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THE BAND
- Ozzy Osbourne - Vocals
- Tony Iommi - Guitar
- Geezer Butler - Bass
- Bill Ward - Drums
- Adam Wakeman - Keyboards
SET LIST
- N.I.B.
- After Forever
- War Pigs
- Dirty Women
- Fairies Wear Boots
- Symptom Of The Universe / Sweet Leaf /
Electric Funeral
- Iron Man
- Into The Void
- Black Sabbath
- The Wizard
- Sabbath Bloody Sabbath / Paranoid
- Encore: Children Of The Grave
- Outro: Changes
CONCERT PHOTO GALLERY
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 FAN SUBMITTED TOUR REVIEWS & REMARKS
From: Eric Goldberg <egoldberg@hubgroup.com>
To: siegler@black-sabbath.com
Subject: Review of Mansfield Ozzfest, 7/15/2005
Date sent: Sat, 16 Jul 2005 12:18:54 -0400
Ozzfest, 2005
Opening Day: Friday 7/15
I had to go into work on Friday morning, even though I had planned on
taking the day off. My friend, Mark, was driving down from NH, and when I
told him I had to go into the office, he told me he would do the same. By
the time he got to my office it was 10:30, and we left with another
coworker of mine, David, about 15 minutes later.
We pulled into the Tweeter Center in Mansfield at about 11:30 in the
morning, parked the car, set up our tailgate lunch, and were eating by
noon. After a few drinks, some good food, and good conversation among old
friends, we were ready to go inside the Tweeter Center a little after
2:00pm.
We walked around the Village of the Damned and saw the usual suspects,
Metal Babies/Biker Babies being one of my favorites. (My daughter had a
onesie that said "If you can read this, the bib fell off.")
We made it to the second stage in time to see most of the Killswitch
Engaged set. They were fast and heavy, exactly what you'd expect. Not
really my cup of tea.
We stuck around the second stage for Rob Zombie, who I was excited to see,
The pit was pretty severe: I didn't go into it, but people were regularly
walking away from the stage with their faces and/or bodies bloodied after
a fall. Zombie's set included a medley of Funk #49 (Yes, the one by Joe
Walsh's old band, the James Gang.), 1965, and the riff from Sweet Home
Alabama.
Zakk Wylde (from Black Label Society) came onstage and talked with Rob
over the microphone so we could all hear their conversation. A local radio
station had run a contest in which someone won tickets to the Red
Sox/Yankees game the night before and sat with Zakk and a few DJ's from
the station. Since Zakk is an outspoken Yankees fan, he and the DJ's had
made a bet: if the Red Sox won, Zakk and his band would wear Red Sox
shirts on stage; if the Yankees won, the DJ's would wear Yankees shirts
all day during their coverage and promotion of Ozzfest. A-rod hit a late
game home run to break the tie, and Zakk was wearing his usual BLS vest.
He was bid farewell from Zombie's stage with the ubiquitous and
embarrassing "Yankees Suck" chant. (If you are from Massachusetts, you
know it only too well.)
After Zombie's set, the second stage closed. We opted to pass on In Flames
deciding instead to take a lap around the grounds before venturing in for
Black Label Society. When we got to our seats for the first time, we were
very pleasantly surprised to find ourselves about 10 feet off stage left
(the right-hand corner of the stage as you face it). This was particularly
exciting as we immediately realized that we would be mere feet away from
Tony Iommi later that night.
When BLS took the stage, they owned it. Zakk was his usual incredible
presence: completely into his playing and the crowd. His rhythm guitarist
also has great presence: he was clearly having a great time on stage and
got the crowd really into the show interacting with individuals and making
us feel like part of the show.
At one point, Zakk removed his orange and black guitar from himself and
put it into the crowd, much to the shock and dismay of security guard who
looked at Zakk with wide-eyed laughter as if to say, "I can't believe he
just did that." Later, during an extended instrumental introduction to
Stillborn, Zakk crowd-surfed for a while before getting back onto the
stage. He then lowered himself into the crowd, so he was standing with
them, and reached for his roadie to hand him his guitar. He then played
solos from the crowd while the band continued to play the intro to
Stillborn. After getting back on stage, Stillborn ended the set.
