Black Sabbath?

[dragonboy]

Announcement in 11mins...

http://blacksabbath.com/

[dragonboy]

Cool promo! Rick Rubin? Nice.

I won't go to Download but would to see them somewhere like the O2...

[Taterbug]

I'm In,  I saw Sabbath at OZ fest with Maiden and Rob Zombie. It was fucking INSANE. 

[MarkW]

I'm with DB.  I've done Download once - not sure anyone could tempt me back.  The O2 would be great.

[Shug]

July 25 Houston, TX—Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
July 27 Austin, TX—Frank Erwin Center
July 29 Tampa, FL—Live Nation Amphitheatre
July 31 West Palm Beach, FL—Cruzan Amphitheatre
August 2 Bristow, VA—Jiffy Lube Live
August 4 Holmdel, NJ—PNC Bank Arts Center
August 6 Detroit, MI—DTE Energy Music Theatre
August 8 Uncasville, CT—Mohegan Sun Arena
August 10 Philadelphia, PA—Wells Fargo Center
August 12 Boston, MA—Comcast Center
August 14 Toronto, ON—Air Canada Centre
August 16 Tinley Park, IL—First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
August 18 Indianapolis, IN—Klipsch Music Center
August 22 Vancouver, BC—Rogers Arena
August 24 Seattle, WA—Gorge Amphitheatre
August 26 San Francisco, CA—Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
August 28 Irvine, CA—Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
August 30 Phoenix, AZ—US Airways Center
September 1 Las Vegas, NV—MGM Grand Garden Arena
September 3 Los Angeles, CA—Los Angeles Sports Arena

http://www.jambands.com/news/2013/04/25/black-sabbath-confirm-full-north-american-tour/

Even without Bill Ward and with Ozzy being Ozzy at his age, I am FRICKIN' STOKED!!!

LD and I were laughing this AM that maybe Ozzy being off the wagon is a good thing for this tour.  He's got the rest of his life to go back to being sober.  Party it up one last time, dude!

[Taterbug]

Thats a tough schedule for Ozzy,  only one day off between shows. I hope he makes it to Phoenix for you Shug.  He's a fucking disaster physically.  But hey, the dude will probably out live us all.

[Shug]

Yeah, I hope he can keep up with that schedule and seriously, I hope he stays as healthy as he can, if you can even use the words health and Ozzy in the same sentence.  I don't want him to die or anything.

[Crispy]

If Bill Ward was part of this, I could see doing it, but still, the disaster that is Ozzy is going to derail (get it?) halfway through that rigorous schedule, I predict.

[Shug]

Well, I have tix, pretty good ones, too.  There were three different presales going at the same time and a fourth one in a couple hours.  This shit is complicated.

Now we'll see if the show actually happens.

I've seen Ozzy back in the 80s (unfortunately not on his first two tours, but on the Bark At The Moon tour with Jake E Lee on guitar, not too shabby, but no Randy Rhodes, of course) and I feel so so so lucky to have seen the last tour of the Ronnie James Dio version of Sabbath, so seeing this lineup, even without Bill Ward, is going to be a nice completion for me (if it happens).

[alienlanes]

I've seen Black Sabbath many times since 1992, 9 by last count, and I bought a ticket with a friend to the Toronto show. I saw the 1997 Ozzfest reunion with Mike Bordin on drums and it was great. I then saw the 1999 reunion tour and the 2001 Ozzfest tour and of those the 2001 show was the best.

I would of course prefer to see Black Sabbath with Bill Ward drumming, but since these dudes are as old as the hill right now and Sabbath is one of my top 5 fave bands of all time I have to go...

[kolaron]

The Australian shows were really good, quite long and featuring most of the expected tracks plus 2 or 3 from 13.

High points: Great atmospherics opening the show with the air-raid sirens and War Pigs; Ozzy managed the vocals far better than you'd expect and was surprisingly chirpy; the band had a real energy about them which if they can keep that up will make for some pretty good shows in the future.

