A few days ago I attended Ozzfest, an all day festival of metal music. My very good friend Jeff got some free tickets through his place of work and asked me if I was interested in going. An all day concert sounded like a good way to mix up my week, so without much consideration, I accepted his invitation.
He managed to score V.I.P. passes, which included a bunch of very cool benefits. Parking was the first benefit. No paying and no waiting. Yes! A designated entrance and sectioned off area was another perk. We also go free food, which is always a plus. The seats were great too, very close and pretty much center stage. Finally, we got a backstage tour before the show where we were granted access to the stage and shown around a bit. Being on a big stage was a rare perspective for a fan. The markings on the stage were a literal template for the drum sets and mic stands for all the bands. With all the equipment, instruments and unique perspectives, it would have been great to take some pictures, which they encouraged. However, because I can be a complete dumbass, I didn't bring my camera, so no pictures.
Iron Maiden was one of the headlining bands playing that day and it's no secret that I was a huge fan in high school. My stupid high school ID photo says it all. The other headlining band was Black Sabbath. Even though much of their music (the good stuff anyway) was done either before I was born or while I was still poopin' my pants, I'm still a big fan. My college dorm roommate got me listening to old Sabbath in the early 90's. I loved it and still do. Having not really expected to ever see them live, it was going to be a treat for me, no doubt. Original members too. So, those two appearances alone were going to be reason enough to go. Initially, my primary motivation was just to hang out with Jeff and have a good time goofing off. Once I looked up the line-up, the already sweet deal was getting better.
This festival was an all day deal and the bands leading up to headliners were pretty damn bad. No, they were terrible. I'm getting old now, so most newer style heavy metal is just plain crap to me. Noisy bullshit. Can't you just hear me as an old man all of the sudden, "What's with all that scratch and scream the kids are listening to these days?" But seriously, it's bad. Black Label Society was an exception but that's just because their style is more what I appreciate. Believe it or not, I still consider myself to be a fan of metal music, but less so as I get older. Part of me will always like it.
And how about that crowd! I told Jeff that they could have dropped an atomic bomb on that place and it would have done the world a favor. So, that's an obvious exaggeration, because I'm not psychotic. The crowd though was 95% losers and dirt bags. Then something occurred to me. Many of these people looked very similar to how I looked when I was going to a metal show as a teenager. Black clothes, long hair, zits and grease. How did I survive and how many of these losers are going to survive? The whole experience was turning into a paradox inside my head that could not easily be reasoned with.
After eating some of that free food I was referring to earlier, which led to my barfing in the middle of the night, we took to our seats. Between performances, while we were waiting, some guy a couple seats away proceeded to take off all of his clothes. He was completely naked and in front of thousands of people. Later, after failing to put his underwear back on correctly, it was apparent that this guy wasn't quite right in terms of having all of his faculties. This post is too long.
My musical tastes have evolved over the years but the headlining bands of this concert took me back to some of my roots of high school and early college. Ozzy Osbourne got his start with Black Sabbath and love him or hate him, he's definitely got the love for the music. Say what you want about the guy, he's lived his life completely on his terms. Not many people can say that. A close friend from years ago, named Toto, looks a lot like Tony Iommi (legendary Sabbath guitar player). I have not seen him in over 10 years and briefly wondered what he was doing these days.
After the show, we escaped out the secret bat exit and headed back home, where we belonged. We left a little early, something I'd never used to do in my early concert days, but it was sort of symbolic on this occasion. In a way, I was passing the baton to others that got there earlier and would leave later. My days of concerts of this nature are definitely numbered. My involvement in the "metal" movement is over and it's officially time for others to take my place. My wife left the porch light on for me. I was happy to be home, not because I was tired and burned out from hours of loud music, but because my wife and my pain in the ass cat were there waiting for me. We're always happy to be together and that's what matters to me anymore.