After going for some water, we made it back to our seats just in time for
Shadows Fall, who it turns out are a local (Massachusetts) band. They
asked the crowd to chant "Yankees suck" again, which seemed to me to be a
cheap way to gain favor with most of the crowd. The singer has thick
dreadlocks almost down to his feet. He seemed to lose his voice from all
his screaming. The drummer's double-bass for much of the set was
remarkably fast. The two guitarists looked very young (15 or 16), and
doubled on background growling and deep-toned screaming. They had some
brief dynamics that made me think of them as being speed-metal's answer to
Incubus.
I was curious to see Mudvayne, but I got a business call just before their
set which kept me busy until they were almost done. My friends, who were
good enough to hang with me while I worked on my business issue, and I
decided to grab some dinner and water while we talked and listed to
Mudvayne from outside the seating area. I didn't see the band, and the
sound was not very clear from where we were, but I don't think we missed
very much.
We went back to our seats for Iron Maiden. They had put up some elevated
platforms that went over the security guards' heads at the corners of the
stage, and I noticed a microphone pointing down towards the crowd from the
corner of one of the platforms I wondered if they were recording the set,
but no one ever mentioned that they were.
The lights dimmed and "Ides of March" played over the PA. The set list was
nearly perfect, with little breaks between songs:
1. Wrathchild
2. The Trooper
3. Revelations
Here Bruce took a break to tell us that they would only be playing songs
off their first four studio albums in support of their "Early Years" DVD
which came out last November. (I highly recommend it, if you are a fan of
early Maiden.)
He wont on to say that he had been a fan of Maiden even while he was in
Samson, and that there was a song that Maiden were doing at the time that
was somewhere between metal and jazz:
4. Phantom of the Opera
5. Run to the Hills
6. Number of the Beast
7. Hallowed be They Name
8. Iron Maiden.
During the final verse and chorus, a giant Eddie came out from backstage
and played both Dave Murray's and Janick Gers's guitars. When I say he
played them, I mean he hit the necks of the guitars and allowed a chaotic
noise to be emitted. Eddie was a little hokey up close, but he probably
looked pretty cool from further back.
After a brief break, They came back for their encore which began with
"Running Free".
Bruce then said that Maiden would put out a new album soon. He then said
Maiden "was not one of those bands that just kept doing reunions without
putting out any new albums" which consequently made Maiden "real,",
"fierce", and "hard-working." I wish I could say that I do not know to
what band he could be comparing Maiden, but I do. I wish I could say that
he was not right, but I can't. I wonder if Tony and Geezer put him up to
it, to put a fire under Ozzy.
They closed the night with an extended version of "Sanctuary." During the
song, Adrian Smith was his in the face by a flying bottle. He flipped off
the person he thought to be the thrower, but I am not sure he was right,
slammed down his guitar on it's face, and left the stage. After the song
was nearly over, he returned to the stage with a different guitar in hand.
He proceeded to go right to the front of the stage near his attacker and
began flipping him off and inviting him to the stage for a fight. In o
doing, he epitomized the worst in the stereotypes of fans of hard rock and
looked foolish. In the words of Frank Zappa: Shut up and play yer guitar.
Aside from that incident and Bruce Dickinson's brief rant, Iron Maiden
were typically excellent: generally tight, in good playing and singing
form, energetic, and having a good time on stage. As usual, Steve Harris,
Dave Murray, Janick Gers, and Nicko McBrain all wore Iron Maiden tour
shirts. The three guitarists also still played most of the night with
cabled (as opposed to wireless) guitars. I know you're reviving your early
years, but go wireless.
Black Sabbath's stage was set up behind a big orange curtain sporting the
"Master of Reality" Logo in black. When the lights dimmed, Ozzy taunted
from back stage that he could not f-in' hear us. The tape began with the
air raid siren from "War Pigs", had the rain from "Black Sabbath", and
included excerpts from "Symptom of the Universe", "Fairies Wear Boots",
and "Into the Void" among others.
The set was the same as the European dates. I will add some comments
below: NIB - No bass intro
After Forever - tape intro, Tony shot Ozzy a look when Ozzy started
chanting one verse early for what he thought was going to be the middle
section.
War Pigs- Bill missed the first two-note punch after the high hat taps.
Ozzy was off-time. Tony and Geezer stood out of range of the vocal
monitors so they would not be distracted by the echo that was added to the
end of each vocal line.
