We got there kind of late, due to massive traffic, having to wait for food, waiting for tickets, and walking all over Jiffy Lube Live and up the hill. We parked at the ass end of the parking lot, and noticed there were a ton of cars, the parking lot was pretty full. Not bad at all for Sabbath, where I thought the pricey tickets, lack of opening act (Andrew W.K. was supposed to be doing a DJ set? why even bother?), and Ozzy's notorious spottiness live would have deterred many people.
We heard the last bit of "War Pigs" as we walked up to the lawn and I was irked we missed it. Well, if the setlist reports were correct, then we were still in for 2 hours of Doom still! We noticed the seats were very full, and the lawn well attended. Maybe we should have gotten better seats!
Well, we sat down on the lawn and listened to "Into the Void" while eating our dinner. Milla pretty much remained seated throughout the whole set, whereas I stood for most of it.
I immediately noticed the crisp sound of the band and that it was pretty damn heavy. Appropriate for the fathers of metal. The screens on the side were not on, so the whole focus was on the simple stage and the main screen with some embellishments. The band was shown on the screens for the most part, but some songs had different video clips and visualizations (particularly interesting were the ones for "Fairies Wear Boots"- with Industrial looking girl wearing a gas mask, fairy wings, boots, and not much else, and "Dirty Women"- which had Rob Zombie-esque/Pulp clips of "loose women"). I think the show fit the stripped down sound and nature of Black Sabbath- but the sometimes flashy clips were fun, too.
With so many songs to draw from and a new album to hock, I think that they had a decent setlist. Of course people have their deep (or even more famous) cuts they want to hear. I personally would have liked to hear "Electric Funeral" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (more than just the riff, guys) or A National Acrobat. The Drum solo was a necessary evil- these guys are NOT getting any younger, and I can tolerate some minutes spent on resting during a 2 hour set. Especially when the pace was pretty constant. My favourites were "N.I.B.", "Fairies Wear Boots", and "Behind the Wall of Sleep." I will say that when I selected my restroom break at 'God is Dead,' there was a line at the men's room. Not a bad song, but ...I think we would have preferred to hear another song (tho you knew they were going to play it because it was the single).
I cannot fault Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, or the drummer from Ozzy's band- they sounded great, bringing the thunder. Ozzy, of course, is the wildcard. I'd never seen him before (somehow), and was curious as to how he would be. IMO he was fine, considering his reputation and history. He was spotty on some songs, and great on others. I think overall it evened out, but I will say that Heaven and Hell's version of Black Sabbath was technically superior in the sonic realm. The crowd was pretty stationary, but very loud and appreciative. This was a different type of vibe/energy than Mayhem Festival- a different type of enjoyment. This was a bit more laid back.
We left at "Children of the Grave," and heard "Paranoid" (with "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" riff) as we were leaving- and made another astonishingly quick escape from Jiffy Lube Live. Overall, a very good show. One to cross off the bucket list. A bit pricey, but I think it was worth it.
Next Show: Pentagram w/ A Sound of Thunder
Photos:
Kinda blurry Black Sabbath
Less Blurry Black Sabbath
Setlist:
Black Sabbath (8:30ish- 10:30ish)
- War Pigs
- Into the Void
- Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes
- Snowblind
- Age of Reason
- Black Sabbath
- Behind the Wall of Sleep
- N.I.B.
- End of the Beginning
- Fairies Wear Boots
- Methademic
- Rat Salad
- Drum Solo
- Iron Man
- God Is Dead?
- Dirty Women
- Children of the Grave
- Paranoid
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