wasn't the only reunion Saturday night. Their fellow Brits from Judas Priest gave it another go, performing their own hard-rocking 75-minute set. Priest ran through most of its dark classics including "Living After Midnight" from 1980's "British Steel" and "Victim of Changes" from 1976's "Sad Wings of Destiny." But it was the band's smash hits "Breaking the Law" also from "British Steel" and "You've Got Another Thing Coming" from 1982's "Screaming for Vengeance" that still roused the most applause even after all these years.