After a brief contest run by Ozzy to see which side of the venue could
scream the loudest, there were band member introductions: first Geezer,
then Bill Ward, four or five times, then Tony to whom Ozzy bowed as
reported at other shows. (Neither Adam Wakeman nor Sharon Osbourne were
mentioned.)
Dirty Women - Ozzy couldn't find the key, so Tony asked the sound-man to
turn up his guitar in Ozzy's monitors so he could find the key. Ozzy
turned to the sound man to have him turn down Tony's guitar in his
monitor. Ozzy never really found the key until the closing, rowdier
sections of the song. Tony was almost dancing during the up-beat parts of
the song. After a blistering (albeit shorter than I would have liked)
solo, Bill eased back on the drums for a nice low-key even bluesy solo
which then build up again.
Fairies Wear Boots - Geezer was perfect. Bill was not. There was some nice
interplay between Tony and Bill here.
Symptom of the Universe, Sweet Leaf, Electric Funeral - Both Symptom of
the Universe and Sweet Leaf were "teasers". Electric Funeral was played in
full. Ozzy danced like a marionette for parts of the song.
Iron Man - Inevitable? Anyway, Tony stood by Geezer for part of the song,
which was nice to see. Tony stayed fairly true to the original solo for
most of it, but built it to a powerful close.
Into the Void - After messing up the second verse, Ozzy appeared to read
the lyric to the last verse. Bill got lost after the punches separated by
the lone guitar which leads into the closing solo.
Black Sabbath - Bill's drum work was the worst so far in this song. Since
he was off, Tony, Geezer, and Ozzy were also off. The first half of the
song was a sloppy mess. Ozzy was doing the "pogo" during the closing
section of the song which was much tighter. Tony started the solo off with
such intensity, that he had to take it down and then build it back up.
The Wizard - Ozzy played harp through the entire song as reported. Bill
redeemed himself here with some nice tight rolls, loose, relaxed fills,
and a general air of enjoyment.
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Paranoid - Ozzy seemed tired by this point. After
a few spontaneous false endings, Ozzy bowed to the crowd before leaving
the stage.
During the required encore break, Ozzy again taunted from backstage that
he could not f-in' hear us.
Sleeping Village - Nicely done.
Children of the Grave - This is a song that I was beginning to think
should be retired with a much of this night's set. But this was a solid
and powerful version which saw Tony actually playing fills and which put a
nice end to the night.
They played the Vol 4 version of "Changes" as we left the arena, and
changes are what I would like to see. While Tony was relaxed, spontaneous,
and laughing with the stage hands, he was also playing brilliantly and
engaging his adoring fans. Bill's performance could be explained only as
either a bad night (since none of the other reviews I've read have
mentioned his poor performance) or as needing a break after their short
European tour. I hope it is the former. I think we'd all agree that we
would like to see a singer (or singers) at a Sabbath show who would play a
set that would surprise us and keep us guessing as to the next song
because everyone in the band were as sharp as Tony and Geezer and could
adeptly play songs from any era of the band's history. I also hope they
prove Bruce Dickinson wrong.
I did not take the opportunity to have met either Tony or Geezer earlier
in the day at the FYE tent, but I did go there to check out the scene. The
young lady (I use the term loosely) who was working there tried to sell me
a $100 version of Black Box. When I told her that I already owned it and
paid significantly less, she pointed out that my version was probably not
signed. When I pointed out that Tony and Geezer would only each be signing
their own solo albums, she acknowledged that she knew that to be true.
Beware, and don't be fooled by clever salespeople who are trying to get
your money.
All in all, I enjoyed the show, and will most likely continue to see Black
Sabbath every chance I get.
-Eric
From: "Jonathan Pressman" <littlebignuts@hotmail.com>
To: siegler@black-sabbath.com
Subject: review from Jonathan Pressman
Date sent: Sun, 17 Jul 2005 20:15:59 +0000
Dear Joe,
Here is my second Sab review for your awesome site. I also took the
liberty of reviewing Iron Maiden¡▌s performance; I hope you do not mind.