Low points: the 'F' word, the dropping of songs/shortening of the set as the mini-tour went on and still no tracks from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath/Sabotage. We did get the beginning of Symptom of the Universe, but no vocals, then into a drum solo. Single encore as per usual...just once can they do two? Once you hear the opening to Paranoid you know it's over.

The Japanese show was like a breath of fresh air, Ozzy only managed one 'F' word I think during the whole set, this made for a far more enjoyable listen (IMHO) but I suppose most people will think I'm just showing my age.

Wish I could go the the US for more shows, the UK will have to do.

[Shug]

Show for LD and me is tomorrow night, good reviews from a couple nights ago, saying Ozzy is singing better than he has in years, great fucking news and I CANNOT WAIT!!

http://www.mercurynews.com/music/ci_23952402/review-black-sabbath-triumphs-at-shoreline-amphitheatre?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com

[Shug]

Dude, that show frickin' rocked!!!  well over 2 hours long, mostly old songs, they did several from the new record and they fit right in with the old stuff,  God Is Dead was great.  This was my first time seeing the Ozzy version of Black Sabbath, so some of what was revelatory to me is probably stuff that most fans have known for years.

Ozzy was in great voice, didn't have any lyrical troubles and he looked great with long hair.  He was full of energy, jumping up and down and inciting the crowd.  He would dump his head in a  bucket of water and come back to the mic dripping, his wet hair hanging down over his face with an insane and wicked smile on his face, he truly looked like the Prince of Darkness, it was fucking awesome.  I guess just to be crazy and reckless, he dumped a whole bucket of water on a security guy or photographer in front of the barrier right at the start of the show.

Tony was on fire, soloing his ass off.  I'd seen him before on the last Heaven and Hell tour with Dio, but I was far away and I just don't remember him playing like he did on this tour.  Maybe its the way the old classic Sabbath songs are, but he really brought it and while it shouldn't have been surprising, I felt like I was seeing a late 60s/early 70s guitarist in the same league as Clapton, Page, Blackmore, etc.  His tone was crisp and biting and he never hesitated or lost his way for a second in a solo.  Geezer basically solos all night long and this band can fucking jam hard and heavy.  I never for a moment thought anything close to them not being able to do what they could in their prime.  Old masters showing everyone they can still do it.  Now the deal with Bill Ward being replaced by Tommy Clufetos is controversial and I'm not sure how I feel about it overall (the idealist in me wants all original members there, especially if they are ready and willing to play) but Clufetos kicked some major fucking ass, pounding the shit out of the drums all night long with full arm swings.  He was great to watch, shaggy long hair and beard, shirtless, a true power drummer.  And you gotta have that for Sabbath songs to work.  He played all night without a break including a surprisingly damn exciting drum solo.  Dude has stamina and I really wonder if Bill Ward can still do that.  I hate the thought of Ward not being there, but I think the show was probably better for having Clufetos on the drums.

The thing I love about 70s hard rock like Zepp and Sabbath and The Who and Free and Humble Pie and all that stuff is that they all basically did what they did with three instruments and a singer.  There is a lot of space and breathing room and separation between the instruments, its not a big wall of mushy sound with no distinction.  I don't know what they do technically in their playing and equipment and sound mixing to get it that way, but it sounded exactly like that even in a big arena.  The old masters know what the fuck they are doing and most new bands would get schooled going up against them.  Sabbath fucking killed it and I feel so lucky to have seen one of the last great hard rock bands of all time at the end of their career and they were NOT all washed up and pathetic, instead strong and masterful.  I was in head-banging heaven.  I don't listen to a lot of metal anymore, but when I do, it feels pretty damn good!

[Shug]

Just got tix for the 2016 Black Sabbath tour.  I'm fucking stoked, if its half as good as last tour, its gonna be great!  Plus the awesome Rival Sons are opening and that is a sweet double bill!

[manonthemoon]

Got tix as well on Wednesday, little expensive, but worth it if it is their last.  Just wish Ward was on the  .  Can't wait though  .