I saw Black Sabbath for the second time on July 15, 2005 at the Tweeter
Center (formarly Great Woods) in Mansfield, MA. This was my first time
seeing them with the original line-up, as they had Mike Bordin behind the
drum kit in the ¡▌97 OzzFest. I arrived at the venue at about 2:00 with a
friend of mine. Mainly we were interested in seeing Sabbath and Iron
Maiden, but the whole Ozzfest is a trip and well worth seeing. Unlike my
previous Sabbath experience in 1997, there was almost exclusively a
teenaged crowd as opposed to the ¡¥old timers¡▌ I saw ten years ago. Do I
fall into the latter category? I had turned 25 the previous dayļ.
In addition to the popular interest in Sabbath (obviously), their was a
huge crowd of Maidenheads present also. One of my first impressions in the
parking lot was of a kid in his early teens stoned out of his mind, waving
a makeshift Maiden flag which he had fashioned from a ¡¥Live After Death¡▌
tapestry and a wooden pole! I complemented him and we both shot the shit
for a minute about how fucking psyched we were.
My friend who I arrived with and I made our was around the perimeter of
the venue. It¡▌s built on different tiers of a semi-circle, so one passes
the merchandise first¡K same old crap, unfortunately. I was ready to buy a
couple of shirts, however they were all very bland and non-descriptive. We
hung out at second stage for a while, then decided to get something to
eat. The food was awesome (I only wish that I could say the same about
second stage!).
Hours later, Maiden made their entrance.
The Line-Up
Bruce Dickenson: Vocals
Steve Harris: Bass
Adrian Smith: Guitar
Janik Jers: Guitar
Dave Murray: Guitar
Nicko McBrain: Drums
I didn¡▌t have the foresight to write down the set list, and besides, I
was far too busy screaming my guts out. I believe that it goes as follows:
The Ides of March (taped intro)
Wrathchild
Revelations
Phantom of the Opera
The Trooper
The Number of the Beast
Flight of Icarus
Run to the Hills
Iron Maiden
Hallowed Be thy Name
Santuary
Running Free (encore)
Allow me to say without hesitation that Iron Maiden¡▌s performance was
*FUCKING AWESOME*!!! I have never seen such power and intensity commanded
by any band. They played material exclusively from the first four albums
(Iron Maiden, Killers, Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind). A tapestry
backdrop of various Eddies¡▌ quantified this. At one point a 15 foot Eddie
began marching around on stage. I still get a kick out of this shit.
Bruce¡▌s voice was flawless, hitting every shriekingly high note. He was
also exceptionally animated, dashing around all over the place brandishing
a British flag. He made a remark about watching Maiden perform live and
asking himself ¡¥What the fuck is this? Is it rock? Is it metel? Is it
jazz? I just knew it rocked like a bastard¡K¡" and he was right. Brillient
set.
Black Sabbath
Ozzy Osbourne: Vocals
Tony Iommi: Guitar
Geezer Butler: Bass
Bill Ward: Drums
Again, the set list is approximate, my apologies if there is something I
missed.
Intro(taped)
NIB
After Forever
War Pigs
Dirty Women
Into the Void
Iron Man
Symptom of the Universe/Sabbath Bloody Sabbath/Electric Funeral
Fairies Wear Boots
Black Sabbath
The Wizard (Ozzy on harmonica!)
Sleeping Village (Iommi only)
Paranoid
Children of the Grave (encore)
Changes(taped)
Maiden made their departure and the stage was obscured by a giant Black
Sabbath curtain in the classic master of reality font. Soon enough, Ozzy
began taunting the crowd on the PA (I can¡▌t fucking here you!) A taped
intro of various Sab tunes play before the curtain dropped and the boys
launched into NIB. The style seemed a lot slower and more deliberate. Bill
Ward was really on point with the intricate snare-and-cymbal stuff heard
on his albums. Geezer¡▌s bass was twangy and turned way up. Tony¡▌s guiter
was distorted and bluezy, and at the same time really heavy. And of
course, Ozzy¡▌s vocals were great. He even had some of that vibrato heard
on his early material; his sobriety really shows. Also, he looks great, as
well as happy. He made a very big point, as always, to thank the audience
and also said a load of funny shit. I have Ozzy three times now since
1997, and this was without a doubt his strongest performance. The band was
VERY solid and we left the show feeling great. I would strongly encourage
anyone who is a fan to check out this year¡▌s OzzFest.
Jonathan Pressman
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